European Spallation Source

Skanska wanted to create a world‑class research campus in Sweden, designed through an extraordinary collaboration of scientific, engineering and infrastructure teams across Europe.

To deliver 25 buildings, all moving at different stages, the project required a shared, structured framework to guide decisions and manage schedules.

Managing complexity across a major research campus

Over three years, our project and programme delivery team worked closely with stakeholders, designers and delivery teams to bring greater consistency and coordination to every stage of the design process. Working on behalf of the client, Skanska, we defined the processes, team structures and reporting needed to steer a programme of this scale and technical complexity.

Global teams, coordinated delivery

With multiple buildings progressing at different stages, maintaining momentum required clear decision‑making and realistic planning. A programme of this scale needed more than schedules and technical reviews – it required a shared, structured framework for how decisions would be made across teams working in different time zones.

Using FLOW, our company‑built integrated scheduling system, we coordinated design and procurement schedules across all disciplines. Our team worked with designers and construction teams to optimise sequencing and release phased construction packages.

Maintaining momentum across multiple time zones

To support consistent progress, our project and programme delivery team established the Baseline Team – a dedicated function responsible for capturing and managing stakeholder technical requirements. We developed schedules, progress reporting and risk management processes, while analysing scheduling risks, technical constraints and alternative construction approaches, including those shaped by the project’s nuclear facility requirements.

We also facilitated workshops with the client, design teams and interfacing stakeholders to map the campus’s complexity and create a more integrated, predictable way of working. From there, we helped formalise the owner review and approval process, embedding it into integrated design and procurement schedules across all projects and phases.

Milestone alignment workshops brought stakeholders together around target costs and contract agreements, while scenario planning provided assurance around the critical “beam on target” milestone.

A research facility built for the future

The European Spallation Source represents a long‑term investment in scientific research, collaboration and discovery across Europe. Behind the specialist infrastructure is a programme that depended on people working clearly, consistently and with a shared understanding of what needed to happen next.

By establishing governance structures, streamlining reporting and coordinating complex design activity, we helped shape a programme that balanced technical ambition with practical delivery. The result was a clearer, more assured path through a highly demanding project, enabling international teams to move forward with purpose at every stage.