EGR312 – Term Project
EGR 312 - TERM PROJECT
Construction of Cruz Plaza
· Purpose of Project: To provide you with a personal experience in the team investigation of a project management problem. The "project" is the construction of Cruz Plaza on the campus of Mercer University. You will have to develop timing charts, cost estimates, and expedited schedules. You will be required to respond to several situational problems that might arise during the project.
· The Project Team: A project team will be composed of three to four persons, although class size may determine some modifications (you will need to supply me with Team Info by March 28, 2017). I will team up those with no partners. The final product of the project team should reflect a team effort. The team together develops the appropriate timing schedules and cost estimates, and develops responses to the situational problems. Everyone in the team will receive the same grade, unless the group decides differently.
· The Project Problem: Mercer University has tendered a request for bid on the construction of Cruz Plaza. Each team will receive a copy of the bid spec. It is your (and the team's) responsibility to develop the following for the construction project:
o Executive Summary - the project report should include a one-page executive summary describing the project you are addressing, the overall timing, the overall cost, and the timing and cost of an expedited project.
o Timing charts - although each team may have various experience in building construction and deconstruction, the timing charts should be realistic. The charts should include a clear/concise description of each task, task durations, task earliest start times, task precedence, and task latest finish times.
o Cost / Budget Estimates - do your best to make educated guesses on the cost of each task. Assume your company has constructed plazas in the past. Also note that cost estimates for Cruz plaza have been publicized at around $1 million.
o Expedited Timing / Costs - develop a timing chart that reduces your overall time by 20%. Include new cost values for this new expedited project. Include notes justifying how you will be able to accomplish the new timing and why the cost may be impacted.
o Situational Responses - although not part of a typical project plan, each team is asked to respond to several situations that might arise during the course of a project. Prepare one-to-three paragraph responses to the Situational Questions handout.
· Project Grading and Due Dates: You will be turning in a project report on Tuesday, April 18). Weights will be as follows:
o Project report
§ (10%) Content-- writing style, grammar, spelling
§ (10%) Organization--presentation, appearance
§ (10%) Accuracy--realistic costs and timing
§ (45%) Project Content
1. Executive summary
2. Timing charts, duration, precedence
3. Budget estimates
4. Expedited project with justification
§ (25%) Responses to situational problems
· More on the Final Report: This should be your best effort and be of top quality in appearance, organization, and content. You can follow the following outline for your report.
Project title page (group members, group number, group leader, project contact, date)
Executive Summary (one page - summary of overall timing and costs, and summary of expedited project costs and timing) --> written for your 'boss"
I. Timing Charts
o Clear and concise task descriptions, including task duration and resource requirements (Excel format?)
o Gantt charts indicating duration and precedence.
II. Cost Estimates
o Cost summary
o Cost estimates by task
III. Expedited Project
o Gantt charts
o Cost summary
o Cost by task
o Notes indicating how timing can be condensed, and justification for new cost
IV. Situational Responses
o One to three paragraph responses describing how you would respond to various situations. Put yourself "in the shoes" of the project manager and discuss how best to respond to these various situations and why you chose a particular response.
Appendices (optional)
Reports should be prepared using word processing software and secured in a binder that can stand some abuse. Charts, graphs, and drawings should follow good engineering practice. Use headings to divide and organize report.
One final point--the earlier you get started the better the results.
Term Project Situational Questions
EGR 312
Background: During a typical project, no matter how detailed the planning, many unexpected situations may arise. These situations are a project managers greatest opportunity to demonstrate their decision making and leadership abilities. Some situations are good, such as completing a task early and under budget. But more often, the situations are problems that need quick and immediate resolution. Examples include natural disasters, lack of supplies, changes in requirements, poor performance of employees, etc. This section of the term project will present several situations that might have arisen during the Cruz Plaza construction project.
Deliverable: You are to put yourself "in the shoes" of the project manager and discuss how you would respond/react to each of the situations. You may choose to have a firm response to some situations, while in other situations you may have multiple responses depending upon feedback from other "players" involved in the situation. Limit your responses to one to three paragraphs per question.
1. Assume you had decided on contracting the electrical work. After several weeks from when the electrical crew first started installing circuits, you realize they are starting to get behind schedule. What do you do?
2. Part way through the build, the selected supplier of the water feature plumbing says he grossly underestimated the cost and would like to increase his price by 20%. What do you do?
3. One of the drainage installation guys falls and breaks his arm. What actions will you take? Be thorough with your response, you may take numerous actions.
4. You are over running your materials budget for the cast-in-place concrete. A substitute material is available. Should you use this substitute? When would this be OK and when would it not? Should you inform anyone if you use the substitute?
5. You coated the below-water level water feature pools with a single application of the silicone-based glazing. After filling the pools you realize the mistake of not applying 3 coats, what should you do?
6. A hurricane in Florida has compromised the production plant that supplies your lighting. Your supplier is telling you the lights will not be available until 60 days after the start date for the light installation. What do you do?