How to plan engineering projects

Category: business courses

1. Definition of concepts
Next chapter: 2 - Characteristics of engineering projects

1. Definition of concepts
2. Characteristics of engineering projects
3. Project management
4. Organization and functions of project management
5. Planning, programming and control
6. The parts of the project
7. Advantages of integrated planning

1. Defining concepts

Within the many definitions of a Project, we can accept as the most universal the one
that characterizes it as follows: "It is the set of non-repetitive activities of a technical,
administrative and financial nature, which have as their final objective the
obtaining of certain products within the pre-established parameters. ".

In our analysis we want to differentiate it from the concept of "design", being closer to the
idea of "entrepreneurship".

Value analysis: it is advisable that it be executed from the conception of the project
when the main objectives and their viability are set, and continued during all subsequent
phases. It consists of evaluating the maximum number of alternatives to each solution to
be adopted and their cost/benefit ratio, including considering the operational cost of each
of them. Together with the project Schedule, the Value Analysis will create the Financial
Schedule.

Planning: "what", "how much" and "how" should be done, determining the path to follow
and the execution methods in a project is thinking so as not to make mistakes and
having to correct later, it is doing it right the first time by dimensioning it accordingly.
quality and quantity of the resources necessary to execute the task, including the
division, duration and concatenation of the different stages.
Schedule: refers to "when" what was planned should be done. It is about rationalizing
the available resources within the commitment to quality, deadline and cost.

Control: "what", "how" and "when" is actually finished. This phase is to prevent the
various activities from deviating from the expected quality, quantity, cost and deadline,
including ensuring that the flow of payments remains within the financial schedule.

Quality: this phase serves to meet the user's needs at a minimum cost and within the
expected deadlines. It requires explicit normalization, reliability, standardization of
solutions and repetitions.

2. Characteristics of engineering projects

Previous chapter: 1 - Definition of concepts

Next chapter: 3 - Project management

1. Definition of concepts
2. Characteristics of engineering projects
3. Project management
4. Organization and functions of project management
5. Planning, programming and control
6. The parts of the project
7. Advantages of integrated planning

Engineering projects are not routine activities and their definition and control parameters
(project object; budget; programming, etc.) require the participation of the most diverse
areas of the organization and institutions to minimize the risks that the projects involve
( financial, economic, company image , future expansions/adjustments, environmental
impact, among others). So, when making decisions, the opinions of sectors as diverse
as: Marketing, Product Engineering, Process Engineering, Operation and Maintenance
are considered. A plan conceived and approved by all parties involved has a better
chance of achieving success.

It can carry out long-term strategic programs, be a monoproject generally lasting less
than 3 years, or subprojects characterized by minor short-term efforts.
Its life cycle is made up of several characteristic phases that are not always well
differentiated, but which must be analyzed individually to foresee the basic needs of
each one (organization, personnel in quantity and qualification, facilities, systems, etc.).

These phases are the following:

-Conception

-Feasibility

-Implantation

-Operation

During the development of the various phases of the life cycle, the requirements of the
organization and the functions involved vary, but if the project is very important for the
company, the necessary transitional structure will at all times be linked to the
Management and/or Company Presidency. This structure constitutes the Project
Management that we will see in the next teaching unit.

3. Project management

Previous chapter: 2 - Characteristics of engineering projects

Next chapter: 4 - Organization and functions of project management

1. Definition of concepts
2. Characteristics of engineering projects
3. Project management
4. Organization and functions of project management
5. Planning, programming and control
6. The parts of the project
7. Advantages of integrated planning

Project management is responsible for the relationship between the various parameters
to be controlled (costs, deadlines and quality) and it is the Project Manager who has the
main responsibility for its performance.
Many times, by "industrializing" construction and assembly projects and activities, new
techniques or equipment are more easily accepted. In this way, we think that with this
application we will gain entrepreneurship profitability and every hour invested in
planning, programming and control will save many hours and resources lost or
inefficiently used in the project and in its execution.

If the company has a long-term investment program, it may be interesting for part of the
project management structure to be incorporated in a stable manner into the
organization, such as: basic engineering, inspection, technical purchasing . In the case
of a specific project, it is advisable that these functions be outsourced, seeking economy
and efficiency in hiring specialists only during the necessary period.

The hierarchy, functional objectives (technical specifications, contracts...) and

operational procedures within a project management are naturally different from the
formal ones within the business organization.

The organization of the project is influenced by various factors, among others I will
mention:

-The complexity, size and duration

-The nature of the project and branch of activity of the company

-Linked risks

-Geographic location

-Qualification and availability of personnel

The factors are closely related to each other and this determines the complexity of
Project Management. There is no single type of structure and how we can define and
group tasks and integrate them with each other will depend on it. The more indefinite the
task, the more necessary it will be to process more information and the more complex its
coordination will be.

In Engineering Projects of a certain importance, the use of matrix structures is common,

which, because they are multiple command structures, require a certain culture and
multiple approach. In this way, we take advantage of the experience of two or more
different technical areas when we require high information processing capacity and,
furthermore, for economy of scale.

4. Organization and functions of project management

Previous chapter: 3 - Project management

Next chapter: 5 - Planning, programming and control

Introduction

1. Definition of concepts
2. Characteristics of engineering projects
3. Project management
4. Organization and functions of project management
5. Planning, programming and control
6. The parts of the project
7. Advantages of integrated planning

The Project Management organization must be flexible but defining the main and
subordinate responsibilities, which makes the hierarchies clear. The effective authority of
the team is based on knowledge of the subject, personal skills and the ability to resolve
conflicts that arise.

The basic functions of Project Management are the following:

-Project management

-Planning

-Programming

-Controls

-Organization of activities (coordination, including the issuance of documents).

-Reports and communication

-Administration of Tenders and contracts -Inspection and audit of services

-Project Reviews -Rescheduling and corrective actions

-Start-up or entry into operation

5. Planning, programming and control

Previous chapter: 4 - Organization and functions of project management Next chapter:

6 - The parts of the project

Introduction

1. Definition of concepts
2. Characteristics of engineering projects
3. Project management
4. Organization and functions of project management
5. Planning, programming and control
6. The parts of the project
7. Advantages of integrated planning

The programming and control methods concentrate the attention and efforts of the
Project Manager and his team on those elements that are most relevant or critical (action
by exception) avoiding errors or redoing the work, anticipating the start of operation
consequently the return of investment.

Planning requires the division of the project into parts: systems, subsystems and
components, tasks, defining the PBS (Project Breakdown Structure), thus identifying the
final activities (the "what") and their control mechanisms.

Next, the end activities are analyzed by technological specialties, identifying the
responsible sectors, defining the functions and documents necessary to execute each of
them, this is known as WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) and are the middle activities
(the "as").
A notable characteristic of Project Management when planning is that it must have great
analytical capacity without losing the overall vision at any time.

Programming uses tools such as:

-Networks (PERT or CPM)

-Bar Charts (GANT)

-"S" curves, reports.

Such tools are essential due to their effectiveness in the communication of Project
Management and the rest of the company.

6. The parts of the project

Previous chapter: 5 - Planning, programming and control

Next chapter: 7 - Advantages of integrated planning

Introduction

1. Definition of concepts
2. Characteristics of engineering projects
3. Project management
4. Organization and functions of project management
5. Planning, programming and control
6. The parts of the project
7. Advantages of integrated planning

From the crossing of the PBS (activities or "products") x WBS (resources) matrices that
we talked about in the previous e-mail, the following parts of the project will emerge:

-The list of activities with their duration and interdependence.

-Budget (Budget) and Chart of accounts (extra-accounting)

-Other necessary resources in type and quantity (labor, materials, equipment)

-Physical schedule

-Economic/financial schedule (cash flow)

-Control spreadsheets and charts

It is recommended to prepare the Physical schedule from two different perspectives:

product schedule (buildings, sectors, systems) and technical area schedule (civil,
electrical, instrumentation, purchasing, etc.)

In the control reports we must clearly highlight the data: forecast - current - revised for
both costs and physical progress and deadlines. Preference should be given to graphics
to facilitate communication outside the project team. The general situation of the project
and contracts must also be analyzed in the reports.

Another auxiliary parameter that can be verified in the controls is the Criticality Index: IC
= number of critical activities / total number of activities.

CI < 10% weak control (30 days)

10% < Ic <30%, normal control (15 days)

30% < Ic, rigid control (7 days)

In addition to measuring the amounts of physical progress, physical and economic

resources consumed, controls serve to balance resources, releases, to project estimates
and support revisions.

7. Advantages of integrated planning

Previous chapter: 6 - The parts of the project

1. Definition of concepts
2. Characteristics of engineering projects
3. Project management
4. Organization and functions of project management
5. Planning, programming and control
 6. The parts of the project
7. Advantages of integrated planning

In this last e-mail we will focus on the advantages of integrated planning. Let's see:

-It divides the work into activities, inducing verification that such division is complete and
that the activities are linked to each other in a logical sequence.
All those responsible become familiar with the objective of the engineering project .

-Reveals interferences between activities

-Defines responsibilities of people or sectors to meet different requirements and

deadlines.

-Avoids further delays by detecting deviations from what was planned through controls,
thus allowing small early corrections to be carried out.

-Facilitates control by exception by concentrating the attention of project management on

a reduced number of activities (critical path). Typically no more than 10% of the total
activities of an engineering project are critical. Accelerating the others is uneconomical.

-Rationalize resources according to their availability

-Increases the number of information available for decision making

-Facilitates communication between parties linked to the project

-In a general way, it increases the efficiency, effectiveness and profitability of the project
since the solutions adopted have been analyzed by a multi-sector team, to avoid
repeated work and to minimize deadlines.

On the other hand, it requires familiarity of the participants with the methodology. Even in
cases where the user does not have deep knowledge of planning methodologies, the
simple fact of detailing a list of activities and the elaboration of an elementary network in
order to define some dates or partial "frames" is enough. to provide countless benefits
through the understanding of the project that the company acquires through these
analyses.
With modern tools, we can manage engineering projects as if we were looking at a scale
model, make simulations changing the programming of some activities or resources and
observe the reflections in economic, financial and deadline aspects.

The comprehensive strategic planning of an engineering plan provides the

guarantee of adding the greatest possible value to investments, maximizing their
profitability.