Project Management Pathways - Process Steam Boiler Conversion - Term Paper Example

? Process Steam Boiler Conversion Project A Case Study in Project Planning and Control Module Project Management of Hull Outline The considerations and produce a risk analysis Critical Path Analysis and Gantt chart Schedule of activities Crashing The considerations and produce a risk analysis The project management process helps organizations to work within these constraints to ensure the success of their projects. Project management requirements are significant and planned by a well-defined team that has the technical capacity to work within the defined boundaries. However, when these disciplines are not followed clearly, the project is likely to slip or all together fail resulting in loss of money and a dented reputation. Failed projects have a colossal negative impact to any business, especially due to the time and resources spent. Ensuring that the project management process continues in a successful manner, tools are available to support and ensure that the aspects of project integration, time, cost, quality, as well as human resources are effectively covered. The project charter for instance is a very important document that is prepared to support a successful project management process (Schwalbe, 2009). This lays the framework for the project management process and remains a strong reference point during the progress of the project. Lack of a project charter reflects negatively on the project and can adversely affect its success. Scheduling under project time management can be demonstrated using scheduling chart tools such as Gantt chart and critical path method (CPM). During project activity documentation, the project manager can use illustrations and diagrams to ensure that communication is well effected among the members of a project team and with other stakeholders. Charts are used to ensure that information is accurately passed across to the target audience. Another common tool in use in scheduling is the project evaluation and review technique (PERT) which is an analysis tool that can also be used by the manager to schedule the project’s activities. The most important key to successful and effective project management is through planning. A logically constructed and orderly plan is essential to direct any type of project and to help in preparing a report from conception through completion. The key to good planning is in its turn founded on clearly defined project objectives. For instance, project planning can begin with the identification of the client's needs, the development of a budget and work schedule that fit these needs, and the planning for resources, including staff and materials. The setting up of a clearly defined project proposal plan is therefore very useful from the beginning as it can help ensure that matters as a technically capable staff and an adequate budget are part of the process. The understanding of the assumptions is important given how the expectations for the final results of the project are based on the initial suppositions made. Furthermore, changing assumptions throughout the project can bring about lack of satisfaction about the final results among the senior management; a scenario that is rather frequent in the project management field. Therefore, and despite the fact that project length remains a critical factor in the eventual extent of satisfaction exhibited with regard to the final results, assumptions should be documented at project initiation and throughout using the project charter as a possible means. The project manager should from then on continue to challenge and revalidate the assumptions to ensure that the project is either redirected towards a different set of objectives or simply terminated fully in the event of changing assumptions. Among the assumptions that need to be considered are related to both enterprise environmental factors as well as organizational process assets. Assumptions related to the external environment, and which can affect any given project and should be therefore taken well into account, include for instance interest rates, changing customer demands and requirements, technology changes, market conditions, and even government policies. The assumptions about present or future company aspects which can impact the progress of a project include on the other hand the capability of a company's enterprise project management methodology, checklists, guidelines, forms, templates, and the project management information system. Other keys to effective project planning include the right sampling of the most effective people for the job. In fact, this is in many ways one of the most important first steps in building a human resource plan for one's organization or project. As a project manager you need therefore to determine the desired background of your team by setting up certain standards and requirements. This can include for example a specific amount of experience, knowledge and skills, the availability of the team and the ability of the assembled members to work well within a team environment. These set of standards will generally help in minimizing the number of possible candidates and the selection of the appropriate ones. Additionally, among the important considerations in building a project team is to establish the rule that, except for some very technical people, each key member should have a good understanding of the business. The presence of business analysts who can work with organizational people and talk about business in a well-informed manner is one of the most essential ways through which to build the real credibility of the organization. Moreover, as a project manager it is important to maintain a certain flexibility with regard to the membership of the core team as this might change slightly from one phase of the project to the next. For example, a certain employee might be the team leader for the testing plan during the planning phase, but can be overshadowed by another during the execution phase of the project. The change is greatly dependent on the initiative, skills, and expertise of the workers involved. What is however most important to remember is the need to maintain, throughout the project, a team that consists out of one's most trusted employees and central advisors. Knowing one's colleagues in such a manner is very beneficial to the maintenance of a positive work atmosphere, which is in is turn essential for the emotional happiness and productivity of the employees. In addition to all the aforementioned, it is also crucial for a project manager to maintain focus of the relevant and applicable issues within his team, organization, or project. The focus on including the latest technological trends or tools as a way of modernizing one's way of conducting business can be for example often be a source of obstruction, rather than advancement. This is due to the fact that these technological trends or new tools are generally mostly useful when applied to address a certain need or problem. This rule is also applicable with regard to aspects as a new scheduling tool, risk management process, or project review methodology. In general, it is first important to identify a problem before using any of the abovementioned as a solution. The act of reversing this rule can only create undesired and unnecessary obstacles to one's project's progress. In short, the keys to the successful planning of any project are diverse and numerous. It remains however clear that planning is the most central aspect of the success of any project. Planning one's time, budget, team, resources, goals, and ultimate deliverables is primary to the avoidance of any undesirable hindrances. Remaining pertinent to the task at hand is also part of the planning procedure of any project. This can be done through the entrance of accurate project information, including the linkage of tasks and duration and their assignment to the relevant material or human resources. Furthermore, identifying one's expectations and assumptions from the beginning can help in providing guidance and in the setting of specific goals which can be very useful by empowering the employees through a sense of achievement at the successful completion of a task. Yet, though planning is integral to the ability to finalize a project successfully, it is similarly important to remain flexible. This can enable a project manager to adjust a project plan to meet net requirements, proposals, or needs throughout each phase of the project. For instance, if it becomes clear that the limitations for the project deadline or budget will be exceeded by the calculated finish date, certain adjustments will be necessary. Thus, a combination of planning and a flexible and adaptive outlook are both essential to the successful completion of any project. The project manager must also be aware of all or most of the resources available to the project before kickoff and during the life cycle. The resources here may include people, equipment, and funds. Having this perspective helps the project manager to determine the amount of money committed to the project by the project sponsors. Based on this, the project manager can use project budgeting tools to draw up an acceptable budget that will get the approval of the project sponsors. It is always desirable that the project budget is pegged to the actual money availed by the project sponsors. Financial costing and other financially related matters in any project are critical. Effectively managing these factors determines the success of the project. A project manager should be able to professionally constitute a project management team that is able to employ “cost estimation tools and techniques” (Schwalbe, 2009, p.263). A variety of financial oriented tools may be used within a project. Some can be integrated as applications while others are specific and stand-alone. The conventional tools such as the net present value (NPV) which uses cash flows, investment rate of return (IRR), and the annual percentage yield (APY) are among the tools used to determine the financial value of the project undertaken. A project is always initiated to fulfil an objective for the business. As such the project manager must be able to elicit and interpret this objective to formulate acceptable project objectives. These objectives remain an important reference throughout the project’s life cycle. Deviations are noted and effectively addressed by the project manager thereby keeping the project within the sponsor’s or beneficiary’s requirements. Project management remains an important exercise whenever a project is undertaken. The size and complexity of the project can be addressed satisfactorily if the project management approach is used. However, it can be noted that the management process itself spreads out to cover other aspects of the project. It is important for the project manager and team to address these integration issues independently. This is based on the assumption that the project consists of various components that must eventually be integrated. This integration is going to result into the complete system that represents the whole project. An effective project manager must consider costing as one of the essential elements of any project. Indeed costing in projects is among the most essential exercises. This process can determine the financial viability of a project as well as lay a foundation on which future projections can be made. This exercise helps the stakeholders beforehand to assess the financial benefits that accrue from the implementation of the project. Risk assessment is one area that within risk management which is more involved with the identification and rating of risks that can be incurred during the whole project. This step is important in order to reduce any chances of complete failure of the project due to unforeseen circumstances which would otherwise have been avoided in the first place (Cheruiyot, 25). Risks may manifest themselves through the lack of proper planning of the whole project and requires much emphasis in the course of the project. Risks can result in projects total failure, late implementation, poor quality delivery and suspension of project activities. It is therefore imperative that project risks are managed through a pre-planned alleviation plans. For the effective alleviation of risks, the project has classified risks into three classes; highly expected, most expected and Unexpected. Highly expected risks are those whose probability of happening is more than 50% hence the project steering committee has to put in place, alleviation measures. For the most expected risks, their chances of occurrence are less than 50% but their effects might be substantial hence requiring proper alleviation plan. For the unexpected risks, no alleviation measures are put in place. The project is susceptible to numerous risks and the table below indicates these risks and their vulnerabilities (Verzuh, 125). It also indicates the counter active measures that can be undertaken in order to mitigate the risks. Risk Probability of occurrence Alleviation measures Failure of supplier to supply standard Most expected The management has identify the equipment before being shipped to the plant Faulty plans Most expected The management has ensured that a team of Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers and Welding Engineers Under the project well before working on it. Project duration exceeded Most expected Management has dedicated a project manager to tightly manage the project.  Pirates hijacking  Most expected  Contact the navy officials combating Somali pirates in Indian ocean.   Part 2 Critical Path Analysis and Gantt chart Network diagram and Critical Path Analysis Critical path will be 4-5-6-8-10-11-13-14-19-21. The activities are Manufacture parts and transport to UK port Ship components to local port Clear local customs and transfer components to site Modify control mechanisms and safety systems Cut boiler casing for gas burners Install gas burners Install flame detectors Install flame detector cabling Commission safety systems Fire boiler and full load test Produce a resource histogram for each of the four labour categories. Identify any resource overloads and make suggestions to reconcile these. Identify the maximum size of the local workforce required. Part 4 – CRASHING Requisitions also reduce the appropriations available at each stage of the project therefore any cases of overspending are noticed and rectified. It also facilitates the control of funds and their usage. The appropriation is made for specific aspects of the project and has to be used for that. This reduces the possibility of the project going beyond the agreed cost therefore the risk of financial damages and loss is lowered significantly by having purchase requisitions. The contractor has to use an up to date network diagram for the project, which acts as the basis for approving the requisitions made in the course of the project. The amount used has to concur with the amount shown on the network diagram for the project in order to facilitate payments. The economic consideration for the project is as follows; No Description Normal Duration (Days) Total Cost at normal duration (?’s) Minimum Duration after crash (Days) Total Costs If crashed (?’s) Revenue 9000 per day Net Savings loss 1 Transport expatriate workers to site 3 10,000 2 16,000 - - 2 Allow plant cool down period 2 0 1 8,000 - 5 Ship components to local port 21 3,000 5 28,000 144,000 119,000 6 Clear local customs and transfer components to site 15 2,000 10 4,500 45000 42500 11 Install gas burners 28 25,000 24 85,000 36000 (24000) 14 Install flame detector cabling 3 10,000 2 15,000 9000 4000 Only activity 5 and 6 will be crashed, as the other will not bring any benefits to the organisation. Activity 11 will bring a loss of 24000 while activity will no longer be critical as the critical path will have changed. The new network diagram will be Network diagram and Critical Path Analysis Critical path will be 4-5-6-8-10-11-13-15-16-20-21. The activities are Manufacture parts and transport to UK port Ship components to local port Clear local customs and transfer components to site Modify control mechanisms and safety systems Cut boiler casing for gas burners Install gas burners Install flame detectors Fit thermal insulation around burner Fit gas valves to burners Pressure test gas lines Fire boiler and full load test References Lewis, P. J., 2002. Fundamentals of project management. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Lewis R. (2006). Project Management. McGraw-Hill Professional. Martin,S. (2002). Project Management Pathways. Association for Project Management. APM Publishing Limited. Philips, J. (2003). PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. McGraw-Hill Professional. Schwalbe, K. (2009). Information technology project management (6th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Course Technology. Young, H.K. (2005). A brief history of Project Management. In: The story of managing projects. Greenwood Publishing Group. Task Description Pred Duration (Days) Elec Eng Mech Eng Welder Labourer 1 Transport expatriate workers to site - 3 4 6 4 0 2 Allow plant cool down period - 2 0 0 0 0 3 External installation of gas supply - 21 0 0 0 0 4 Manufacture parts and transport to UK port - 21 0 0 0 0 5 Ship components to local port 4 21 0 0 0 0 6 Clear local customs and transfer components to site 5 15 0 0 0 0 7 Conduct structural survey 1 5 2 2 0 4 8 Modify control mechanisms and safety systems 1,6 10 4 2 0 2 9 Strip out oil burners 1,2 15 0 2 2 4 10 Cut boiler casing for gas burners 7,8,9 4 0 1 2 0 11 Install gas burners 10 28 2 4 2 4 12 Install gas pipe work 11 21 0 2 2 2 13 Install flame detectors 11 3 2 2 0 0 14 Install flame detector cabling 13 3 4 0 0 0 15 Fit thermal insulation around burner 13 3 0 1 0 4 16 Fit gas valves to burners 15 7 0 2 2 2 17 Prepare connection to existing gas supply 3 15 0 2 2 2 18 Make connection to gas supply 12,17 3 0 2 4 2 19 Commission safety systems 14 21 4 0 0 0 20 Pressure test gas lines 16 15 0 4 0 2 21 Fire boiler and full load test 6,18,19,20 2 4 4 0 0 Read More