Overview
HS2 Euston Station: Change Control, Risk Management and RAMS
Task:
Select the HS2 Euston Station as your case study project. Following the 2023 mid-project change, produce an individual case study report that critically examines change control, risk management and site-level RAMS in the context of this major infrastructure project.
Your report must address the following three sections:
Section 1 — Change Control Mechanisms in Construction
- Define change control and explain its importance on a major construction project.
- Describe the process for identifying, logging and making decisions about changes.
- Produce a Change Control (Issue) Register containing a minimum of 10 entries, distinguishing between formal change requests and off-specification/interface issues. Each entry must include: issue type, description, trigger/source, impact, proposed action, decision/status, and owner.
- Critically evaluate your proposed change control process.
Section 2 — Risk Management and the Risk Register
- Explain the importance of risk management in the context of a major construction project.
- Conduct a PESTLE analysis and a SWOT analysis to frame the external and internal risk environment of the project.
- Produce a Risk Register containing a minimum of 20 risks, scored using a likelihood × impact matrix (1–5 scale). Each entry must include: risk description, category, pre-mitigation likelihood, impact and score, risk response strategy, mitigation/controls, residual risk score, and owner.
- Include a risk heat map illustrating the pre-mitigation risk distribution.
- Critically evaluate residual risks and risk response strategies.
Section 3 — Site-Level Risk Management through RAMS
- Explain the purpose of Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) and the legal duty under CDM 2015.
- Illustrate how project-level risks translate into site-level RAMS controls for a minimum of 5 high-risk activities specific to the Euston site (e.g. demolition, utilities diversion, working at height, confined spaces, public interface).
- Discuss the strengths and limitations of RAMS as a site safety management tool.
- Address communication of RAMS to the site workforce.
Format Requirements:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Word count | Approximately 3,000–4,000 words (excluding appendices, tables, figures and reference list) |
| Number of pages | Approximately 20–30 pages including appendices |
| Structure | Executive Summary, numbered sections (1–5), Reference List, Appendices (A, B, C) |
| Appendices | Appendix A: Change Control Register; Appendix B: Risk Register; Appendix C: Sample RAMS Extract |
| Figures | Minimum 4 (timeline, affordability gap, change control workflow, risk heat map) |
| Tables | Minimum 3 (SWOT, PESTLE, key events timeline) |
| Referencing style | Harvard referencing |
| Font / spacing | 12pt, 1.5 or double line spacing (standard UK university formatting) |
| Submission format | Microsoft Word (.docx) |
| Academic sources | Minimum 8–10 peer-reviewed or credible industry sources (NAO, PAC, DfT, HSE, CITB, academic journals) |