Introduction
The main purpose of this report is to present a plan for the project Solar Panel with Tracking System. As a rule, it includes such aspects as a main objectives task list, design, and structure, team staffing, and organization, budget, and risk assessment. First and foremost, we should say this enterprise aims to provide a new solution to energy technology, namely, a solar power generator with the capability of tracking its respective energy source.
According to the statistical data, there is a growing demand for renewable energy in Australia, mostly because it is both cost-effective and environment-friendly. CCEE Engineering Solutions intends to design, patent, and manufacture such a system, which requires less infrastructure and consequently less expense. If this project is completed successfully it is likely that such sun power generators will take a leading position in the market and become quite widespread, to achieve this goal, the management must take into consideration every detail and reduce possible risks to a minimum. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to develop a sustainable project plan, covering possible contingencies and unexpected difficulties.
Before analyzing the task, we need to mention the specifications which the product must meet. The overall system must have such characteristics as
- high-energy efficiency,
- effectiveness in terms of cost per kW hour
- low maintenance.
Moreover, it must be weatherproof. By using high-efficiency solar panels, it will be possible to construct such a tracking system that will use only 5 percent of the net power. In the long run, this system may replace less traditional solar generators. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that there are certain project constraints, namely, the funding resources are limited and the deadlines are extremely stringent. Judging from the objectives that must be achieved we may say that the team members must have a wide range of skills and experience. Moreover, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this enterprise will be consist of various stages and will comprise multiple tasks.
Task Management
As regards the task to be fulfilled, we may single out five stages, in particular, team and project development, project design, construction, project assembly, and marketing. It is supposed that this process will take one hundred and fifty days, and will require $ 360.000.00. To avoid any delays or excessive expenditures, we need to determine the pattern, according to which the tasks will be performed. It is worth mentioning that they can be of several types.
Leading experts usually mark out the following ones: sequential, coupled, and parallel (Ulrich et al, 333). We can combine these patterns at various stages. In this respect, we should say that in the vast majority of cases, the underlying cause of delays is the lack of coordination or failure to establish the flow of essential information; this is why the management should provide all the conditions of effective collaboration. The first step is to systematize the major stages and tasks.
During the first phase (Team and Project Development), we will give arrange tasks in sequential order. At the very beginning it is necessary to
- organize a team,
- define the roles of the participants,
- outline major concepts,
- conduct competition research, and select a particular type of project.
It seems to be more prudent to carry out the tasks in sequential or chronological order because, at this point, we cannot proceed to the later stage until the previous one is completed. Arguably, this stage is the most important one because; it sets the major objectives and defines the whole course of the work. Each member of the team has to be an active participant, and at this moment, it is hardly permissible to work on several tasks simultaneously. Apart from that, at this stage, the team members must determine the functions that they will fulfill. After that, there must no dispute or debate among the participants, especially, if we are dealing with the questions of leadership and coordination.
The second phase can be named Project Design, which should also be arranged in sequential order. The employees should research to study existing approaches to sun power generators and the ways to make them more effective. After that, the team must decide on the final design and specifications so that there should be no ambiguity. The first two laps should not take more than twenty-seven days, though; it is quite possible to complete them earlier.
The main difficulty, which must be overcome, is the possible controversies, concerning the project concepts and design. The sequential arrangement of tasks will be more appropriate under such circumstances because it makes the design process less difficult and more productive.
Construction is the longest and perhaps the most complicated part of the project. During this period, the team may switch to a different pattern of task management. This phase consists of five tasks, namely, the purchasing of the equipment, the construction of the solar tracking system, Automatic Voltage Regulation, output display, and battery and physical mounting. The most effective way is to couple or even triple these tasks, which means that they are interdependent. For example, the construction of a solar tracking system and AVR should be executed simultaneously or in an iterative manner. Furthermore, we should speak about the development of output display.
The thing is that to pass through this stage, the team members must constantly exchange information, yet they must be able to work autonomously. Special attention should be given to precise coordination because any misunderstanding can lead to procrastination and subsequently to unplanned expenditures. There are various strategies, contributing to the effective work of the employees, for instance, weekly meetings, constant updates of the essential data, or sometimes it can be even a monetary reward. Every type of stimulation may prove useful if the management employs it effectively.
The following stage consists of four parts: assembly, testing, refinement, and finishing the project. During this phase, the team may use several patterns of arranging tasks, for instance, sequential and coupled. For instance, the second and the third tasks of this stage are closely interwoven; consequently, they can be performed practically simultaneously. Again, we need to stress the importance of coordination and precision. The final phase can be called marketing, it is necessary to make preparations for the trade show, to organize project display, and convince potential buyers that this system is more efficient than already-existing ones.
At this point, the tasks will be carried out practically simultaneously. (For more detailed information refer to Appendix 1, which presents accurate data concerning timelines and the amount of money, which must be spent on each task). Overall, the management must organize the production process in such a way that each employee has a relative degree of autonomy, he or she does not have to stop working even if there are certain problems in other departments. The success (or failure ) of the project strongly depends on this task management. It seems that we have succeeded in selecting the most effective pattern for this project. Nevertheless, it has to be admitted that there are some disadvantages, namely strong interdependence of team members, though it is possible to eliminate negative aftermaths.
Team Staffing and Organization
To fulfill this project, the members of the team must be experienced and possess a wide range of skills and experience. They may represent various spheres such as electric engineering, design and programming, marketing, finance, management, and so forth. At this moment, the team consists of eight people; they are representatives of various professions, and this factor can effectively contribute to the overall output of the company.
On the whole, team formation is one of the most important aspects of any project. Traditionally, it is believed that the staffing should meet certain following criteria. First, it must be well-coordinated and it does not have to be very numerous, no more than ten people. In this particular case, the team consists of eight people, thus, there should be practically no lack of coordination. Furthermore, the roles of the participants are determined and there is the project manager and the coordinator so there should not be any confusion or misunderstanding.
Additionally, the participants of the project are located within conversation distance from one another, which subsequently means that an effective flow of information will be established. It appears that this staff will be able to achieve the goals, set in this project. The only possible downside is that in case some of the members would have to abandon the project it would be rather difficult to find a suitable substitute for him or her. The professional skills and background of the employees are presented in Appendix 2.
Budget and Risk Assessment
While developing any project, one may not disregard possible risks and some unforeseen problems. They can manifest themselves at various levels and stages. Probably, it would be better for us to illustrate the possible controversies which may arouse during this process. First and foremost, we should speak about budget contingencies. As it has been noted before, the project will require $ 360.000 yet, likely, this sum of money will not be sufficient because that there might be some additional expenses especially if we are speaking about purchasing the equipment. Naturally, we cannot say that the cost estimates are not realistic but the possibility of extra expenditures should not be eliminated.
There can be several solutions to this problem. One of them is to attract investors who can be interested in purchasing the product. Secondly, it might be prudent to reduce expenses at the initial stages, for example, those spent on team formation and defining the roles of the participants. Furthermore, it might be necessary to avoid extra costs on competition research.
Secondly, we should not forget about the possibility of delay that may take place almost at any stage of the project, especially during design and construction. There is a very strong likelihood of disagreement among the team members. To avoid it the management has to focus to develop a clear vision at the very outset of the project or it is almost bound to end up in failure. Another issue that we should analyze is the high level of dependency. At some points, especially during the phase of construction, team members would not be able to work separately, therefore the whole project may come to a standstill due to any procrastination or controversy.
Consequently, the management must provide the participants with a relative degree of autonomy, which seems to be the indispensable condition for the success of the whole enterprise. Nonetheless, the problem cannot be limited only to these aspects. The thing is that the product itself may not seem interesting to the potential investors to avoid this calamity the management should conduct thorough completion research.
Conclusion
Therefore, we can conclude that while developing the project plan, the management should attach primary importance to such issues as task management, team formation, and risks evaluation. As for this particular project, we may say that in theory, such a solar generator can provide a practical solution to energy technologies, because, with the help of such a device, it will be possible to minimize the pollution of the environment and increase overall effectiveness.
Nonetheless, it should be pointed out that during its completion certain contingencies can arouse, particularly, extra and unforeseen expenditures and possible delays. This risk can be reduced to a minimum if the management develops good coordination mechanisms. Moreover, it is necessary to apply certain methods for accelerating routine parts of the work, especially, they need to concentrate on the flow of information; they need to focus on scheduling process, performance review, and so forth.
Bibliography
Jane Churchouse. “Managing Projects”. Gower Publishing, Ltd., 1999.
Karl T. Ulrich, Steven D. Eppinger. “Product design and development”. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003.