Öresund Bridge: Successful systems engineering

What constitutes good systems engineering, and why do some projects hit the wall due to poor systems engineering? This question will be answered using a concrete example, the Öresund Bridge (Øresundsbron), will be examined.

The Øresund Bridge is often cited as a prime example of successful systems engineering, including in INCOSE's Systems Engineering Handbook. There, the bridge is used as a case study in several places.

First of all, although good systems engineering is necessary for the successful development of a system, it is of course not the only prerequisite. Project management must also work, and the resources - personnel, money, equipment and expertise - must be available. But in the following, we will only look at systems engineering.

Good systems engineering is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite for a successful project. The other disciplines must also be right.

The Öresund Bridge is an impressive structure and connects Denmark with Sweden. The project cost 30 billion Danish kroner - around three billion euros. But I don't want to describe the bridge in detail here, as this is already has been done many times.

Why was this project successful? Here are the most important points:

It was particularly relevant that representatives of environmental protection were involved right from the start. This was not just lip service, as a representative was even appointed to the board. This collaboration gave rise to the idea of settling endangered birds on the artificial island of Peberholm, for example. Furthermore, the "Zero Solution" principle was established, which states that the bridge must not impede the flow of water.

I can also confirm this from my own experience: It's amazing how many problems don't even arise if you involve the stakeholders from the outset - instead of presenting them with a fait accompli. And this is true even if the result is exactly the same.

Goals are the requirements at the highest level (high level). Unfortunately, you often find vague goals that are of little use. But "high level" does not mean vague! One of the prime examples of a good goal comes from US President John F. Kennedy: "Before the decade is out, we will land a man on the moon and bring him safely back to earth. A sentence contains a time target and a clear, measurable activity.

Clear objectives were also set for the Öresund Bridge. These included: the schedule, the service life of the bridge, capacity, expected environmental conditions and possible ship collisions.

The objectives formed the basis for a concept that could only be developed through the cooperative collaboration of the stakeholders. The objectives themselves were also developed further in the process. A good concept has an important function, as it enables everyone involved to understand the interaction between all disciplines.

I am personally a big fan of concepts and have often used them successfully. Depending on the size of the project, a concept should be able to be read and understood in just a few hours. This makes the project quickly accessible to new team members. It shows how everything fits together and it acts as a compass to ensure that the direction of travel is correct.

As changes were expected, a proper change management system was established right from the start. Even major changes were not shied away from - for example, the navigation range for ships was extended from 330 m to 490 m.

A bridge project requires a large number of disciplines - from geotechnics to aerodynamics, tunnel construction, earthquake analysis and many more. This is where the work of the systems engineer is particularly important: specialists rarely look further than the next interfaces, which are often specified externally. But systems engineering ensures that a holistic approach is taken.

One specific and important example of this is the topic of functional safety. Corresponding analyses were carried out for the Öresund Bridge.

Conclusion: The bridge not only looks impressive, the story of its construction is just as exciting. As the general press likes to report on failures and disasters, it is nice to know that there are also success stories.