Recovering of Failed Highway Project

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Table of Contents

List of Tables...................................................................................................................................4
List of Figures..................................................................................................................................5
Introduction......................................................................................................................................6
How well was the situation assessed/identified...............................................................................8
General Assessment.....................................................................................................................8
Appraisal of Management Process...............................................................................................9
Proper Definition........................................................................................................................10
Workers Morale.........................................................................................................................11
Documentation...........................................................................................................................13
Variances (cost, schedule etc.)...................................................................................................13
Project Recovery............................................................................................................................15
Improve Communications..........................................................................................................17
Redefine the Project...................................................................................................................18
Add/Remove Resources.............................................................................................................19
Tracking and Control.................................................................................................................20
Resolve Technical Issues...........................................................................................................21
Tools and Techniques....................................................................................................................23
Organizational Structure............................................................................................................23
Work Breakdown Structure.......................................................................................................24
Network Diagrams.....................................................................................................................25
Critical Path Analysis.................................................................................................................27
Discussion......................................................................................................................................28
References......................................................................................................................................29

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List of Tables

Table 1 - Network Information......................................................................................................25

Table 2 - Net Work Analysis Index...............................................................................................27

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List of Figures

Figure 1 - Work Break-Down Structure Created by first Vendor...................................................7

Figure 2 - Maslow's Theory and Structure for Productivity..........................................................12

Figure 3 - Example of Variance Analysis......................................................................................13

Figure 4 - Earned Valued Management Curve..............................................................................14

Figure 5 - Project Recovery Example............................................................................................16

Figure 6 - What is Project Management?......................................................................................22

Figure 7 - Tools and Techniques Example....................................................................................23

Figure 8 - Work Break-Down Structure........................................................................................24

Figure 9 - Net Work Diagram........................................................................................................25

Figure 10 - Diagram of Phase 2.....................................................................................................26

Figure 11 - Critical Path Diagram.................................................................................................27

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Introduction
Project Failure is most common and uncommon situation that happens with a project. This is
because project failure is never a planned deliverable. Turner (1993) noted that a project fails
when the project specifications are not delivered within budget and on time, the project fails to
achieve its stated business purpose, the project did not meet the pre-stated objectives, the project
fails to satisfy the needs of the project team and supporters and the project fails to satisfy the
need of the users and other stakeholders. Lim and Mohamed (1999) cited in Toor and Ogunlana
(2009) clarified that there are two possible viewpoints to project failure namely, the macro-level
and the micro-level. To simplify the statements above, construction projects fail because of three
core reasons: people, time, and money. In the early 1990s, the failure as well as the success of
any project was determined by the project duration, monetary cost, and the performance of the
project (Idrus, Sodangi, and Husin, 2011). Belout and Gauvrean (2004), also confirmed that the
project management triangle based on schedule, cost, and technical performance is the most
useful in determining the failure of a project.

In Trinidad and Tobago one of the causes of project failure is poor design. What this means is
that the project as conceived cannot achieve the objectives that were set. Therefore major
variations would be required in order to achieve the objectives with the result and there can be
cost overruns. The Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the Construction Sector in
Trinidad and Tobago indicates some of the issues which had been encountered:
(i) Procurement practices in the Public Construction Sector
(ii) Use of provisional sums, prime cost sums, nominated suppliers and nominated
contractors
(iii) Incomplete designs, design changes, variations, poor supervision and poor
management
(iv) Performance of local and foreign contractors and consultants on public sector
projects.
(v) Effectiveness of turnkey or design and build, compared to traditional design and
tender
(vi) Price gouging and profiteering in the public construction sector

Project Failure might mean a different thing to different stakeholders. A project that seemed
successful to one stakeholder may be a total failure to another (Toor and Ogunlana, 2008). Other
experienced stakeholders, such as engineers and architects conform to the iron triangle by
Atkinson (1999) which indicates that the most strategically important measures of project failure
are “time overrun”, “cost overrun”, and “poor quality”.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is presently carrying out a major highway project to be
completed in 4 years at a cost of 100 Million TT dollars. The project is in the
Executing/Implementing phase and it has been realized that after 15 months, only 20% of work

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has been completed. K. D. Engineering has been hired to recover this existing project which is
failing and have this project completed on time and within budget.

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Figure 1 - Work Break-Down Structure Created by first Vendor
How well was the situation assessed/identified

General Assessment
To start with, we all have to define our works being carried out on this project and it shows that
transportation and road infrastructure requires large and risky investments and is highly regulated
across the world. Most roads are owned and operated by government agencies. The permitting
and siting phases can be expected to be very intense because of approvals from residents and
land owners. However, in rural locations, a new road is welcomed by the residents and
landowners because it typically improves economic fortune of the area as a result of increased
traffic. New roads can be received as a cause for increased noise, pollution and environmental
degradation. From this project, it was shown that the highway reached the executing phase and
highway construction involves civil and traffic engineering activities, where progress is
measured by the linear length of the road designed. Where feasible through valleys and
mountains, crossed by tunnels and bridges, which require specialized and focused engineering
efforts. Earthmoving, compacting, laying pavement for infrastructural development.

The construction phase has been traditionally managed by tracking the actual cost and schedule
against the planned. Many owners are increasingly interested in more effective project controls
methods to identify risks early on in order to avoid irrecoverable delays and budget overruns.
Based on the reports provided by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT), it was said
that some of the problems which caused the delay in the project were low productivity, low
workers morale, workers are uncertain about their supervisor for leadership, wastage of materials
being washed away and damage from the tropical weather, equipment being underutilized and
rentals are still in effect, no control in the site office for communication and leadership and the
existing project manager cannot account for the delay in the project. K. D. Engineering worked
with the existing project manager to obtain further information and familiarity and used the
knowledge obtained to commence general assessment.

First, we listed the common reasons project failure occur and then we eliminate all that was not
necessary and they are:

 Poorly defined project scope

 Inadequate risk management
 Failure to identify key assumptions
 Project managers who lack experience and training
 No use of formal methods and strategies
 Lack of effective communication at all levels
 Key staff leaving the project and/or company
 Poor management of expectations
  Ineffective leadership
 Lack of detailed documentation
 Failure to track requirements
 Failure to track progress
 Lack of detail in the project plans
 Inaccurate time and effort estimates
 Cultural differences in global projects

From the report received from the GOTT and the existing manager most of the project failure
reasons listed were found in this project.

Appraisal of Management Process

All the problems existed around the workers and this showed that they were not properly
managed. Having all the resources both human and natural still cannot coordinate the
performance of a project unless they are properly managed, scheduled and directed through the
tasks. 20 percent alone were completed but not in the exact timeframe as expected. Constructing
a huge item such as a Highway can only become simple after the process has started because
most time is the same work being carried out over and over fairly skimming the surface of the
earth. It only becomes technical if the construction of bridges or tunnels or bad soil for the
application of highway. Other than these constraints the management of the human resource and
natural resources is easy.

In the initiation project phase the objective and the feasibility of the project are determined
which indicates whether this project is a good opportunity to build or not. Once everything has
been decided, a Project Initiation Document (PID) is created and this provides the groundwork
for the construction plan, it is one of the most vital artifacts in project management. So once the
project manager didn’t properly determine the objective and the feasibility of the project his
decisions are blinded by failure. The project planning stage is where the team singles out all the
work to be done.

The main priority, during the planning phase, is to plan time, costs and resources for the project.
Based on those requirements the team strategy that has to be followed. But based on the report
the project manager failed here and did not manage and utilize his resources properly for
production it was shown that only 20% of the Highway was completed in only 15 months and
shown they were behind schedule. If the project was scheduled and managed properly in 15
months 31% of the Highway would have been completed approximating to spend $31, 250,
00.00. Workers morale was low assuming that the workers observed that the management was
very poor and walking on and off the site without form of permission of instructions to do so was
absent from the project, so they already knew that the project was failing and also the welfare
was very poor. This can deter workers motivation to work and it can hamper their psychological

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need knowing that sometime soon the project will crash and their job securities will soon be
discontinued.
A work breakdown structure would have be present on the project but if it was used for direction
and coordination are one of the questions to ask. Risk management wasn’t exercised in the event
of project delivery expecting constraints or cost overruns. The information flow among workers
was more positive than the communication between the workers and their supervisors. Even the
supervisors were lost because of the constant heat which occurred in the site office of blaming
each other and the project manager and construction manager are refraining to be labeled as the
main reason for the project downfall because no one can account for the delay in the project.
Poor communication on the top level of management made good communication between the
workers about their future of the project which will soon fail. This definitely showed no control
within the project and in the site office and on the site itself. Materials are being washed away
and transported off the site with no form of security present but only near the equipment rentals
and not the natural resources. The monitoring and controlling of the project wasn’t up to par
with the schedule and feedback from the construction manager to the project manager so
directives can be monitored and controlled to and reports to the stakeholders would have been
very clear about the progress and deadline of the delivery of the highway during the execution
phase. Knowing feedback was lacking within the site and distance wasn’t covered when
measured by the eyes of the stakeholders they knew something was wrong. It was only to show
that the highway construction started late due to all the issues mentioned in the study above.

Proper Definition
The project definition sets the tone of a project so, then you know who to blame, right? If the
project is late, then the project manager should be blamed. If the project is over budget, then the
customer is to blame because they requested too many features. If the number of defects is too
high, then the developers are to be blamed. Poor project scope management practices could lead
to project failure. For this to occur on the project the project manager didn’t define and planned
the project properly.so once the scope isn’t defined the project isn’t defined and it has no sense
of direction. Defining the scope is to clearly describe and gain agreement on the logical
boundaries of the project. Scope statements are used to define what is within the boundaries and
what is outside. Being uncertain of the scope can make the project manager very uncertain of
what they are delivering and what the boundaries of the project are. This resulted in little success
for this highway project. Managing the scope is one of the most critical aspects of managing a
project so once a good job isn’t done defining the scope, managing the scope will be very
impossible to carry out. Another term for this occurrence is scope creep. Once scope creep
occurs money is wasted, decrease in satisfaction and the expected project value wouldn’t be met.
Project teams and stakeholders are frustrated by it. To lead this project a scope statement and a
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which are approved by the project sponsor as the beacon to

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follow. Once scope occurs it adds additional features and requirements to the project that is not
authorised by the client/stakeholders.

There are a number of reasons why scope creep occurs that are fairly common with most
projects, including:
 A documented Statement of Work (SOW) that is vague and undefined.
 Undocumented conversations and agreements directly between the client and team
members.
 Attempting to add additional uncontrolled changes that haven’t been approved.
 Poor communication between team members, team leaders/project managers, clients,
and stakeholders.
 Time frames and deadlines that are impossible to achieve.
 A change control process that isn’t flexible, or doesn’t exist at all.
 Lack of a project scope statement.

Workers Morale
Workers morale is the aggregation of the overall sense of wellbeing employees feel at a given
organization or project team (Dye, 2011). The key factors influencing morale are flexibility,
responsibility, standards, rewards, clarity, and team spirit (Goleman, 2000) (Stringer, 2002). Low
morale can have numerous causes and in most situations employees do not join a team with a
negative attitude (Dye, 2011).So in the event of an unclear scope and leadership issues the
workers may lose their attitude on the construction site. Seeing problems in the site office on the
leadership level their job security for the 4 year period will be questioned seeing plenty of delays
of work dure to and unclear definition of scope. Low morale can adversely impact the
performance of a team (Larsen, 2017) and can impact the ability of project teams and
organizations to retain their top talent. Without key personnel in place, project completion could
be at risk. Low morale can also cause employees to lose interest in work assignments leading to
poor quality output resulting in increased rework (Dye, 2011). Negative conflict at the workplace
can have an adverse effect on employee morale and performance (Jehn & Mannix, 1999).

The reason which contributed to productivity and workers morale being very low was shown
from all the hiccups on the project, this would have demotivated the staff because they were
certain that the project will fail and they were uncertain of their jobs assuming that any day the
project will crash and it soon did. So implementing Maslow’s theory and structure will motivate
the workers back to production mode and assure them that the balance of the project will be
successful.

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 Figure 2 - Maslow's Theory and Structure for Productivity

With significant influences by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Malone and Lepper (1987) have
integrated a large amount of motivational research into a summary of several ways the leadership
of organizations can design environments that are self-motivating.
 Motivation through Challenges
 Motivation through Curiosity
 Motivation through Control
 Motivation through Fantasy
 Motivation through Competition
 Motivation through Cooperation
 Motivation through Recognition

Workers are unsure about who is their reporting supervisor on assuming the assumption of
the issues of control at the front office can create this problem and workers will be coming to
work every day on site without direction and productivity but everyone is present on the project
because of technical issues causing delays that were uninformed to the worker

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Documentation
Variances (cost, schedule etc.)

Project variance analysis is an important technique that allows our project recovery team to
analyze the planned performance with actual project data. This will assist in identifying and
analyzing deviations in the highway project performance. Earned Value Management (EVM)
system also offers mathematical equations to calculate variances. EVM is used in a project for
monitoring and controlling and clearly it was not one of the tools used by the existing project
manager to measure progress and performance. Variance analysis should include the following
aspects:
 Identify the affected key performance indicators
 Assess the quantum of deviation?
 Estimate the degree of impact on project performance
 Identify the causes of variation
 Establish the corrective action
 Estimate the resources required to implement the corrective action
 Establish time schedule required to implement the corrective action
 Recommend preventive action?

Figure 3 - Example of Variance Analysis

Knowing the cost of the project = $100 Million TTD and the amount of the project was
completed which was 20% = 20.000,000. Therefore 80,000,000 is remaining.

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If the project supposed to be completed in 48months at 100,000,000 and in 15 months used
20,000,000. At 15 months $31,250,000 supposed to be spent so it is shown that $11,250,000 of
work is undone. Now using the Variance analysis to further get a better result.

Figure 4 - Earned Valued Management Curve

Variance Analysis Earned Value Formulas

Schedule Variance (SV)
Schedule Variance (SV) indicates if the project is ahead or behind schedule.
Schedule Variance (SV) = Earned Value (EV) – Planned Value (PV)
Schedule Variance (SV) = 20,000,000 – 100,000,000 = -80,000,000
Schedule Variance (SV) = -80,000,000
 Positive (>0) = Ahead of schedule
 Equal To Zero = On schedule
 Negative (<0) = Behind Schedule

Cost Variance (CV)

Cost Variance (CV) specifies if the project is experiencing cost overrun or not

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Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) – Actual Cost (AC)
Cost Variance (CV) = 100,000,000 – 20,000,000 = 80,000,000
 Positive (>0) = Under planned cost
 Equal To Zero = On planned
 Negative (<0) = Over planned cost
Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
Schedule Performance Index Formula SPI = EV / PV
Earned value = 20% x $100,000,000= $20,000,000
Planned value = 100,000,000
Schedule Performance Index Formula SPI = 20,000,000/100,000,000 = 0.2
SPI = 0.2
 Greater than 1.0 = Ahead of schedule
 Exactly 1.0 = On schedule
 Less than 1.0 = Behind schedule.

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

Cost Performance Index Formula CPI = EV / AC
$100,000,000/$20,000,000 = 5
 Greater than 1 = Under planned cost
 Exactly 1 = On planned cost
 Less than 1 = Over Planned cost

Project Recovery
From a survey it was shown that firms on average manage $200 million in projects each year and
in the course of that year, during that time these organizations will realize that $74 million of
their projects are at risk of failing. Workers jobs and maybe the business itself, may be in
jeopardy if nothing is done to mitigate the risks and actively attempt to recover these troubled
project. Research shows that when organizations take actions to recover troubled projects, they
are highly successful. 74% of troubled projects that underwent a recovery intervention were
recovered and 18% of these projects have recovery efforts that are still ongoing; the successful
completion of these projects should boost the percentage of recovered projects substantially.in
the recovering of the project Research has also shows that the project manager is one of the most
important factors.

The project manager can play a significant role in addressing the causes of troubled projects as
well as in effectively managing the process to recover them.

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  The project manager has the most influence in being able to proactively address the
causes of troubled projects cited in the research to help mitigate the risks if not eliminate
them altogether.
 It is usually the project manager who is responsible for taking the actions that
successfully recover troubled projects.
 Survey respondents state that the project manager was very important to the success of
their project recoveries

Figure 5 - Project Recovery Example

Before recovery actions can be taken, our firm need to be able to recognize the problems and
prepare to take appropriate corrective measures by developing a new project plan. At this point
you don’t need a revised project plan, you need a new one. You’re in the situation you’re in
because the plan that you had failed. Some actions to take in this step include, but are not
limited to:
 Stop/prevent all scope changes
 Downward adjust the scope of work
 Re-evaluate activities yet to be done
 Develop a new viable/realistic schedule
 Develop a risk management plan

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  Re-evaluate resource availability
 Develop new project planning documents

Improve Communications
Communication is simply the exchange of information in order to convey a message and good
communication involves being able to transmit your message so it is received and understood by
the intended recipients. Poor communication and stakeholder engagement; lack of clarity and
trust are common causes of failed projects. It is based on how the project manager, have
communicated with the team and with the client and how well the team communicated with each
other. It is easy to see how things can go wrong if messages were missed, requirements were not
properly understood, or problems and issues were not communicated back to the manager.
Communication is also key in moving forwards following a project failure as feedback is an
important aspect of your review process. Identifying past mistakes is a great way of improving
work in the future. Here are some simple tips to improving your communication skills:

 Establish a communication chain of command.

It is very important to determine a chain of command for communication on a construction
project. These are usually written in the contract documents and usually require the owner
and general contractor to communicate with each other through the architect. The architect is
responsible for communicating with its consultants and the general contractor is responsible
for communicating information to the suppliers and subcontractors. The superintendent on a
project is typically the main point of contact for the general contractor.
The contract documents, including the drawings, specifications, change order forms and
requests for information establish the basis for all construction communication. It is
important that any direct communication not outlined in the contract documents receives
proper authorization and any changes to the scope or schedule that need to be made are
documented and reported through the proper channels. Establishing a clear line of
communication that includes identifying points of contact with contact information for key
team members is vital to ensuring that information is getting to the right people in a timely
manner.

 Choose the right communication method for the message.

On the construction site, communication are used through signs, drawings, hand signals and
meetings. Compiling daily reports, take photos, create Requests For Information (RFIs) and
review change orders. Communication methods have their advantages and disadvantages.
Choosing the right method of communication can speed up and simplify the transfer of

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information. Sometime a quick email is all that’s necessary to send while other instances a
call for a meeting of all key personnel on the project. Items like RFIs, change orders and
daily reports are usually laid out in the contract documents with their own specific forms and
submittal procedures that have to be followed. Software are available to quickly share and
disseminate information to all stakeholders on a project. All changes and project
documentation can easily be stored and updated so everyone has access to the most up to date
information. These construction software and mobile applications can be a great tool for
effective communication as long as all stakeholders have access to it. For example iSqFt’s
Internet Plan Room.
 Be an active listener.
When engaged in oral communication, whether in person or over the phone, be an active
listener. Don’t just sit there and absorb the information like a digital recorder, that’s passive
listening at best. Try to understand what the speaker is trying to communicate from their
point of view. Take notes on key points don’t just transcribe every word uttered and make
notes on details that may need clarification on. Seek feedback and ask questions, project
meetings is to communicate and make sure everyone has a clear understanding of their roles
and responsibilities.

 Avoid confusion, be clear and concise.

When communicating in construction make every effort to have your message understood the
first time is was sent. Avoid using jargon or terms that the people you are communicating
with might not understand (foreigners).messages should be focused and to the point. Keep it
short and simple as much as possible. If you are working on multiple projects with the same
owner or architect, focus on only one project at a time to avoid confusion. Be as detailed as
possible using as few words as necessary. Being brief but comprehensive in your
construction communication is the key.

 Keep written communication professional at all times.

Avoiding the usage of foul language or allowing emotions to impact the message. If there is
an altercation and emotions are running high, take 24 hours before sending that email. Break
large chunks of data up into smaller paragraphs makes it easier to process. Use numbered or
bulleted list when providing lots of information or asking questions.

 Stick to the facts.

Don’t overelaborate or include unnecessary information in communications. Unless asked,
workers should keep personal opinions or feelings about a project to yourself. It is important
to share professional opinions on a project when it can be beneficial to the successful
completion of a project.

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Redefine the Project
The term recovery project manager (RPM) is a person assigned from outside the project which is
our firm. However, it's important to note that project managers practicing “self-recovery” are
advised to follow the same approach. At this juncture you do not have the luxury of taking your
time to do the requisite assessment and put a recovery plan into motion. Sponsors, clients,
customers and other stakeholders will demand immediate results, findings and corrective actions.
There will be increased management attention and scrutiny on all activities from this crisis point
forward. Conducting the assessment and recovery as rapid, but as thoroughly, as possible.

The five step approach that follows:

 Defining the Charter
 Developing the Assessment Plan
 Conducting the Assessment
o Conducting the interviews
o Analysing the data
o Developing a rank-ordered list of findings
 Developing the Recovery Plan
 Conducting the Recovery

Add/Remove Resources
Human resource management is a multidisciplinary organizational function that draws theories
and ideas from various fields such as management, psychology, sociology and economics
(Storey, 1992). Aimed at developing people through work (Bratton & Gold, 2001), human
resource management includes administrative activities that are associated with planning,
recruitment, selection, orientation, training, appraisal motivation and remuneration (Storey,
1992). Robbins and Judge (2009) sum up human resource management by five key concepts:
motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing and training. Similarly, Storey (1992)
describes the five functional areas of human resource management as staffing, rewards,
employee development, and employee maintenance and employee relations.

Resource management is one of those Project Portfolio Management (PPM) facets dedicated to
the proper (and most efficient) distribution of the people, skills, materials and money in your
project. If resource management is the umbrella term for the distribution of resources, resource
allocation concerns balancing the various needs and priorities of a project with the distribution of
the people, skills, materials and money. Determining the best course of action that will lead to
maximizing the effective use of limited resources to offer the best return on investment.

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Project managers need to build a proper plan of how, when and why these resources will be
allocated and distributed for the entire project lifecycle before, during and after the
project.Inadequate resource allocation leads to communication chaos and puts projects at
risk. You can reallocate the work by examining the details and deciding to ‘trade-off’ other areas
of the project. This might include:
 Assign additional resources – divide the work between people who aren’t already on the
project. This has the possibility of taking away productivity from other areas.
 Delaying a task – delaying a task (ideally one of low priority) is one of the simplest
ways to deal with over-allocation.
 Substituting resources – find another worker based on their skillset and availability and
the demands of the project.
 Decreasing task duration – reduce the scope of the task and therefore the amount of
work required for workers.
 Find a replacement – find a resource better able to complete the task on time. This could
be a worker with more time or a bigger piece of machinery.

With effective resource allocation you’re able to explore and examine your data, test hypotheses
and visualize the potential and perceived impact of increasing, reducing or otherwise changing
your resources. You can explore your options ahead of time so you can come up with the best
plan of action and better prepare for inevitable project changes that happen along the way.
Ultimately, this can help the new project manager reduce risk and discover cost savings that you
might otherwise have missed.

Tracking and Control

Closely monitor & control performance for the remainder of the project. It’s not that the previous
project manager weren’t monitoring and controlling the project before it started to fail, but in the
second attempt you need to be a little more technical. Ensure that the performance measurement
process and project management reviews are frequent enough such that they are not overbearing
but transmit to all project team members that all-hands need to be paying attention. Some action
to take include, but are not limited to:
 Track performance daily/weekly
 Report to stakeholders on the project’s progress as much as they need to feel
comfortable the project is still on vector
 Promptly deal with all risks identified in your risk assessment plan and any change
orders or problems that arise

Project Controls used across industries and indeed across companies within industries. It is a
function that is critical to achieving successful project and programme outcomes i.e. delivering
required benefits to cost, time and performance. It covers all stages of a project lifecycle from

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initiating and scoping the project through to closure, final learning from experience and
analytical analysis of overall project performance.

Project Controls are the data gathering, data management and analytical processes used to
predict, understand and constructively influence the time and cost outcomes of a project or
programme; through the communication of information in formats that assist effective
management and decision making. It covers all stages of a project lifecycle from initiating and
scoping the project through to closure, final learning from experience and analytical analysis of
overall project performance.

Project Controls are to do with measuring and monitoring controlling variables, these are
principally time and cost aspects:
 Planning and Scheduling
 Risk Management (includes identification & assessment)
 Cost estimating and management
 Scope and Change Management
 Earned Value Management
 Document Control
 Supplier Performance
 Maintaining the project baseline
 Reporting

Resolve Technical Issues

Issue will always be present on any construction project and mitigating the issue can avoid the
risk of anything going wrong on the project. On this highway project had several issues and the
cause of this made the project run with a delay and the delivery time couldn’t be reached with the
current management on the project. This caused the project to fail these issues were:
 Productivity and workers morale is very low.
 Workers are unsure about who is their reporting supervisor
 There is wastage of materials and equipment is underutilized.
 There is no evidence of any form of control at the site office.
 The project manager cannot account for the delay of this project

As the new project manager an issue resolution process will be implemented before restarting the
highway project, to make sure that it stay on schedule, and meet all objectives. Issue
management process will be identifying and resolving issues, for example problems with staff or
suppliers, technical failures, material shortages which will all have a negative impact on the

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project. Once the issue goes unresolved, there is a risk of creating unnecessary conflicts, delays,
or even failure to produce your deliverable. An unresolved issue can cause a risk but, issues and
risks are not the same thing. An issue tends to be less predictable; it can arise with no warning.
With risks, you usually have a general idea in advance that there's a cause for concern. However
the similarity of risk and issues are the exact nature of both is largely unknown before you begin.

When resolving the technical issues, risk will be identified before the project begins. A
Risk/Impact Probability Chart will provide useful framework to help prioritize risks. However,
when it comes to issues, they have to deal with them as they occur.

Figure 6 - What is Project Management?

The role of the existing project manager will be assessed, they will be working alongside the
existing project manager as an assistant which will greatly help and indeed speed up the process
of restarting the project. The project manager role, as applied to any construction project, is
defined as ,the overall planning, co-ordination and control of a project from inception to
completion aimed at meeting a client's requirements in order to produce a functionally and
financially viable project that will be completed on time within authorized cost and to the
required quality standards.
 They are the person who is charged with managing the resources to get the complete
project implementation on time, within budget with the agreed functionality.
 A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful
planning and execution of a project.
 The project manager normally is responsible for defining and planning the project.

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This will result in the completion of the Project Definition and a project work plan. Once the
project starts, the PM must successfully manage and control the work, including:
 Identifying, tracking managing and resolving project issues.
 Proactively disseminating project information to all stakeholders.
 Identifying, managing and mitigating project risk.
 Ensuring that the solution is of acceptable quality.
 Proactively managing scope to ensure that only what was agreed to is delivered,
unless changes are approved through scope management.
 Defining and collecting metrics to give a sense for how the project is progressing and
whether the deliverables produced are acceptable.
 Managing the overall work plan to ensure work is assigned and completed on time
and within budget.
Tools and Techniques
Figure 7 - Tools and Techniques Example

Organizational Structure
OBS (Organisational Breakdown Structure) The organizational breakdown structure (OBS) is a
global hierarchy that represents the managers responsible for the projects in enterprise. The OBS
usually reflects the management structure of organization, from top-level personnel down
through the various levels constituting your business (Figure.3.2). Associate the responsible
managers with their areas of the EPS either nodes or individual projects. Associate the
responsible managers with their areas of the enterprise project structure (EPS) with either an EPS
node or a project. When you associate a responsible manager with an EPS node, any projects you

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add to that branch of the EPS are assigned that manager element by default. An OBS supports
large projects that involve several project managers with different areas of responsibility.

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 Work Breakdown Structure

Figure 8 - Work Break-Down Structure

Site Preparation

Core Site
Lane Closure
reconstruction Decomissioning

Batch Plant Sanction Work

Site Clean Up
Construction Area

Crew Facilities Equipment Re-

Stripping
Installation Allocation

Detour Lane Highway

Excavation
Opening Opening

Resource Water
Attainment Compaction

Surface
Pavement

Lane Opening

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) A WBS is a hierarchy of work that must be accomplished to
complete a project, which defines a product or service to be produced. The WBS is structured in
levels of work detail, beginning with the deliverable itself, and is then separated into identifiable
work elements. Work Breakdown Structure is a hierarchical arrangement of the products and
services produced during and by the project. The project is the highest level while an individual
activity (or an action item) to create a product or service is at the lowest level.

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Network Diagrams
Network Diagrams in project management are a visual representation of a project’s schedule.
Well known complements to network diagrams include the PERT and Gantt charts. A network
diagram in project management is useful for planning and tracking the project from beginning to
finish. It represents a project’s critical path as well as the scope for the project. A good network
diagram will be a clear and concise graphic representation of a project. Network diagrams are
used whenever project management occurs.

Table 1 - Network Information

No
Activity Predecessor Duration (days)
.
A Excavation of subsoil Start 20
B Bridge construction Start 45
C Sand filled boreholes A 14
D Road Embankment C 25
E Subsoil Drainage C 30
F Subgrade D,E 7
G Paving F 5
H Surfacing B,G 5
I Curb and Pavements D 25
J Applying final Surface layer I,J 5
K Installation of crash barriers J 14
L Plastering and other concrete works K 14
M Painting works L 10
N Signage J 15
O Final Inspection N,M 2

Figure 9 - Net Work Diagram

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Figure 10 - Diagram of Phase 2

28
 Table 2 - Net Work Analysis Index

Works Per Mile

Sr.
Activity Notation Duration (days)
No.
1 Clearing, Grubbing and Excavation A-B 5
2 Embankment B-C 15
3 Sub-base and Base course layers C-D 10
4 Culverts and Drains D-E 30
5 Curb and Pavements E-F 30
6 Applying final Surface layer F-H 6
7 Installation of crash barriers E-G 10
8 Plastering and other concrete works G-I 20
9 Painting works E-J 6
10 Signage E-K 5
11 Final Inspection H,I,J,K-L 1

Critical Path Analysis

Figure 11 - Critical Path Diagram

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Discussion

What was learnt in this project recovery project showed the previous project manager that the
application of the seven project management principles should always be practiced no matter the
type of project. From experience in the past Government projects most are sometimes affected
by common constraints that is cost overruns, design changes, poor procurement practices and
variations from contracting firms who know how to work the system in their favor. So in saying
this, the previous project manager assumed the leniency would have been the same as the other
existing projects but because of the importance of the highway delivery in the political aspect,
the project could not have completely failed. So since our engineering firm was appointed to
recover the project our past experience we know the importance of applying the core project
management principles to every project. As described like a chain one principle can’t be
effective without the other. This will definitely affect the risk management aspect of the entire
project. But from all the issues occurred in the executing stage started in the planning stage. By
applying the proper tools and techniques to properly structure the project for monitoring and
controlling purposes.

The project is on its way to be completed on time and within budget even though the project
started sooner as expected due to the diligence of our team and decisions. So in employing the
previous project manager was the key to find and was informative for all the relevant
information needed for our project team and the project recovery report was presented to the
stakeholders on what went wrong. Maslow’s theory always proven to show that needs on all
levels of the hierarchy are to be satisfied for any kind of production or chain of production for
success. Communication is necessary for any works to be successful. Without proper
communication, there will be a break down in work activities.

30
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