Project Specification Based on Reengineering Construction Business Processes through Electronic Data Management - Research Proposal Example

1. Outline of the Project Environment The success of a construction project depends on careful planning and execution.. An important aspect of the project is the workflow management. Introduction of Electronic Data Management (EDM) will lead to quick and purposeful decisions. The main problems of a project are to plan its productivity and capacity and to eliminate waste. The company has already introduced limited EDM and this study will attempt to identify the type of EDM suitable to address these problems 2. The Presenting Problem to be Solved The general objective of the study is to identify the operation planning and control system which is in place at the company and the possibility of changes that are expected in the future. The need is to determine the importance of Planning and Control, to find out the advantage and significance of implementation, to locate the strength and weakness of the system and to solicit recommendation from stakeholders to strengthen the system and seek support for it. 3. Target Based on the study and research on the literature that is available, a comprehensive research is to be made by conducting a survey and later an analysis of the data collected to cross check the validity of the theoretical aspects on the practical implications that exist in the modern day operational planning and control. 4. Outcome, Actors and Data Spotlight Construction is not just routine erection of assets. It is a method of devising safety and raising the quality standard by improving the site’s operational standards. Just erections and annual maintenance is not going to improve the assets performance but enhancements by improvement by introducing better systems of doing so are part and parcel of the project. The main objective of the project is to plan its productivity and capacity for a longer period and waste elimination. Elimination is impossible, but reduction is not. It has been successfully achieved in other industries and can be emulated here as well. An important aspect of the project is the workflow management. As against the Product work flow this is quite different. For starters it is over a much shorter period and therefore needs to be planned more carefully as any thing missed will be overlooked and will be left out or will be done at great cost and time. Secondly since no Production is actually involved the sequence will follow a different trend and people will have to reorient themselves to a new schedule of tasks. Thirdly, other outsiders will be involved and will be interfering in the normal work area of regular workers and this has to be understood as a beneficial involvement and accepted in good faith. Conflicts may arise like speed vs. quality, reliability vs. work scope, and safety vs. productivity; but they have to be resolved for the sake of objectivity. 5. Constraints Single or sample case studies are required to be conducted to identify the nature of the work that has been done and required to be done in order to collect the right set of information, the work can be in single or in multiple cases even for the sample lot (Yin, 1984). In order to understand the entire set of work that has to be carried out, it is generally a practice to conduct a pilot study to know the impact of the case study and whether the approach is in right direction. The discussion and case study covers the entire depth and scope of the study, in many cases, primarily addressing the need to confirm a hypothesis (Bent Flyvbjerg, 2006). While designing case studies according to Yin (1984) major linkages need to be taken care of. They are the study questions and propositions that are being held for this study to identify whether these are validated or invalidated. These factors form the core of the case study that has to be carried out and then later on analyzed. The case study methodology follows a standard practice in most cases and these have to be respected if scientific results are too expected be derived out of it (Yin, 1984). A typical case study for the research purposes should be having an overview of the case study project with field Procedure and case questions as well as a guide for the case study reports. 6. The Research Question Since interviews are qualitative in nature, it is important that the questions bring out as many direct an answer as possible (William Trochim, 2006). During interviews data is collected in such a manner that the analysis is made easier. Data collected should be sharp and to the point and the directing central questions should be clearly identified and followed. Bogdan and Biklin (1998) suggest practical steps for data analysis of the interview information. The following questions are proposed for purpose of research: 1. What are the planning and control system being implemented currently? 2. Is the system relevant in your company? 3. Do you find Planning and control useful in execution of your work? 4. From 1 to 10 with 1 being the highest, how do you rate the effectiveness of the system? 5. What are the strong and weak areas’s of the system? 6. Should the system be improved or replaced? 7. Breakdown of Tasks The target company is a case study and follows the rules to conduct a case study as exemplified by Yin (1984). The study conducted is a single case study whereas a multiple study would have improved the strength of the results obtained. A single case design is not, naturally, as strong as the multiple cases that could be considered in a given situation. Yin (1984) indicates that the multiple case studies are better to do since the results are more dependable. Where such qualitative data collection is to be done, it is better to have case study conducted which would give the ideas of a number of employees are identified and feedback to the management or decision makers in the case (Feagin, Orum & Sjoberg, 1991). A case study would provide more information on the qualitative aspects of the research than an interview or a discussion with the respective people and information sources identified. Qualitative data analysis can be conducted using any of the methods like Action and Participatory Action Research Methods, Ethno methodology and Conversation Analysis, Event Structure Analysis, Narrative Inquiry Phenomenography and Phenomenology, Q Methodology and Personal Construction Psychology However, the entire research may be carried out using the following roadmap: A design of the case study of the target company is to be carried out. Based on the design, a set of questions are prepared and is followed by a direct interview. Answers from the interview are used for establishing the nature of practices that is in place at the company, its advantages and disadvantages are listed based on this in a textual fashion. This is further analyzed and the results are presented. 8. Problem-solving approach The case study methodology follows a standard practice in most cases and these have to be respected if scientific results are too expected be derived out of it (Yin, 1984). A typical case study for the research purposes should be having an overview of the case study project with field Procedure and case questions as well as a guide for the case study reports. The over view of the case study should indicate the objectives, issues and the topics of the case study. It will also ensure that the reader knows about the topic and the purpose of the story as much as any other person in the company. Appropriate procedures have to be laid down for collecting the data and bring it for further analysis in the field procedures. Every case study would involve a number of questions followed by the guide to the case study reports. The case study questions will be decided by the framer of the questions. 9. Outline of Literature Review Operational planning of labor, material, and machinery is necessary to achieve the best possible product mix ratios. Jatinder N D Gupta, et al., (5 June 2006) suggest that a number of systems and equations are systematically adopted and are used for maximizing production plans and control. Ansoff (1977) stated that formal planning systems have always existed in businesses. Successful companies have always been practicing sound and quality planning. According to Sord and Welsch (1958), poor planning will lead to failure in the organizations. There are also cases where the planning is affected by the quality of goods supplied to the company by the vendors especially in case of natural resources like minerals (Ahmetzyanov, A.V. et al., Aug 2002). Lawrence and Lorsch (1967) proposed that firms have to determine the normal operating cycle of the department before proceeding to the succeeding stages of operational planning. Keywords: Strategic Adaptation. Civil Construction. Strategic Change Bibliography Ansoff, H. I. (1977). Estratégia empresarial. São Paulo: McGraw-Hill, 230 pp. Ahmetzyanof, A V and Kulibaov V N Aug 2002, Operational Planning and Control of Oil Production in Oil Field Development, Springer Science+Business Media LLC, Vol 63 No. 8, pp 1209-1216. Bogdan R. B. & Biklin, S. K., 1998, Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods, Third Edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Feagin, J., , A. & Sjoberg, G. (1991). A Case for the Case Study. North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, pp. 1-7. Flyvbjerg, Bent April 2006, Five Misunderstandings About Case Study Research, Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 219-245 Gupta, Jatinder N D et al, 5 June 2006, Operational Planning and control of Semiconductor Wafer Production, available at: http://www.upv.es/gio/rruiz/files/Gupta1.pdf#search=%22operational%20planning%20and%20control%22 Lawrence, P and Lorsch, J. (1967). Organization and Environment. Boston: Harvard Business School Sord, B. and Welsch, G. (1958). Business Budgeting: A Survey of Management Planning and Control Practices. New York: Controllership Foundation. Yin, R., 1984, Case study research: Design and methods (1st ed.), Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publishing, pp. 1-106 Trochim, William M K 2006, Research Methods Knowledge base, available at: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/intrview.htm Read More