Business Case
The case project was instigated by the development of a new artificial intelligence application that was very powerful in 2013. Even though most international manufacturing is carried out in India and China, there has been a need to rebuild high value-added manufacture in all countries with increased use of industrial robotics. With improved CSIRO technology, the case project hopes to create new robots that have the capacity of being re-programmed about verbal instructions that are based on various tasks. The objectives, key performance indicators and major, major deliverables and any major milestones of the project are highlighted below.
Project Objective
To develop and manufacture a new family of highly flexible, “intelligent” robots physically robust enough to handle heavy industry tasks but small enough to work alongside humans performing high precision, detailed technical assembly.
Key Performance Indicators (Measure of success)
The performance of this project will be assessed through the examination of whether or not the objectives of the project were met. As such, the measure of success will focus on ascertaining whether or not the project develops a new family of highly flexible, “intelligent” robots that can be used in handling heavy industry tasks.
Major Deliverables and Major Milestones
Major Deliverables
The major deliverables for this project include:
- Expanding the new plant.
- Production of an initial model of the Bionic Digger.
- Design “intelligent” robots that are physically strong.
- Launch a very small product that could work in the warehouses and loading docks.
Major Milestones
The major milestones for the project include:
- Survey the mine site to confirm accessibility and potential risks- May 5
- Install a central computer control overall operations of the robots on site- May 7
- Provide an initial database to the robots showing the site layout- May 8
- Conduct a trial run over two shifts under the supervision of the OHS sub-contractor and ARI to confirm safety and conduct benchmarks – May 10
- Progressively roll-out the robots across the site through all shifts with the support of the technical sub-contractor – May 11-15
- Collect operational performance data per robot and per shift- May 11-15
- Analyze data to confirm technical feasibility – May 18
- Review the OHS report with the sub-contractor to identify compliance and outstanding issues – May 19
- Develop standard operating procedures to cover use with human workers and as a standalone device for use where humans could be at risk- May 20
- Recommend and document any required changes to product or manufacturing- May 21
- Phase 2: May 21-28: Setting the test production volumes, identifying suitable clients for test purposes, contract negotiations for the test period and obtaining product feedback from customers.
Stakeholder management
Effective management of any project is critical for the achievement of any set goals and objectives. Having a clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of each of the key players in any given project is very important in the project’s scope management. As pointed out by Atkinson, Crawford and Ward (698), defining the role of the key stakeholders avoids duplicating work and is effective in the promotion of teamwork. For example, in the case, Australian Robotics Inc. (ARI), the stakeholders involved in the project include:
- The government
- Mega Bank
- Engineers and technicians: Provides and inspects the technical components of the project, ensures that the operations are within the required time limits and inspects the materials being used. This is through the management of the deliverables and checklist for the requirements and monitors the progress of the construction works and undertakes process evaluations.
- Project manager: The project manager is tasked with the coordination of the project processes, makes sure that there is a project charter and develops the work plan to be used in the execution of the project, liaises with the government to ensure that there are funds to buy the required materials and fund the services (Ponnappa 3). Secondly, the manager delegates work to the people in the various operations units and ensure that the documents required for the project are secured. Also, the project manager carries regular inspections to determine the progress of the project.
- Sub-contractors
- International manufacturers of conventional mining equipment
- Computer technical support.
Given the objectives of the project, of developing robots that can be used in the mining areas, the government will have a lot of concerns as far as the reduction of employment in the country is concerned. Besides, the international manufacturers of conventional mining equipment will also be concerned by the negative effect likely to be brought about by the development of the proposed project as far as the sale of mining equipment is concerned. For this reason, the government and the international manufacturers of conventional mining equipment may try to oppose the project.
Secondly, the Mega Bank Mega Bank is another key shareholder of ARI, which will have a significant impact on the success of the project. The bank will be concerned by the payback period of the project since the company is heavily geared to quick returns. However, to manage the concerns of each of the stakeholders, adequate knowledge about the activities and the requirements for each stakeholder will be provided to ensure that there is effective teamwork during the implementation of the project.
This will play a critical role in ensuring that the project runs as planned in its lifecycle (Fageha and Aibinu 6). The development of the project will be beneficial to the government as a source of revenue through taxes. Although the project might have some negative impact on the mining sector as far as employment is concerned, the project will also create employment for the designers and developers of the robots, as well as technical support staff in the mining sites. As such, the project will be beneficial to the government and the community; a factor that will help in reducing the resistance from various stakeholders to develop the project.
As far as the Mega Bank is concerned and its interests of a fast return on investment, the company will be provided with the necessary information such as projected cash flow to have clear information on the expected payback period of any invested cash.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
The table below shows the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for this project. The entries are based on the major areas of work and deliverables or milestones.
Project Schedule
The table below lists the major areas of work from the project’s WBS and offers a description of the methods to be used to obtain time and effort estimates for each area of work, as well as the person who would be responsible for providing that information or estimate.
Project Budget
The table below shows major activities from the WBS and the resources required to do a particular activity.
Risks
The development of any project can be affected by several risks that adversely affect the successful completion of the concerned project (Lai 94). In the case of this project, some of the most probable impact risks are listed below. The risk table below describes the priority of the risks as well as how such risks might be mitigated if they occurred.
Quality Controls
The use of items of high quality is important in any project as the quality of the materials determines the quality of the end product. In this case, the project will require making use of quality materials such as the plastics, wood and, soldering tools and any metal used in the making the robots. What are the major items in this case study that require some quality standards and quality control? (You may list them in a table). What methods would you recommend?
Procurement
The success of this project will be determined by the availability of the necessary resources as outlined above. As far as the personal resources are concerned, the project will sub-contractors in some of the workers, and suppliers in the case of materials and equipment. Some of the areas that will require a sub-contractor in this project include observing all the site work and providing an OHS report for both the mine and ARI. Secondly, a separate contract will be needed to provide computer technical support on-site. Also, the company will require sub-contracting individuals to carry out the feasibility study. Suppliers for different materials will also be contracted, such as in the case of providing robots and control systems on the site.
There are four types of contracts including period contracts, standard form contracts, verbal contracts and written contracts (Meredith and Bjorg 41). The written type of contact will be used for all the suppliers of various materials. The rationale for the choice of this type of contract is based on the fact that written contracts are very effective in minimizing risks since they offer proof in writing regarding any agreement between the supplier and the recipient. Besides, written contracts are best in preventing misunderstanding between the involved parties as well as minimizing cases of disputes (Miller 705). As such, in the case of the current project, the suppliers will ensure that they adhere to the contract and supply the required materials as stipulated in the contract. As well, the written contract has an option for highlighting means of solving any dispute in payment, as well as solving performance-related issues.
Works Cited
Atkinson, Roger, Lynn Crawford, and Stephen Ward. “Fundamental Uncertainties in Projects and the Scope Of Project Management”. International Journal of Project Management 24.8 (2006): 687-698. Print.
Fageha, Mohammed and Ajibade Aibinu. “Identifying Stakeholders’ Involvement That Enhances Project Scope Definition Completeness In Saudi Arabian Public Building Projects”. Built Environment Project and Asset Management 6.1 (2016): 6-29. Print.
Lai, Sen-Tarng. “A WBS-Based Plan Changeability Measurement Model for Reducing Software Project Change Risk”. LNSE (2014): 94-99. Print.
Meredith, Liz and Steve Bjorg. “Contracts And Types”. Communications of the ACM 46.10 (2003): 41. Print.
Miller, Daniel. “Subcontracting And Competitive Bidding On Incomplete Procurement Contracts”. The Rand Journal of Economics 45.4 (2014): 705-746. Print.
Ponnappa, Gitanjali. “Project Stakeholder Management”. Project Management Journal 45.2 (2014): 3. Print.