2026 Consulting, Research and Professional Association Activities
Summary: Continued consulting, research and papers relating to delivery of complex infrastructure projects worldwide related to risk, contracting and delivery methods and tunnel boring machine procurement. Presentations and Participation at the ITA Tunneling Conference Montreal with contributions to Working Groups 2 (risk) and 3 (contracting and delivery).
Consulting: Advisory services re risk management for the $20 billion Delta Conveyance Program near Sacramento California. Review of risk management plans and procedures, risk registers and implementation of a probabilistic cost and schedule process.
Research: With colleagues at the University of Munich, a paper addressing the evolution of contract and delivery processes developed over the past 30 years which, in general, have moved from fixed-price hard money contracting to more inclusive, flexible, collaborative methods with incentive fee provisions. Presented at the ITA Conference, Montreal and the North American Tunneling Conference, Anaheim CA.
ITA TBM Procurement Guideline: John edited the initial Chapters of the ITA “Guideline on the Procurement of Tunnel Boring Machines”, which draws significantly from his papers on this topic, printed in TunnelTalk in 2020 and 2021 (link to these papers on the HOME page). This includes recommendations regarding who should choose the machine – owner, consultant or contractor – and a suggested process to increase the drive capability of a TBM, additional cost to be justified by a risk/benefit analysis. The Guideline is being developed jointly by ITA Working Groups 3 and 14.
ITA Risk Management Guideline: Input to, and review of, a new guideline for management of risk, including management of cost and schedule, for complex infrastructure programs, including use of probable cost and schedule projections and digital-twin methodologies.