Prod mgmt assess

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CHAPTER 3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT 95

a) Draw a network diagram for the project, b) Mark the critical path and state its length. c) If the Tesla 6 had to be completed 2 days earlier, would

it help to: i) Buy preassembled transmissions and drivetrains? ii) Install robots to halve engine-building time? iii) Speed delivery of special accessories by 3 days?

d) How might resources be borrowed from activities on the non- critical path to speed activities on the critical path? k,

Refer to MyOMLab for these additional homework problems: 3.27-3.33

CASE STUDIES

* Soutrwestern University: (A)* Southwestem University (SWtl), a large state college in Stephenville, Texas, 30 miles southwest of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, enrolls close to 20,000 students. In atypical town*gown relationship, the school is a dominant force in the small city, with more $tudents during fall and spring than permanent residents.

A longtime football powerhouse, SWU is a member of the Big Eleven conference and is usually in the top 20 in college football rankings. To bolster its chances of reaching the elusive and long- desired number-one ranking, in 2006, SWU hired the legendary Phil Flamm as its head coach.

One of Flamm's demands on joining SWU had been a new sta- dium. With attendance increasing, SWU administrators began to face the issue head-on. After 6 months of study, much political arm wres- tling, and some serious financial analysis, Dr. Joel Wisner, president of Southwestern University, had reached a decision to expand the capacity at its on-campus stadium.

Adding thousands of seats, including dozens of luxury skyboxes, would not please everyone. The influential Flamm had argued the need for a first-class stadium, one with built-in dormitory rooms for his players and a palatial office appropriate for the coach of a future NCAA champion team. But the decision was made, and etteryone, including the coach, would leam to live with it.

The job now was to get construction going immediately after the 2012 season ended. This would allow exactly 270 days until the 2013

Southwestern Un iversity Project

season opeoing game. The contractor, Hill Construction (Bob Hill being an alumnus, ofcourse), signed his contract. Bob Hill looked at the tasks his engineers had.outlined and looked President Wisner in the eye. "I guarantee the team will be able to take the field on sched- ule next year," he said with a sense of confidence. "I sure hope so," replied Wisner. "The contract penalty of $10,000 per day for runrring late is nothing compared to what Coach Flamm will do to you if our opening game with Penn State is delayed or canceled." Hill, sweat- ing slightly, did not need to respond. In football-crazy Texas, Hill Construction would be mud if the 270-day target was missed.

Back in his office, Hill again reviewed the data (see Table 3.6) and noted that optimistic time estimates can be used as crash times. He then gathered his foremen, "Folks, if we're not757a sure we'll finish this stadium in less than 270 days, I want this project crashedl Give me the cost figures for a target date of 250 days-also for 240 days. I want tobe early, not just on time!"

Discussion Questions 1. Develop a network drawing for Hill Construction and determine

the critical path. How long is the project expected to take? 2. What is the probability of finishing in 270 days? 3. If it is necessary to crash to 250 or 240 days, how would Hill do

so, and at what costs? As noted in the case, assume that optimistic time estimates can be used as crash times.

Bonding, insurance, tax structuring

Foundation, concrete footings for boxes

Upgrading skybox stadium seating

Upgrading walkways, stairwells, elevators

lnterior wiring, lathes

lnspection approvals

Plumbing

Painting

Hardware/AC/metal workings

Tile/carpet/windows

I nspection

Final detail work/cleanup

D,F

l I,K

0,1

0.1

100

0.1

$1,s00

3,500

4,000

1,900

9,500

2,s00

2,000

6,000

4,500

*This integrated study runs throughout the text. Other issues facing Southwestem's football expansion include (B) forecasting game attendance (Chapter 4); (C) quality of facilities (Chapter 6); (D) break-even analysis for food services (Supplement 7 Web site); (E) Iocation of the new stadium (Chapter 8 Web site); (F) inventory planning of football programs (Chapter I 2 Web site) ; and (6) scheduling of campus security officers/staff for game days (Chapter 1 3 Web site) .

CHAPTEN 3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT 97

* Managing Hard Rock's Rockfest Video Case br At the Hard Rock Cafe, like many organizations, project management is a key planning tool. With Hard Rock's constant growth in hotels and cafes, remodeling of existing cafes, scheduling for Hard Rock Live concert and event venues, and planning the annual Rockfest, managers rely on project management techniques and software to maintain schedule and budget performance.

"Without Microsoft Project," says Hard Rock Vice-President Chris Tomasso, "there is no way to keep so many people on the same page." Tomasso is in charge of the Rockfest event, which is attended by well over 100,000 enthusiastic fans. The challenge is pulling it off within a tight 9-month planning horizon. As the event approaches, Tomasso devotes greater energy to its activities. For the first 3 moflths, Tomasso updates his Microsoft Project charts monthly. Then at the 6-month mark, he updates his progress weekly. At the 9-month mark, he checks and corrects his schedule twice a week,

Early in the project management process, Tomasso identi- fies 10 major tasks (called level-2 activities in a work breakdown structure, or WBS):t talent booking, ticketing, marketing/PR, online promotion, television, show production, travel, sponsorships, oper-

ations, and merchandising. Using a WBS, each of these is further divided into a series of subtasks. Table 3.8 identifies 26 of the major activities and subactivities, their immediate predecessors, and time estimates. Tomasso enters a1l these into the Microsoft Project soft- ware.t Tomasso alters the Microsoft Project document and the time line as [!re project progresses. "Itns okay to change it as long as you keep on track," he states.

The day of the rock concert itself is not the end of the project planning. "It's nothing but surprises. A band not being able to get to the venue because of traffic jams is a surprise, but an 'afticipated' surprise. We had a helicopter on stand-by ready to fly the band in," says Tomasso,

On completion of Rockfest in July, Tomasso and his team have a 3-month reprieve before starting the project planning process again, r iThe level-l activity is the Rockfest concert itself. tThere are actually 127 activities used by Tomasso; the list is abbreviated for this case study.

)

t M

Finalize site and building contracts

Select local promoter

Hire production manager

Design promotional Web site

Set TV deal

Hire director

Plan for IV camera placement

Target headline entertainers

Iarget support entertainers

Travel accommodations for talent

Set venue capacity

Ticketmaster contract

0n-site ticketing

Sound and staging

Passes and stage credentials

Travel accommodations for staff

Hire sponsor coordinator

Finalize sponsors

Define/place signage for sponsors

Hire operations manager

Develop site plan

Hire security director

5et police/fire security plan

Power, plumbing, AC, toilet services

Secure merchandise deals

0nline merchandise sales

i i ta

I 4

D,K

G,R

R,X

I 1