Executive summary
Abu Dhabi Queens school project is a project of the Abu Dhabi group of schools which is a private company with a wide range of investments mainly in the education sector. The company deals with international educations systems. There has been the growth of students enrolling in Queen Group of schools from Abu Dhabi and this has led to the company taking these services closer to their clients. Abu Dhabi school project consists of a world-class education facility building.
It will be equipped with modern training equipment and technology offering practical training and wholesome growth to the institution’s students. The facility will also contain a wide range of sporting facilities, student quarters, classes, and administration block. The expected student population in the facility will be 1300 and also a staff population of 200.
Business needs
Abu Dhabi project objectives are as follows;
- To increase the company’s portfolio of schools globally and thereby serve its clientele effectively. This is in line with the company’s vision of offering world-class and global education.
- To meet the growing demands of education services in the United Arab Emirates. This was identified by the growing number of students from Abu Dhabi enrolling in various schools of the Queen’s group.
- To provide world-class education and education facilities for the wholesome development of the students in Abu Dhabi.
Project description
Scope of the project
The Abu Dhabi Queens School project will start with the acquisition of land and building of state of the art education facility in Abu Dhabi. The facility will have classrooms, theaters, boarding facilities, staff quarters, sporting facilities and an arena, scientific laboratories, administration block, and security facilities. This education facility will be beneficial to the parents of Abu Dhabi who usually take their children to study outside the country since this service will be locally available. The facility will also attract regional students from the neighboring countries thereby influencing the development of other sectors of the economy in Abu Dhabi not forgetting the employment opportunities associated with the project.
Justification of the project
- Availability of world-class education facility for the people of Abu Dhabi thereby reducing expenses spent by students going to international schools.
- Higher education standards for the people of Abu Dhabi will imply better services to the community by the graduates and also general education sector growth in the country.
- The multiplier effect due to the employment creation and enrollment of international students will be a substantial contribution to the country’s economy.
Roles and Project stakeholders
These are critical players in the project implementation that are crucial to project success.
Project deliverables
This includes all the tangible and soft components of the project which must be achieved. For our case, the ultimate deliverable is the Queens School facility. In the course of the project, other deliverables are imperative for the progress of the project. Queens’s school project deliverables areas listed below;
- Equipped school building and facilities.
- Architectural plans.
- Ministry of education permits.
- Local authority licensing.
- Assessment reports by Civil and structural engineers.
Risk assessment
Risk management is one area that requires much emphasis in the course of the project. Risks can result in project total failure, late implementation, poor quality service delivery, and suspension of project activities. It is therefore imperative that project risks are managed through a pre-planned mitigation plan. Queens’s school project is a very critical project with great sensitivity to risks since it impacts adversely on the project timing.
For the effective mitigation of risks, the project has classified risks into three categories; highly likely, most likely, and Unlikely. Highly likely risks are those whose probability of occurrence is more than 50% hence the project steering committee has to put in place mitigation measures. For the most likely risks, their chances of occurrence are less than 50% but their effects might be substantial hence requiring a proper mitigation plan. For the unlikely risks, no mitigation measures are put in place. Queens School project is vulnerable to several risks and the table below indicates these risks and their vulnerabilities. It also indicates the management of these risks (Verzuh, 125).
Project Estimates
Project Activities
Queens School project deals with the construction of modern schooling facilities in Abu Dhabi. The project has been initiated by the Queens Group of schools as a portfolio diversification measure. The major project activities are listed below, but the sub-activities are succinctly discussed.
Site selection and acquisition
This activity involves the selection of construction sites within Abu Dhabi for construction. The process is to a great extent demanding since the site should have all the necessary amenities and environmentally robust for the construction of a school. It should be in a quiet and highly secure neighborhood. The selection process will involve the identification of various qualifying sites and ranking them in order of preference. The highly ranked site’s owner will be sent a letter of offer and if he/she agrees, then the purchase deal will be sealed. Land purchase process legal regulations will be followed with the assistance of a contracted attorney.
Permit and other legal obligations
The construction of an educational institution usually requires a permit from the ministry of education. This permit will be requested from the ministry of education and is expected to be available within a day where all necessary documentations are done.
The Abu Dhabi City council usually has to give licenses for any construction and further give permits for any educational institution to be constructed under their jurisdiction. This means that the two licenses should be requested and paid for before any construction plans are designed.
Selection and oversight of architects and other consultants
Once the licenses are ready, the steering committee should advertise for the services of an architect and other consultants like structural and civil engineers. The steering committee will further vet their proposals and select those with the necessary credentials for the two positions. They hired architect will design the architectural plan of the school and it will be assessed by the steering committees with the help of the civil and structural engineer. Upon satisfaction of the steering committee, the plan will be adopted else they can request for changes to be done on it by the Architect.
The recruited structural engineer will also be engaged to come up with a bill of quantities report that will form the basis of budgeting and costing for the whole construction. The report will be discussed and approved by the steering committee as a working document for the budgeting process.
Budgeting and cost allocation for the building
The steering committee will ultimately source funds for the construction of the Queens School facility. The steering committee will identify the sources of funds and forward their funding proposal. Since most of the funding will be internal, the proposal will be tabled in the board meeting of the Queens groups of schools. The board will authorize and allocate funds for the project. The steering committee can also write to the ministry of education to find out whether they have any grants available for such projects. Where all funding agencies have confirmed their allocations and the steering committee feels that they are satisfactory to run and project with its miscellaneous expenses. Thereafter they can hire a project manager to carry on with the tactical implementation of the project (Kerzner, 234).
Building material acquisition
The project management will organize for the acquisition and delivery to site all the required materials as per the bill of quantities report. The project manager will order the purchase of cement, gravel, construction metals, timber, sand, roofing materials, and building blocks. The steering committee will also oversee the recruitment of the building engineers by the project manager. Further, the committee will ensure that the necessary machinery is hired for use in the project.
Stakeholders meeting
Stakeholders will constitute the Queen’s group of school management, potential clients, the ministry of education official, a community of Abu Dhabi region, project management team, engineers, City council of Abu Dhabi, and the government representatives of the UAE. This is a pioneering meeting where the Queens Group of schools and project management will update the stakeholders of their project progress.
This is a way of marketing the school before its formal inception and is thus strategic for future business. Queen’s group of schools and the project management will inform the community of their services and the challenges that they have been facing so far. They will also indicate to the community the assistance that they would require from them like a corporation, water provisions, and labor.
Foundation excavation
The core of the real project inception will begin with foundation excavation. This involves the digging of the foundation tunnels which is a labor-intensive activity. The laid foundation will have to be assessed by the civil and structural engineer and an assurance report issued. The project manager must also ensure safe custody of the report.
Wall construction
When the quality assurance report on the foundations is received, the wall construction process begins. This process is crucial and is under continuous quality assurance monitoring. The civil engineers will give their quality assurance report of the entire wall construction which will then be assessed and filed by the project manager. The progressive construction and payment authorization will only be possible when the quality standards have been adhered to.
Roofing
The roofing engineer will also be involved and will take on the task when the construction process gets there. The roofing design and materials will be done as per the recommendations of the civil and structural engineers. After the whole roofing activity is complete, the necessary quality assurance assessment will be done and reported to the project steering committee. If the committee is satisfied, payment authorizations will be done by the steering committee upon the request of the project manager else necessary adjustments will be done where applicable.
Windows and doors fixing
This activity involves the process of welding windows and doors within the premises of Queens’ school. This will be followed by the fixation of windows and doors to the construction and later all glasses required will be fixed. For payment authorization to be done, completion and quality of work will be assessed and reported to the steering committee through the project manager.
Furnishing
This is a process that involves furnishing and installations of electrical and communication facilities. The furnishing process will include the wall painting, furniture set up, shelves building, curtains fixing, and finally cleaning. The electrical installations will include wiring, placement bulbs, and tubes and testing of switches. All these activities will undergo an independent assessment by the stakeholder’s representative and the project manager.
Building assessment reporting
An independent building expert will have to be recruited by the steering committee to give an assurance on the quality of the construction done, safety standards of the construction, value for money report, and that the construction meets the requirements of a schooling facility. The expert will submit its findings through a report that will be discussed both by the project steering committee and board of Queens Group of schools. When satisfied, the board and the steering committee will discharge their contractual obligations by paying the relevant engineers for their work.
Opening and Publicity
This will involve the setting up of the school opening date for public inspection and marketing by the steering committee, hiring of the school administrators and teachers, school advertisement through the press, and setting of the school website. This activity will be done when the students’ enrollment begins thereby achieving the ultimate goal of construction.
Resource requirements
This project is a very resource-intensive project. The following resources will be necessary for the implementation of the project.
- Project manager
- Four administrative staff
- Building materials
- Construction experts
- License fees
The following table will document the above resources ant there estimated cost
Event analysis & diagram charts
Project controls
These are measures put in place to ensure that the project is implemented to the expected standards and within the required timing. Queens School project has the following project control measures;
- Quarterly steering committee meetings.
- Monthly status report by the project manager through the steering committee.
- This report deals with the project progress, challenges, risks management, and milestones achieved so far.
- Risk management plan.
- This is included in the project charter and the project manager is fully in charge of the activity. The monthly reports usually have includes a section of any risk management activities in the month.
- Communication management.
- The project teams have a specific management protocol that enhances effective communication. All the implementation issues from the contracted service providers have to be communicated to the project manager. The project manager submits all reports and issues to the project steering committee. The steering committee in turn communicates with the Queen’s group of Schools board members who are the project owners and sponsors.
Authorizations
This sets out the authority levels in the project implementation hierarchy. The authorization protocol will ensure that any changes to the project, project plan, and project deliverables are properly approved and authorized to avoid conflicts and illegal transactions.
The project plan Statement will be approved by:
- The Project Manager.
- The Project Steering committee.
- The Project Sponsor/ owner.
Project Changes will be approved by:
- The Project Owner.
Project deliverables will be approved by:
- The Project Owner/sponsor.
- The Steering committee.
- The Key Stakeholders.
Works Cited
Kerzner, Harold. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Texas: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. PP. 234-249.
Verzuh, Eric. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2008.PP. 123-134.