project management report 2

7/29/2019 Project Management Report 2

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Griffith School of Engineering, Griffith University

7201ENG Project Management

Semester 1, 2012

Assignment 2

Name: Marissa Adraincem

Student Number: s2850497

Due Date: Week 13

28th May 2012


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Task A (942 words)

Motorways of the Sea (MoS) project procurement/delivery system proposal

Maritime transport is the backbone of international business or commercial exchanges. As a

result of globalisation, there is still more capacity of maritime transport in comparison with road

networks. Bottlenecks because of traffic congestion will hinder socio-economic developments.

Motorways of the Sea project is a concept that provides higher quality and reliable Short Sea

shipping experiences initiated by the European Commission and the EU Member States. This is

to promote cargo traffics from road networks to environmentally friendly sea-based logistical

routes. Financial support if available from European Union for Implementation Projects such as

port infrastructures, waterways, canal infrastructures; Facilities for logistics, safety, security,

administrative, customs procedures, icebreaking and dredging operations and Studies for the

project and pilot actions.

Construction is the industry that involves in the infrastructure works of Motorways of the Sea.

Construction provides the port infrastructures, waterways and canals and all the structures to be

sued in the facilities. To be able to construct structures, the project needs materials, equipment,

people and other resources that follow efficient progression. This efficiency requires a project

delivery system. In this industry, there are common types of project delivery system which are

Owner-provided delivery, Traditional design bid-build, Design-build and Design-build variation.

In Owner-provided delivery, owners perform the design services and the construction work. On

the other hand, Traditional Design Bid-Build is ideal on projects where the owner needs both

professional design services and construction services while the Design-Build the owner

contracts with a single company to provide the design and to construct the project according to

the design.

In the case of the construction of the structures of Motorways of the Sea projects, the idealdelivery system is the design-build. In this system, the client has the single contract for the

design and construction in which the design-build contractor has the full responsibility of the

whole operation and the owner give all the control of the projects.


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The projects of Motorways of the Sea involve totally different kinds of infrastructure works that

will require various forms of expertise that will call for the interest in using single vendor. Being

a single entity of the vendor, there is an easier level to manage for the part of the owner. In this

time of system, there is the advantage of time. Lesser time is involved in the whole process of

design and construction compared to the other systems. It is also believed that design-build

system can reduce the over-all cost of the project. Cost can be saved in the streamlining the

process and the creativeness of the vendor during the design development. The Owner also has

the security of a single responsibility compared to the other systems. Base on the history of

constructions, this type of system has been always favoured for transportation and

communication facilities and industrial projects which are included in Motorways of the Sea

projects. This system also has lesser claim exposure, has newer technology and more innovative.

There is also an over-all project optimisation compared to design-bid-build system. Other

advantages of this system that is applicable to the projects of Motorways of the Sea can be seen

on Figure 1.

Figure 1: Advantages of Design-build delivery system


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Project procurement strategy and Risks

In order to streamline the process of the Design-build delivery system of the

projects of Motorway of the Sea, it is best to choose Partnering strategy. In

partnering strategy objectives are agreed upon and dispute resolution and plans are

established but partners still maintain their respective independence and may

individually suffer or gain from the partnership while in alliance the parties

develop a single cohesive unit that jointly shares all risks and rewards based on an

agreement. Therefore if the project fails parties jointly share the agreed penalty.

Alternatively, if the project succeeds both parties share the rewards.

Partnering strategy is ideal to be used in the establishing of Motorways of the Sea

since this will aim to nurture development of initiatives and encourage private

sector involvements. Partnering strategy will support the type of projects of

Motorways of the Sea particularly the requirement of high quality projects which

will demand high frequencies and huge investments. In this case, one of the

partners will be responsible of the operations of a project of Motorways of the sea.

This partner is an equity joint venture that is developed by both partners by their

respective capital contributions.

Like any most partnering strategy, although the partners retain respective

independence there is risk-sharing. One of the risk involve is competition risk.

This is a significant factor in Motorways of the Sea as European Governments are

unable to enforce legal admission barriers for other competitors even to protect the

vested interests in Motorways of the Sea. Therefore, partnering for projects of

Motorways of the Sea will not be conformed to franchises as partners are still


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threatened by competitors like any business entities trading or operating in the

same industry.

Other underlying risk for partners in projects for Motorways of the Sea is demand

risk. This is present due to the fact that there are alternatives routes that is based

on quality-price ratio, reliability of the service and time efficiency. In the case of

Motorway of the Sea, demand risk is demonstrated on the change in transport

practices of users of the Motorway of the Sea.

Another risk is the operational risk that is usually present to moving markets that

will compose the partners cost of operation. One of this is the volatile fuel prices,

charter rate and ship prices thus compared to road infrastructures which is lower in

operating cost and lower volatility.


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Task B (1672 words)

Background of the project (project location, requirements and outcomes)

The project chosen was the construction of a Solar Chimney Power Plant. This project was

based on the technology called Solar Chimney Technology that primarily will produce bulk

electricity in areas that are hot enough and utilised 20-30 kph wind to operate turbines connected

with generators. This technology is considered simple and reliable. It can be used to areas that

have no water for cooling and are environmentally friendly. A solar chimney power plant

involves with a solar hot air collector, a solar chimney and a turbine with generator. The solar

chimney plant combines all of these elements as shown in

Solar radiation is used to heat up air in a circular cover and the ground below will serve as a hot

air collector. A vertical chimney is at the middle with airtight joints between the cover. Since

hot air is lighter it will rise up and more hot air from the collector is sucks. Constant up-draught

is produced and that energy is transformed into mechanical energy using the turbines and

converted into electrical energy by using the generators.

To construct a Solar Chimney Power Plant expected to generate electricity for some areas in

North-western China. The plant will able to produce 110-190 kW monthly all year round. This

objective is expected to be sufficient to address the power requirement of the said region. Other

objective of this project aside from generating electric power is to use the solar collector of the

plant as a greenhouse for the agricultural sector.

One requirement of this project is a better solar radiation which can be found in this region

compared to other parts of China. The solar power plant was constructed with a chimney of a

height at 200 meters and a diameter of 10 meters. The diameter of the solar cover is 500 meters

in order to produce electric power of 110-190 kW.

The production of electric power of 110-190 kW of the plant is highly dependent of the regions

solar irradiance and ambient temperature. Since the solar radiation of North-western China is

better compared to other parts of the country, the plants component efficiency is higher in terms

of power generation. Although the ambient temperature of the region did not have a pronounced

effect of the plants power generating performance.


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The project was defined based on what kind of technology was used which is Solar Chimney

Technology and its required performance characteristics which is also the production of 110-190

kW electric power for North-western China. Its dual functions which are the production of

significant amount of electric power and the project can also be used as greenhouse for

agriculture purposes.

Project Control System

A week progress report is submitted to the project managers from each department head in order

to determine the weekly status of the project. This was considered as the over-all project control

system that was adapted. The reports was designed and formatted to precisely evaluate and

accurately gave out important information that the project manager required. As a result, the

project manager can monitor and keep well track the progress of the whole project. On the other

hand, the project manager can control in terms of time, cost and quality performance that led to

the success of the project.

Parameters were measured in order to indicate and quantify the specific performance of the

project staffs. Various techniques were used to facilitate that monitoring of the project. Aside

from this, the over-all control system included a well-designed management information system,

communication system, risk management system and audit system what all were reported to the

project manager and top management of the organisation.

Tools and techniques used in project control

Earned Value Analysis (EVA)This is the report that will indicate project progress. Final cost and completion date is

forecasted, variances for budget and schedule were considered, and thus, control is indicated

in terms of numerical data. These important variances and their causes drew immediate

attentions from the project manager because theses will lead to projects delays.

This performance reporting was an effective control tool for the project. This is based on the

beliefs that performance can be quantify in terms of financial value and in the end will

measure project performance efficiency. Therefore, the earned value is the value of work at

budgeted rate.


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Key performance indicators (KPI)This tool aimed to generate continuous improvement in the execution of the project. The

KPI was expressed in terms of ratios and percentages that in the long run the project manager

kept track trends in work performance. In this case several KPIs were used to control and

manage individual and group performance. Clear standards and requirements were used to

base key job performances.

Microsoft ProjectIn order to control schedule during the duration of the project, Microsoft Project was the

software used. Costs and schedule was encoded daily to the system. All factors the will

affect over-all costs were considered. This is a software program that was developed by

Microsoft in order to assist project managers in establishing the weekly project plans,

properly distributing resources for tasks, project budgeting, monitoring progress and

workload analysis. On the other hand, by using this tool, the original schedule and forecasted

schedule can be seen. Therefore, project scheduling can be appropriately achieved. Aside

from monitoring critical tasks, this tool also determines project durations. This was the most

effective tool in the management of the project.

Control Process

Go/no-go control system was the control process adapted by the system. The established

project plan parameters were always compared to the weekly collected parameters. This was

in addition to the weekly progress reports that were submitted to the project manager and top

senior managers of the parent organisation.

In the first phase of the project, the comparison of the project forecast and tasks

accomplished were met. At that phase, everything was completed according to the project

plan. However, considering the isolation of the project location, supplies were not delivered

on time the causes delays. Several planned procedures were cancelled due to these delays.

Project Control System Analysis


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The entire project control system was developed that was mainly focused on project scheduling,

cost control and reporting. Initially, an engineering estimate was prepared for the project as

reference for the top managers of the parent organisation as well as for the project manager. This

estimate was used for the parent organisations project cost in the purpose of budgeting and

funding.

The project control system was effective in regards to cost control since it identified potential

problems such as delays very well before it will happen and at the same time evaluated the effect

of these problems. In this regard, the project manager can then proposed actions to be taken to

alleviate the condition and can do regular monitoring of project situations to effectively prevent

uncertainty. The project control system in this case was more on the keeping the project in a no

surprises situation.

One of the elements of the project control system is the development of the project schedule that

essentially was developed for monitoring the scope of the operations. This system was

developed under project control. In the weekly report to the project manager, this was based on

the scope of the operations and was open for review and comments. Coordination meetings were

held with the project manager and other workers concern following the weekly reports.


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Figure 2. Earned Value Analysis Scenario (Panawatwanich 2011, Lectures Notes)

In the implementation of the Earned Value Analysis (EVA) as shown in Figure 2, the schedule

variance and actual cost are shown. This indicated that the project is on the right track in terms

of budget. The report means that the project is under schedule and represented in the graph as

negative schedule variance. In relation with the planned value, the actual cost to accomplish the

task was stated. The Earned Value relates the planned cost and the status date.

Although, the project experienced delays due to the delivery of materials, there were no major

problems regarding not meeting cost objectives. The project control system was also effective in

terms of holding down costs, delivering faster project schedule aside from anticipating problems.

In this project, it was necessary to accomplish cost estimate before project execution. After

performing the magnitude estimate, the cost values was corroborated and detailed cost estimate

was established.

Project schedule in Microsoft Project was adjusted and in the Earned Value Analysis forecasted

project completion date and project cost was evaluated. In the middle of the project by using


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these tools, the project schedules and work schedules were adjusted to arrive with the acceptable

completion date.

Microsoft Project and Earned Value Analysis were used in the improvement of the project

control system during the duration of the project. As a result of this system, problems

encountered were appropriately evaluated and actions taken to solve these problems were more

on a team work approach. Over-all, the project control system was deemed successful in

achieving the projects goal and objectives.

Conclusion

To summarised, the project control system used techniques and tools to appropriately implement

the system. Primarily the submission of weekly progress report to the project manager was done

to emphasise regular monitoring in terms of percent complete and earned value. This

empowered the project manager to focus resources toward achieving project goals. These

reports also enabled the project manager to anticipate problems before it will happen. In

response, the system helped provides the development of the solutions of these problems. The

process control system also facilitated to meet the cost and schedule requirements that were

established before project execution.

In order to improve the process control system in this case, project risk assessment should be

integrated to the project weekly progress report. Since the delays of the delivery of several

importance materials were the primary factor and other related logistics problems that is

basically due to the projects location, risk management will be a great advantage for process

control.


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References

Alhazmi, T & McCaffer R 2000, Project procurement system selection model, pp. 176-184,

(online EbsCohost).

Dai, Y, Huang, H & Wang, R 2003, Case study of solar chimney power plants in northwestern

regions of China, vol. 28, pp. 1295-1304, (online Science Direct).

Kraus, W 2007, Successful implementation of effective project controls systems, vol. 49, no. 11,

pp. 3-4, (online ProQuest Central).

Li, W & Carter, D 2002, Project control system development for a design/build project, vol.

44, no. 3 pp. 39-47, (online ProQuest Central).

Lock, D 2000,Project Management, 7

th

Edn, Gower Publishing Limited, Vermont.

Maylor, H 2003,Project Management, 3rd

Edn, Pearson Education Limited, Essex.

Nicholas, J & Steyn, H 2008,Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology,

3rd

Edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Burlington.

Zhou, X, Wang, F & Ochieng, R 2010, A review of solar chimney power technology,

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, pp. 2315-2338, (online Elsevier).

project management report 2

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