Project to Develop a Strategy to Reduce Sickness Absence - Case Study Example

Project Management Name Institution Professor Course Date Project to develop a strategy to reduce sickness absence Planning of the Idea In the past there has been a lot of sickness absence in our organization (Full Time Rescuers), which deals with Fire rescue operations. This has affected the organization’s operations immensely. Cases have been reported where fire emergencies occur, only to realize that some employees are absent because they are sick. This has tainted the organization’s reputation with its clients due to turning up to fire scenes with inadequate staff. In most cases the clients brand the organization as inefficient and cease to ever approach each in future emergences. The management has approached me to design a project that will reduce the sickness absence in the organization with an aim to enhance productivity in the organization and safeguard its reputation in the public domain. To accomplish this task effectively I appointed four of my colleagues to be part of the team that was mandated to come up with a viable project to deal with the problem. There were a total of five members in the team. Brainstorming When the team met for the first time, personal introductions were done although most of us were familiar with one another. The team was informed of the task they were to execute and this made brainstorming easier as the objective of the project was already identified. The members agreed that sickness absence in our organization was a major problem that affected the smooth running of the organization. Some members also noted that lateness of staff was also in the increase but the team settled on the problem of sickness absence. It was agreed that a project to reduce this habit would be viable for the organization. The project at hand would therefore involve developing a strategy to reduce sickness absence in our organization. Appointing a Project management Team As mentioned above, the number of the team members was five. The team met and decided on the various roles to be performed by each team member. It was agreed that I would take up the role of the project manager. Other roles in the team included operations manager, human resource manager, public relation manager, finance manager, IT Consultant, finance manager. It was agreed that the operations manager would be sitting in for any other manager who might be absent at any time during the project. Time Schedule In our next meeting the team had to decide on the total period that is required for the implementation of the project. After evaluation various aspects including the availability of funds and the urgency of the matter, the team decided that the project should take two months from May 1st to June 30th 2011. It was agreed that this time schedule had to be followed strictly and that all members had to turn up for all meetings without fail. If one was to miss a meeting the chairman had to be informed a day before a meeting unless it’s an emergency. Preparing a Project Brief This is a project for reducing sickness absence in an organization that is dealing with Fire and Rescue operations. It may be applicable for any other organization with similar operations. This problem is quite common in many similar organizations making this project to be highly viable. Defining Project Approach This project will be operated by the appointed management team. This team will oversee all the operations of the project in all the stages including the implementation and the closure of the project. Project Authorization Our project is to run for a 60 days which will roughly be eight weeks as stipulated in the time schedule. The project manager has the mandate to sign and authorize the progress of the project at any stage. If there are any project documents to be verified or signed, the project manager has the mandate for authorizing such. Project Goals and Objectives This project will aim to accomplish its business goals within the stipulated budget and within the set time parameter. There will be a written agreement between the project implementers and the funding organizations To continuously brief the donors on the progress of the project. This will be used to instill confidence to the donors that the funds that they contributed for the project are being used effectively. To introduce an effective program that will aim to reduce sickness absence in an organization offering fire and rescue services. Projected Budget This project requires some financial funding from the initial stage to the final stage. The total cost of the project will be $ 8,000. This is an approximate figure that was agreed by the project management team. This funding will be sourced from various NGOs that will be approached by the finance manager and any other member of the team who might be given that responsibility by the project manager. The team also suggested that other organizations that might be governmental or private should be approached for funding. Any of the team members approaching such organization must be having a copy of the project brief to be shown to the potential donors. Compiling the Funding Bid The team decided that the bid for funding should be placed to three organizations. The organization should be made to understand that they fund part of the total cost. This approach will be appropriate since the donor organizations will see as being affordable since there will be some cost sharing among the organizations. The team also compiled a funding draft that should always be accompanying the project summary. It was agreed that the team would place its bid to the four organizations that were indentified as potential donors of the funds. What would follow is the awaiting of the notification from the donors. Budget Approval Once the Steering Committee have discussed and agreed on the project’s budget, the budget will be forwarded to the potential sponsors of the project who shall either approve the budget or suggest changes. The project Managers will then inform the participants on whether the budget has been approved or not. If there are any changes on the budget they shall be communicated to the participants and the Steering Committee. Project Briefing and Training The Steering Committee shall arrange for a project’s implementation briefing and training. This will be administered to all the project’s participants in a form of a seminar (Lock, 2008). The presenters shall be experts and professionals from the corporate sector and specifically the IT sector and Business Administration. These experts shall shed light on how to implement a project in developing a strategy that would reduce the sickness absence from employees. Project Initiation The Project Manager shall confirm about the funding approval for the project and then announce the commencement date for the project and remind the participants of the projects goals and time frame. Project Initiation Document The PID will contain the following contents all based on the nature of the project (Haynes, 2002 pp.35). The contents will be; Aim, Objectives, Benefits, Costs, Business Case, Tasks, Precedence Chart, Staffing, Risk Management Plan, and Documents Management Plan. Aim: The aim of this project is to develop a strategy to reduce sickness absence in a Fire and Rescue organization known as Full Time Rescuers. Objectives: This project will apply to the Engineering Department with assistance from other departments such as human resource with the scope covering the aircraft maintenance system. The objective of the project is to develop a strategy that will be effective in reducing sickness absence in Full Time Rescuers, a Fire and Rescue operations Company. The strategy developed in this project is expected to be in operation by July 2011. Benefits: This project will assist in the reducing cases of sickness absence in Full Time Rescuers Company. This will in return help in improving the service provision by ensuring that all staffs are present during emergencies. Customer confidence is also expected to increase and this might eventually reflect in increased income for the company. Costs: The total project cost will include all costs from the start of the project to the end. The cost in this project will be calculated using the estimated period of completion as 60 days from 1st May 2011 to 30th June 2011. Cost Analysis Material costs $ Personnel Costs Rate Days $ Computers 3000 Project Manager 800 60 48000 Stationary 500 HR Manager 200 60 12000 Others 1000 HR Consultant 500 60 30000 Software 4000 Project Coordinator 250 60 15000 Installation 2000 PR Manager 200 60 12000 Finance Manager 180 60 10800 IT Consultant 600 60 36000 Procurement Manager 200 60 12000 Skilled laborers (5) 100 60 30000 Unskilled labor (3) 80 60 14400 10,500 247,200 Material……………………10,500 Personnel…………………..247,200 Sub Total……………………257,700 Contingency @ 10%..............25,770 Total Costs…………………$283,470 Precedence Chart: the precedence chart will be prepared by the Steering Committee showing all the tasks to be performed in the project and the order of accomplishing the tasks (Haynes, 2002 pp.44). This will help in the effective use of resources. Project Milestones Duration in Days   Planning the project idea 1 Team Selection 1 Decide on activity 2 Meet with group(s) involved to discuss 1 Decide on funding 1 Drawing the budget 2 Discuss the budget and funding 1 Sending the budget proposal to sponsors 14 If bid approved:   Inform participants of tentative details 1 Presenting the final project proposal in a seminar 1 Inform participants of the confirmed details 2 Confirm if funding is available 3 Project initiation 2 Project implementation 60 Payments and invoicing 5 Staffing The project will have the following members of staff to assist in its operations; Project Manager, Human Resources Manager, Public Relations Manager, IT Consultant, Project Coordinator, Finance Manager, Procurement Manager, 5 skilled workers, and 3 unskilled workers. Tasks Project Manager – the role of the project manager is to oversee the overall management of the project from initiation to implementation. He also oversees the recruitment of the project’s Steering Committee and provides status reports to the project sponsors. Project Coordinator – he is concerned with the day to day running of the project. He updates the project Manager on the progress of the project. Operations Manager- concerned with the technical operations of the project such as overseeing installation of machines and equipment. Finance Manager – in charge of finance distribution and also prepares the necessary financial reports. HR Manager – in charge of all the staffs welfare involved in the implementation of the project. Hires and fires the relevant workers. Supervises the implementation of Human Resource Policy in the project Procurement Manager- to be supervising all the process of awarding contracts to bidders for such services as supply of equipment, supply of software, and installation services. IT Consultant- to provide relevant professional information on developing software that can be used in the strategy to be developed. HR Consultant – an expert in the field human resource management in the fire and Rescue organizations. Tasked with the mandate of giving professional advice to the project team in the development of a strategy for reducing sickness absence Public Relations Manager – in charge of giving official communication to the public concerning the status and progress of the project Skilled and unskilled workers- will be in charge of all the groundwork required in the project. Risk Management Plan Risk management in this project will be concerned with establishing a systematic way in which risk will be managed. Risk management will assist in a clear understanding of the specific risks that are associated with designing a sickness absence strategy. Risk is generally an exposure that might lead to a probability of a loss, injury, or death in extreme cases (Barkley, 2004 pp.182). Risk may also affect time, performance, budget, and safety of the project. The risk management for this project will include risk identification, risk measurement, risk mitigation, risk control and monitoring, risk evaluation and re-evaluation. There will be a continuous risk assessment in the whole period of the project. The assessment shall be done weekly and mitigation measures taken where there is a possibility of risk. The Project Manager shall oversee the assessment and ensure that status report on the same is written. The mitigation approach will be discussed and agreed by all the members of the Steering Committee. The project Manager will recommend weekly contingency measures to the steering Committee as the situation may dictate. Some of the risks that can be identified in this project include technical issues such as inflation that might lead to adjustments in the initial costs. Other risks include future expectations of the project where it might fail to meet its objectives as expected. If a risk occurs in a critical control plan it may result in major changes of the project. Risks may also be encountered in the IT department where problems may occur due to lack of the necessary toolkit and experience. Some activities in the project such as supply of materials and equipment may have some impact on the environment and hence posing a risk. Issue of health and safety shall be addressed appropriately through a risk assessment that will lay a foundation for the implementation of health and safety systems. There is also some risk that is involved in cost and time controls (Barkley, 2004 pp.201). At the implementation process the project team will be looking forward to receive their full payment from the client for the work done, the payment can either be fully or partly settled depending on the initial agreement. The Marginal Company as the sponsor of the project, have to ensure that funding for the project is made available as earlier planned. Example of Risks Associated with this Project Project Participant Risks Project Team Quality of work Safety Inflation Team members competence Labor and material availability Labor disputes Procurement disputes Sponsor/ Full Time Rescuers Ineffective project Changes in government regulations resulting in cost increase. Document Management Plan The Steering Committee shall ensure that all the necessary documents are carefully managed (Heerkens, 2007 pp.74). It will be necessary for the committee to follow the progress of the project closely so that if there is a final document produced as a project report for customer training, then the final version should be harmonized. Issue Management The information that is contained in the project plan is likely to change as the project progresses. Any changes in the project plan are likely to impact on the time factor, human resource and finances (Lock, 2009). Any changes in the Project Plan should be effected through the following process: A) The Project Manager must document and authorize any change in the Project Plan. B) The project Manager will perform an evaluation of the change and determine whether it will have any impact in the overall running of the project and then recommend it to the Steering Committee for further review and decision making. C) The Steering Committee should deliberate on the issue and agree whether to approve it, modify it or even reject it. If no consensus is reached the issue will be forwarded to the Project Sponsor with a summary of the issue for final decision. D) The Project Sponsor reviews the issue and gives final decision E) The Project Manager informs the person who raised the issue of the final stand taken by the committee or the Project Sponsor. Communication Plan It will be important to continuously pass on information on the progress of the project to the concerned parties including the Project Sponsor and the participants. It is also crucial to inform the beneficiaries of the project on its progress and the benefits they are likely to experience upon completion. This will inspire them to participate fully throughout the project duration. Communication Methodology This illustrates the way information is passed on from one level to another Top-Down: all the participants in the project should feel that the top management is concerned about the implementation of the project (Lock, 2009). The executive management of this project will always communicate to the people at lower levels and find out their views on the project and whether they are experiencing any problem. To implement this, the Project Manager will be meeting all the project participants at least once a week and evaluate the progress and give feedback. Bottom-Up: the participants in the project will be free to inform the steering committee or the Project Manager on any changes that may occur in the changes or any expectations they may have. Middle-Out: participants at all levels should be free to communicate to one another on the best implementation methods of the project or any changes they expect in the project. Communication Updates There will be timely updates on the progress of the project. Monthly Status Reports: the Project Manager shall present monthly status reports to the steering committee. Also to be included in these reports is the summary of work done in the previous month, the summary of tasks to be completed in the following month, and any other issue that may have come in the course of the month. Monthly Steering Committee Meeting: this is status meeting that shall be held at least once in a month where the Project Manager will be meeting the steering committee to discuss the status reports that are sent to each member before the meeting is held. Website: Project Manager will be posting current information on the project’s website where all participants can access it. Project Closure Once the time allocated for the completion of the project elapses the Steering Committee shall assess the project and check whether it has been completed as per the specifications. The Committee members shall consult with the Project Manager to approve the project. The Project Manager will then approach the Project Sponsors who will be invited to the Project site to assess the project. Once the Project Sponsor approves the project with the help of the experts, the Project Manager will have the mandate to officially close the project and pass a vote of thanks to all the people involved in the completion of the project. Project Evaluation After the closure of the project, the Project Manager shall appoint a team to be performing some regular project evaluation to ensure that the project is effective and that it is running as expected. This evaluation shall be done until the team reports back the Project Manager that they are confident that the project will operate without further supervision. Once the Project Manager is convinced on the Authenticity of the project, he shall then disband the committee and thank them for their participation in the project. References Barkley, B. 2004. Project risk management. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Cerrato, C. 2001. Model for the Evaluation of Project Funding in Emerging Markets. London: Universal Publishers. Cleland, D., & Ireland, L. 2006. Project management: strategic design implementation. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Haynes, M. 2002. Project management: practical tools for success. New Delhi: Cengage Learning. Haynes, M. 2002. Project Management: practical tools for success. London: Cengage Learning Heerkens, G. 2007. Project Management: 24 Steps to Help You Master Any Project. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Kemp, S. 2004. Project Management demystified. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Lock, D. 2008. The Essentials of Project Management. London: Oxford University Press. Lock, D. 2009. Project Management. New York: Routledge. Pinkerton, W. 2003. Project management: achieving project bottom- line success. California: McGraw- Hill Professional. Read More