Project Management Made Easy

Complex projects require sophisticated software and scheduling tools, however simpler and more straightforward projects involving only a few people over a relatively short period of time require a much simpler approach.

Usually, a simple project management will have a few steps which are dependent on other steps taking place first, and will be relatively straightforward to coordinate. An example might be creating and implementing a marketing plan for a one person business, painting a single room, baking a cake, planning a weekend away for two, building a garden shed etc.

With simple projects, a tool such as a Gantt chart may make over complicate the project scheduling. Unless all team members are trained in the tool then the use of the tool may itself lead to poor communication and an unsatisfactory result. A simple project such as those identified above may only require a timetable and/or an action plan. All those in the project team should be communicated with as to their tasks content and timing. Timetables can then be negotiated and agreed; actions lists or diaries/calendars can be used for recording and planning purposes.

All projects have control points and required deadlines, where progress is monitored and measured. In the event that a deadline is missed then the overall impact on project completion time can be assessed, and if necessary new timetables drawn up, re-negotiated and agreed.

Action Plans are lists of tasks/individual actions that are carried out to achieve a single and objective or outcome - in this case, the specific project. Action Plans focus on the achievement of a single goal, the action may then be translated in to a to-do list/diary cum calendar which cover many goals.

Safety Management Series - Make It Safe, And Legal

In my professional OHS consulting practice I often see clients who have become frustrated by "chasing the regulations." Their desire to comply with the legal requirements is honourable and a very wise business choice. It also pays to make our workplaces safe and healthy for our valuable employees. This is especially true in our day and age of diminishing workforce, increased world competition and challenging economic times. A contracting company needs to stay sharp to survive.

Wanting to have a safe work method statements and to comply isn't enough; we need a strategy to make it happen. Here's what's worked successfully for many who realize that making it safe is only half of the challenge and making it legal is the second half.

Trouble is in almost all jurisdictions that I'm aware of, this act of driving through an intersection against a red light is not legal. Our goal in business is to do both.

Let's start with a simple process.

1) Find the harmful energies (Hazard Assessment)

Find the harmful energies that could cause you grief. Electrical, mechanical, chemical, kinetic, gravitational and stored energies are some examples of energies that can all find a pathway to us unless we ensure they are controlled. Being hit with unwanted energy is a sure fire way to get hurt or damage our equipment.

2) Put barriers in place to stop the harmful energies (Hazard Control)

Once defined, these energies can be eliminated or in some cases you can put barriers in place to ensure the energies don't hit us. For example, if I need to work in a trench, I'm concerned about gravity working on the stored energy of the trench walls. If I go into an un-shored/protected trench then I'm putting myself in the way of energy. I can control that energy by barriers. These barriers don't have to be physical barriers. I can use the barrier of my knowledge not to enter the trench. I can also get training to know how to build safe shoring. Shoring is a great example of a barrier that effectively protects us from harmful energy. I can also use a trench cage to ensure that if the walls of the trench do collapse that I'm safely inside the cage unharmed by the release of the potentially harmful energy.

3) Check the applicable legislation for details of the prescribed hazard controls.

So once I've looked at either eliminating the harmful energies or the barriers I can put in place, I will probably have made it "safe". To follow our trenching example I could decide to shore the trench with lumber and screw-jacks. This could keep me safe from cave-in. I could guess the size of lumber I need and the number of screw-jacks but I could guess wrong. My shoring design may keep the walls of the trench from moving in on me, but may not meet the requirements of the local OHS laws. This is where I need to go to the web to check the regulations or look it up in my OHS regulation/code book.

4) Check your industry for best practices.

In my research I should also look for industry solutions to my safety challenges. Why re-invent a trench cage when I can just go buy or rent one? What are others doing to make it both safe and legal? Industry associations focused on safety are great sources of solutions to my safety challenges. Use them relentlessly.

5) Develop the safe work process to be used.

Now that I've decided on how I'm going to do the work, I need to develop a work process so that when I do this kind of work, I and my fellow workers are protected by the process used.

6) Educate and train those who need to comply with the work process.

We all need to know what is expected of us and we should be trained to do the work we're assigned. Learning how to shore using the company procedure is a barrier to me and my fellow workers from being injured or killed in a trench cave-in.

7) Observe that the work process is being followed.

Now that we have a plan to enter trenches we need to make sure that we always do it safely, Workplace inspections and observations tell us that we're doing it right. The old quality adage "Say what you do, do what you say and measure often" works really well in safety. Not only will you be ensuring you are following your own rules, but you will be meeting the legal requirements.

When we do it right we need to tell everyone that they've done a great job! If we need to adjust our processes, now is the time to do our improvements. Well there we have it, a simple process to make it safe...and to make it legal. Hopefully this will reduce any frustration you have around meeting the details of the OHS management plan regulations. Don't miss a step, your employees and your company's well-being is relying on it!

Tips for Personal Work Safety

There are a number of personal safety concerns that can be forgotten on the job site. These may not be life or death matters, but you should at least do what you can to make them non issues. It is generally a simple process that can be carried out at a low cost. Then again, the Internet has made just about everything possible at an affordable rate.

Let's start with safety from the sun. This is obviously not an issue for most serious office workers. Just don't let your employees stand in the window for 5 hours and make sure blinds are available. Those with work outside need something that's a little tougher on the sun's rays. The easiest way to protect them is by purchasing and outfitting them with individual sunscreen packets. These are exactly what they sound like, just little packets of sunscreen that can be broken out quickly, used, and then disposed of. They have a lot of benefits. Specifically, they are needed for most serious operations. A communal bottle of sunscreen may work for a family at the beach, but it will not work for most job sites. It will be lost or misplaced and a bunch of people will go home with sunburns. Factor in the increased risk for skin cancer and you have a problem. Just buy the packets and make sure that each worker has one.

Clothes are another issue for safety and general neatness. Working clothing needs to be given for many positions in factories and general care. You don't need someone wearing sneakers and street clothes while they're working on heavy machinery. You should make sure that your employees have appropriate boots and jumpsuits. The boots are pretty easy. The jumpsuits aren't much harder though. Just order some nice material sets from a supplier. It's hard to be specific. Some need heat resistant suits while others just need suits that are tough against oil. It's your call in the end.

Finally, you will want to ensure that safety glasses are available. There are a number of situations that require such glasses. Many chemicals are bad for the eyes and a stray splash could cause serious damage. Good safety glasses will shield the eyes and ensure that it's just a minor incident. Safety glasses also work to protect the eyes from debris, so any serious construction or manufacturing work will probably need these to be standard issue. Use this tips as a safe work method statements. I hope this works a lot on you.

The Project Management Plan Template

The project management planning phase is just what it sounds like - making a plan. This might include the level of detail the planning will be, whether it is a high level project or a low level project. It will also include the possible use planning software to lay out the project in detail. The scope statement will also be a part of this. The scope statement is the goal of the project; what your company is trying to achieve. This statement should include the customers, employees, and the goal. This should be a scope everyone believes in and it should be motivational.

Selecting a planning team might be the most difficult task of the entire planning and design phase for project management. Selecting a team means, you need to find the right people who are competent with the skills and knowledge to perform the work. However, these people also need to be capable of working with others. They should have a team concept and personalities that match other team members. When matching employees to work together, personalities must be considered or big problems can occur socially. Identification of deliverables and activities is also included in design and planning. Project management plan template must identify the different milestones and deliverables throughout the stages of the project. The work structure should be broken down. Deliverables should be set at different stages. This sets goals for employees and allows for the team to have a good idea how they are progressing throughout the project. Any activities needed to complete the deliverables should also be identified.

Planning requires estimates to be put in place for budgeting purposes. The budget needs to be as exact as possible. Some projects are difficult to estimate exactly. Project management plan template will need to consider all resources which include requirements for activities, labor, materials, and time. If a client wants a big job completed quickly, it might require you to hire more employees or for your current staff to work a lot of overtime. This must be broken down in the budgeting. Development includes developing the schedule and the budget. Each department involved will have a budget toward the project. The project manager will manage the budget. The schedule should include the dates from the beginning of the project until the end. Risk planning means you are aware of things that could potentially go wrong and ready in case they do. Risk planning is smart and must be done during the planning phase. Once you have completed these tasks in the development and design phase of project management, you will be ready to gain approval and begin the project.