Managing Customer and Suppliers - Assignment Example

?Impact of the theory of six rights on the construction of the Aquatics Centre for Balfour Beatty Table of contents Introduction______________________________________________________ 2 2. Background ______________________________________________________2 3. Time ____________________________________________________________3 4. Quality __________________________________________________________5 5. Quantity_________________________________________________________ 6 6. Price ____________________________________________________________7 7. Place____________________________________________________________7 8. Item ____________________________________________________________7 9. Conclusion _______________________________________________________9 10. References ______________________________________________________10 Impact of the theory of six rights on the construction of the Aquatics Centre for Balfour Beatty Introduction The theory of the six rights clearly states the importance of supplying customer satisfaction by following six basic standards including timely delivery, quality and quantity assurance and price, place and item standardization. All suppliers, manufacturers and service providers try to follow these basic guidelines for success. Background The planning for the 2012 London Olympics have led to great amends and development in the London area and the transformation of the heart of East London by the development of the Olympics village. The total budget of 5254 million pounds was initially allocated for the Olympic Development Association (Sean Dodd, 2010)and Balfour Beatty, the large British infrastructure provider, won the contract for building the 17500 seater Aquatics centre. The company is an imminent infrastructure provider whose key aim is to continue reliable and responsible growth in shareholder value. (Beatty, 2008). Some of the most high profile projects of the company included Arsenal Emirates Stadium and the Terminal 5 of the Heathrow airport. For the aquatics centre, the key requirements of the Olympics had to be fulfilled within a certain time limit and a budget and the strict observation of both of them was essential. The project was to include different training and warming pools, adjustable spectator areas, changing areas and a cafe. Other requirements included the building to be sustainable with as little impact on the environment as well. This is besides the fact that the development and the functioning are expected to be extremely safe and family friendly. Thus different user rights for satisfaction of the Olympians and spectators in particular and the public in general have to be fulfilled. Balfour Beatty has to ensure that these basic rights are not compromised on any occasion during construction and the following functioning. Following of these six rights is not only a stringent requirement of the contract providers but is also essential for the efficiency and increased productivity of Balfour Beatty. Time The time frame of the project is extremely crucial as it is no ordinary airport or building but an event centre being developed for a certain event. Thus it has to be ensured that the project is fully completed well before 2012 and the proposed deadline is 2011. (Balfour Beatty wins 2012 Aquatic centre, 2008). The time limit posed also tests Balfour Beatty's commitment to its projects as it measures its efficiency. The deadline of projection completion in 2011 also prevents any extra costs as late deliveries and late processing always spiral the cost of construction. Timely supply chain management, which is Balfour Beatty's trademark also reduces the cost by increasing the lead time while ordering and the just in time inventory assures that storage costs are further decreased. Thus the project time line if followed suitably will allow the project to be completed well within the proposed budget generating good revenues for the company. The most recent development showed that the Aquatics centre will be completed in 7 months which is almost a year ahead of the schedule. (Tobin, 2010) This is a landmark achievement for both Balfour Beatty and the London Olympics. Quality The development of an international Olympics project has to be complied with the highest standards ever. The project has to be of premium quality with the best material available to be used. The quality of the project can be maintained by Total Quality management (TQM) which involves continuous improvement and development to assure both process efficiency and high outcome standards. This TQM approach is embedded in all phases of the project from conception to completion (Project Management knowledge)and Balfour Beatty will have to ensure supplying of premium raw materials, best design and construction policies, prevention of employee and public harm and the final emergence of an arena which complies with all quality standards. Balfour Beatty possessed the resources to comply with these standards which is also evident from its policies and strategies. Sustainable development is both a policy of the Olympics Development Association (ODA) and Balfour Beatty. For this purpose only management of waste, energy, ecology, procurement, topography and sustainable development has been ensures. 90% of the waste found or created will be recycled. (Sean Dodd, 2010). For the aquatics centre it is planned that water of the pools will be reused in flushing. Balfour Beatty also excels in sustainable development as it is one of the very few companies to achieve Full Project’ Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification. This certification implies that only certified, sustainable and legal timber is used in the building of the project thus reducing the impact on the environment. Balfour Beatty also has to its credits the development of the greenest swimming pool in the UK. This has been achieved by ensuring minimum energy wastage by using super insulated fabric. It also allows for water conservation by harvesting rain water from the building only. If these strategies are used by Balfour Beatty in the current project, the negative impact of the huge project can be brought to a minimum. (Balfour Beatty construction) Quantity The demand quantity required is quite obvious for Balfour Beatty but the supply quantity will have to be monitored to avoid wastage and other associated losses of over or under ordering. Inventory levels for raw materials have to be carefully selected as too much inventory will lead to storage and resulting cost issues. Selecting too less inventory levels will lead to the reordering process which will again lead to added costs. Thus a proper linkage of supply and demand has to be created to avoid wastage of raw material and other resources. Balfour Beatty also has to ensure that the quantity of the projects promised is delivered wholly and in a timely fashion. Price Budget is both an issue and a non issue for the Olympics centre. The initial budget for the Aquatics centre was ?75 million but since the entire Olympics budget has multiplied so the budget for the Aquatics centre has also been increased to ?303 million. (Moore, 2008) The new budget has to be adhered to since last minute alterations can prove more costly than expected. Balfour Beatty if constrains itself well within the budget can make a reasonable profit, generate enough revenue and provide satisfaction both to the customer and ward of criticisms of being beyond extravagant. Place The location for the Aquatics centre is already determined. It is to be located at the pathway for the Olympics village. It marks the entrance to the Olympic Park from Stratford. (The battle to build for the best). The main challenge for Balfour Beatty is the correct planning and location of the different areas within the location. This involves decisions regarding location of changing rooms, cafes and the pools along with the strategic placement of bridges and other transport facilities. The place of all these should ensure proper utilization of space and convenience of the spectators, athletes and media. Item Item specification forms the simplest part of conformation with the six rights. Balfour Beatty has to ensure that it constructs and provides all the specified developments in the contract. Thus the project has to include as per contract (ASA) A 50m by 10 lane competition pool with has a depth of 3m and a bulkhead, moveable floor and spectator seating for 2500 people is provided which can be expanded to 3500 people when requirements arise Another diving pool of 25m by 21m is to be constructed again with a moveable floor, spring boards and multiple range platforms which comply with international standards. Another 50m by 8 lane training pool with bulkheads and a moveable floor. Ancillary matters, timing recorders, changing rooms and dry land provision. A cafe The construction of all these buildings and adequate supplying of these with the necessary resources and compliance with international specifications will mean that item conformance has been achieved. Conclusion Balfour Beatty is no newcomer into the construction world. Thus it knows how to appease customers while delivering a minimum possible impact on the environment. The case of the London Aquatics centre is no different. The only difference lies in the time frame which is shorter than those of such large scale projects and it will greatly test the company's efficiency and vigilance in all matters including construction expertise, management and organization. Balfour Beatty can assure this by sticking to customer satisfaction values of timely delivery of the right quality, right quantity at the right place and at the right price References ASA. The London Aquatic Centre – Legacy Use. London: The asa. Balfour Beatty construction. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2011, from www.bbcl.co.uk: http://www.bbcl.co.uk/sustainable/enviro.html#aquatic Balfour Beatty wins 2012 Aquatic centre. (2008, April 8). Retrieved January 19, 2011, from www.builderand engineer.com: http://www.builderandengineer.co.uk/news/contracts/balfour-beatty-wins-2012-aquatics-centre-1829.html Beatty, B. (2008). London 2012: Key contractor information, Balfour Beatty. PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Moore, R. (2008, July 8). The games need Zaha's icon. Retrieved January 19, 2011, from www.thisislondon.co.uk: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23512722-the-games-need-zahas-icon.do Project Management knowledge. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2011, from /project-management-knowledge.com: http://project-management-knowledge.com/definitions/t/total-quality-management-tqm/ Sean Dodd, V. S. (2010). MEGA-PROJECT MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE LONDON OLYMPIC. London: UK academy for Information Systems. The battle to build for the best. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2011, from www.hostcity.co.uk: http://www.hostcity.co.uk/features/venues/aqua.html Tobin, L. (2010, November 11). Olympic pool project is going swimmingly for Balfour. Retrieved January 19, 2011, from www.standard.co.uk: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23896813-olympic-pool-project-is-going-swimmingly-for-balfour.do Read More