Network Diagram for Mosswood Ltd - Assignment Example

Task Network diagram for Mosswood Ltd Draw the Network diagram The network diagram- wherein the red nodes represent the critical path Representation of the Activity node: The actual values of ES (Early start), EF(Early Finish), LS(Late start), LF(Late Finish), Duration and Float have been worked out in the table below: Table 1 Activity (Tasks) Duration (Days) Preceded By ES/EF(Days) LS/LF(Days) Float(Days) Start 0 - 0/0 24/24 0 A 4 Start 0/4 24/28 0 B 1 A 4/5 28/29 0 C 2 B 5/7 29/31 0 D 5 C 7/12 31/36 0 E 1 D 12/13 45/46 33 F 6 D 13/19 40/46 27 G 8 D 19/27 38/46 19 H 10 D 27/37 36/46 0 I 10 E, F, G, H 37/47 46/56 0 J 4 I 47/51 56/60 0 K 1 J 51/52 69/70 18 L 6 J 52/58 64/70 12 M 10 J 58/68 60/70 0 N 2 J 68/70 68/70 0 O 4 K, L, M, N 70/74 70/74 0 P 1 O 74/75 74/75 0 Q 1 P 75/76 75/76 0 Finish 0 Q 76/76 76/76 0 2) Determination of timing of activities and the total float The timing of activities are calculated as follows: As shown in the table above, the ES for an activity has been calculated as the Maximum EF of all the preceding activities. Thus the ES for start is 0 as there is no preceding activity. While EF has been calculated as EF=ES+duration, thus the ES for the start is 0 as the duration for start is also 0. The ES for activity A is calculated as zero since the preceding activity is start and the EF of start is zero. EF of activity A is calculated as 4, since the duration for the same is 4. Similarly, the EF and ES for subsequent activities are calculated and shown in the table. The LF of an activity has been taken as the minimum LS of all the successor activities, whereas the LS is calculated as LS=LF-duration. For the ‘Finish’ the LF is taken as equal to EF as the duration is zero. Thus the LS for finish = 0-duration=0, similarly the LF and LS for the last activity to first activity are calculated backwards. The float is defined as the excess time available for the completion of an activity. The activity if late by time equal to float time, does not have any effect on the total project duration. The tasks on critical path have a zero float by definition. Thus the other tasks will have a float. The total float is the total of all the float times of all the non critical tasks of the project. The float times have been calculated in the table above (Field & Keller 1998). 3) The project duration was calculated by first listing the possible project paths with path durations and then identifying the longest path as the critical path. The same is shown below: Available paths and durations: ABCD E IJKOPQ 34 ABCD F IJKOPQ 39 ABCD GIJKOPQ 41 ABCD HIJKOPQ 43 ABCD E IJLOPQ 39 ABCD F IJLOPQ 44 ABCD GIJLOPQ 46 ABCD HIJLOPQ 48 ABCD EIJMOPQ 43 ABCD GIJMOPQ 50 ABCD HIJMOPQ 52 ABCD E IJMOPQ 43 ABCD F IJNOPQ 40 ABCD GIJNOPQ 42 ABCD HIJNOPQ 44 ABCD EIJNOPQ 35 As seen above, the Critical path is identified as ABCDHIJMOPQ The tasks on the critical path have by definition a float equal to zero. However, the non critical tasks are E,F,G,K,L AND N 4) Assuming the project starts on Monday May 7 2012, and work week of five days, the project completion date shall be calculated as follows: The total number of days for project completion as calculated in the Table 1 is 76, assuming no drastic changes in the project schedule. The EF or early finish time subsequently calculated has been taken as the total project duration. Further the total number of five workday weeks = 76/5=15.2 The total number of additional days = 15.2*2=30.4 Thus the Project shall be completed in 76+30.4 =106.4 or 107 Calendar days. Therefore the project shall be completed by August 22, 2012. 5) a. In case the activity F is delayed one day, the project duration remains unchanged, since the activity F is not on the critical path. There is a positive float associated with this activity. b. Similarly, if the activity N is delayed by one day, the project duration again remains unchanged, since it does not lie on the critical path. c. Incase the activity O is completed one day earlier, the project duration shall be reduced by a day, since the activity lies on the critical path, wherein the float is zero. 6) The limitations of network diagrams: a. The network diagrams are cumbersome and tedious to create and are not suitable for very large or complex projects, wherein the number of activities runs in to hundreds. b. The network charts tend to be very large and also require a special size paper to print. c. The network charts are not easily adaptable for smaller projects (Philips 2004). Task 2: Project Report for new Building project for Knight Ltd.: Introduction or Executive Summary: The present report is supposed to serve as a sound basis for understanding, appreciating and successfully implementing the new building project by Knight Ltd. The project is concerned with acquiring and preparing the newly acquired building for effective management of its operations by Knight Ltd. Knight Ltd is an SME company that specializes in the design and supply of exhibition banners to various organizations. As a consultant to manage the project as mentioned above, the key deliverables have been identified. This building which Knight Ltd. recently acquired is 35,000 square meters in area. This new building has been acquired with the aim of targeting the large global organizations and fulfilling their special demands for service. The deliverables have further been linked to the key activities that are to be performed towards achieving the project goals. Thus a work breakdown structure identified. The present report seeks to validate and implement the findings of a study conducted to assess the project feasibility. The execution of the project within time and budged deadlines has been proposed as established under project planning for the same. The project lifecycle has been established. The report identifies the various stages of the project and proposes a time and budget schedule for the same based on the feasibility study inputs. The report identifies the concerns pertaining to the implementation of the project. Also, it proposes remedies for the same. Based on the feasibility studies, the project goals or top levels of the work breakdown have been identified as follows: Equipment of the newly acquired building as ready in terms of plant and equipment necessary for the proposed operations under the expansion plan: Hiring and management of newly hired staff for successful launch of the operations in the new warehouse and office: Implementation of a Public relations plan to ensure smooth launch of operations and addressing of the stakeholders’ concerns: The organization of the project team Client side: Project coordinator Contractor side: Project manager Assistant project manager Site Engineer Recruitment manager PR manager The schedule of work especially the key milestones Resources required including the budget An assessment of significant risks. Project Scope and Contract: The project has been undertaken towards enabling Knight Ltd. to be able to expand their operations further to the successful business they have been running. Knight Ltd is a SME company that specializes in the design and supply of exhibition banners to various organizations. The Client has outsourced the management and completion of this project to our project management firm, on turnkey basis and have entrusted us to manage all aspects including the infrastructural, staffing and PR aspects of the same. They have empowered us to hire sub contractors on their behalf for the same. Reasons for undertaking the project at this time The project has been undertaken at this time for the following reasons: Knight Ltd. (client) intends to expand its operations further, based on the business success achieved so far. The client has promising new market in the form of large global companies, which needs to be tapped and catered to. The new warehousing and office space is supposed to help serve as hub for the new business operations aimed at the new market segment. The key deliverables of the new project are: Equipping the newly acquired building as ready in terms of plant and equipment necessary for the proposed operations under the expansion plan: Hiring and management of newly hired staff for successful launch of the operations in the new warehouse and office: Implementation of a Public relations plan to ensure smooth launch of operations and addressing of the stakeholders’ concerns. Keeping the scope, schedule and cost of the project within the predetermined targets as proposed in the feasibility study. The warehouse shall function on Lean inventory management principles and the design and layout shall be in conformance with the same. Key Deliverables: Based on the above key deliverables, the work breakdown structure (Top Levels) has been identified as follows: 1. Infrastructural a. Layout Planning b. Procurement of the furniture and fixtures c. Installation of fixtures 2. Staffing and Hiring a. Identify staffing needs based on client inputs b. Hiring of Recruitment sub contractor c. Plan a hiring schedule d. Implement the hiring schedule 3. PR a. Draw a PR plan b. Hire PR subcontracting agency c. Prepare a PR schedule d. Implement the PR schedule The limits on time and costs The Budgeted time for the project has been calculated and agreed upon as Three months. The duration has been calculated keeping in mind the client need for completion of the project and its readiness by their stipulated time. Also, a realistic assessment of the time required to finish the project tasks in the most efficient manner has gone into deciding the above time limit. Similar projects usually take six months, however subcontracting the staffing and PR functions in this case have reduced the time limit by half. Whereas the total budgeted cost of project has been estimated and agreed upon as X, the client has agreed compensate for any additional contingencies at 5% of the total cost of project. The above project cost is based estimate of the costs and expenses involved at each stage of the project. The major heads under which the costs have been calculated are Building Finishing Labour costs: Building equipment and fixtures procurement costs: Staffing subcontracting agency fees PR subcontracting agency fees Contingency costs The cost excludes the project management fees and is part of a separate confidential agreement between the client and the project management firm. The assumptions that have been made in drawing up the plan The project plan assumes the following: The socio economic conditions surrounding the business are going to be the same during the course of the project and further in the near future, well into the operational stage, such that the capacities created during the project stage are sustainably carried forward into the actual operations. The market and competitive scenario are going to remain the same throughout the project stage and in the forseeable future The credentials of the sub contractors have been cross verified by the client organization it is assumed that the work assigned to them shall be completed within time and costs as decided. The client firm has provided all the relevant details to launch the project and further changes in the project goals shall be the responsibility of the client. The following quality criteria have been agreed upon with the customer as to the key deliverables of the Project: Key Deliverable1 Equipping the newly acquired building as ready in terms of plant and equipment necessary for the proposed operations under the expansion plan: Quality criteria: The layout of the building shall be modified as specified by the client in the layout drawing approved by the client Architect and as per international standards. The quality of the furniture and fixtures installed shall be in conformance with the standards as being maintained in the existing building. The security systems shall be installed as per the principles laid down in the security manual of the previous building. The building material used in whatever building modification is required, shall be approved and continually inspected for quality by the client project coordinator. The make and quality of all the IT equipment installed shall be subject to inspection by the client project coordinator before installation. Key Deliverable2 Hiring and Management of the newly hired staff for successfully launching the operations in the new warehouse and office: Quality criteria/standards: The positions for staffing and number of personnel for the new building shall be exactly same as for the Previous facility. The Staffing subcontracting agency shall hired only after approval from the client project coordinator. The subcontracting agency is supposed to send the most appropriate client after due screening as per the Job descriptions/specifications provided by the client agency Key Deliverable3 Implementation of a Public relations plan to ensure smooth launch of operations and addressing of the stakeholders’ concerns. The Quality standards/specifications The PR plan shall be subcontracted to the best agency for the purpose, with due approval from the client project coordinator. The PR plan shall identify and address the stakeholders of the business of Knight Ltd. and their concerns. All the communications with the public, stakeholders and special interest groups shall be in conjunction with international PR practices. At least top five national dailies shall carry a feature about the expansion venture of knight ltd. A function/event showcasing the new facility of Knight Ltd. shall be organized atleast once a month during the project stage. Key Deliverable 4 Keeping the scope, schedule and cost of the project within the predetermined targets as proposed in the feasibility study. Quality/standards: The scope and schedule of the project shall be in conformance with the key deliverables laid down in the key deliverables itself. The Project Scheduling and management shall be done as per the PERT and CPM techniques. Network diagrams shall be used to identify and control the shortest possible time for completion of the project. Activity on Node technique shall be used to prepare the network diagrams. The cost of project shall be kept within the limits as specified in the financial section of the feasibility study (Richman 2011). Technical Plan: The Technical requirements of the project include the Technical specifications as laid down in the feasibility study. The specifications are pertaining to the material and equipment to be used in the project for preparing the new building for operations (Lock 2007). The processes used in the project management have been identified and are laid down as per the key deliverables. The various systems have been identified as Project Scheduling system Project budgeting system Project Finance system Project Control system The communications system The project manpower or staffing system. The diagrams for these systems have been provided for in the feasibility study. The Tool used in the project management and scheduling are the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and CPM or critical path management. Quality and management Management The project management firm shall maintain complete transparency in the project transactions and the purchase and procurement processes shall be as per the standards agreed upon by the client. The authority taking decisions regarding assigning work rests with the project manager in conjunction with the client project coordinator. The changes in regular feedbacks and review meetings (Knutson and Bitz 1991). The meeting schedule shall be as follows: Project tasks appraisal internal meetings: Twice daily Budget and cost control meeting : weekly Client meeting: weekly Project Quality meeting: weekly PERT and CPM review meeting: weekly Similarly a reporting schedule has been finalized which is as follows: Budget control report: weekly Project schedule report: daily Project quality report: weekly Project performance report to client: Twice a month Quality The quality plan for the project shall be based on the quality standards as identified in the project The bottlenecks or errors that come up in the performance of the project tasks result in the time and cost overruns. Thus its important to prevent faults. In order to prevent faults a Quality Plan is proposed and shall be communicated to the members of the project team and also the client. The quality plan includes the standards, procedures and specifications for each stage of the project as per the client needs (Rose 2005). In order to arrive at the quality plan, the following techniques have been used: Cost –benefit analysis Cost of quality The project team shall be educated and motivated towards achievement of quality goals for the project tasks. In order to assure the stakeholders or clients of the quality of the project, a quality audit schedule by client project team has been scheduled. The corrective actions can be taken while the process is still on and during the course of the project. In order to detect and correct the faults that occur, a quality improvement plan has been envisaged. A continuous effort shall be made to detect and correct the wasteful and unnecessary actions to make the processes more efficient and effective (Lewis 2009). Finally, the following techniques shall be used to check whether the quality criteria have been met: Cause and effect diagrams Control charts Flowcharts Histograms Inspections Defect repair review (Chinni 2012) The quality control work shall be performed by a team comprising of the project manager, a quality expert and Quality assistant Organization and personnel The Project team shall comprise of The Project management firm: The project manager: Responsible for overall Initiation, design and implementation, control of the project and achievement of key deliverables of the project (Kerzner 2009). Assistant project manager: Assist the project manager in achievement of project goals and take charge of things in his absence. Architect: A fulltime Architect to design and draw the detailed layout plan of the building as per client needs. Quality expert: Responsible for the quality tests and checks and maintenance of quality standards Quality Assistants: Assist the quality expert in maintenance of quality standards Procurement manager: Responsible for procuring and inventory of all the project related purchase Accounts and Finance manager: Responsible for maintenance of project accounts as well as budget and cost goals Subcontracting manager: Responsible for hiring of the PR and staffing subcontracting agencies and monitoring the key deliverables of the sub contractors The client firm: Client project coordinator: Responsible for coordinating the pursuance of the client concerns in the project implementation. Act as auditor for the project process and quality control. References Chinni, A, 2012, PMP: Project Quality Management , viewed: April 2, 2012 . Field, M & Keller, L 1998, Project management, Cengage Learning EMEA. Kerzner, H 2009, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, John Wiley & Sons. Knutson, J & Bitz, I 1991, Project management: how to plan and manage successful projects, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Lock, D 2007, Project Management, Gower Publishing, Ltd. Lewis, J P 2007, Fundamentals of project management, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Philips, 2004, It Project Management: On Track From Start To Finish (With Cd), Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Richman, LL, 2011, Successful ProjectManagement, Third Edition, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Rose, K 2005, Project quality management: why, what and how, J. Ross Publishing Read More