Computerized Management of Multiple Small Projects

Planning, Task and Resource Scheduling, Estimating, Design Optimization, and Project Control

RichardE. Westney

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351458566
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Civil Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

""This well-organized reference presents complete and explicit instructions on exactly what to do to manage multiple small projects -- using limited resources -- in any industry. The hands-on methods -- derived from proven successes in every type of business -- specifically address the needs of the nonspecialist project manager, and are highly effective for professionals who coordinate multiple projects of any kind.

PART I
Defining the Problem and Elements of the Solution

1
The Big Problem of Small Projects

Introduction

For those of us who work with them, small projects mean big problems. Unlike our colleagues working on big projects, we have to cope with special problems like handling many projects at once, working in a production environment, and being on our own in the work we do. There are, fortunately, some proven project management concepts and methods which can be adapted to fit the small project environment. Before defining a solution to the small project problem, we must first define the problem in the most specific terms, and that is the purpose of this chapter. Although small projects exist in widely different circumstances, they all share certain common elements in both the problem and solution.

What Is a “Small Project”?

The word “project” can be used to describe an endeavor in which a number of tasks are performed in order to accomplish a particular objective. In the usual context of project management, projects are usually undertaken by an organization to achieve business objectives such as:

Maintenance of production capacity Increased production capacity

Compliance with environmental requirements

Performance of research for new product development

Provision of engineering, mechanical, or construction services

Profit generation from the project work itself

We can see that the determination of what a “small” project is, is really determined by the environment in which the project takes place. However, we can define some guidelines as to what we mean by a small project. Small projects, in the context of this book, have one or more of the following characteristics:

Cost levels from $5,000 to $50,000,000

Cost levels less than 5% of annual budget for projects

Numerous other similar projects take place concurrently

Labor and equipment resources shared with other projects

The company doing the project is, itself, small

Project management efforts are part-time

Some examples of small projects are:

Plant maintenance

Research

Computer system development

Plant additions

Engineering

New product development

Plant modifications or improvements

Light construction

Projects to assure compliance with environmental requirements

Utility system outages

Administration

Small Projects Have Big Problems!

Size Belies Importance

Most people involved in project management (PM) would consider the types of projects listed above to be quite straightforward: to be not nearly so difficult as the multi-billion dollar “super-projects” to which so much attention has been paid.

The fact is, small projects can be just as important to the company involved as the larger projects and sometimes even more important. For example, a “turnaround” project, in which a critical manufacturing or process unit is shut down and overhauled in the absolute minimum time, can have a major impact on the plant’s profitability if it takes too long and causes valuable production to be lost. Often the timing of the introduction of a new product is of critical importance, and depends on a number of engineering and construction projects to be completed on time.

So the value of successfully completing the small project can be far greater than the cost of the project itself, and the importance of the small project to the plant should not be underestimated just because the cost is small. If the company doing the project is itself small, the project may represent a major investment to that company.

Small projects are also important because of their increasing cost and complexity. As industries develop, and inflation continues, projects tend to become more complex and costly, making many types of projects suitable candidates for a more sophisticated approach to project management than had previously been taken.

The total cost of multiple small projects is often not small at all. In a large plant, such as an oil refinery or steel mill, the individual small project may represent an insigificant sum, but the aggregate cost of all the small projects done each year may be significant indeed. For example, the cost of maintenance each year often exceeds the expenditures for large capital projects and, unlike a large project which lasts a few years, maintenance work goes on continuously. So, if the total program of small projects is considered, it generally represents a project of significant size and complexity!

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of managing small projects is the problem of dealing with many projects at once. This certainly is a problem that the large projects do not have. In the small-project environment, many project engineers and maintenance managers must handle 20 or more projects at once, some of which are in the design and procurement stage, some of which are under construction, and some of which are just being started up. And it must be remembered that many project management activities must be performed regardless of the project’s size. The basic problems of small projects are shown in Table 1.1

As illustrated by Table 1.1, in most organizations we find the paradoxical situation in which small projects, which have the toughest management problems, get the least attention. The reasons for this situation are described below.

Many Small Projects Exist in a Production Environment

Most small projects, involving maintenance, improvements, etc., take place in an operating plant of some sort. This facility operates for one reason: to make a profit by producing the maximum amount of on-spec product. Everything about the plant is dedicated to this one goal: its organization, procedures, priorities, and expertise.

Table 1.1 Managing Small vs. Large Projects

Because the top priority is production, the small projects required to keep the plant running are often considered, at best, a “necessary evil”. This typical situation finds the manager of multiple small projects constantly scrambling for the people, materials, equipment, management attention, cash, and even time required to get projects done. Many of the people on whom he or she must depend will perform project work only as a part-time, low-priority task. The production environment is also one in which things frequently change, as breakdowns and other unforeseen crises divert attention and manpower to unplanned but highly critical work.

Organization: Not Designed for Projects

As one might expect, the plant organization within which the small projects must be run is generally not designed for project management. The plant organization is, of course, intended to insure production, and must cope with the project work which is required in the best way it can.

Frequently, the manager of multiple small projects must communicate with, and draw support from, such organizational functions as:

1. Engineering, drafting
   Purchasing, warehouse
   Construction, maintenance
   Project engineering, planning, estimating
   Accounting
   Upper management

The manager of multiple small projects often finds him- or herself in the classic dilemma of having responsibility without the authority to back it up. Since project work is apt to be a part-time, low-priority job for these various support groups, the problem of getting the work done can become acute. And, the problems are often compounded by the fact that he or she has had little opportunity, at school or work, to be trained in the principles and methods of project management.

Perhaps because of these organizational problems, small projects often suffer from a lack of the formal procedures, methods, and data which are available to larger projects. In spite of the ease with which actual cost and schedule data could be gathered, planning and estimating are often done without the benefit of a good database, and often without experienced planners and estimators. In addition, this problem is frequently made worse by the lack of time available to do the planning and estimating in the first place.

Small Projects: A Special Problem of Control

This lack of a sound plan and estimate naturally leads to problems in project control. Compounding these problems are the special aspects of the small project such as:

Short project life: This leaves little time to gather data, identify problems and correct them.

Shared responsibility: This makes it difficult to obtain commitments and enforce accountability among individuals and departments.

Problems in obtaining actual data: These problems lead to inadequate reporting resulting in a lack of the information required for effective control.

Many projects to be controlled simultaneously: The number of projects adds complexity as some projects will be in early stages while others are near completion. The sheer number of projects handled can often be a problem: Many facilities have hundreds of small projects in progress simultaneously.

Why Standard Approaches Don’t Work

Many managers of multiple small projects have tried the procedures and techniques developed for large projects in an attempt to improve the management of the smaller projects. These attempts are often unsuccessful because large-project management techniques require a project team with specialists in, for example, planning and cost engineering, and computer applications.

Standard approaches are usually based upon a detailed plan and cost estimate that can be used as a basis for control. Since most small projects do not receive a high enough level of effort in the planning and estimating stage, there is often no basis for exercising project control in the usual way. Also, standard approaches are not suited for the short timeframe within which small projects are executed, the division of responsibility, or the problem of dealing with many projects at once.

The fact that most small projects are executed at plant-level is also a key reason why standard approaches don’t work. Plant operations impose a great many constraints on a small project that do not exist for large, grass-roots projects. Access is likely to be restricted to the work area, hot-work permits will probably be required, construction and maintenance personnel must work among operations personnel whose work has priority, and the unpredictable nature of plant operations is likely to cause numerous changes to the scheduled access to the unit and the availability of personnel.

Perhaps the main reason why standard approaches don’t work for small projects is that many small projects are “revamps”. What is a revamp project? A revamp project is a change to an existing facility. Such changes are usually made to improve the unit’s performance in some way. Examples include:

Debottlenecking projects to increase the unit’s capacity by replacing piping or equipment that is currently limiting performance

Changes to improve safety, operability, or maintainability by adding such items as lighting, platforms and stairways, piping and valving, alloy materials, redundant or oversized equipment, etc.

Additional facilities to maintain or improve operations

Facilities to assure compliance with present or anticipated environmental requirements

Modernization projects

Major maintenance projects often share the special problems of revamps. These special problems include:

Complications caused by working in an operating plant

Congestion in the work area

Lack of access to the work area, which often creates the need to perform work in a non-optimum sequence

Interference fr...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Cost Engineering
• Preface
• PART I Defining the Problem and Elements of the Solution
• PART II Planning, Scheduling and Estimating the Single Small Project
• PART III Managing Multiple Small Projects
• PART IV Executing the Small Project
• PART V Computer Applications for Multiple Project Management
• Index