Complexity Mapping for Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure: The Doppler Radar in Puerto Rico Case Study

The Doppler radar located in Cayey, Puerto Rico is a critical tool in early weather forecasting. During Hurricane Maria in September 2017, the radar was destroyed as the result of the strong winds. An X-band radar was used as a temporary solution. X-band radar have limited range in comparison with Doppler radars. On June 2018, a new Doppler radar was built and forecasting services were fully restored. This paper uses a five-dimensional project management model (5DPM) and complexity maps to identify and manage the sources of complexity in restoring the radar's functionality and maintaining capacity. When looking at the radar individually, it can be concluded that the radar is fully restored. However, rebuilding the radar is different than providing a resilient and sustainable capacity. In order to ensure that the radar remains functional during and after an adverse natural event, ensuring that the radar suffers no damage is not enough. One has to expand the project́s footprint and use a whole systems approach to look at the project within the framework of supporting critical infrastructure, thus increasing the project́s complexity. For example, the radar has a power generator to supply energy in case of an electrical power failure. During a prolonged power failure, the radar may run out of fuel. If the roads and bridges are damaged, access to the site may be blocked, which compromises the radar's functionality. Based on the complexity analysis, it can be concluded that while the reconstruction of the Doppler radar to restore its functionality has finished, ensuring that it maintains capability to adequately warn Puerto Rico residents of weather events during and after a natural disaster still needs to be addressed. Hurricane Maria increased awareness regarding Puerto Rico's critical infrastructure vulnerabilities. The lessons learned from the natural disaster can be used to develop and implement a whole systems approach to design and build resilient and sustainable infrastructure. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by demonstrating the concept of applying 5DPM to both individual projects and integrated systems. It moves restoration of services from a project specific basis to capacity maintenance mode, which looks at whole systems approach thus expanding the complexity footprint. This global focus ensures that critical infrastructure is resilient and sustainable.