Joanne Cunningham
General Manager - Project Management, Buildings and Property
More than a construction site: the realities of building in live education environments
Delivering infrastructure in an operating school or university presents challenges that extend well beyond the construction site. While facilities are upgraded, expanded or refurbished, teaching must continue, students and staff need safe access, and essential operations must be maintained.
Joanne Cunningham Dustin Gentele
For education institutions, successful project delivery is not simply about completing works on time and within budget. It is also about managing the impact of construction on the people and activities the infrastructure is intended to support.
This requires an approach that considers operational needs from the earliest planning stages, rather than treating disruption as something to manage once construction begins.
Working around an environment that never truly stops
Schools and universities operate to schedules that leave limited room for construction. Teaching periods, examinations, research activities, community events and everyday campus operations can all influence when and how work takes place. Even scheduled breaks do not necessarily mean facilities are available. University libraries remain busy during study periods, research and administrative functions continue, and events or other activities may restrict access to particular buildings.
These constraints can significantly influence project delivery. Activities that would be relatively straightforward on an unoccupied site may require staged access, restricted working hours or alternative construction methods in an operating education environment. Understanding how facilities are used, who relies on them and when disruption can be accommodated is therefore essential to developing a realistic construction program.
The complexity extends beyond the construction site
One of the most easily underestimated aspects of education infrastructure delivery is the number of stakeholders and operational interfaces involved. At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the Building 05 Refurbishment Program involved three connected projects within an active campus building, including teaching-space refurbishments, foyer and access upgrades, and the relocation of UTS College facilities.
Each project had different requirements and delivery milestones, with works needing to be coordinated around ongoing university operations. The program required staged approvals, procurement planning, design and construction management, and close collaboration between university stakeholders, consultants and contractors. RPS provided project management and contract administration services across the program, helping coordinate these activities while maintaining focus on critical teaching and occupation milestones.
The example demonstrates how delivering multiple projects within an operating campus requires more than managing individual construction packages. Project teams must understand how each activity interacts with the wider institution and ensure that decisions made in one area do not create unnecessary complications elsewhere.
Early planning and stakeholder engagement are critical
The challenges of live-environment delivery are equally important across school infrastructure programs, where student safety, teaching continuity and community expectations influence construction decisions. The Engadine, Eastwood and Lane Cove School Infrastructure Completion Program provides a practical example. Following the administration of a previous contractor, School Infrastructure NSW engaged RPS to support the completion of three school infrastructure projects across Sydney.
Each site presented different requirements, with works taking place in operating schools. The program required coordinated subcontractor procurement, construction contract administration, stakeholder engagement and commissioning oversight to help restore delivery momentum and progress the projects towards completion. The experience highlights the importance of clear governance, communication and coordinated project management, particularly when multiple sites and stakeholders are involved.
For education infrastructure owners, these considerations should be addressed before construction begins. Early engagement with school leadership, teaching staff, facilities teams and other relevant stakeholders can help identify operational constraints, establish workable construction arrangements and reduce the likelihood of avoidable disruption. Just as importantly, communication needs to continue throughout delivery. Requirements can change, unexpected constraints can emerge and competing priorities may need to be resolved as works progress.
Successful delivery balances construction and continuity
For education infrastructure owners, the objective is to develop a delivery strategy that balances construction requirements with the institution's ability to continue operating. This means considering operational risks alongside traditional project measures such as cost, schedule and quality. Realistic staging, coordinated access arrangements, proactive stakeholder engagement and clear decision-making processes all contribute to a more manageable delivery program. These principles become particularly important for major campus developments, multi-building upgrades and estate-wide capital programs, where several projects may be progressing simultaneously.
RPS supports education clients through client-side project and program management, advisory, procurement, project controls and stakeholder coordination. Drawing on experience across school and university infrastructure programs, our teams help clients anticipate delivery challenges, manage complex interfaces and integrate operational requirements into project planning and delivery. Ultimately, successful infrastructure delivery in a live education environment requires more than an effective construction program. It requires a clear understanding of how the institution operates, the people who depend on it and the decisions needed to keep education moving while facilities evolve.
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