Automation futures (PLC)

   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 themajor 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 automationequipment.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 25^th 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.

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

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.

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.

(b)Risk Management- Creating the Risk Register:

2.        Planning and costs (25 Marks)

a)   Network Diagram

Table

Network Diagram

Red colour – critical path

Critical path- A, E, H, J, L, N, O

Non-critical path- B, C, D, F, G,I, K, M

W.B.S (Work Breakdown Structure)

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.

1. 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. 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. 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.

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