Project Management Consultancy Report on Automation Futures

Question

Task: 1. Assessment Brief
1.1. Case Study / Brief
Assessment Brief
The Fundamentals of Project Management course has TWO separate deliverables to be submitted as a single document:

Part A
Project Management Consultancy Report
This should be structured in four sections based on the Case Study – 3500 words (85% of final course grade)

Part B
Reflective Essay
Prepare an analysis into the challenges encountered throughout the Module and the difficulties producing the assessment. Identify clear personal development goals. Briefly from your research highlight the characteristics of a Good Project Manager.

750 words (15 % of final course grade)

1.2. Case Study

Fig. 1 Automation Futures

This case study is purely factional and is not based on an actual company.NO engineering or technical knowledge is required.

Background
Automation Futures (AF) PLC which is shown in Fig.1 is a technology contracting, consulting and product/software development company with extensive experience in the design, manufacture, commissioning and delivery of a range of Electronic/Technology projects but specialising in Automation and New products for a range of clients including Bespoke Automation Factories. It operates out of a large Consultancy Practice in The Thames Valley (UK) and a Product Development factory in Ireland (ROI) which develops and manufactures automation plant and Prefabricated Factories for various clients largely in Europe.
The company’s facilities and expertise allow them to offer tailor-made solutions that are highly competitive with other companies in this market. Margins on projects are good given the innovative nature of the business but clients are demanding and require competitive responses in a fast-changing world.
AF PLC has won a major contract to design and build a new engineering Automation plant for a major Train manufacturing client, TTF PLC, based in Germany which will deliver Electronic Component parts including a to be designed Inverter Product specifically aimed at Power Saving for new train fleets. TTF is itself a major supplier to various governments and train operating companies throughout the world. The contract is structured on a risk and reward basis with a target price of £58.5m with a shared bonus if finished early and a shared penalty if finished late. The target price is extremely competitive and reflects the belief that they have the capacity to improve on the delivery date and thereby earn the bonus. The AF PLC bid was based on a conceptual design provided to them setting out the outputs in terms of product attributes including power saving targets and product availability. AF Plc will have to complete the detailed design of the Inverter product from outline designs prepared by TTF along with the automated production line as part of the Contract and organise installation of the equipment in the New factory in Germany which they will also have to commission and Construct.

TTF will manufacture the Inverter Product from the production line as part of its Train Manufacturing Process.

TTF have acquired the site for the New Factory but AF will have to:
• Design and Construct of the new Factory to fit the automation equipment;
• Design and Develop the Automation plant including the production line software;
• Design the Inverter product including the control software.

The project was programmed to start on 8th July 2019.

The terms of the contract are as follows:
• The target price for the delivery of the Automation Plant is £58.50m.
• If the cost of the delivery of the Automation Plant is less than the target price, then AF PLC will be entitled to the first 50% of the surplus anything greater than 50% of the surplus will be split 50:50 with the client.
• If the cost of the delivery of the Automation Plant is Greater than 5% of the target price, then AF PLC will be required to bear the first 5% of this excess cost but anything greater than 5% of the excess will be split 50:50 with the client.
• Delivery of the completed Automation Plant must take place no later than 18th September 2020.
• There is a penalty clause inserted into the contract. For, every day (or part day) that the project is late, that is, beyond the completion date of 25th September 2020 (including weekends), AF PLC must pay TTF liquidated damages of £100k per working day.
• However, if they achieve an early completion then they will be able to receive a bonus of £50k per working day.

There is also a standard retention clause inserted into the contract. In effect 10% of the contract value would be retained by TTF for a period of ten weeks after the delivery and installation of the module. If TTF’s operations team detected any faults or problems with specifically the Automation Plant in the ten weeks after completion, then any additional costs incurred to rectify faults would be deductible from these retained funds.

The Factory Design will be Completed by AF and then the Pre-Fabricated parts will be manufactured in house and shipped to Germany for Construction on TTF’s site. It is important that this links to the design, installation and Layout of the Automation Equipment.

AF PLC are currently very busy with work for other clients, but this contract represents a significant opportunity as it will enable it to showpiece its competences in a major growth area.

The Automation equipment is to be installed in modular units built in their factory in the ROI and then assembled at the new factory in Germany. The factory in Germany will need to be completed in time for the Automation Equipment to be installed.

You have been appointed as the AF PLC Project Manager.

Questions.

Part A.
1. Project Definition/Parameters and Risks (20 Marks)

(a) Discuss the relative importance of the various iron triangle parameters in setting the Overall Project objectives that will need to be managed by you as the AF PLC project manager over the course of the project, and how they may inter-relate to each other. (10 marks)

(b) Use the template provided to create a risk register, identifying a maximum of ten risks that AF PLC are likely to face with a construction project of this nature. (10 marks)

2. Planning and costs (25 Marks)

In preparation for the forthcoming work, the AF PLC project manager created the following data in Table 1:

Table 1 – project schedule

There was to be a programmed review on progress after 17 weeks. There will only be an internal management cost for the review which will be incurred for this task outside the project cost.

To complete this project, AF has recognised that it needs to Contract for the additional resources indicated above. These will be contracted from TECHRES. The average (fully inclusive) cost of an engineer was estimated to be £69.00 per hour and for technician/production staff £39.00 per hour. The company generally works a standard five-day week and eight-hour days. The Contract staff will all be on leave for 2 weeks over the Christmas period and will not be paid. This break also needs to be considered when scheduling the tasks.

Project Management support will be provided by an external PM Company on the following basis 2 Assistant Project Manager, 2 project planners - £5,500 per week until project review and then reduced to one project planner, 1 Assistant Project Manager through to completion at £2,000 per week and 1 Commercial Manager/cost engineer through to review and then 2 until 4 weeks after Contract Completion at a cost of £2,750 per week per manager

A team of engineers working for TTF would be present at the AF PLC factory to supervise manufacture of the Automation Equipment– to ensure the intensive testing before they are transported from the AF PLC factory to the site. 10 weeks is allowed for this work (Task G in Table 1), and if any problems were detected, then delays could occur because TTF would be entitled to demand that the faults were rectified on the spot before the section was acceptable to them. AF PLC were accustomed to working with clients in this manner. The cost of this team will be borne by AF as a project Cost. It has been costed at £20k per week.

The main contracted Labour/Staff requirements and the fixed costs for each task are shown in Table 1 are in £m.

(a) Prepare a network diagram showing the critical path and planned duration of the project. Quantify the float on the non-critical tasks. (8 marks)
(b) Using Microsoft Project (or a similar package) prepare a Gantt chart for the project to a professional standard. Calibrate the timescale in weeks. If the project is scheduled to start on Monday 8th July 2019 determine the planned completion date based on the constraints outlined in table 1 and the brief. (8 marks)

(c) Using the information provided, detail the overall Project Budget and the projected Net profit for the contract (i.e. revenue – costs) (including any bonus or allowing for any penalty) that the company will be aiming to achieve based on the projected completion date and the contract terms. You are also required to provide an indication of what budget components could impact the point at which in terms of days late the project could become loss making assuming no increases on the initial Project Budget. Show your workings clearly using a spreadsheet (You can submit as a separate spreadsheet file attachment, but the overall figures must be included in the main body of the report) (9 marks)

3 Managing progress and spending

The project started on time, and after 17 weeks of work following on from the Project Review, an intensive analysis of the project was held at the AF PLC Factory. The following information was reported by the project team.

Table 2 – actual progress and spending after 17 weeks

(a) Using the Gantt chart, determine the planned progress (%) for each task, after 17 weeks had been completed. Assume that progress is achieved on a linear basis for each task. For example, if a task is planned over the course of 4 weeks, then if 3 weeks have elapsed planned progress would be 75%. Then create a TABLE comparing the planned progress against the actual progress values from table 2. (5 marks)

(b) Enter the actual progress values for progress from the revised Table produced in answering Q3a into the Gantt Chart, and using Microsoft Project or similar software reschedule the project with effect from the review date. Produce a revised GANTT Chart AND IDENTIFY the new completion date and COMMENT on the outcome from a commercial perspective detailing any POTENTIAL effect on the Profit from the Project AND the budget cost. (5 marks)

4 Earned Value Analysis and Acceleration (25 Marks)

Earned Value.

(a) Create an Earned Value Analysis table showing ACWP, BCWP and BCWS values for every project task. Show all workings in a neat and professional layout. This is based on progress calculated at 1st November 2019 and the calculations in answer to Q3 above.
Using EVA determine an overall planned % percentage Complete figure for the entire project and compare with an overall actual % percentage Complete figure for the project to that date. Also provide the CPI and SPI figures to date and explain what these figures indicate regarding Project Performance. Show all workings in a neat and professional layout. (10 marks)

(b) Create a projected completion date for the entire project using the Estimate at Completion (schedule) method derived from the Earned Value Analysis.

Create a projected final spend for the entire project using the Estimate at Completion (cost) method derived from the Earned Value Analysis. Show your calculations clearly

Compare these values with the original contract value to determine the likely profitability of the contract as it now stands. (9 marks)

Acceleration.

Soon after the review, a daylong meeting was convened to discuss possible tactics to accelerate progress and avoid the prospect of any penalty charges. In response to urgent demands from the Chief Executive, the project manager has researched some acceleration options for the Directors to consider.

Table 3 – possible acceleration options

(c) Recommend which of the options should be accepted and which should be declined. Explain and justify your recommendations with reference to the project plan and critical path. If the recommended options are implemented successfully, analyse the commercial impact on the profitability of the project. You need to ensure you consider all the relevant factors in reaching your conclusions. (6 marks)

Please note 5 marks are awarded for presentation of the report.

Part B Reflective Essay. (15 marks)

Prepare an analysis into the challenges encountered throughout the Module and the difficulties producing the assessment. Identify clear personal development goals.Briefly from your research highlight the characteristics of a Good Project Manager.

Answer

Executive Summary
This report will present the consultancy report for the Automation Futures. Automation futures (PLC) is a technology contracting, consulting and product/software development company with extensive experience in the design, manufacture, commissioning and delivery of a range of Electronic/Technology projects but specialising in Automation and New products for a variety of clients including Bespoke Automation Factories. AFPLC has won the major contract to design and build a new engineering Automation plant for a significant Train manufacturing client, TTF PLC, based in Germany which will deliver Electronic parts including a to be designed Inverter Product specifically aimed at Power Saving for new train fleets. AF will have to design and construct a new factory to fit the latest automation equipment. This report will present the design and schedule for the development of p the automation plant with its software too. The main objective of this report is to highlight the essential requirements of the project so that the organization can achieve the optimal goals.

PART-A Project Management Consultancy Report

Introduction
Project consultancy report is a report written for the stakeholders who do not have the technical background to make them understand the critical elements related to the project. Here in this report the consultancy report for the Automation Futures. Automation futures (PLC) is a technology contracting, consulting and product/software development company with extensive experience in the design, manufacture, commissioning and delivery of a range of Electronic/Technology projects but specialising in Automation and New products for a variety of clients including Bespoke Automation Factories. The primary purpose of this report is to present cost-benefit analysis, the criticality of the project and schedule of the project to the concerned stakeholders.

1.Project Definition/Parameters and Risks
The key objectives of the AFPLC project are as follows-

• To provide support to the Automation Future to develop a useful software application to design and build a new engineering Automation plant for a significant Train manufacturing client, TTF PLC, based in Germany.
• To enhance the overall efficiency of the company in this concerned project.
• It is required to follow the specifications given by the AFPLC.
• The project has to be completed in the restrictive budget and timeline specified by the authorities of the organization.
• Design and Construct of the new Factory to fit the automation equipment.
• Design and Develop the Automation plant, including the production line software.
• Design the Inverter product, including the control software.
  
• The total work is required to be completed within the budget of ? 58.50.
• The completion date of completeion the target project is given 25th September 2020; otherwise, the company has to face the penalty.
  
• To present the cost-benefit analysis.
• To full-fill the requirements according to the specified quality constraints and latest Industry trends(SatyaSekhar, 2009).

Iron Triangle Parameters

The project management triangle, which is commonly known as Iron Triangle or Triple constraint, is popularly used in project management. The quality of work is constrained by the project Budget, deadline and scope.

Time
In this project specification, the time given for completion of the project is fifteen months. (January 2020 to March 2021). To present the detailed time for the project, the work breaks down structure along with the network diagram will be displayed. According to the guidelines for specifying the time management in the project, the following processes will be applied.
1. Planning the schedule.
2. Defining the core activities-Management plan, scope baseline,Enterprise environmental factors, organization process assets
3. Sequencing the activities-defining the scope of the project, rolling wave planning, judgement
4. Estimating the duration of each activity- defining the milestones
5.Developing the schedule(David and David, 2016)

Cost
As mentioned above the quality of the project work is constrained primarily through the overall budget provided and accuracy of the cost estimation of the whole project, and it depends on various variables such as estimation of resources, work packages such as labour rates, cost of resources required, cost variance, inflation effect. The tools used for determining the overall budget of the project are a cost-benefit analysis, risk management, cost contingency,cost escalation and determination of the indirect cost too. Along with this fixed and variable cost are also determined related to the concerned project.

Scope of the Project
In this phase, the requirements to achieve the results are specified by defining what the project is supposed to accomplish(we have mentioned in the objectives) and what is the expected result. The major constraint in determining the scope is the quality parameters required to achieve in the project. Along with resources and efficient human workforce, the time allocation to the activities according to the requirement also helps in determining the quality of the project(Project Management Institute, 2000).

Significance of Triple constraint in project management
The triple constraint helps in setting the boundaries under which the project work is to be performed. It provides a framework that everyone can work on it. It provides the metrics that help in forwarding the project while allowing the adjustment as per requirement. Triple constraint is a model that offers help to the managers to know what trade-offs are going to work and what impact they will have on other elements of the project(Kazmi and Kazmi, 2015).

(b)Risk Management- Creating the Risk Register:

2.Planning and costs (25 Marks)

a) Network Diagram

Table

Network Diagram

Critical path (Yellow Path)

The critical path has been shown or depicted in the yellow coloured tasks therefore, the critical path to the entire project would be dependent o the stated tasks.

Critical Task –1, 7, 12, 19, 22
W.B.S (Work Breakdown Structure)

The provided WBS states the entire structure of the project.

b) Gantt Chart

c) Project Net Cost-Benefit analysis

3. Managing the progress and spending

(a).

In the 17 weeks only according to the given specification the 30% of the work is going to be complete so it is required to develop more appropriate approach so that work can be completed on time.

(b)

To complete the remaining work on time, extra person will be involved, this will increase the total cost price and benefit of the organization will be reduced. (Red colour indicating critical path)

(c) Earned Value Analysis and Acceleration (25 Marks)

Earned Value.
The Earned Value Analysis table is showing ACWP, BCWP and BCWS values for every project task.

(b)Create a projected completion date for the entire project using the Estimate at Completion (schedule) method derived from the Earned Value Analysis.
Earned value analysis is a standard method of assessing the progress of the project at a current time, forecasting its completion date and final cost. Now as given-

No other tasks had started yet or incurred any expenditure
Total ?23.24 has been spending out of ? 58.50 and approx. 30% of work is completed so to complete the work on time extra person will be involved this will increase the total cost price, and benefit of the organization will be reduced.

By increasing the work hours and no of staff members and reducing the wastage, the work can be completed on time.

d) Recommendations-
According to the analysis of the given option the recommendations of the Software Engineers should be accepted as firstly, they are saying that they will complete work by the improvement of 3 weeks and secondly if they will complete software designing in less time than testing and installation of the software will also take less time(Shelly, Rosenblatt and Harry, 2011). Though as mentioned –

An increase in the fixed cost of £200k
Current cost= 3400000+20000=360000
But time will be reduced.

Most importantly, the critical path s of software designs- testing- the installation will be reduced. The commercial benefit for the company will be as follows-

• The company will get exposure in Germany.
• The company will have experience of conducting a complex project that will help in successfully completing the other projects too.
• The company will get goodwill.
• The company can do next projects in less time and at less cost that will help in increasing the overall profit for the company.

Conclusion
The primary purpose of the project management is to provide the methods for fulfilling the set objectives in a clear manner. Most importantly, the main aim of a project management project is to achieve all the goals irrespective of associated constraints along with the tasks. The case study has allowed us to learn about the core skills of project management like Creation of Gantt chart, project network diagram, earned value analysis in a practical manner.For being a good project manager,it is highly required to develop these skills in a practical way.

Part B –Reflective Essay
For a good project manager, it is required to develop strong skills for the practice of initiating,planning, executing, controlling and closing the work of a team is not only a good team member but a team Leader as a motivator and decision-maker. Most importantly, the main objective of a project management project is to achieve all the goals irrespective of associated constraints along with the tasks. A manager should focus on developing the above skills as he/she is one who is accountable for the success or failure of the concerned project by improving the comprehensive work plan and managing the budget(Rao, 2007). He is equally responsible for monitoring the tasks performed by other team members and coordinating them to achieve the goals in the synergy.

Being a student of project management course, I had got much opportunity to learn about the management of the project in a systematic and efficient manner that is going to be beneficial for my entire career. Working with a team requires a lot of teamwork qualities and efficiency but working on a specific project requires having strong project management skills. As it is said that without proper planning, there is a risk of 80 % failure of the project, but with the appropriate plan, this ratio reverses, and it becomes 80 % chances of success. Proper planning and implementation of the standard practices is highly required as firstly; there are specific pre-set objectives that are needed to be fulfilled in the project. Secondly, the vast amount of finance,time,and effort of personals and most importantly, the organization work targets are depended on the outcome of the project. Proper project managementdepends upon right practices and adequate implementation of the activities.

In this course, we got the opportunity to learn about significant project management practices such as developing the work break down structure, Project management network diagram, Gantt chart, budget planning, monitoring the progress of the project and taking the decision to complete the project on time with high quality. In this course, we got to learn to work under the competitive schedule and budget. Along with this, we also learned to make the right decisions that help to achieve the objectives of the project with leadership qualities. The major constraint in defining the scope is the quality parameters required to succeed in the project. Along with resources and efficient human workforce, the time allocation to the activities according to the requirement also helps in determining the quality of the project.

Here in this assignment, we got the opportunity to work on a real-life project case study of the Automation Futures. Automation futures (PLC) is a technology contracting, consulting and product/software development company with extensive experience in the design, manufacture, commissioning and delivery of a range of Electronic/Technology projects but specialising in Automation and New products for a variety of clients including Bespoke Automation Factories. Here the first challenge was to review the complete case study in an analytical manner as based on the information provided; we had to perform the other subtasks in the assignment. So, in the first step, I reviewed the project thoroughly and based on information provided I set the objectives of the project than according to the specification I created the project network diagram and determined the critical path in it. Based on the duration and order of activities, I calculated the float value of the events. Then I developed the Gantt chart based on operations and the required period provided. In this task, the biggest challenge was to represent the work progress after seventeen weeks in a systematic manner. Then based on cost specification, I designed the cost-benefit analysis and earned value analysis. Then another challenge was to comment on the appropriate steps required to complete the project on time after observing the result of the earned value analysis.

Along with above-mentioned tasks, I had also presented the probable risks and their impact on the project. Most importantly, I learned how to represent the possible risks and their impact in a professional manner and how these risks are documented.

Working on this assignment was a learning experience and had given me the opportunity to explore my project management skills and knowledge gained through this assignment will be beneficial in our entire career. Though there are many loopholes in the work as we had not such extensive experience and had limited time but the scope of discussion to present the detail more logically cannot be ruled out.

References
David, F. and David, F., 2016. Strategic ManageMent concepts and cases: A Competitive Advantage Approach. 17th ed. edinburgh gate Harlow, England: Pearson.
Kazmi, A. and Kazmi, A., 2015. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT. 4th ed.Mc Grew Hill
Project Management Institute, 2000. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK Guide. 1st ed. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA: Project Management Institute.

Rao, P., 2007. Business Policy and Strategic Management. Himalaya Publishing House. SatyaSekhar, G., 2009. Business Policy and Strategic Management. New Delhi, India: I K International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. Shelly, G., Rosenblatt and Harry, J., 2011. Systems Analysis and Design. 9th ed. MC Grew Hill.