SSP150 Project Based Management Proof Reading Services

SSP150 Project Based Management Oz Assignments

SSP150 Project Based Management Proof Reading Services

Introduction

The form of the building technologies currently being used in the manufacturing industry does not meet the desired standard for the customers. There have been continuous claims and problems that have been raised by individuals, government and civil society about the quality of the construction being offered by these firms. Many constructions waste materials, time, and increased workers accidents due to lack of adequate measure put in place to promote successful implementation and growth of the construction industry. To solve the problem, advanced information technology has been introduced by these firms to ensure that there is a reduction in the number of an accident caused by negligence and lack of skills in different sectors. Productivity and quality can only be improved if the firm changes the type of technology that they are using. Depending on the site areas many individuals have claimed that the engineers assigned the duties to end up neglecting the work and force the juniors to work on projects that are more complicated.

Various researchers and scholars have identified numerous advanced technologies in constructions systems. Some have been implemented and developed. To solve the problem of low productivity the systems have been focusing on improved training of all the junior engineers and their counterparts. Additionally, the reports suggest that the constructions companies have been introducing technologies such as automation prefabrication and information technologies as well as modernization of construction activities. The methodologies used by these firms ensure that the quality desired is achieved, wastage is minimized and the human resource is applied to the maximum (Leahy, 2016).

The systems aim at changing the construction styles used in building technologies to that of factory production through the sophistication of concepts and advanced techniques. Essentially construction companies present the reports and engineering process to the appropriate department to ensure there are approval and assurance of support of the project. Clear strategies are expected to be set by these firms to ensure that they meet the quality and the standards that are expected by the concerned parties. Therefore the focus of this report is the fusion and implementation of new technical knowledge in the construction industry at Young construction Company.

Current firms are operating at different technological standards thus the fusion of technology is an emerging methodology that ensures the integration of potential advanced skills disciplines and approaches that meet the set standard. The amalgamation will assist the firms to respond appropriately to an uncertain environment where they are operating. This report will address the implementation plan of technology fusion in the construction company to improve the quality of the building and ensure there is minimum wastage (Pheng, 2015).

To promote technology fusion in the construction industry, it is vital for the firm to have a structure that governs and encourage goals set by the firm. It is essential for every stakeholder to meet the required standards. This report aims to discuss the plan of implanting the technology at Young Company for a strategy to automate construction systems which will lead to a wide range of constructing high rise buildings by integration of prefabrication automation and information technologies

A clear description of the project

Evaluation of the current industry best practices about the project management in medium and large scale enterprises indicate that many of the firms have not embraced technology fusion in their systems and they are still relying on the human labor to meet the standards. For medium, scales companies they have only focused on utilizing the available resource to meet the criteria. The project description indicates that the implementation of technology in the construction industry is an essential factor that can enhance quality and productivity. Since the construction activities are continually shifting the manager need to possess skills and expertise of traditional projects and modern projects, this helps one to develop and integrate the available abilities to meet the standard set (Pheng, 2015). Implementation of new technology in the construction cannot be achieved if the senior managers are not involved. Their experience in the industry demonstrates continuous growth.

Construction project management involves managing, directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the lifecycle of the project. Therefore, this can be achieved by fusing the modern technologies in the management techniques to minimize the cost, time and resources wastage. Medium enterprise lack enough fund to invest in the new technologies. Their financial base limits them from using modern techniques to meet the quality that is expected within a short period.

Construction project management handles the execution of the project at all levels regardless of the locality. Thus, technology fusion in construction can only be achieved through the integration of ideas and support from the top managers. Also the project description address the projects set goals, the overall objectives and the plan that describes the activities undertaken by members. On the other hand, the project, address the leadership function about the management in the engineering within the projects. Managers are tasked with ensuring that the company resources are utilized effectively and efficiently without wastage. Assigning duties and monitoring the activities is part of the management duties

The process and the importance of the leadership function in the management of engineering projects within an organization

In every organization, active leadership process is essential for the corporation growth because it involves proactive innovation and development. A leader does not look at the project limited resources but looks for ways and methods to improve on the available resources. Leaders communicate their ideas and help with the implementation process. Several functions and types of leadership styles can be used in the organization. Some of the methods that have proven to be useful include: transformational leadership. This type of leadership help leaders to create visions and missions for the business that focuses on achieving the set goals (Christini, 2014). The style works well in developing the employees, once the workers are motivated their productivity increases and employee turnover ratio decreases. The leader's function is to act as role models, challenge and connect with workers to promote better results.

Another leadership style in the engineering process that can be used to promote growth and development is Behavioral style. Employees look upon their leaders for motivation and development. Therefore the actions carried out by their leaders can determine the worker's success or failure. Lack of proper conduct leads to conflict and constant dispute within the firm. This type of leadership helps managers and supervisors to create policies and procedures that support employees in their duties.

Consequently, ethics contribute to employee’s relationship within the firm. The primary function of the leaders in the engineering organization is to promote and achieve the firm’s goals and objectives. Every department should focus on growing the business; they are also expected to ensure that each meets their set goals (Christini, 2014).

More than 56 percent of engineering companies have failed to meet the set leadership standard. Most of the leaders fail to educate their employees on particular issues affecting the business due to failed relationships. On the other hand, leaders who promote self-respect, training and development of employees reduce turnover ratio and increase output, improve quality of service and employee morale. Satisfied employees can attract new customers and keep the existing ones loyal to the firm. Therefore, it is upon the leaders to meet the set standards and promote cohesion within the firm

Another importance of leadership in an engineering organization is value promotion. A clear set of values by the leaders encourage morals and positive relationship in the firm. Thus, lack of onset leadership values and morals can lead to increased employee turnover. If the manager or supervisor in a particular department lacks values, employees and the juniors will question their integrity and their actions. Leaders should uphold integrity, creates suitable and reliable structures to guide and govern the workers.

Construction managers play a significant role and responsibilities. They keep the project moving forward according to the plan. The goals of these leaders are to manage the project to ensure that the set time, budget cost and resources are used and managed effectively. They set the parameters, calendar, vetting process and the finances of hiring one subcontractor who is tasked with new responsibilities of advancing the project. Construction managers or leaders in the engineering firms play several responsibilities which include, contract administration, quality management, Safety management, and time management.

The fundamental principles that leaders can utilize to ensure there is a success in the fusion of new technologies in the construction industry is by letting the market drive research and development, and not the other way round. Secondly, leaders need to develop a reliable and robust intelligence capability against their competitors both as defensive mechanism and progress strategies. Thirdly they should take part in cross research and development program in the construction industries to identify new ways that will facilitate the efficient growth of the organizations.

Flexible leadership is the future of engineering in every construction company thus it is essential to establish a mechanism that can promote efficiency and effectiveness. To leaders in the field of engineering, Are challenging stereotypes and getting results is their primary target. This can be achieved by combining technical excellence with the ability to motivate other and put them into the relevance of business objectives.

Lastly, leadership involves people skills which require greater attentiveness to soft skills. It is therefore up to the leaders to keep the line of communication open so as they can address any misunderstanding that may arise during the project plan implementation process.

Analysis of Charts

New engineering and project Management approaches and their significance to engineering practice.

There are several project management processes that are significant to the engineering practice. Some of the approaches that are used in the new engineering project include agile project management process. This is value-centered approach by management and allows project progress and procedure to be processed in small cycles or phases (Bourgeois, 2017). Project manager prefers this approach because it is more flexible and exhibits dynamic traits that benefit the process. The goal of this approach is to adapt to client changes and feedback. The method is used in the construction industry as part of technology software integration that enables changes for the project.

Another approach that can be used in the engineering project management is PERT. It stands for Project Evaluation Review Technique. It is mostly combined with the critical path method to ensure that it us up-to-date and useful. It has a high significance in the construction industry as it takes into cognizance the time take to finalize a particular project. The analysis also provides the time and the budgets of the project.

PERT Chart and critical path and possible float time

PERT chart above shows the flow of task that need to be performed during the project. Managers are expected to create a plan and test the time and flow of work. Further, they can be upgraded into Work breakdown structures once the costs are determined. PERT represent the project schedule networked with a sequence of tasks and milestones (Bourgeois, 2017).

Thirdly, Work Breakdown Structure is a critical project management approach that helps in the organization of the team’s into manageable sections. The breakdown of work enables employees to understand the roles to play and the objectives to achieve. It is also valuable in providing the definition and details of each level of work. The code and number of tasks help managers to assign duties and monitor the flow of work within the project timelines.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), cost and duration

The project team creates the cost duration and the percentage of work to be performed by each person in the project. This project management approach is essential as it reduces the time taken to assign and monitor each person within the construction site. They can divide and identify major functional and small deliverables. These deliverables are further subdivided until a single person is assigned a task to perform. The cost can be determined and the time can be managed. The chart above indicates a breakdown of work in a construction site. Internal, external and foundation all have their subdivisions.

The work breakdown structure offers the project with several benefits apart from subdividing the work. It helps in allocating the budget to the top levels of the work breakdown and departmental budget. Time and cost can be efficiently be awarded as per the project division.

Gantt chart for Task Interdependencies and milestones

Despite project planners automating much of the functions, a recent survey shows that a significant number of project managers and construction companies are still using the project planning manual methods of creating Gantt charts. They are a valuable tool in the planning process of any project in the construction industry experience. Managers use the chart to carry a variety of tasks. Some of the most common functions include Visualizing the critical path to be undertaken, setting baselines for the project scope schedule and the budget and lastly, managers use the Gantt charts to track the progress of the project after kickoff. The Chart is of importance in two stages of the project (Bourgeois, 2017). The planning and tracking stages. The chart assigns dates for tasks, staff tasks, and track progress. Some of the benefits include team productivity increase. This is because the development is displayed publicly thus helping individuals stay on top of their tasks. The chart also allows members to hold each other accountable.

The chart below shows the project task that needs to be performed; it can be drawn manually or printed and displayed on the notice board or near the project site. Some of the information presented by the chart includes the start date, and end date (Ramesh, 2017).

Challenges faced in producing the required Information

Project management and implementation plan process meet a lot of problems in different phases. Some of them include initiation, planning, execution, performance monitoring and closure phase. The project manager is tasked to evaluate and determine the project feasibility where a charter or the project document is developed. Some of the challenges experienced during this period include:

Change in technology

Technology change has been making a revolution in the construction industry, various firms have embraced the changes, but some have failed to cope with it hence making loses. Due to the increased cost of growing the business and financing new technology for the company, the firm finds it difficult to compete with well-established companies. Computer systems and types of machinery that are programmed to work together have been costly (Bourgeois, 2017). However, this challenge can be controlled and prevented. The firm should seek funds from reputable financial institutions to fund for the new project. Additionally, the firm can partner with the companies offering the technology and remain vibrant in the market.

Increase in employment problems.

Due to technology changes companies have been laying off more of their workforce which has to lead to increased litigation cases. Cases have been costly for the firm, and most of the suits employees have won thus substantial compensation benefits has been given. This problem can be prevented, the project manager and the company human resource should ensure they formulate a compensation plan that does not warrant a complete loss to the employees (Ramesh, 2017).They need to be engaged and given reasons as to why the services are being terminated. Also, the firm should higher qualify lawyers to present it in court during such incidences.

1. Undefined goals: It is lack of goals for tasks to be done therefore many individuals have failed to succeed in their respective areas due to lack of clear objectives and targets. The blame is on the supervisors and the project manager. The project manager or the supervisors can prevent this problem. They must be careful to ask the right and relevant questions to establish a clear vision and communication systems that can help in channeling the ideas to different departments. The manager is expected to work out to keep the construction on track.

2. Inadequately skilled personnel: skills are essential in every project. Thus it is necessary for the project to hire the best. This problem affects the company as the quality and productivity of the construction will be questionable. The project can manage this problem by assessing the competencies needed for the particular job. Once they identify a gap in skills, then training can be recommended or outsource the job.

3. Lack of accountability: Accountability is necessary for the success of every project. This is an issue that has been affecting many construction companies which need to be addressed. Finance loss, material wastage and lack of teamwork contribute to the declining of the company. However, the project manager has the responsibility to identify the group, individuals or departments that are not performing well. The leaders should provide the direction, motivation, and advice to the employees. Such motivation can lead to raised accountability levels for the laid out plan.

4. Improper risk management: plan implementation in the engineering companies faces a lot of risks. Thus it upon the administration to have an adequate measure to monitor the problem. This challenge can limit the progress of the company’s goals. But, the problem can be controlled, to avoid improper risk management the Project manager is expected to learn and put together the factors that might cause the risk. Secondly, regular training should be offered to employees to ensure they understand the possible causes and type of risk around them (Christini, 2014).

5. Poor communications: lack of proper communication channels within the firm can lead to losses. This problem affects all parts of the plan implementing team. It causes delays due to low employee morale and dispute settlement process. However, it can be settled if the project manager keeps the communication and feedback open between the upper management and the team leaders.

6. Impossible deadlines:This is another challenge that needs to be addressed. Sometimes the senior managers set deadlines for a particular project within a limited time. This leads to low quality of work and loss of productivity. This is a morale killer. Therefore, the project manager should embrace dialogue and negotiate a more realistic deadline.

7. Resource Deprivation: lack of proper resource allocation can lead to the poor implementation of construction activities. Therefore, the managers and leaders need to adequately define and approve form the beginning of the resources for different departments. The managers are responsible for assigning the funds for the project until it completed (Christini, 2014).

8. Lack of stakeholder engagement:Lack of involvement of the top management, the society, and employee are in the implementation process, can lead to resistance for the managers. Therefore, this can be avoided if the project implementing team keeps an open communication channel and encourage feedback from everyone. At every step of the project, they should seek ideas and opinions from other stakeholders of the company. Depending on the nature of the problem the project managers have different ways to settle the issue. If they cannot agree with involved parties then its advisable to call for a third party to mediate or arbitrate.

Current industry Best practices, and new engineering and project management

Industry best practices are based on the personnel implementing the plans the process can be achieved only through continuous support from all departments. Project management can be improved only when the team that is in charge embraces changes and implements the set standards. There is no best practice for every organization, every situation changes, and the firms are expected to improve their practices. Individuals and managers need to find better ways to reach the results. Best practice can be defined as a consistent way of doing something to achieve a particular goal. For other firms, best practice means that every person in the company is using the same equipment or software to carry out specific activities (Momoh, 2016).

Most organization has best practices at their disposal, but they fail to recognize it because it was not developed by some form the top management and channeled down to the lower levels. Some of the things that need current best practices in the engineering market include, development of competencies, assessment of skill, development of a process for resource planning and career paths. Other includes formalized mentoring and coaching plans.

Some of the needs that the organization wants to accomplish with their best practices include active management of project resources such as funds, labor and time. Secondly, they want to align projects with the strategic goals of the organization with improved tracking and reporting systems of the project. Therefore, it’s essential for the organization to formalize their project management function and find improved ways to accomplish the goals. With best practice in place, the organization can make better decisions and preserve resources (Momoh, 2016).

Recommendation

The process can be achieved by developing the project management roles and competencies for each department and personnel. This can be done by assigning duties and tasks within a set timeframe. The objective should focus on achieving the company’s goals. Secondly, assess staff against those competencies. The team assigned to perform a particular task should be equipped with skills and competencies to play to their best. Quality of the construction should be their priority then time and budget should be controlled.

Also, the project manager needs to develop strategic training and mentoring plans for all the workers. This helps them to improve their skills and gain confidence in their line of work. Some of the training can set for short-term goals and other for long-term targets. Some of the plans then need to be put in place include, individuals ability to manage risk, in the event the manager realizes that the employees are not well equipped with the skills, they should plan for a training program. Regardless of the plan’s time frame, it advisable that the individuals have an action to apply their learned skills. The project manager should follow up the training after every three months to survey and determine how the individuals are using the skills.

Again, the manager should develop a knowledge and support portal. The skills and knowledge are acquired can be utilized in making challenging decisions. The manager should provide the team with experience and ways to support each other. This can be done through collaboration and information sharing between departments during debates or group forums (Momoh, 2016). Secondly, listing current project information and strategic plan for the company can help in the integration and knowledge which helps in tracking project status.

Lastly, the manager should continue monitoring, assessing and improving the work. It is an ongoing process hence needs to be evaluated regularly to ensure that it meets the set standards. The key performance indicators should be determined including time, budget percentage or resources and the return on investment. The manager should be able to decide where they want the project to be after some years. In the event, the project resources are not planned well the external factors may run them out.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the project implementation plan for engineering companies requires one to be careful in running the details. The process requires, time and funds to meet the set standards. However, this process has been affected by the changes in technology, limited funds, poor communication systems, impossible deadlines and poor risk management. Thus the organization needs to ensure that they manage the risk and improve the employee skills. Technology fusion in the construction industry is a critical factor for organization growth and development. Information technology relies on the management and engineering functions. The firm needs to use an integrated information system that is up-to-date to meet the set standards. Additionally, some of the management approaches put in place such as Gantt chart, PERT, Agile and work breakdown structure have proved to be valid and reliable for project management.

References

1. Bourgeois, L. J., & Brodwin, D. R. (2017). Strategic implementation: Five approaches to an elusive phenomenon. Strategic Management Journal, 5(3), 241-264.
2. Christini, G., Fetsko, M., & Hendrickson, C. (2014). Environmental management systems and ISO 14001 certification for construction firms. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 130(3), 330-336.
3. Leahy, P. P., Rosenshein, J. S., & Knopman, D. S. (2016). Implementation plan for the national water-quality assessment program (No. 90-174). Dept. of the Interior, US Geological Survey; Books and Open-File Reports [distributor],.
4. Momoh, A., Roy, R., & Shehab, E. (2016). Challenges in enterprise resource planning implementation: state-of-the-art. Business Process Management Journal, 16(4), 537-565.
5. Pheng, L. S., & Teo, J. A. (2015). Implementing total quality management in construction firms. Journal of management in Engineering, 20(1), 8-15.
6. Ramesh, B., Cao, L., & Baskerville, R. (2017). Agile requirements engineering practices and challenges: an empirical study. Information Systems Journal, 20(5), 449-480