INTRODUCTION

Managing major or complicated projects is a tricky subject. This blog is specially designed to present, discuss and review the process and methodology of Managing Major Projects. The discussion focuses on the Major EPC Projects especially associated with the process industry. It is intended to provide the tools and techniques necessary to consistently deliver project execution within the pre-assigned budget and project schedule along with meeting the business requirements and objectives. Development of the blog is a continuous process and will be taken up in various parts. Efforts will be made to address the complex nature of issues being faced by Project Managers and Project Executives who have mastered the basics of project management and are in the pursuit of highest degree of management techniques, execution strategies and project procedures. The EPC projects are of a very complex nature and require specialized skills, advanced technology, special software, sophisticated procedures and smart management techniques. This blog will present the entire process of project management and control, starting right from the conceptual stage and taking the reader through the execution and commissioning stage discussing the ways and means to cope up with the complex projects. It seeks to work as a reference manual and guide helping to achieve highest standards of project management.

 

Most of the discussions on this blog have a side-by-side graphical presentation through charts, figures, tables and graphs. Charts are always found to ease the understanding of any discussion and help to grasp the details at a much faster pace. The charts have been prepared in such a way that they present the accompanying discussion through a graphical representation.

 

Project management started being recognized as a distinct discipline during the 1950’s, prior to which, the projects were managed on a case to case basis, utilizing the skills of the persons managing the projects. Around 1950’s, project managers started utilizing professional tools and techniques that included Gantt Charts, Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Program Evaluation and Review Technique known as PERT. All these tools involved project scheduling techniques whereas the professional cost aspect was generally missing. At this stage a need was felt for the project cost oriented integration to the professional project management. Project Managers stated giving greater emphasis to the development of techniques for cost estimation, cost control, cost management and engineering economics. 1956 saw the formation of American Association of Cost Engineers, now known as AACE International; The Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering. Coming years saw the evolution of Project Controls as a separate project management field that comprised of planning & scheduling, cost estimation, cost control and schedule monitoring tools.

 

The evolution and specialization of Project Management has since continued and today, project management has become an industry of its own. Most project owners desiring to establish major and complex projects hire the services of a professional project manager, or for that matter, a project management organization specializing in the management of significantly large and complex projects. In today’s professional environment, project management has turned out to be much more complex and requires highly sophisticated management techniques. This applies to both the project owners and project managers. In most EPC companies, the project density has increased many-fold during the recent past and is consistently rising.

In today’s professional environment, project management has turned out to be much more complex and requires highly sophisticated management techniques. This applies to both the project owners and project managers. In most EPC companies, the project density has increased many-fold during the recent past and is consistently rising. In the current scenario, Project Management can be described as a methodology of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of the project goals and objectives. The successful delivery of complex projects needs an effective management of a large number of interrelated tasks that in turn need the combination of skills, experience, project management processes, management tools and a set of well-defined procedures. A project is essentially a plan that needs to be accomplished in a set of time frame, within an allotted budget, meeting the technical specification within the pre-defined scope and achieving the desired quality of product.

This blog has been put together with a view to improve the knowledge, skills, management techniques and attitudes of project management professionals. It is adequately designed to address the complex nature of issues being faced by Project Managers and Project Executives who have mastered the basics of project management and are in the pursuit of highest degree of management techniques.

This blog aspires to present the entire project management process in a step-by-step manner and will include discussions on the following five sections:

1)       PROJECT MANAGEMENT

2)       PROJECT CONTROLS

a.        Planning

b.       Scheduling

c.        Cost Estimation

d.       Cost Control 

3)       PROJECT PLANS

4)       PROJECT EXECUTION  and

5)       CLOSE-OUT