Jeddah Municipality - Building A City

OPM Experts LLC, renowned for its unmatched proficiency in strategic project implementation, has consistently delivered top-tier third-party program assessment services. Our collaboration with clients at the highest levels has yielded significant benefits, showcasing our commitment to excellence and forward-thinking solutions. As we navigate complex challenges, our comprehensive assessments ensure strategic issues are identified and effectively addressed. Our proactive approach enabled us to anticipate organizational changes, providing our clients with a competitive edge. The tangible outcomes of our interventions, recognized by international bodies like UN-HABITAT, underscore our pivotal role in enhancing urban prosperity and infrastructure development. Trust OPM Experts LLC to elevate your projects with strategic insights and transformative solutions.

CHALLENGE

Situated on an ancient maritime trade route that connects the Mediterranean with India, the Arabian Peninsula, and southeast Asia, the city of Jeddah is the Kingdom's commercial capital. Millions of tons of cargo pass through the port each year. 

Sometimes referred to as "the bride of the Red Sea," Jeddah gets its name from the Arabic word for grandmother, in this case referring to Eve, the matriarch of humanity who is said to be buried there. Jeddah’s standing population of more than thirty million people is increased annually by millions of pilgrims who pass through Jeddah on their way to Mecca, Islam’s holiest site.

These unique commercial and religious realities put huge demands on the city’s infrastructure, including its roads, bridges, tunnels, lighting, and landscapes. For that reason, in 2012 the government issued four supervision contracts to service providers: 1) WorleyParsons would develop and manage a PMO overseeing infrastructure projects; 2) Hyder would develop construction and design RFP’s and perform third party engineering supervision; 3) Parsons Construction Management would supervise construction contracts; and 4) Parsons Operations and Maintenance would supervise the city’s maintenance projects. The Mayor of Jeddah issued the following statement:

“JEDDAH MUNICIPALITY IS EMBARKING ON AN ENDEAVOR TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERY OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. WE WISH TO HAVE FORMAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES USED CONSISTENTLY ACROSS THE AGENCY‘S PROJECTS AND TO DEVELOP IN-HOUSE HARD AND SOFT PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS.

STRATEGIC GOALS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

1)  JUDICIOUS AND EFFECTIVE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES 


2)  MEETING DEFINED HEALTH, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT (HSE), 


3)  EXECUTING AGAINST BASELINE (AGREED) COST, SCHEDULE, SCOPE, AND 
QUALITY PARAMETERS FOR PROJECTS 


4)  IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE THROUGH ENHANCED PROJECT SUCCESS 


5)  IMPROVED QUALITY AND REDUCED PROJECT COST THROUGH UTILIZATION 
OF STANDARDIZED METHODS, PROCESSES, AND TOOLS 


6)  REDUCED TURN-AROUND TIME THROUGH UTILIZATION OF STANDARDIZED 
METHODS, PROCESSES, AND TOOLS 


7)  INCREASED CAPACITY FOR IM AND IM‘S STAFF 


IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THESE STRATEGIC GOALS WE HAVE ENGAGED CONSULTANTS FROM OPM EXPERTS, LLC. YOU MAY BE ASKED TO SPEAK WITH THE CONSULTANTS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. PLEASE TREAT ANY MEETINGS WITH THE CONSULTANTS AS A PRIORITY. THIS IS A STRATEGIC ACTIVITY THAT IS DESIGNED TO HELP US ORCHESTRATE IMPROVEMENTS TO JEDDAH MUNICIPALITY AND ITS PARTNERS. THE RESULT OF THE IMMEDIATE EXERCISE WILL BE A REPORT AND AN IMPROVEMENT PLAN FROM OPM EXPERTS. AFTER WE HAVE APPROVED THE PLAN, IT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED.”

Solution

OPM Experts, LLC was contracted through WorelyParsons and conducted a comprehensive assessment, investigating public safety, media pressure, corruption, resource constraints, the qualifications of personnel, contracting, design, construction, naming and numbering, maintenance, decision-making, and more. We identified strategic issues and we analyzed the continuing impact of those issues by locating Saudi officials, gaining their confidence, and enrolling them to confide in us. In the middle of our assessment, we discovered that a higher level of government above the municipality was planning to restructure the organization, and OPM Experts was able to obtain copies of those plans, including the future state organization charts, before they were published, which helped both WorleyParsons and the Saudi client prepare to navigate a changing landscape. We wrote a detailed analysis and offered solutions that were implemented.

Results

After the service providers completed their contracts, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (MOMRA) jointly launched UN-HABITAT Saudi Arabia Programme to measure Jeddah’s urban prosperity and socio-economic development. Measured dimensions included 1) productivity, 2) infrastructure development, 3) quality of life, 4) equity and social inclusion, 5) environmental sustainability, and 6) urban governance and legislation. Across all of these dimensions, infrastructure development scored among the highest, second only to quality of life. Within infrastructure development, street infrastructure, which was one of the areas under WorleyParson’s purview, scored highest. As a testimony to past performance, Jeddah Municipality rehired WorleyParsons, who has re-engaged OPM Experts LLC to support a variety of endeavors.