“Success Has A Thousand Fathers But Failure Is An Orphan."

This article is a continuation of the series on why projects fail. Poor Coordination Of Effort Companies always try to save costs on projects by not going full bore on a project management group. They may have project managers but they are expected to work within a procurement and accounting system set up for buying toilet paper, selling widgets and delaying payments. When you, as a project manager, are in this type of system, your primary goal is to get the project up and running within budget and on schedule while the other players are interested in keeping the facility... Read More»

Reasons For Project Failure

This is a continuation of the article on reasons for project failure. Here I will look at some of the project management issues that can lead to project failure. Insufficient stakeholder consultation One of the success factors for a project is integrated teams, i.e. you have all the stakeholders on board at the beginning of the project. You need all the stakeholders to get agreement and consensus around the project objectives. If you are the Owner, then you should be looking for the stakeholders on your side. Sometimes it’s easy and other times it is hard to find the stakeholders.... Read More»

Why Do Projects Fail This article is a continuation of why projects fail. Inadequate attention to quality. I have seen quality problems arise from a corporations desire to embrace Auotcad by getting rid of experienced designers and hiring inexperienced CAD operators, to companies suffering because they didn’t get involved in a total quality package. Over my work history I have seen Vendors change from a lack of interest in equipment foundations to being very interested. One project I worked on were four pulp refiners. These were large revolving discs, of several tons, attached to a 10000 hp motor. In the... Read More»

So Many Choices: Project Decision Making, Part 3

In the movie, Moscow on the Hudson, Robin Williams plays Vladimir Ivanov, a circus musician who defects from the former Soviet Union while visiting the United States. Knowing all too well the travails of shortages, and waiting in line for rations of mediocre food, he is unprepared for the coffee aisle at a store in New York City. Always a master with inhabiting a character, imagine Williams with a thick Russian accent, as for the first time in his life he encounters more choices than he can imagine. “Taster’s Choice… decaffeinated….” His voice trembles with wonder. “… Maxwell House… El... Read More»

This Is Going To Be A Fun Project!

As you know projects are about change and you should expect change, even on lump sum contracts. As the project progresses, there will be changes from the design engineer and more so from he field. Throughout the project, when the contractor presents you with a request for a change notice, you can talk to your team to see if the change is legitimate or not and act accordingly. I was managing a construction project and had gone out for bid. We got the quotes back and were getting ready to award the contract when the boss came in and said... Read More»

Project Execution Plans Are Not Fixed. All projects should have a Project Execution Plan which outlines to management how you plan on executing the project. There are numerous sections, one being the Construction Plan. As a project manager, you should realize, the Project Execution Plan is a living document which is updated as you go through the project life cycle. All projects involve change so, we anticipate some changes as more information comes in, however, we should not be expecting too many changes from the original plan. Ideally this is what we want, but, projects do not always work out... Read More»

Black Friday the Project Management Way

Just like approximately 200+ million people each year, I am a Black Friday shopper. It has become a tradition. After the yearly Thanksgiving dinner with friends, a cross section of the women sit down with the flyers from the Thanksgiving edition of the paper, and map out the "plan of attack". This year we had a "Black Friday Virgin" decide to join the experience, and was stunned by the "Project Planning" process that I go through (once it was mentioned, it got everyone torturing me, as I apparently take Project Management to the extreme - is that even possible??). We’re... Read More»

Just What Are My Roles & Responsibilities?

Part III This article completes the roles and responsibilities of a Lead Project Engineer / Project Manager that I have talked about in the last couple of articles. q) Provide constructability expertise during the scope development and design phases. Someone has to understand how the project will be constructed and provide the direction to the project team. If you have access to a construction person then you would work with him to develop the construction plan, otherwise it is up to you to provide the direction. At every opportunity, you should be on the job site observing how things are... Read More»

Operators As Part Of The Project Team: A Project Managers Perspective

What Were Those Designers Thinking? The picture above show a couple of steam generators that we had to demolish as part of a larger project. Each turbine had small bore cooling water supply, cooling water return and a condensate return line going to and from headers located up in the building rafters. The refinery need the space for another project, so the generators and associated piping had to be cleared out. It looked simple enough until we got into it. What we found was there were no isolation valves at the headers, so none of the lines could be shut... Read More»

Is It The Triple Constraints or Quadruple Constraints?

If you are working in project management you have probably heard of the Project Management Triangle or the Triple Constraints. The constraints being scope, schedule, and budget. When managing the project, if one changes we have to look at the other two and see if they change as well. If they have changed then we have to perform some type of control to get the project back in line. My career has been in industry and I am used to the Quadruple or Four Constraints which is more applicable. The four constraints are Scope, Schedule, Budget, and Resources (SSBR) as... Read More»