Project Management – Case Study: Repair Works For A Petroleum Tank Farm In Western Australia

Implementation plan

The plan represents methods and processes that will be employed in managing repair works of several petroleum tanks in Western Australia. It outlines the implementation, management, project performance evaluation and closure.

The plan shows the activities, processes and functions that define the project works. It provides the boundaries used to implement the project.

The purpose is to plan and manage a project to bring the Western Australia storage facility up to the required standards. The business case is repair works to be completed to reduce environmental fines and optimize availability of fuel in all locations. The project is scheduled to be completed within a period of three months. The 30% of company unleaded petrol storage is on collapse in Western Australia. Large tank in Western Australia is 50 years old and outdated in design.  The company is spending $20000 per month for environmental linkages of petroleum products.

The budget and time will provide constraints for the project (Burke, 2013). The project need to be performed within budget and completed on time to avoid further fines. The assumption of the project is that it will not be affected with government changes in legislations and policies.  

The project will employ a collaborative management approach. The approach will enhance sense of ownership and increase sustainability of the project of all stakeholders (Hedman, 2013).  The project will employ a project matrix organization structure that it will outline a participative approach and complexity of operations. Project team selected will be deployed according to skills, competency and knowledge towards the attributes of the project. Table 2 shows a summary of points of contact.

Table: Points of contact

Job holder	Role in project	Attributes/skills	Contact no.
Risk evaluator	Evaluate and create risk management plan	Qualitative and quantitative skilled investigator
Health, safety and environmental manager	Provide guidance on compliance matters	Knowledgeable with acts and legislation of the country
Terminal manager	Implement and execute functions within the project	Administrative and operative skilled
Water engineer	Provide guidance on installation and design of the various tanks	Skilled and knowledgeable on water related functions
Mechanical engineer	Help in design and joinery metallic functions	Experienced metallic engineer
Project manager	Provide leadership in the execution of the project	Skills in managing projects
Quality surveyor	Guide in measurement analysis of equipment’s and tools	Skilled in numeracy and measurements
Technical plumber	With technical skills in implementing water tanks and pipes	Technical skills

The project manager will employ a democratic type of leadership that will allow all parties to effectively participate in operations of the project. 

They represent the key deliverables to be achieved by the project (Bello, 2016). Both tanks have specific requirements that will need to be accomplished.  The following are the key main deliverables for implementing the project goal.

1. To repair tank 1 with a capacity of 1 million liters of unleaded petrol (ULP)
2. To repair tank 2 with capacity of 3 million liters of unleaded petrol (ULP)
3. To repair a tank 3 with capacity of 7 million liters of unleaded petrol (ULP)

It represents the methodology and tools employed to ensure tasks are executed. The schedule includes use of Gantt chart and milestone schedule. Table 3 shows a milestone summary of how activities would be implemented.

Table 3 Milestone summary

Project activities	Commencement period
Designing and drafting project delivery plan	Start on 12th October 2017
Sourcing for requirements and resources	Two days after drafting the plan
Repair works for the 1 million liters ULP tank	1 week after sourcing requirements
Setting up a 4 steel anchors required on top of tank for working at heights	Starts on 23rd October 2017
Installing 4 steel patches averaging 2m2 in size	One day after setting up steel anchors
Cleaning and repainting the 1 million capacity tank	After completion of installing 4 steel patches
Repairing of 3 million liters capacity ULP tank	Two weeks after repairing first tank
Setting up a 4 steel anchors required on top of tank for working at heights	Starts on 5th November 2017
Installing a 7 steel patches averaging 3m2 in size	One day after setting steel anchors
Cleaning and repainting cleaning the 3 million capacity tank	Completion of installing steel patches
Repair of 7 million liters capacity ULP tank	Four weeks after repairing tank two
Setting up a 4 steel anchors required on top of tank for working at heights	16th November 2017
Installing a 6 steel patches average1.5m2 in size	1 day after setting steel anchors
Replacement of main supply value with size 300mm diameter stainless value	Two days after installing steel patches
Cleaning and repainting cleaning the 7 million capacity tank	After replacement of valve
Project evaluation and closure	After completion all tank repairs

Each phase of project activities will be subjected to client approval process.  The project sponsor and manager will need to sign at any respective stage.

Approval: The phase of the project has been completed as per required specifications and plan

Project manager…………………..….sign………………….date…………………….

Project sponsor……………………….sign……………….….date…………………….

Project approach

The project will managed based on project methodologies tools and techniques. It will follow a project life cycle approach in its implementation. The methodology is suitable because it provide a sequence in which activities are implemented (Burke, 2013). The weakness of the approach is that it requires professional tools and knowledge to deliver it. Project management plan provides several specific plans than can be used in management of the project.

Communication plan: Stakeholder analysis was done to identify individuals and institutions that were affected by the project. A communication plan was factored to manage information needs of each stakeholder (Hedman, 2013). Example of stakeholders of the project included: project teams, state government, customers of fuels, HSE manager, and termination manager. Formal and informal meetings were done with all stakeholders.

Project purpose and business case

Part of the management is to ensure that information needs of individuals and institutions are met. Stakeholder analysis will be done to establish the primary and secondary stakeholders of the project. Example of stakeholders include: HSE manager, terminal manager, project manager, customers, state government, fuel regulatory authorities and engineers. Proper means of communicating information to the stakeholders will be employed.

The implementation stage will be effective if risks of the project are mitigated fully. The team identified two risks facing the project they include: the shape of the site is triangular which may be difficult to implement and develop. The second risk is that there will be high flammable vapors venting from the tanks. Proper methodology and design will be employed in order to mitigate both risks.

Time is a constraint in implementing a project. It needs to be managed and taken in considerations. The project will factor in the required times to fill each of the tanks. For example tank 1 will require 4-6 hours, tank 2 will take 8-10 hours, and tank 3 will take 18-20 hours. Time for the project will be scheduled using Gantt chart and work breakdown structure. Both approaches are suitable in scheduling but do require software’s in developing them (Bello, 2016).  Figure 1 shows the Gantt chart and WBS of the project.

 

Figure 1 WBS and Gantt chart

Resources are important components in management of projects. To ensure that project deliverables are achieved a clear estimate of resources need to be developed clearly showing the required requirements (Bello, 2016). The project adopted top down approach budgeting to identify specific requirements for the project. The approach is suitable when the exact value of the work cannot be estimated accurately. The weakness is that it cannot be budgeted for at the beginning of the project. Table 4 shows a summary of the top down budget for the project.

Table: Top down budget

Element/item	Unit price/cost $	Total value $
Hiring cranes (2months) 1440 hrs.	1hr=$20	2880
Salaries and wages	–	6500
Patching materials	assorted	2200
Pipes (variety)	variety	3500
Steel materials		4500
Power	–	200
Transport		560
Rubber materials	assorted	230
Contingencies		1000
Paint	(assorted)	150
Cleaning materials		200
Totals		21,920

Budget and cost assumptions include: the prices will not be affected by changes in scope and economic conditions.

The project will ensure that the required standards are maintained during implementation and delivery of the final output. Quality management involves a process that ensures project activities meet required standards and expectations.  Quality approach employed will be based on assurance and controls. Several tools and tools will be used to ensure quality is controlled and maintained.

Examples of quality tools and techniques

1. Value analysis-will is used to ensure that activities performed create value to the final product. Unnecessary stoppages and unproductive activities will be eliminated
2. Project audit and inspections- through a sampling technique audits and inspections will be done to identify any faults that could occur after repairing the tanks.
3. Project checklists-they will represent compliance list of requirements that will be required to be met by the project. Activities and expectations will be shown on the checklist in order to ensure that they are complied with.  Table 3 shows a quality checklist of the project that will be followed.

Table 3 Project quality checklists

No.	Item	Compliance	Remarks
Yes	No
1	Tanks were set as per plan
2	No linkages was reported
3	No damages were reported
4	All resources were utilized well
5	No variance in time
6	Legal conditions were met
7	Stakeholders were engaged

• Project performance evaluation

Performance measurement and reporting is important in projects. It is critical for the management to establish if project goals and objectives were achieved (Hedman, 2013). An evaluation will be done before closure of the project to establish if the project was able to meet its performance.  The evaluation will be based on four elements which include: inputs, outputs, impact, and processes. The evaluation will be based on the indicators provided for each of the elements.  The evaluation approach was chosen because it provides a comprehensive analysis of all parts of the project. Although it is widely used there is a problem in measuring accurately the indicators.  Table 4 shows a performance evaluation summary table.

Table: Performance evaluation summary

Project elements	Indicators for performance evaluation
Inputs	-No of resources consumed -% number of resources used
Outputs	-level of performance in terms of quality -No. of completed tasks -No. of tanks repaired
Processes	-% completed tasks -No. of cases reported due to deficiency
Impact	-reduced spillage of fuel

• Project closure

The project closure is the last stage of the project life cycle (Burke, 2013). The project will be closed after the three tanks have been completed (goals of the project). Before closure an evaluation will be done and reported to the clients. If the client approves that the project has met the required expectation then the process of the closure will take place. The project manager role will change to become a termination manager. The termination manager will then develop a project closure checklist to be used for the process.  A project closure checklist will provide guidance and steps for the closure process (Bello, 2016). The use of checklist was used because it does not leave any activity or function during closure. Table 5 shows the project checklist for the project.

Table: Project closure checklist

Item no.	Task description	Required	Required date	Assigned responsibility
Yes	No
1.	A project closure meeting held with stakeholder
2.	All works have been completed
3.	Contracts and payments have been done
4.	Final financial report has been made
5.	Asset disposal and report made
6.	Final technical report made
7.	Employees have been compensated duly
9.	Final performance evaluation have been done
10.	Handing over of the project
11.	Close down site operations

Following the project closure checklist will enable the project to be closed smoothly with no conflicts and acceptance coming from stakeholders.

References

Bello, D. (2016, January 10). Building and construction regulated design industry. Building and civil regulatory design industry, pp. 12-45.

Burke, R. (2013). Project management: planning and control tecniques. New Jersey: Wiley publishers.

Hedman, K. (2013). Project management professional exam study guide. Indianapolis: Wiley.