Restoring New Orleans’ Hurricane Protection

In a race against time, Task Force Guardian shepherded 59 construction projects undertaken by 26 contractors. Stanley Consultants was requested by USACE to be the task force program manager. Stanley Consultants was tasked with knowing everything taking place, tracking and analyzing the key indicators, developing the reporting tools that communicated the needed information, and being flexible enough to adapt with the ever changing needs. Our team looked beyond individual projects to develop a "big picture" perspective that allowed us to anticipate USACE needs and allowed its project managers to focus on individual projects. We developed cost/schedule management tools to track project performance and generate reports on quality control, finances, staffing, and operations requested by federal and state government. Our near real-time analysis showed USACE where its attention was needed so timely corrections could be made. Communication to displaced residents was paramount. Through various forms of media we relayed the progress and integrity of the repairs with the goal of former residents returning as quickly as possible. By June 1, 2006, the successful $800 million effort had restored miles of floodwalls and levees, and repaired and built new gated closure structures. No organization has ever before attempted to perform this type of engineering service for a client with a deadline fixed by nature while under such intense national and international scrutiny.