Martin Barnes (engineer)

Nicholas Martin Limer Barnes^[1] (18 January 1939 – 5 February 2022) was a noted British civil engineer and project manager^[2]

Life and career

From 2008 he chaired an independent dispute avoidance panel set up to avert contractual disputes on work to build facilities for the 2012 London Olympic Games.^[3]

Barnes died on 5 February 2022, at the age of 83.^[4]

Achievements

The project management triangle

However, the project management triangle is considered insufficient by some writers as a model of project success, because it omits crucial dimensions of success including impact on stakeholders, learning, and user satisfaction.^[5] Subsequently, several enhancements of the basic triple constraints have been proposed such as the diamond framework,^[6] the pyramid model, six or multiple constraints and the theory of constraints.^[5]

Peter Higgins, Chair of the NEC Contract Board, recalls that he was "immediately struck by Martin’s depth of knowledge and commitment to developing a better way of contracting – through collaboration".^[7]

The former "NEC awards", awarded in 7 categories which aim to "recognise excellence in project delivery and showcase examples of good practice through collaboration from across the world", were renamed as the "Martin Barnes Awards" in 2022.^[8]