Creative Construction Conference 2013 July 6 – 9, 2013, Budapest, Hungary A STUDY ON THE OPERTATIONAL READINESS OF MEGA CONSTRUCTION PROJECT Jumah Rashed Al Mazrooie The British University in Dubai, Dubai, UAE, 120020@student.buid.ac.ae Arun Bajracharya The British University in Dubai, Dubai, UAE, arun.bajracharya@buid.ac.ae Abstract It is important that the transition between construction and operational phases be managed properly. It is crucial especially for prestigious mega projects in which large mass of public is served from day one of the real operational phase. Faulty and dysfunctional elements in the completed project systems would not only create interruptions and delays but it could also tarnish the public image of the project. The costs of such consequences could be high and it would be an additional unforeseen cost burden for the project. Generally mega projects are planned with fast track approach with high pressure to start-up the operations at earliest time. There would be overlaps in the schedules of the last stage construction activities and the activities related to operational preparations. The interference between the two sets of activities might create interruptions, errors, and consequent reworks at both sides. The errors that creep into the operational preparations might be discovered only after the real operational phase, and it might create surprise rework and interruptions. This research attempts to develop a model that can portray the interaction between the workflows at the last stage of construction and the operational preparations. System dynamics approach has been utilized to develop the model. Observations in one of the mega projects in Dubai that recently came in operation have been used to structure the model. Experimental study with the model revealed that the key to avoid the majority of the interface problems is to integrate the operational preparation activities into the construction activities. The client should appreciate the operational preparations as part of the whole project and thus the operational readiness program should be integrated in the project plan to eliminate any reluctance or uncertainties by the main contractor. Keywords: Interface management, construction and operational phases, operational readiness, mega project, dynamic modeling. 1. INTRODUCTION In the past decade demand for large scale infrastructure projects such as airports, railways, seaports has increased rapidly to accommodate the increasing needs and requirements of public services. Many large scale infrastructure projects or mega projects have been constructed and operated in a fast track manner that enabled the clients and governments to have a quick beneficial use of the service and facilities. Some of the mega projects prolong the operations ramp-up in a long time span. However they still fail or struggle even though they have a longer ramp-up period. According to Richard (1994) the government in Denver