Description of the Management of Hallett 4 Project - Case Study Example

Project analysis Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: 1. Introduction Hallett 4 project is a project which is situated about 220km North of Adelaide. This wind farm was commissioned in the year 2008. The scope of the project is about 13 kilometers which spreads across the Brown Hill ranges. This wind farm project comprises of 63 turbines and the turbines model are S88 (AGL Hallett 4 wind farm 2010). The project commenced in the year 2008 and was completed successfully in the year 2010 and the wind farm became operational in the same year 2010. Hallett 4 is among the numerous projects of the AGL renewable energy company and this project aim to increase the supply of renewable energy so that the non renewable sources of energy cannot be exploited (AGL Hallett 4 wind farm 2010). The project was estimated to cost $341 million. The contractor of the project was Suzlon who had the responsibility to supply and install all the turbines till the energy is produced. In this effect, the main responsibilities of the contractor were; to design and produce the turbines, ensure accurate in the house, maintenance of the access roads, design and lubricate the turbines and design an installation of electronic system. In appendix 1 below is the picture of the project. The main objectives of the project was to increase the supply of the renewable energy starting the year 2010 To ensure adequate supply of renewable energy to the people of North Adelaide To reduce the cost of energy to the Australian people by supplementing non renewable energy with renewable energy Finally, the project aims at improving the utilization of underlying resources to sustain the energy demands in Australia (AGL Hallett 4 wind farm 2010). 2. Project stakeholder analysis Project stakeholder analysis is very important in the success of any project. This is because failing to consider the expectations and value of the stakeholders, the project will not be coordinated well. The following are the key stakeholders in Hallett 4 project; The contractor is one of the key stakeholders in the project. The contractor in this project is Suzlon Company. The contractor determines the success of the project depending on its competency and knowledge in the same field. Suzlon has competent project managers with required qualifications hence they applied their skills to ensure the project was a success (Kerzner 2003). In addition, the company offered their services at cost effective prices which implies that the cost was not too high or too low but was effective. The company expected cooperation from the client and provision of relevant support when needed. Top management of AGL is also key stakeholders of the project. The success of the project also depends on the policies and expectations of the top management. In order for Suzlon to perform its tasks effectively, there has to be support from top management of the client so that activities can be coordinated well to ensure success of the project failure to which there will be a negative relationship between the contractor and the client (Kerzner 2003). The employees are also main stakeholders to the project. They help to implement the policies and procedures which have been designed by the management (Kerzner 2003). Motivation is the key factor in ensuring the effective performance of their tasks. The employees should be motivated so that they can offer their best skills to ensure success of the project. The employees expect better remuneration from their employer. In addition, the government policies should be taken into consideration. Before starting the construction, the government policies and regulations were scrutinized to ensure that the operations of the company are not illegal which could attract government intervention and this led to effective management of the project (Kerzner 2003). 3. Description of the management of the project Hallett 4 project was managed by implementing ran to plan strategy. This is whereby the contractor planned for the events and tasks before implementing them. There was constant monitoring of the project to ensure that there is no deviation from the set outcomes (Pennypacker 2002). The main phases in the implementation of Hallett 4 project are discussed below; The first phase was the initiation phase. This was the first stage where the project was identified as this could enable the client to award the contract to the contractor (Pennypacker 2002). The project objectives are identified at this stage and various tasks are allocated to various teams and individuals. It is a very crucial stage in setting the foundation of the project. The next phase of the project is the phase of designing systems for implementing the project. This is where various management tools and techniques are used to plan for the events of the project. The cost and duration of the project are determined to ensure effective planning of the project. Measures are put in place to ensure there is maximization of resources of the project (Pennypacker 2002). Models like performance change models are used to manage the project at this phase as well as problem solving mechanisms. The third phase is the implementation phase. This is the actual practice where the designed systems are implemented. The success of the project at this phase depends on the communication and the systems which are put in place. The project manager should apply his competency and skills to coordinate various functions at this stage to ensure the required outcomes are achieved (Pennypacker 2002). Like discussed above, the project ran to plan. There were no deviations from the planned outcomes because there was careful planning of the project. The importance of careful planning to the project includes effective utilization of resources (Rad & Anantatmula 2005). The resources were utilized effectively because the materials could be made available when they were needed which implies that there was no stoppage in the installation process. Careful planning also improved the communication between various departments in the project management. For instance, it helped to increase the communication between the finance department and the procurement departments to ensure required resources are available in time. In addition, careful planning ensured effective coordination of tasks from one phase to another and this helped to improve the way the project was implemented by avoiding any deviation from the required outcome (Rad & Anantatmula 2005). Finally, careful planning led to better time management. Time was managed effectively because there was careful transition of the project from one phase to another because there were no deviations from the required outcomes. 4. Critical success factors There are a number of critical factors which made this project a success. The first factor is the availability of skilled human resources (Rad & Anantatmula 2005). The contractor had well skilled project managers as well as the employees who offered their skills to ensure success of the project. Another critical success factor was the top management support. The top management of the company supported the project manager with the aim of ensuring that the project manager had the required resources to execute the project (Ramakrishna 2010). For instance, the project manager was provided with adequate financial resources to execute the various tasks in the project. Availability of resources also helped to ensure success of the project. The contractor had the required resources which led to effective execution of tasks in time (Ramakrishna 2010). Without adequate resources like finance, equipment and time, it could have been hard to implement various tasks and this could have led to stoppage in some tasks thus the project could not be implemented within the required period of time. Infrastructure also led to better achievement of tasks. There was good communication and transport throughout the project period. This ensured that the materials could arrive where they are needed in time and that there was good communication between the contractor and the client as well as with the employees (Ramakrishna 2010). This was the key factor helped to ensure activities were coordinated well. Staffing of the employees was another key success factor for the project. This implies that the employees were adequate for each task and there was no exploitation of the employees. They worked in shifts which gave them time to relax and refresh their minds (Ramakrishna 2010). In this regard, they were motivated and offered their best skills which led to the success of the project since they increased their output. The employee motivation is therefore another key success of project. Conclusion From this project management, I have learnt a number of items. In the first place, I have learnt that they key critical factors for the success of the project include employee motivation, top management support, availability of skilled human resources as well as adequate resources like financial and time. In addition, I have learnt that effective planning for the project could also lead to the success of the project since it helps to allocate various resources effectively and improves time management. In future, I will develop a good relationship among the employees so that they can share information effectively and also I will ensure that the employees develop their skills. On the other hand, I will not constraint time when managing a project since this will lead to poor quality work. References AGL Hallett 4 wind farm 2010, About us, viewed 5th May 2014 from http://www.suzlon.com/pdf/PP_AGL_Hallett_4.pdf Kerzner, H 2003, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, London, JohnWiley and Sons. Pennypacker, L 2002, Managing Multiple Projects: Planning, Scheduling and Allocating Resources for Competitive Advantage, CRC Press, New York. Rad, P & Anantatmula, V 2005, Project Planning Techniques: Management Concepts, John Willey and Sons, New Jersey. Ramakrishna, K 2010, Essentials of Project Management, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd, Boston, Massuchetts. Appendix During construction Hallett 4 wind farm Read More