Proposal and application of a methodology to improve the control and monitoring of complex hydroelectric power station construction projects

Abstract

All complex projects take place in environments of great uncertainty. Maintaining a monitoring and control system from the early stages of execution is a critical factor in the success of this type of project. Large hydroelectric power station construction projects are regarded as highly complex because they are affected by factors such as the risks inherent in a variety of fields of engineering, geology and the environment, the long execution times, and the large number of multidisciplinary activities to be carried out in parallel, among others. These types of projects are commonly affected by cost overruns and delays. This work develops a methodology for the monitoring and control of complex construction projects in the hydroelectric sector that enables a periodical calculation of metrics for physical progress, financial progress, and predictions for costs and durations on completion of the project. The verification of the efficiency of this methodology was based on stochastic simulation models applied to real projects in the hydropower sector. The results showed that the proposed methodology improved efficiency compared with existing traditional methodologies. The proposed methodology allows the simultaneous consideration of costs, deadlines, criticality, and risks of the activities of the analyzed projects and also incorporates multicriteria decision techniques to manage the influence of key aspects during the development of the project.