Wk 3 - JP Phentar Construction

14 Nov 2016

Instructor

JP Phentar Construction: Case Study

Developing monitoring systems plays a crucial role in making sure tasks are completed on time and within budget, ensuring the project as a whole also is completed on time and within budget. There are five essential characteristics of project monitoring. They are why is monitoring important, which activities to monitor, what tools can be used to monitor activities, what information should be produced, and how to use the information collected through the monitoring system.

In the case of JP Phentar, a construction company that deals in elaborate and unique construction projects, there are several tools that the project manager can use to monitor the project activities. Most of the monitoring tools are fundamentally similar, which means they can be used in small and large projects. The owner of JP Phentar will be building an 8500 square foot custom home for his family on 3 acres of foothill terrain. The home will have 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, an elaborate game room, theater room with surround sound, as well as a 35,000 gallon salt-water fish tank that spans 3 floors in the center of the home. Not only will the timing be crucial on these main projects, due to the unique nature of the placement of the fish-tank, but there are also obstacles such as the large rock outcroppings on the land that need to be removed before construction can begin. Since Phentar has had experience in the past with these types of special amenities, he realizes that the main concern will be the special contractors needed for these types sub-projects. The main concerns are cost estimation, quality level and ability to stay on schedule with regards to the game room, theater room, fish tank, and rock clearing on the property. Any type of timing issues related to these activities can seriously affect the path of the entire project. That is why the monitoring tools will play a critical role in the success of this project during its life cycle.

Information Gathering Tools

During the planning stages of this construction project, all of the details need to be gathered with regards to the specifics of the fish tank, theater room, and game room construction, the timeline of the building material delivery, and things such as the season that the home is being built, to avoid inclement weather. These are just a few of the things that the project manager needs to be aware of to avoid any potential pitfalls. The most effective monitoring tools he can use is going to the subject matter experts (SME’s) on site as well as using the check charts. The subject matter experts will provide the most accurate and reliable information to the project manager since they are the ones either doing the work, or directly managing the work that is being done. They can provide information on materials, status of sub-activities, status of milestones, as well as current status. The check-charts can be used to monitor the minute tasks on each of the areas: fish tank, theater room, game room, and rock clearing. Using the check chart can be an easy way to quickly update and review status of the build on-site, as it is happening. Since the project manager already has dealt with these types of projects and has 27 years of experience with them, he will know exactly what needs to be checked every day, or weekly, or monthly, if the project spans a few months. The activities that need to be monitored are the items such as the timeline of when the rocks will be cleared from the property, when the materials will be delivered for the construction of the home, when large equipment will be delivered, when foundation will be laid, and when the framing will be done as a start. Once that is done, windows, roof, siding, electrical, data, plumbing will need to be monitored and controlled. Special attention will be needed for those specific areas of the fish tank, theater and game rooms with regards to plumbing, electrical and data. On this type of project, especially dealing with the fish tank, and rock wall, the order of the activities within the timeline is important and needs to be carefully monitored so there are no delays.

Analytical Tools

Information gathering is one part of the process of overseeing a project. Once that information is gather, it needs to be analyzed to ensure the project is on track time-wise, budget-wise and quality-wise. Since the owner and project manager of this company has experience in these types of projects, he has an existing baseline that he can compare the current project to and can communicate that to the contractors of the specific areas and activities. The analytical tools that can be used to determine the status of the activities are milestone analysis, control charts, or a tracking Gantt chart, which shows a percentage completion in reference to time on the chart. This tool would be very useful in this project, since it compares actual status to the planned performance of a project life cycle. This tool would be the best for this type of construction project since it would visually display the percentage completion of activities and would also show any potential setbacks that could occur.

Corrective Actions

If any setbacks could occur, such as material delivery delays, or inclement weather during the initial framing, corrective actions could be taken to minimize the effects on the overall project as a whole, depending on what the exact setback, or delay is. If the project manager is aware and can foresee problems before they happen, using triggers in the Gantt chart, he can initiate the mitigation plan put in place in the planning stages of the project, depending on the risk at hand. In construction, a delay in material delivery would be a major setback if the material is related to a key milestone. The corrective action would be to have backup vendors available for material delivery, to minimize any time delays. If the corrective action is related to contractor issues, such as workers not showing up when they are supposed to do their portion of the job, then the project manager needs to have a discussion with the contractor lead to determine corrective actions, whether that is a worker replacement or breach of contract issue. Since Mr. Phentar was already aware of potential challenges with these special contractors, he would have a mitigation plan in place to address these issues before they happen, or while they are happening, and would not wait until the project fell complete off-track.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many tools the project manager can use to ensure his or her project stays on track with regards to budget, time, and quality. There are also many resources available to project managers, such as MS Project software, subject matter experts, and historical documents of similar projects that he or she can refer to if they are new to project management. Even for the experienced project manager, with 27 years under his belt, potential risks can surface, and the difference between their effect on the project can be as simple as having a mitigation plan, or not. This is why gathering data, analyzing, and monitoring the activities within a project is crucial to the success of each activity and the project as a whole.