The planning of plant or manufacturing shutdowns to allow for the
maintenance or refurbishment of industrial plant is one of the most
intensive forms of project scheduling.
Many factors have to be brought together and squeezed into the
shortest possible time whilst ensuring the final schedule is
workable and protected as far as possible from the unforeseen
throwing the whole plan into chaos.
Other projects such as:
- wholesale office relocation
- construction work during a weekend access period
also fall into this type of project.
The timing of events is a critical aspect of the final schedule
for all these projects. With time-scales often measured in hours
it is essential that all parties involved have a clear
understanding of what is expected of them.
Ensuring that the agreed schedule can be resourced adequately is
also important as delays from tasks taking longer than expected
can build up very quickly and disrupt the entire schedule.
Key Management Parameters
The project plan is built up from the experience of the staff
involved in determining a sensible and logical approach to the
required work packages. Many factors have to be built into the
schedule, balancing the rate of progress on tasks against the
disruption of having too much going on in the same area, and the
precaution of completing high risk tasks early in the process. The
identification of key milestones within the project is important in
giving markers and targets for when the project starts.
The project management system provides a valuable facility to
allow the manager to try out different scenarios quickly and
refine the project in advance to give an optimum approach. The
management model also allows the impact of unexpected events
throughout the shutdown period to be assessed well in advance of
work starting on site.
Required Feedback and Reporting
Project reports must be agreed and circulated in advance and
show both clearly and precisely when tasks are expected to commence
and finish.
Time-scales often include hours and the use of coding on tasks
will allow specific reports to be prepared for each party involved
in the project - drawing their attention to the areas they are
responsible for.
With such a fast turn round of project items once work has
commenced, monitoring the progress of individual tasks is often
impractical and it is usually the monitoring of key stages through
identified milestones within the project that are the prime means
of assessing the overall progress of work in hand.
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