Project Management

When projects are major pieces of work undertaken over an extended period of time, it is
important to manage them carefully. In many cases, managing a project means co-
ordinating a numer of different resources, including people from different departments
or even from outside of the usiness. Project Management is all aout managing these
resources in order that the project is delivered
! "o specification
! #n time, and
! Within udget
$tudents should appreciate the importance of good project management to usiness
success. It is easy to see the impact of failed project management in works such as the
new Wemley $tadium%
! &amaged reputation which may hamper the aility to gain further work
! &issatisfied customers
! 'ost over-runs that lead to loss of profit
! (inancial penalties paid to the customer
! )ow morale amongst the workforce
! &amaged relationships with su-contractors and other usiness partners
Planning
*ood project management starts with good planning - the ojectives of a project should
e clear and would conform to the $M+," model%
! $pecific
! Measurale
! +greed
! ,ealistic, and
! "ime-ased
Planning tools would include $imultaneous -ngineering .for product development/ and
'ritical Path +nalysis, for projects in general - see separate notes on oth of these
methods.
Monitoring
Projects do not always go according to plan and it is generally the case that when this
happens, work takes more, rather than less time, than expected. *ood project
management recognises the internal and external factors that might throw a project off
schedule. Monitoring progress carefully will help identify the likely impact of any delays
so that action can e taken to get the project ack on track.
'ontingency planning
'ontingency planning means trying to identify possile sources of disruption to the
project so that in the event of a prolem, swift action can e taken. "his may e as simple
as having a ack-up supplier for materials, or y uilding some 0slack1 into the schedule.
In the case of serious delays, this may mean making arrangements to manage the
situation, such as happened with Wemley $tadium, when major matches have had to e
hosted elsewhere.
Methods of production
Production is at the heart of all industry and is the process of using the resources of a firm
to convert 0inputs1 into 0outputs1, which are products or services desired y customers.
2o production
2o production is used to create one-off orders or 0jos1 especially made for the purpose.
"his might e a relatively small jo such as espoke suit or a sandwich made to order in a
caf3, or it could e a massive jo such as a cruise liner or the +rsenal1s new stadium.
2o production helps ensure that the product or service matches the customer1s exact
needs, as closely as the firm is ale, ecause it is literally 0custom-made1. In many cases,
skilled or specialised staff make products of very high 4uality, or which have individual
character that might have less appeal if they were mass-produced.
2o production is a relatively expensive process ecause it re4uires specialised and
skilled staff who concentrate on the individual jo or project. It is therefore laour
intensive, although some projects 5 such as the cruise liner 5 may also need a lot of
expensive capital e4uipment.
$mall usinesses that are uilt on the skills of the owner, such as a window cleaner or a
hairdresser, use jo production techni4ues.
6atch production
+s the name suggests, products are produced in small or large atches. "his process is
useful to a firm that makes a numer of different variations of asically similar products.
-xamples would include7 a akery, a car exhaust pipe factory or a toothpaste
manufacturer.
If the sandwich shop mentioned aove wanted to speed up production, instead of making
sandwiches to order, it might e ale to enefit y making the day1s sandwiches in
atches of all the different types and have them availale for sale, pre-packed.
+ toothpaste manufacturer will set its weekly atches of production of each product
according to the orders from the supermarkets and wholesalers. "he same machinery is
used for each product ut the ingredients, packaging an8or si9e is changed for each atch
as re4uired. It is crucial that the machinery can e 4uickly cleaned and re-configured for
each new atch to minimise unproductive time.
In a factory that uses flow production .see elow/, it is 4uite common for component
parts to e made in atches enough for a week1s production.
(low production
"his is a production line method, where product is continuously produced, flowing from
one stage of production to the next. Workers and, increasingly roots, carry out individual
repetitive tasks aiming to work as 4uickly as possile without loss of 4uality. "his is the
method pioneered y :enry (ord for his Model " car, and the efficiencies he gained
enaled him to produce large numers of cars at low cost. +ny product made in high
volumes will almost certainly e made on a flow production line.
"his approach to production has close links with (W "aylor and his 0$cientific school of
management1 5 "aylor1s motivational theories were all aout creating the workplace and
forms of reward to maximise efficiency. "his in turn led to very oring work and
contriuted to industrial unrest over the years where workers1 interests were overlooked.
More modern, lean production techni4ues have at least partly recognised the fact that this
type of work can e extremely oring, and ideas such as cell production and 4uality
circles can help improve the workplace as workers ecome multi-skilled, take more
responsiility for 4uality and can contriute their ideas for improvements.
(low production systems are typically capital intensive and it is important to keep them
running smoothly with high levels of capacity utilisation, so that these high overhead
costs are spread over as many units as possile.
#nce set up properly, flow production lines can in some cases produce millions of
consistently high 4uality products.
'ell production
"his is a form of flow production in which the line is separated into a numer of sections,
each looked after y a group of workers called a 0cell1. 'ells take responsiility for work
in their area, such as 4uality, jo rotation, training and so on. $ee notes on )ean
Production for more detailed discussion of 'ell Production.
-valuation - 0Personalised flow1
"he distinction etween the different methods of production is sometimes not totally
clear. With some higher-value products made in flow production, such as motor vehicles,
it is now possile to personalise the product for each order.
'ars such as the new Mini are made to order, and customers specify colour, trim, and
accessories from an extensive list. "his has een made possile through advances in
computerised ordering and manufacturing systems and through advances in the actual
processes 5 such as rootised paint spraying in the case of the Mini. "his means that
customers get a very personalised product with all the cost enefits and consistent 4uality
from flow production.
)ean Production - introduction
)ean production is a 2apanese approach to management that focuses on cutting out waste,
whilst ensuring 4uality. "his approach can e applied to all aspects of a usiness 5 from
design, through production to distriution.
)ean production aims to cut costs y making the usiness more efficient and responsive
to market needs.
"his approach sets out to cut out all activities that do not add value to the production
process, such as holding of stock, repairing faulty product and unnecessary movement of
people and product around the plant.
"he most important aspects of lean production for current ;< +-level specifications are
as follows%
! 2ust in time production .2I"/
! 'ell production
! <ai9en .'ontinuous improvement/
! =uality 'ircles
! "otal =uality Management ."=M/ and 9ero defect production - see notes on
4uality management
! "ime ased management
! $imultaneous engineering
2ust in time production .2I"/
2ust in time is a 0pull1 system of production, so actual orders provide a signal for when a
product should e manufactured. &emand-pull enales a firm to produce only what is
re4uired, in the correct 4uantity and at the correct time.
"his means that stock levels of raw materials, components, work in progress and finished
goods can e kept to a minimum. "his re4uires a carefully planned scheduling and flow
of resources through the production process. Modern manufacturing firms use
sophisticated production scheduling software to plan production for each period of time,
which includes ordering the correct stock. Information is exchanged with suppliers and
customers through -&I .-lectronic &ata Interchange/ to help ensure that every detail is
correct.
$upplies are delivered right to the production line only when they are needed. (or
example, a car manufacturing plant might receive exactly the right numer and type of
tyres for one day1s production, and the supplier would e expected to deliver them to the
correct loading ay on the production line within a very narrow time slot.
+dvantages of 2I"
! )ower stock holding means a reduction in storage space which saves rent and
insurance costs
! +s stock is only otained when it is needed, less working capital is tied up in
stock
! "here is less likelihood of stock perishing, ecoming osolete or out of date
! +voids the uild-up of unsold finished product that can occur with sudden
changes in demand
! )ess time is spent on checking and re-working the product of others as the
emphasis is on getting the work right first time
&isadvantages of 2I"
! "here is little room for mistakes as minimal stock is kept for re-working faulty
product
! Production is very reliant on suppliers and if stock is not delivered on time, the
whole production schedule can e delayed
! "here is no spare finished product availale to meet unexpected orders, ecause
all product is made to meet actual orders 5 however, 2I" is a very responsive method
of production
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