MBA576 Week 8 Peer Response

1

Unit 8 Discussion: Project Plan

Darren Easterday

Park University

MBA 576: Operations Management

Dr. Kevin Loy

October 5, 2021

Abstract

Kibby and Strand will be adding an addition to their facility for increased warehouse space additional shipping capacity. They will also be expanding their production capabilities. This will require Kibby and Strand to select a project manage who will assemble a cross functional team to assist them with various aspects of the project. The project will need to be monitored and evaluated from start to finish.

Unit 8 Discussion: Project Plan

Kibby and Strand have been given the green light to add an addition to the facility, which will serve as the new and expanded shipping department. Additionally, operations will increase its production capacity by duplicating its production operation with new machines and employees to run them. The company is now tasked with building the new addition, purchasing machinery, and hiring and training new machinists and shipping department employees.

As with any project of this magnitude, Kibby and Strand will need to select a project manager (Stevenson, 2021). This can be the operations manager, someone selected from within the operation, or someone from the outside who specializes in project management. In any case, the project manager will need to be able to devote a good bit of time to this endeavor as the project manager is ultimately responsible for seeing the project through. “In the planning stage, the project manager must prepare a scope statement that spells out the deliverables and goals, determine required skills and resources needed, develop a schedule and budget, and develop plans for managing the scope, the schedule, the budget, and quality and risk (p. 738).”

By making the decision to tale on this project. Kibby and Strand are making the following assumptions:

· Construction will be completed on time and within the budget

· New Machine’s will arrive on time

· Demand will continue to justify the purchase of the new equipment and bigger warehouse

It will be important for the project manager to have a firm grasp on potential issues that may come up that can have an adverse effect in the completion of the project. Some potential constraints, include:

· Delays in the production and/or delivery of the new machines

· A variety of delays in the construction process

· Potential increased cost associated with building codes and material pricing.

The project manager will need to select a team to help account for the many variables that will need to be considered in making sure that the project is completed on time and within the budget. Finance will need to be consulted on lead time to release funds for the construction of the building and purchase of the machinery. Human resources will need to utilize to secure and train new staff for both the production and shipping departments. Bids and Contracts will need to pay careful attention to the schedule to make sure that the acquisition of additional contracts is not made too soon before production is ready and not too late, to void an inefficient use of resources. Of course, members from shipping and production will have an important role in setting up the new facility and expanded production area.

To monitor the progress of the project, the project manager will employ PERT(program evaluation and review technique) and CPM(critical path method), which will assist him/her by providing a visualization of all project activities, including estimates for how long the project will take, an idea of what activities are most critical to timely completion of the job, and an idea of acceptable delay times that won’t affect the overall completion time of the project (Stevenson, 2021). The project manager can use a Gantt chart to monitor the completion of activities related to their planned completion days and adjust accordingly for any setbacks. Another valuable tool available to the project manager is a network diagram, which lays out the paths that need to be taken to complete the project. Below is an example of a network diagram that can be used for this project.

The diagram illustrates the main objectives of the project, which includes the construction of the warehouse/shipping area, the hiring of new personnel to work in the shipping and production areas, relocating the current shipping area and expanding the production operation.

References

Stevenson, W. J. (2021). Operations Management (14th ed.). New York, New York : McGraw-Hill Education.