How HeadChannel Built a Cost and Staff Tracking System for HS2

HS2 Ltd is the non-departmental public body set up by the UK government to develop a high-speed railway. DMRC Consulting, a data and analytics consultancy, was asked to improve how HS2 managed project costs and staff work, and brought in HeadChannel to build the system.

The Challenge

Most data management was done by hand, which cost time, money and resources. HS2 needed to track progress on construction sites through one system that drew on several databases, each from a different provider with a different structure, and an interface that let people add and update information quickly.

The Approach

HeadChannel turned HS2's requirements into a technical specification, built and tested a prototype of the constraints, roles and workflows, then developed the web application. The first phase built the application; the second integrated the databases.

• People. Supervisors see the personnel list and each person's available hours, and assign staff to current and future activities.
• Plant. Teams upload lists of available plant and equipment. Administrators keep them up to date, and supervisors assign equipment to activities.
• Dashboard. A view of every activity's status, with outstanding allocation sheets and resubmission metrics, shows supervisors where work needs extra support.
• Sign-off. When an activity is complete, its allocation sheet goes to the foreman, who checks the work, resources and personnel. The foreman could reject it with notes, which notifies the supervisor. Accepted sheets go to the project administrator for a final check.
• Integration. HR, plant, site and work schedule databases feed one central application, so data gathering is automated.

The final phase is planned to send accepted allocation sheets to the payroll system to prepare payment documents.

The Outcome

The system gives full transparency of the resources, people and costs on each project, so supervisors see their teams' work in detail and could assign accountability. Site activity is tracked in real time, and the platform has produced £50 million in cost savings.