Gren “fuelled” by fire: lessons for project management

Abstract

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this study are as follows: 1) illustrate the project management failures that contributed to the fire accident at Grenfell using a fishbone diagram; 2) identify and classify the power and influence of various stakeholders involved in a brownfield project using a relevant framework; and 3) elaborate the need for following effective stakeholder management processes and project leadership, especially in the context of a refurbishment/renovation project. Case overview/synopsis On 14th June 2017, the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London, UK, caught fire. The fire raged for 60 h and around 72 people lost their lives. Many criticized the response of the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and their lack of preparedness to respond to such an emergency. There were calls for Dany Cotton, the Chief of LFB, to resign. However, there had been a major cladding-related refurbishment at Grenfell, and subsequent investigations revealed that the use of combustible materials, a lack of compliance with the fire-safety norms and a blatant disregard for resident safety had contributed to the fire. The tragedy was a cumulative outcome of failure on two counts: effective project management and stakeholder management during the process of refurbishment, especially in the context of a low-cost housing project. Given this situation, this case considers whether Dany Cotton should own up to her responsibility and resign from her position. In the process, the case considers Grenfell refurbishment from the theoretical lens of project management in the construction management scenario to understand the factors that could have led to an “avoidable” tragedy. Complexity academic level Postgraduate students of construction management; final year undergraduate engineering students who have a foundational course on project management; and architects. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 2: Built environment.