Ops 935 Project Management: Construction Assessment Answers

Task Description

Assignment Overview

This individual assessment item requires you to consider:-

• continuous improvement

…you must then write an essay describing and justifying a high-level approach to continuous improvement plan for an organisation from a selected case study.

Answer:

Introduction

Continuous project improvement plan focuses on streamlining the process and reducing the wastage in the project. Management applies different principles, methods and techniques to increase the productivity and performance of the given project. But the productivity of construction industry has been declining due to lack of experience and skills in the managers (Burke, 2013). They find it difficult to handle complex situations and uncertainties which may arise during the project. There are many techniques which can be for this purpose such as Lean, PRINCE2, Agile and Waterfall method (Sears, Sears, Clough and Segner, 2015). The main objective of all these techniques of is to provide a framework and make it easier to the team members to manage all the activities in the project.

This report is based on the construction of Quota Park Pathways which is located in Mackay, Australia. The lean approach for construction has been applied to ensure a sequential flow of work and high quality of the deliverables. The Mackay Regional Council of Queensland wants to construct footpaths in the park which will connect offices and other facilities with each other. Apart from this, they need sign boards, direction boards, renovation, improvements in road furniture and environmental management techniques. They have limited budget and the entire project has to be completed in the given budget. Apart from this, project management technique should ensure high quality deliverables and better integration n between different systems.         

Lean model for Quota Park Pathways

Lean model of project management is a data driven technique which focus on quality, data analysis, team empowerment, value added services and waste reduction. Construction projects often face the problem of delays and overrun of cost. Lean method can be very beneficial in large projects which have limited budget and time frame. It enables the manager to gain insights about the project which helps him to create plans (Reddy, Thomas. and Kyrpides, 2014). It will make easy to manage different deliverables in the project which includes sign boards, direction boards, renovation, improvements in road furniture and environmental management techniques. Lean project management is quite different form other methods such as PRINCE2, Agile and Waterfall method. It changes the view point of the manager which makes him aware about all the activities and systems involved in the project. The most considerable factor about Lean method is that it gives sequential steps to the manager and his team members. They have clear idea about the standards, objectives, deliverables, work breakdowns and goals. It accomplishes the main objective of the project manager which is to add value to all the activities and processes of the project. It can be very useful for the Quota Park Pathways project (Stark, 2015). Furthermore, it will enable cohesiveness between team members, project manager, stakeholders and Mackay Regional Council. They can understand the production, progress as well as control implemented in the project. Stakeholders have clear idea what the end result of the process. Apart from this, this method is based on wok flow and predictability which can be beneficial for time schedules, cost and quality. A better interaction will be established between all the members which will contribute in the success.           

Diagrammatic representation

There are principles of lean which can be adopted for the construction of Quota Park Pathways. It should be applied in Quota Park Pathways to gain the maximum value from the project. The first principle focuses on the identification of value which has to be delivered to the end user. The visitors of the Quota Shared Park need better accessibility and connectivity in the park. They needs separate path for visitors and bike riders. The second principle is based on eliminating all the unnecessary elements and processes which does not add value to the project or consumer. It could be movement of workers, unwanted renovations, transportation of material etc (Ferrario, Simm and Whittle, 2014). Project manager has to prioritize the activities and deliverables to ensure success of the project. The third principle aims at creating a flow by identifying subsequent tasks and activities. The main focus of the manager should be the outcome of the entire project. He has to avoid deviations and make sure that progress is made according to the flow. The fourth principle is pull which means that project manager has to produce products as per the needs of the client. He has to avoid unnecessary produces which affect the resources and time scales but does not add value. The deliverables of Quota Shared Park should be completed by using ‘Just In Time’ management tool (Harvey and Lynch, 2017). It will be beneficial for the manager to record the progress in a project diary which can be used when needed. The last principle is Lean method is based on achieving perfection in the process. It focuses on learning, continuous improvement and delivering effective solutions to the clients. The needs of the clients have to be fulfilled and the project should be without any defect (McLean, Antony and Dahlgaard, 2017). In order to accomplish this objective, project manager and sponsor have to develop a close relationship with the stakeholders and Mackay Regional Council of Queensland.                     

Determining the requirements of the client: In the initial stage the project manager and sponsor understands the requirements of the client. The Mackay Regional Council has many objectives and goals which have to be taken into account in the construction of Quota Park Pathways. Similarly, they have to gather feedback of the other stakeholders to ensure that all the needs have been included in the project charter and the deliverables (McLean, Antony and Dahlgaard, 2017). The main documents which are prepared in this stage are project initiation document (PDI), charter, risk register, flow diagrams, estimations, documents of materials etc.     

Alignment of quality, cost and timescales: The project manager set the standards and quality deliverables in this stage. He makes sure that project initiation document (PDI) and standards have been approved by the stakeholders. Mackay Regional Council has to be included in this stage and their approval should be taken. It allows the manager to set priorities and allocate the resources accordingly. There are various deliverable in the project which has to be schedules so as to complete the project in the desired time (Rosemann and vom Brocke, 2015).     

Work breakdown: Work break down allows a manager to break the entire project into manageable pieces. It helps him to estimate duration and the cost. Furthermore, he can effectively allocate the resources to it (Schwalbe, 2015). The project manager of Quota Park Pathways should use Critical Path Analysis (CPI) to create sequential activities in a logical order. The biggest advantage of using lean method in the Quota Park Pathways is that each deliverable can be assigned to the team member. It will allow the manager to delegate tasks and he will be able to monitor all the activities related to the deliverables.   

Implementation and monitoring: The implementation of the plan begins in this stage. All the activities related to the Quota Park Pathways such as sign boards, direction boards, renovation, improvements in road furniture and environmental management techniques have to be assigned (Leach, 2014). A start notice has to be given and proper monitoring methods should be ensured. Project manager has to ensure that there is no defect or deviation from the standards which have been set up in the initial stages of the process. Deviations can affect the outcome of the project which can result in delays.      

Coordination and weekly meetings: Lean method can help in coordination and integration of different activities in the project. Quota Park Pathways have many deliverables which increases the complexities of the entire project (Ferrario, Simm and Whittle, 2014). Project manager discusses master schedule and progress of the project in weekly meetings. He also ensured that all the stakeholders are included in the process. Furthermore, action measures taken for the deviation are also decided in this stage. Mackay Regional Council gets regular updates about the progress of the Quota Park Pathways which keeps them satisfied.     

Productivity improvement: Lean method ensures reduction in wastage. It could be cost, time, efforts or materials. Project manager uses concise details about the project and takes action to increase the value of the project (Sears, Sears, Clough and Segner, 2015). The construction of pathways to link all the facilities can give rise wasteful of resources. The review plan increases the productivity of project and reallocation can be done after assessing all the details of the progress. It can be very beneficial for the clients as well as customers. They will be able to get quality product in less time and resources (Reddy, Thomas. and Kyrpides, 2014).    

Changes in logic: Many construction projects fail due to lack planning and delays in achieving the desired objectives. Change in logic can allow the manager to analyze the duration of each activity. It is compared with ethic standards and the decisions are taken accordingly. Quota Park Pathways will be benefitted from this aspect of management because it will enable the manager to change the logic (Ferrario, Simm and Whittle, 2014). It will speed up subsequent tasks and delivery of all the objectives will be ensured. Last Planner System (LPS) can be used for controlling and re planning.       

Inspection: Last Planner System (LPS) is an effective tool which can be used in the inspection stage to avoid any defects in the project. It can improve the workflow of the Quota Park Pathway which will increase its efficiency (Harvey and Lynch, 2017). Furthermore, it reduces the chances of uncertainties as all the tests and checks are done at this stage. Apart from this, it encourages continuous learning and development. Project manager record all the learning and lessons which he has learned from the project. It will help him to develop his skills and competencies in the field.       

Justification of Lean model

Lean model of project management is appropriate for the construction of Quota Park Pathway. It focuses on learning, continuous improvement and delivering effective solutions to the clients. The needs of the clients have to be fulfilled and the project should be without any defect (Rosemann and vom Brocke, 2015). It will allow the project manager to take care of all the deliverables and objectives of the client. The work breakdown structure and Critical Path Analysis will reduce complexities as it defines each activity along with the timescale. Furthermore, there are five principles which can be adopted to avoid wastage and effective outcome.   

Conclusion

It can be concluded that all the activities and tasks should be designed to ensure effective integration at the end of the project. The Mackay Regional Council has many objectives and goals which have to be taken into account in the construction of Quota Park Pathways. It includes sign boards, direction boards, renovation, improvements in road furniture and environmental management techniques. They need pathways to connect all the main facilities and centers of the park. It can be achieved by using the lean model of project management. It changes the view point of the manager which makes him aware about all the activities and systems involved in the project. The most considerable factor about Lean method is that it gives sequential steps to the manager and his team members. They have clear idea about the standards, objectives, deliverables, work breakdowns and goals. Furthermore, it will enable cohesiveness between team members, project manager, stakeholders and Mackay Regional Council.

References

Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.

Ferrario, M.A., Simm, W., Newman, P., Forshaw, S. and Whittle, J., 2014, May. Software engineering for'social good': integrating action research, participatory design, and agile development. In Companion Proceedings of the 36th International Conference on Software Engineering (pp. 520-523). ACM.

Harvey, G. and Lynch, E., 2017. enabling continuous Quality improvement in Practice: the role and contribution of Facilitation. Frontiers in public health, 5.

Leach, L.P., 2014. Critical chain project management. Artech House.

McLean, R.S., Antony, J. and Dahlgaard, J.J., 2017. Failure of Continuous Improvement initiatives in manufacturing environments: a systematic review of the evidence. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 28(3-4), pp.219-237.

Reddy, T.B.K., Thomas, A.D., Stamatis, D., Bertsch, J., Isbandi, M., Jansson, J., Mallajosyula, J., Pagani, I., Lobos, E.A. and Kyrpides, N.C., 2014. The Genomes OnLine Database (GOLD) v. 5: a metadata management system based on a four level (meta) genome project classification. Nucleic acids research, p.gku950

Rosemann, M. and vom Brocke, J., 2015. The six core elements of business process management. In Handbook on business process management 1 (pp. 105-122). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Schwalbe, K., 2015. Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Sears, S.K., Sears, G.A., Clough, R.H., Rounds, J.L. and Segner, R.O., 2015. Construction project management. John Wiley & Sons.

Stark, J., 2015. Product lifecycle management. In Product Lifecycle Management (pp. 1-29). Springer International Publishing.