Implementation of project management systems

Implementation of project management systems Klaus Pannenbiicker

For a large, complex project to be completed within its budget and time limits, it is important that a standard data and documentation codification system should be implemented at the start of the project. Using practical examples, the setting up and operation of such a system is described. The importance of the system as a progress monitor is explained.

t mm

__

.-E c

t;

E i:

Delivery

Keywords: project management, methods, identification methods

organization

and Figure

Both operators and consultants inust be familiar with project management techniques to ensure that, despite projects not running satisfactorily, the costs are not exceeded and the time targets are met. In addition, it is well known that at the beginning of a project, the best chance of managing the project successfully exists by introducing long-term working methods for all participants (see Figure 1). The procedure is as follows goal definition 0 project structure l task codification 0 time estimation 0 cost calculation, l

etc.

Even with the support plan is needed for participants. Based planning and erecting study should stimulate tions, with the aim methods.

of good examples, an individual each project and all project on many years’ experience of power plants, the following case consideration of different soluof using identical or similar

Vol 3 No 2 May 1985

0263-7863/8_5/020081-13

1. Analysis

STARTING

time

I

of project progress

POINT

The study commences when the contract is signed. At this stage, everyone knows everyone else. Everyone promises to do his best, and all parties believe that everything is regulated in the contract. A project management team is set up, and there is much to be organized, from installing photocopiers and telephones to equipping the conference room and arranging a postal address. Once the project is underway, detailed discussions take place. The technical and administrative discussions between members of the project team tend to counterbalance each other, since each participant has his own ideas about how to manage the project. QUANTITY

OF DATA

A given project consists of systems, assemblies, components, equipment, cables and pipes in structures and buildings. For example, a 1 300 MW nuclear power plant has 18 0 15 l 15 l 6 0 13

l

Gesellschaft fiir Ablauforanisation und Informationsverarbeitung mbH, Niirnberger Strasse 28, D-8520 Erlangen, FRG This paper was presented at an Internet-MES symposium, Cairo, Egypt, 20-23 February 1984

s

Y Project

$03.00 0

000 000 000 000 000

valves pipe isometrics mechanical components electrical drives measuring circuits

1985 Butterworth

& Co (Publishers)

Ltd

81

Table 1. Correlation of data Delivery

time,

between delivery time and quantity

years

Data,

digits X 10h

engineering Electrical engineering

12 10 8 6

50 42 33 25

lnstrumentati~n and

control

Civil engineering

Figure 2. Material-oriented Each part is described in about 15 digits of technical data. This gives more than 1M digits of data. The operation of a nuclear power plant needs about 25 000 binary signals, 100 000 process commands and 15 000 spare parts. All this information is described in about 700 000 drawings and about 1.2M reports. With any changes, this means that approximately 50M digits of technical data must be handled. Given that there is a constant relationship between quantity of data and participants on the one hand, and participants and delivery time on the other, a correlation can be drawn up (see Table 1). Project management today requires, more than ever, the ability to control this large quantity of data within the many different levels of work division. The supervision and control of fabrication and workflow on sites depends extensively on this. Most of this data requires l l l

unmistakable identification clear responsibilities transparent documentation

BASIC

CODIFICATION

SYSTEMS

Independent basic codification each of the following areas

systems

must exist for

0 materials 0 activities l documents l responsibilities Basic codification defines single units according to a hierarchical principle. Hierarchical means the linkage of partial amounts to total amounts. The four basic codifications are segregated, i.e. each term occurs only in one basic codification. Rigid application of this rule simplifies later combinations of the basic codifications in each application case. Material-based

codi~cation

Since 1975, the codification method employed by operators, authorities, constructors, consultants and subcontractors working on FRG power plants has conformed to a standard system, called Kraftwerk Kennzeichnungs System (KKS). The principles and structures are so well accepted that work disposal and reprocessing plants for depleted fuels and a physical research and development project identify materialoriented units with a classification system according to the same principles (Figure 2). All disciplines use this classification system, and the constructor builds the plant according to it. After that, the operator takes over the same classification to

82

codification

system

organize his own operations, maintenance and accounting. Under the hierarchical structure of material-based codification (MBC), the units become smaller by reading from left to right. According to different systems of classification, there are several detailed stages. Figure 3 shows the codification used in a mechanical engineering process-related application. Figure 4 shows an example of a process-related application in mechanical engineering. From the electrical engineering and instrumentation and control (T&C) engineering points of view, there are two possible approaches: the process-related application (Figure 5) and the mounting-location application (Figure 6), which is according to German Standard DIN 40 719. A practical example is given in Figure 7. the syst~m/pum~a~gregate/pump To transfer application of the process-related technique to the electrical application, the electrial function (task) of switching on a drive takes the place of systemfpumpaggregate, symbolized by the mounting location in a cabinet (Figure 8). In mechanical, electrical and I&C engineering, only function-related applications of different parts of aggregates and equipment make use of the processrelated and mounting location application. Through such an application, however, it is not possible to know where any specific item is located geographically. This was the reason for developing a locality-related application using the structure shown in Figures 9 and 10. MBC structure The requirements

of the structure

are:

to identify about 3M units and equipment using a single existing application, to be expansible to allow for new techniques and technologies. not to exceed a certain length of the application, and information technologyunder ergonomic oriented constraints, to identify the same type of units independent of the user, to differentiate between units or to count the same type of unit within one classification,

Figure 3. Codification wed in a mechanical process-rebated appi~~at~~~~~

Project

engineering

Management

Serial number I-I

Figure

Figure

Figure

l

4.

Mechanical

5. Process-related

6. Mounting

Designation

1 Total plant

1

1

Function

1

1

Aggregate

1

Contents

1

I

I

Sysiern

I

I

Pump unit

1

engineering

application

location

Unit

process-related

approach

application

approach

to indicate externally, in a distinguishable manner, the classifying (project-independent) part and the counting (project-dependent) part of the application.

This results in an alphanumerical classification system with fixed mask structures, by which, in principle, 0 letters classify constant terms, numbers count frequently occurring

l

classifications.

The MBC structure and the different kinds of application are summarized in Figures 11 and 12. As there are no collective terms for the different meanings of each step of the codification system, the names for each step were provided from the process-

Vol 3 No 2 May 1985

application

related mechanical engineering application. This means that a measurement circuit can be termed ‘aggregate’, because the circuit is classified in step 2, termed aggregate. MBC classifies only material (hardware). It does not classify 0 area of project l project phases 0 activities l responsibilities l types of document 0 classes of material 0 quality of material,

Activity-based

etc.

codification

All material units have to be designed, calculated, constructed, fabricated, erected, operated and repaired. These activities are, as pure activities, always the same. However, they vary according to the aim (Figure 13). The separation between productive and administrative activities is advantageous, because most of the administrative activities can be linked to productive activities, e.g. time scheduling with design, fabrication, repair and construction changes. A matrix linkage can arise from this distinction

83

Serial number of breakdown level Function

Designation of level

_-I-

\

I

_-_-----------

X

I:

SystemKT gure

7. Pruces~-reIafed

app~icat~~~

used

in

1&C ~ngi~ee~~~g -1

Serial number

L--l”

of

breakdown

level

Designation

of level

Aggregate

{

1

Component

1

Tier lting

Figure 8. Mounting

84

L5~ui~~n-re~ated application

used in electricat engineering

Project

Management

Figure 9. Locality-related application structure

(Figure 14). Each main activity group has a further data field for its own detaining, so that the hierarchies within the linkage provide sufficient detail to enable most types of activity to be identified. The matrix allows the

Serial number Designation

Figure

IO. Locality-related

Serial number

of breakdown

Designation

of breakdown

Designation

of data unit

application

used in civil engineering

level level

Type of data unit

Figure 1 f . Su~nmary of the different types

of application calculation of line and column totals, e.g. 45 = amount of engineering for all examination specifications.

b

I\ I

‘Total’ plant

Components

I

Document-based

A B c D E G

and

L -11111-1-111

Figure 12. MBC structure

Vol 3 No 2 May 1985

All data and facts are described in documents, and different types have been developed, e.g. pipe isometrics, system drawing, piece lists, etc. When there are a Iarge number of documents, it is helpful to introduce a classifying document-based codification (DBC). This has the following main groups

\

Standard parts and spare parts

~odi~~ation

\ A

correspondence reports/notes common manuals, description internal standard, specifications, external standard, specifications, shipment, customs, transport offers, contracts, financing calculations, costs, prices licensed documents quality documents

guidelines rules

85

Figure 13. Activity-based Activities Productive

Administrative

activities

Original activities for planning, construction, operating and maintenance

These support the productive activities, and are also independent coordinating activities

A B C D E F G Ii J K L M N P 0 R S T U V W X Y Z

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 SO

to design to build to construct to equip to fabricate

to commission to order

U V X Y Z

activities

drawings of complete plant civil drawings mechanical drawings electrical and I&C drawings electrical and T&C drawings

Each of these main groups (only 15 of the possible 24 are listed above) can be further broken down into 24 subgroups, so that a maximum of 576 different types of document can be classified.

to calculate to prove to examine to approve time scheduling capacity planning cost planning to produce documentation reports

Responsibility-based

codification

Responsibility-based codification is demonstrated by the procedure organization shown in Figure 15. Such codification rarely causes problems apart from those relating to competence.

to erect to operate to repair

LINKAGE OF BASIC CODIFICATION SYSTEMS

to change construction to execute prototype test to maintain

The most important codification system depends on the case in question. Figures 1619 illustrate the four possibilities. In Figure 16, the cooling water pump is to be installed. The questions that arise are:

to execute

repeat

examination

1

Documents to wr,te

Write

Quality

Document

to test

Material specification

Register

AC. 93

To oocument

CD. 47

To examine

45

Figure 14. Matrix generated by activity-based

86

codification

(ABC)

All

Fabrlcatlon speclficatlon

lnstrumentatlon

fabruxtlon

and control

Transfer

Examlnatlon

speclflcatlo”

speclflcatlo”

man

Test

data

drawngs

test speclflcatlons

codification

Project

Management

I

Responsibility I

Figure 1.5. Procedure organization in organogram f&m Figure 17. priority

I

I l

Responsibility

Material-based

Who does it? Where is the mounting

codification

l l

takes

1

system takes

Figure 18. ~e~~po~sibilit.v-based codification takes priority

drawing?

In Figure 17, the sum of all maintenance activities be calculated. The factors to be determined are: l

system

I

Figure 16. priority

l

I

codification

I

I

I Document

Activity-based

Which components are included? In which documents are the instructions Who produces these documents‘?

system

is to

provided?

In Figure 18, the project assistant must check the extra costs. To do this, he must answer the following questions: l l l

For which equipment and plant are there extra costs? For which activities are there extra costs? In which report is it documented?

If a certain raw material is susceptible to stress corrosion for cooling water components, then the document system takes priority (Figure 19). The factors to be determined are: l l l

Which documents describe this raw material from which components? Which activities have to be stopped and which have to be newly planned? Who takes over the changes?

EXAMINATION OF PROGRESS AND RESPONSIBILITY If the four basic codification systems exist, they can be used as follows. First, MBC (material) and ABC (activity) are combined to define work packages (Figure 20).

Vol3

No 2 May 1985

Document

Figure 19. Document-based priority

modification system takes

The following examples are taken from a large physical research and development project (Spallation Neutron Source) in the FRG. The MBC is called Spaliations-Kennzeichensystem (SKS) (Figure 21). These examples show that even work packages can be defined by using only one codification system. All work packages have the same identifying data (Figure 22). Since MBC (material) and ABC (activity) are hierarchical systems, it follows that the work packages have a hierarchical codification (Figure 23). It is important that all work packages have the same identification at all stages in order that the person

87

After defining the work packages, the for each package is determined according and quantity conditions. When this has the initial project breakdown structure mined using responsibility considerations Two facts are important. l l

responsibility to the quality been decided, can be deter(Figure 25).

The total area, formed by MBC and ABC, must have no empty spaces. For each field. every detailed step has to be under one responsibility, not two.

After this perhaps expensive but systematic and careful approach, the activities and responsibilities influence each ocher as long as the results. in the form of material and documents, can be consistently provided and controlled.

\

\

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION BASIC CODIFICATION SYSTEMS Administrative

activities

‘Total\ /

/

plant

\

and buildings

circuits,

I

\

‘j

II

n

and

equipment

\

Standard

parts

and spare

parts

\ A

II--II---

L

III

rooms

Components

/

IIll

Figure 20. Combinution work packuges

of MBC

und ABC

to define

responsible can recognize, at each level, which units can be combined. In this way, the progress of all tasks can be examined. The matrix linkage can produce more work packages than required for clear project management and control. To reduce the number of work packages, the milestone principle is used. l

l

Work packages are sufficiently well defined that responsible departments can work without consulting other departments. Finished work packages mean measurable progress for the whole project, i.e. time and cost spending, and total fabrication of hardware or engineering results is documented.

There is also the principle that only something that has been described in full can be summarized. It then has to be decided who is responsible for which work packages. The following procedures are of use in the decision-making process.

Principle of responsibility Rough MBC units result in extensive several architectural

88

and progress

combined with rough ABC units work packages, e.g. to contract engineers (Figure 24).

OF

A member of the project management team and the consultant develop the MBC and ABC through discussions with technical experts who have previously been acquainted with the philosophy of the basic codification systems. MBC and ABC are implemented together with a second round of onsite discussions, based on the initial concepts. For power plants, this stage is unnecessary, because MBC was introduced in 1975. In every case, the reasons why MBC and ABC are so important for the subsequent project management planning are explained at the same time. MBC is the basis for the quantity summary (Figure the basis for all material-oriented 26) and therefore planning costs. MBC together with ABC is the basis for work packages, which at the same time are the bases for personnel planning. Out of this arises the engineering-oriented part of planning costs, which can be up to 40% to the total planning costs. As a result. it is necessary to install an efficient management system to control the engineering planning, such as that used for the material-oriented planning costs. In Part A of the procedure in Figure 26. priority is given to the marking of all systems, components, etc., particularly in drawings for summarizing material items in part lists. At the same time, the first proposal of ABC is introduced with the question: Please imagine that you have to order your system or component tomorrow. What have you already prepared? What have you still to do? Out of this arises, among other things, a status report on the progress of the project (Figure 27). At the same time, the units marked with MBC are described using the most important technical data and functions (Figure 28). The data marked with an asterisk is final and approved. That without an asterisk requires information as to who will give the final approval and when. This also applies to data that is needed for ‘tomorrow’s order’, but which is not yet described. This data is the basis for obtaining data with time schedules. The quantity of data involved needs a database to contain technical data and facts as well as information about the commitments and origin of the data. The use

Project

Management

Documents to write

Cluality to test

I Write

Document

Register

Material specification

Fabrication specification

Transfer specification

Examination specification

Test \

Physic

Civil

MBC:

Alvarez accelerator

MA MAS

ABC:

Beam focuwng

of Alvarez accelerator

To design civil main data

“AB.

91

MAS “AR.91

To write report

To write the report with civil main data of the beam focussing of the Alvarez accelerator

Total construction engineering of the total Alvarez accelerator

MA_

‘C_.

MAS

*__.70

Personnel pianninq of ali engineering for the beam focussing of the Alvarez accelerator

“YZ,

To optimize the EDP program for analysing the prototype test

f

To control and correct all costs of project including extracosts

__.a4

Figure 21. MBC matrix

MBC (Material)

Responsibility

ABC (Activity)

Project phase

Start Finish

Engineering manhours

Material cost

Engineering cost

Document

Preconditi frnm

Figure 22. Data used to identify work packages

Vol 3 No 2 May 198.5

Figure 23. Codified work package hierarchy

of asterisk marking to show the status of the data commitments allows their progress to be reported, which is necessary in order to assess project progress. DOCUMENTATION Planning, designing, have two results l l

calculation,

construction,

etc.

the final product in its final location, the document describing the product.

The complexity and value of today’s plants require this documentation of data and facts in order to report the progress of the work at any time. The documents must be correctly marked, registered, stored and handled. Documents, final or not, are the most confidential monitor of nonmaterial-oriented results. It is essential to control changes during the planning and construction phases of a project. For this, an accompanying documentation system is needed to prove which basic documents were preconditions for a certain engineering document. If this system is codified with uniform and commonly used identifications, a report of changes can be produced that indicates which documents have to be changed. In addition, such an accompanying documentation system puts the operator in the position of being able to continue the project extensively on his own, e.g. to organize a change in construction. The large quantity of documents produced by projects above a certain size necessitates the installation of a document centre in the early stages of the work on site. All documents are then handled and stored safely within it. The operator sends his own personnel into the document centre at the beginning of commissioning to control the progress and to learn the filing system. The possibility of support by microfilming for this kind of documentation is useful not only for backup and security purposes, but also for daily use e.g., in the control room.

a

REQUIREMENTS

b Figure 24. Combination produce work packages, after further detailing

of MBC and ABC units to (a) rough combination; (6)

OF EDP

SUPPORT

The installed database system has to manage and evaluate the hierarchical structures of the basic codification systems and of the resulting planning packages. This can be done very efficiently by relational database systems. The advantages of such a system might be compared to the disadvantages of redundant data storage. Redundancy factors of 10 to 15 can be expected. Therefore, the valid principle should be that the more the data structures are organized before the the fewer are the large database first installation, systems. It is helpful to work with a multiple database system, rather than storing all data in one database. Typical parts of database systems are: technical data (primary data) documentation data (secondary l time scheduling 0 cost planning l l

Figure

90

25. Classic project

breakdown

structure

data)

The linkage should not be done automatically via EDP, but via the desk of the responsible person. For example. should the time schedule change, the budget should be altered after being approved by the person responsible for cost.

Project

Management

Part B

Part A

Activity based codification

-.-4

Figure

26.

Relationship

between

dijTer(erentsystems

and

The commonly used basic codification systems are the best guarantee for synchronized data processing, i.e. for data-oriented linkage, not program-oriented (in the case of software) linkage. If the advantages of a dialogue system are to be made use of, a password security system should be used to control who is allowed to read and who to read and write. In addition, discrete data has to be protected. It therefore seems to be more profitable to adjust the EDP support more to listing techniques than to dialogue techniques. This is particularly valid over borders between companies, but this does not mean

Vol 3 No 2 May 1985

components

.

within the procedure

that, for example, the project management team cannot receive the monthly report data directly. Again, a common codification language is a necessary precondition. The installed database system must allow the data to be processed in graphical form: piechart, barchart, histogram, percentage curve, etc. It is therefore important that the computer itself produces the summaries. For all analyses, the same principles apply. l

A graph is much clearer

than 100 numbers

in a table.

91

l

The project manager has a maximum of 20% of his time to study the reports (he needs 80%, for managing and organizing).

The latter principle requires the introduction of a standard form of reporting, because trends can be recognized only in consistent displays.

WHAT SHOULD

At the beginning of a project, a meeting is held in a large room, and the walls are made use of as shown in Figure 29. After supplementing the basic codification systems, the project organization plan is produced. Out of this develop simultaneously the project structure plan, time schedule and cost plan. It is important to hang the cutout units from the project organization plan not only on the project structure plan but also on the time schedule. The cutout cards of work packages are at the end of each time bar. A sufficiently extensive and quick EDP administration exists to support the graphic work in this room. In addition, all important project progress discussions take place here. According to the size of the project (project participants multiplied by project delivery time), specialists for project technology, for time and cost planning, for EDP and auxiliaries for preparations are subordinated to the project assistant. This room-oriented basic principle of management support can be used for each step of detailing. i.e. not only for company groups but also for a single firm.

@Delivery (hardware\l codlfled wth MBC

,,,,,...,..,,,., . Mac““8X 0 cwwe,elOlOrder,“.2 (J ““,,I““U dwg”ed ------1 CDnlfrUCted -----0 “Ofyrt rpeclfled cslculsfed

Project 1

report

Figure 27. Generation

of a statuslprogress

BE IDEAL?

report

HUMAN ASPECTS Project part ..,...................

Responsibility

MBC

Date . . . . . .

.

.

Administrative onerous for the For essential. managing seems The following

.. . . . . . .

Technical main data Length . . . . .._...._..............

l

Weight . . . .. .. . . . ..__.._.......... Raw material __._..,,.,,.,..,.,,,

l

Power .. ... . . .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . . .. . .. . ..

l

Status of Data Commitment final and approved

I*

1 L--A

I

fixed by himself, but not yet final and approved up to now no data, has to be fixed by

Figure 28. Format of MBC marked and function descriptions

92

units’ technical

data

project management is sometimes project manager, but nevertheless members of special departments, to be superfluous. procedure principles therefore arise:

no commitment without the participation of the later users a clear recognition that initial management support helps everybody to help himself, e.g. substantiating requests for a greater budget and more personnel owing to the status of the project progress, clear instructions about how to report, describe and manage, even if it appears inconvenient (Figure 30).

Everyone must observe these rules. In project instructions, points that apply to all participants and for all uses are fixed, e.g. uniform codification of all drawings. Nevertheless, individual departments have to give additional instructions to their own members, e:g. the codification of cables is of no interest to the civil section. Hence, departments can also be thought of as single firms cooperating in the total project. It is also important that the instructions consider deeply rooted human feelings, e.g. in areas of chiefs and subordinates, of local and foreign personnel, of saying, asking and explaining. With these considerations in mind, it is helpful, in an international project, to provide, coordinate and implement the instructions in a project handbook.

Project

Management

Project organization plan ‘what’

Cost planning ‘how many’

Project structure ‘who’

El -

Time schedule ‘when’

Figure

29. Layout

of main project

room

K Pannenhacker graduated in electrical engineering. In 1958, he joined Siemens in Erlungen, FRG, as a site engineer. In 1969, he moved to Kraftwerk Union, where he was responsible for development and implementation of project management systems for nuclear power plant in the FRG and overseas. In 1980, he founded his own consultancy, GAB0 mbH, in Erlangen, FRG, and is its Executive Director. He has been a member of the Roard of the German Internet Association since

Figure

30. Principle

to ensure

Vol 3 No 2 May 1985

clear instructions

198-Z.

93