Project and Operations Management
Task 1: Benefits and outcomes of the project
The project is important because of the various benefits. One of the benefits is that it will help the company to reduce the number of accidents. This will lead to improvement in the image of the company and attract more clients to purchase its products. Therefore, the outcome of the project is better working conditions that will impact on its profitability. PRINCE2 is an approach to project management that will ensure that the project is completed within stipulated period. PRINCE2 ensures that there is proper planning, managing, and control of resources to ensure that all activities and goals of the projects are met.
Task 2: Project plan
For any project to be finished successfully, it is important to have a plan. Planning entails considering various aspects such as the scope of the project, period of the project and resources available.
Scope management
Project scope management involves processes adopted to ensure that the project factors in all requirements and avoids addition of new requirements that may compromise or harm the project (Dennis, 2007). To begin with, all the tasks required to create the deliverables will be created. This tasks includes, ensuring that all the requirements to ensure the project is carried out are in place, designing of questionnaires, carrying out of the survey, meeting with relevant stakeholders, allocating time for every task, preparation of budgets to ensure that resources are well utilized and lastly closure of the project. These activities will take specific period to ensure that the goals of the projects are achieved within the time provided.
The project heading will be, “Health & Safety emergent project.
Work breakdown structure
- Coordination other areas to ensure that the project works well
- Designing of questionnaires
- Carrying out a survey
- Time estimation
- Designing of the budget
- Implementation /commencement of renovations in areas found to cause problems
- Closure of the project
Time management
Management of time is yet another critical consideration when it comes to project planning. A project must be completed within a given period (Conlon & Garland, 1993). Time management ensures that the resources are well allocated and well utilized. It also ensures that the project is completed within the time required hence avoiding delays. The project commences on 1 November 2013 and is to be completed on 1 November 2014. This is enough time to ensure that the problem is well identified and corrected fully to ensure that it does not recur. Various tasks will be allocated specific period to ensure that the entire project is completed as scheduled. Survey will be done for one week; seminar with the relevant personnel’s will take a week. A lot of time will be spent on making renovations and repairs.
Resource management
Resource management is effective and efficient deployment of organizational resources when required. In project, resource management is key as it ensures successful completion of the project (Blackstone, Cox & Schleier, 2009). Various resources in project management include financial, human skills, inventory, and production and information technology among many others. Finances are very essential and should be well management to avoid misappropriation (Project Management Institute, 2008). Project funds must be secured and well managed. Human resource is also essential in ensuring that the project become successful. People with requisite skills in matters of health and safety in industries will be recruited to help in managing the problem. I will also be one of them as project manager to ensure that the various activities are carried out as stipulated. Other resources that will be available and which require proper management is the materials.
I will also spare some time every week to meet Paul Higgs and Julia Miler the CEO of the company to discuss on various aspects that concerns the project. This steering group meetings are essential as they will help me to share on the requirement and the progress of the project ensuring that a sufficient measures are taken to seal any loopholes to solve the problems of accidents in la the industries .
Resource diagrams
Task 3: Critical path method
Critical path method is powerful tool that help to schedule and to manage complex projects. The tool was developed in 1950s to help in controlling of defense projects and have since then been used in planning of projects (Hegazy & Menesi, 2010). Therefore, critical path method is appropriate scheduling method for this project even if one individual is managing it. It acts as a basis of preparing of schedule and planning for the resources. When the project is in progress it allows the project manager to monitor achievement of the project goals as well as help to identify areas that require more action to ensue that the project is on course.
Critical path Analysis (CPA) is a method used to analyze and to plan a project ensuring that a project is completed in the shortest time possible (Tutor2u 2013). Larger businesses usually get involved in complex projects requiring significant investments and risks. In such complex project it become prudent to identify the relationship that do exist between the activities involved and to find out an amicable way to manage them to complete the project in a more efficient way.
When using CPA, certain information is required. This information includes the list of all the activities required to ensure completion of the project, the time or duration that each activity will take to completion, the dependencies between various activities for example activity C cannot be completed until activity B and A are completed. CPA is calculated to estimate the various period of time that the project can come into conclusion or to ascertain the longest path that the planed activities will come to and end. Earliest start time (EST) and latest finish time (LFT) is the time that every activity can start and end without making the project longer (Tutor2u 2013). It is also important to determine the activities that are critical-those that take longest path and those that have total float (meaning that those that can be delayed without having to make the project longer). This then leads to the question of what critical path is. Critical path is the sequence of project activities that add to the longest overall duration and it determines the shortest time possible that a project can be brought to a conclusion. Therefore, delay of any activity in critical path has direct impact on the planned project of completion because there is no float on critical path.
Critical path analysis has various uses. They include; estimating and minimizing the project time. It also help in supporting of the project costing and evaluation, planning and organizing resources helping provide direction and in prioritizing tasks.
CPA has various advantages as well as disadvantages on a project. One of the advantages of CPA is that it is essential in helping to reduce the task and costs of complex projects. It also encourages careful assessments of what the project requires by assessing every activity of the project (Tutor2u 2013). CPA ensures better allocation of resources because it has a float and is a good decision making tool as well as planning tool. It further gives the project manager an overview of the complex projects enchaining their understanding and is also effective in linking the project with other aspects of business planning including budgeting and cash flow forecasting.
CPA has also some disadvantages on the management of the project. These disadvantages include, it is only reliable if based on accurate estimates and assumptions. It also does not guarantee the success of a project (Tutor2u 2013). The resources may not be flexible as the mangers may believe hence causing some inconveniences. The fact that there are many activities in the network diagram makes it very complicated. These activities may be required to be broken down to mini projects for easier understanding something that may turn out to be cumbersome.
Similarly, critical path has various advantages one of them is that it helps in testing of plans to ensure that the project is robust. It also allows project manager to identify tasks that need to be completed on time to ensure that the whole project is completed within schedule (The times 100, 2013). Therefore, it ensures that specific tasks that make up the entire task are completed within stipulated time. Using this method allows the project manager to identify task that can be delayed incase of inadequate resources to ensure that missed or overrunning tasks are completed. Even if one person is executing the project, critical path are essential as they help to identify the minimum time required for the project to be completed. In case the project is required to be accelerated, it helps in identification of steps that allow completion of the project within stipulated time.
Example of critical path diagrams
Task 4 : Risk management
In project management, risk management is one of the important aspects that managers must give priority. Risk management is identifying, assessing and prioritizing risks to help in controlling the probability of unfortunate events and to maximize the realizations of opportunities (Szabo, 2012). Risks can threaten the realization of the project goals making a project a failure. Risk may include legal liabilities, accidents, credit risks and natural causes and disasters among many others. Risk management provides an assurance that objectives are more likely to be achieved, damaging things are less likely to occur and achievement of beneficiary things is more likely to be attained. The essence of risk management is not elimination of risks but rather is to manage the risks involved and to maximize opportunities while at the same time minimizing the adverse effects.
Risk management has various advantages. One of the advantages is that it supports strategic and business planning. A business will be able to uphold to appropriate strategies when planning to ensure that they achieve their objectives. By identifying the risks, the business or project manager is better placed to plan effectively to ensure that inherent risks are mitigated (Kaplan & Mikes, 2012). Risk management also ensures effective use of resources. In a project, resources must be used effectively to ensure that they achieve the goals of a project. Risk management ensures that the available resources are not misappropriated.
Risk management also promotes continuous improvement in the project. The project manager is in a position to identify areas that require improvement as the project is continuous. This therefore, ensures that there are less problems or challenges in a project. Project management also ensures that there is fewer shocks and unwelcome or unexpected surprises as the project progresses. The project must have certainty to ensure that it is well completed. It is through risk management that such uncertainties such are alleviated ensuring that the project moves on smoothly as expected.
Risk management also allows project manager to take an advantage of any new opportunities that arise as the project progress (Morgan & Henrion, 1992). Another advantage is that it enhances communication between various stakeholders hence promoting efficiency as the project progresses. For any project to be well completed, communication among various stakeholders is key. In this case, communication, between the CEO- and the project managers, the other staffs implementing the project is essential as it ensures that there is coordination in the execution of the project.
The advantages that apply in the Health and safety project is helping to reduce shocks and unwelcome surprises. Risk management is very essential in this project because, it will allow the project managers to come up with measures that will help reduce unnecessary surprises such as inadequate funds, , poor installations that would lead to more shocks (University of Surrey, 2013). It will also help to enhance effective use of resources. Resources are essential in this project to ensure that project achieve its objectives. Misappropriation of resources has cost impact on the company. Another advantage that relates to this project is enhancement of communication. Communication between various stakeholders is essential in contributing to the success of a company. To achieve these advantages; it is prudent to organize the risk management strategies. In this case, the most risky activities will be identified. After their identification, appropriate measures will be put in place to mitigate them. For instance, one of the risk factor is financial misappropriation. To ensure that this is reduced, proper measures will be instituted to avoid any financial improprieties such as hiring of external auditor to audit the accounts.
Reference List
Blackstone, J, Cox, J, & Schleier, J 2009, ‘A tutorial on project management from a theory of constraints perspective,’ International Journal of Production Research., vol. 47 no. 24, pp. 7029-7046.
Conlon, D, & Garland, H 1993, ‘The role of project completion information in resource allocation decisions’, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 36 no. 2, pp. 402-413.
Dennis, L 2007, ‘Project Management’. (9th ed.) Gower Publishing, Ltd.
Hegazy, T, & Menesi, W 2010, ‘Critical Path Segments Scheduling Technique,’ Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, Vol. 136 no. 10, pp. 1078-1085.
Morgan, G, & Henrion, M 1992, ‘Uncertainty: A Guide to Dealing with Uncertainty in Quantitative Risk and Policy Analysis’. Cambridge University Press.
Kaplan, R, & Mikes, A 2012, ‘Managing risks: a new framework, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 90 Issue 6, pp. 48-60.
Project Management Institute, 2008, ‘A Guide To The Project Management Body Of Knowledge’. (4th ed.). Project Management Institute
Szabo, A. (2012). Risk management: an integrated approach to risk management and assessment’. Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series, vol. 21 no. 2, pp. 776-781
The times 100, 2013, ‘ Critical path Analysis at Network Rail’, Retrieved from: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/network-rail/critical-path-analysis-at-network- rail/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-critical-path-analysis.html#axzz2lv9fzP4R
Tutor2u. 2013, ‘Critical path analysis.’ Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/tutor2u/critical-path-analysis-10762045
University of Surrey. 2013, ‘Risk Management’. Retrieved from: http://portal.surrey.ac.uk/portal/page?_pageid=823,181132&_dad=portal&_schema=POR TAL
Last Completed Projects
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