Sydney Water

Project Overview

Sydney Water engaged TBH as a strategic partner to develop and implement an integrated risk management framework across its Major Projects portfolio, including landmark programs such as the Upper South Creek Advanced Water Recycling Centre (AWRC), West Camden, and Austral Leppington.

The initiative aimed to improve the consistency, transparency, and governance of risk practices across Sydney Water’s multi-billion-dollar infrastructure investments. TBH’s engagement focused on embedding quantitative and qualitative risk processes that connected directly with schedule, cost, and contingency planning — enabling the organisation to proactively manage uncertainty and make risk-informed decisions at every governance level.

TBH’s Role

TBH was appointed to deliver comprehensive risk management services covering both project-specific and program-wide activities. The engagement combined hands-on facilitation, quantitative modelling, and strategic advisory functions to uplift Sydney Water’s risk capability.

Key responsibilities included:

• Risk Framework Development and Integration
  • Designed and implemented a unified risk management framework aligned with ISO 31000 and Sydney Water’s enterprise assurance standards.
  • Standardised processes for risk identification, quantification, and reporting across major projects.
  • Established consistent templates, risk registers, and procedures for integration across cost, schedule, and delivery functions.

• Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA)
  • Delivered regular Quantitative Schedule Risk Analyses (QSRA) and Quantitative Cost Risk Analyses (QCRA) for major capital projects, including the $1.2B Upper South Creek AWRC program.
  • Integrated QRA results into funding models to determine P50 and P90 contingencies for business case submissions and investment approvals.
  • Developed risk-adjusted cashflows and conducted ongoing drawdown tracking to ensure risk allowances reflected current project exposure.

• Risk Governance and Assurance
  • Provided risk reports to the Project Control Group (PCG), Steering Committees, and Executive Leadership, ensuring visibility of high-impact risks and mitigation strategies.
  • Supported Infrastructure NSW and Scyne external reviews, where TBH’s integrated cost–schedule–risk approach was cited as industry-leading best practice.
  • Facilitated risk discovery and mitigation workshops across design, construction, and commissioning phases.

• Capability Uplift and Ongoing Management
  • Trained Sydney Water’s internal delivery and project management teams on quantitative methodologies and risk-based decision-making.
  • Supported the alignment of project risk processes with broader portfolio assurance and investment frameworks.
  • Maintained live, dynamic risk registers connected to project controls data, providing continuous visibility of exposure and trends.

The TBH Difference

TBH’s engagement delivered measurable improvements in the way Sydney Water identifies, quantifies, and manages risk across its major infrastructure portfolio.

• Integrated Risk–Cost–Schedule Governance – Established full alignment between risk models, schedule forecasts, and cost baselines, providing Sydney Water with a single view of project exposure and contingency utilisation.
• Data-Driven Risk Insights – Enabled consistent P50/P90 forecasting and risk-adjusted budgeting, improving financial predictability and governance confidence.
• Best Practice Recognition – External assurance reviews by Infrastructure NSW and Scyne identified TBH’s risk management approach as industry-leading, with only minor improvements recommended.
• Enhanced Decision Confidence – The integration of risk analytics into PCG reporting enabled executives to make timely, evidence-based decisions on contingency allocation and mitigation priorities.
• Sustainable Capability Uplift – TBH’s training and mentoring embedded risk management knowledge within Sydney Water’s delivery teams, ensuring long-term resilience and continuous improvement.
• Scalable Framework for Future Projects – The methodologies and templates developed under this engagement now form the foundation for risk management across Sydney Water’s future major projects and programs.