Title: Warehouse modification and renovation project

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Executive Summary

No large project can succeed without proper project management. Companies spend lots of
capital in order to meet customer needs, but due to lack of effective project management,
some establishments are not dependable when coming to handling projects, which inevitably
affects a company’s performance.

This report focused on the modification and renovation of the Chaguanas facility currently in
progress, to relocate the operations of the San Juan distribution center of Bryden pi Limited
(Bpi).

This report firstly defined projects and Project Management, analysed the five stages of Project
Management and compared them to the Bpi warehouse renovation project.

Moreover, the project risks were assessed, critical issues identified and cost effective and
workable recommendations made.

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Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................4
2. Company Overview .................................................................................................................4
3. Project Reasoning ....................................................................................................................4
4. Project Management fundamentals ........................................................................................5
4. Bpi warehouse project processes ............................................................................................6
5. Project risks .............................................................................................................................7
11. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................9
References ................................................................................................................................10
Appendices ...............................................................................................................................11

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1. Introduction
A project, according to the PMBOK 5edition 2012 is ‘a temporary endeavour undertaken to
create a unique product or service’ (cited in Burke 2013 p. 18). Hence, in relation to the
meaning of a project; project management can be defined as the application of knowledge,
skills, tools and techniques to a range of activities to meet stakeholder's needs and the
expectations of a distinct project (Burke 1999).

While, these definitions are relatively wide, they evidently identify that the purpose of the
project is to meet the stakeholders’ needs and expectations. It is therefore an essential
requirement for a project manager to establish who are the stakeholders including the client
and analyse their needs and expectations to define the project's scope of work and objectives,
at the project’s inception.

Furthermore, project management principles help ensure that the project is executed
effectively. It helps evaluate the situation and also implement plans and organise activities
related to the project to enable effective implementation of the project plan.

However, many projects are cancelled before they are completed; others are completed late
and cost well over their original estimates. Of the projects that are completed on time and
within budget, many do not meet the needs of the project stakeholders, many times due to
quality. The reasons for these are poor project management or no project management.

Therefore, the success of a particular project depends on a comprehensive study of the main
characteristics of the project and also accurate management of the project.

2. Company Overview
Brydenpi Limited (Bpi) is a fully owned, independently managed subsidiary of the Brydens
Group, presently with well over 350 employees (brydenpi.com).

They represent several major international brands and provide direct, channel focused
marketing and sales services via more than 90 sales and trade representatives supported by
management teams comprised of sales, marketing and logistics specialists and are ably
supported by two contracted warehousing and distribution centers, located in San Juan and
Chaguanas.

3. Project Reasoning
The project being discussed in this report is the modification and renovation of the Chaguanas
branch to house the goods currently stored at the San Juan distribution centre of Bpi. The
reason for this move has two reasons; firstly, the economy of Trinidad and Tobago is currently

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unstable and the company is moving to have all its products in one location to reduce lease
costs and secondly, the San Juan facility is in an unacceptable condition due to structural
damage which has led to safety hazards.

4. Project Management fundamentals

From the project management viewpoint the knowledge and practices used are best described
in terms of their component processes. These practices can be placed into five process groups
which are initiating, planning, execution, monitoring and control and closure. All these stages
are interconnected and should be properly addressed to support the effective operation of the
whole or the product life cycle (PLC).

The five processes are characterised as follows:

1. Project initiation is the first crucial phase in Project management and requires several
steps during the launch of a project. An accurate and successful project initiation builds a strong
foundation that helps to achieve the desired objective for a project, it involves few important
steps such as:
a. Development of business case to justify the start-up of a project
b. Conduct a feasibility study
c. Establish a project charter
d. Form a team for the given project
e. Performing reviews (monitoring and control).

2. Planning is an essential part of any organization, without proper planning an undertaken

project might go useless. Therefore, it is important to set a plan to complete the project that
has time, budget and resource limitations, the main steps in planning:
a. Setting the objectives
b. Identifying the available resources
c. Setting time
d. Planning for human resource management
e. Risk management
f. Effective communication methods.

3. Executing is bringing the planned work into action; this is usually the longest stage and
requires collaboration of every member in the team, the steps in this stage includes:
a. Proper use of available resources
b. Communication
c. Recording the progress of the project

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 d. Maintaining quality
e. Monitoring and control

4. Monitoring and controlling the project entails being watchful over the progress of the
project to verify that it is going in the planned way. Monitoring also includes recording the
efficiency of the team and most importantly the degree of project completion at the provided
time. If a company fails to monitor a project, resources may be excessively used; increasing
costs or the scheduled time for a project may cross the deadline.

5. Closing a project is as important as the other processes and occurs when a project is
completed. It involves all the required paperwork such, auditing, calculation of profit and loss,
analysis of the product scope, closing contracts, evaluations of lessons learnt and a formal sign-
off from the customer.

Of the five processes listed, monitoring and control is not only conducted during one period but
the entire process (see appendices figure 1).

4.1 Bpi warehouse modification and renovation project processes

The initiation of the project to relocate the San Juan warehouse was justified by the economic
instability of Trinidad and its dilapidated state. A feasibility study was conducted and it was
realised that with little modification the Chaguanas warehouse could easily house the products
from San Juan. Additionally quotations were requested from various contractors after which
Knaggs Contractors were selected for the project. A project charter was established (see
appendices figure 2), an overview containing the most valuable information available on the
project as stated by Weiss and Wysocki (cited in Hayes 2000, p. 14).

A project team consisting of the Operations Manager – Ms. Shireen Ganga, Warehouse
Manager – Mr. Ronald Ward, Project Manager - Mr. Colvin Mitchell and members of Knaggs
Developers Limited was formed, reviews were conducted and changes made to the charter.

After the initiation stage, the project is planned in detail according to the charter. The main
purpose is to evaluate time, cost and resources sufficiently to estimate the work needed and to
effectively manage risk during project execution.

At this stage all stakeholders were communicated with, according to their power and interest in
the project by various means such as; email, face-to-face meetings and via telephone (See
appendices figure 3). Additionally, A Gantt chart was created outlining the time span of two
months; identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure (see appendices
figures 4a & 4b).

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Furthermore, major risks that could impact the project include budgetary and time
management risks. These require to be mitigated since they have a huge bearing on the overall
schedule of the project, which would lead to huge cost over runs, improper ordering of
materials and wastage of man hours. Therefore it is essential to manage these effectively.

Currently, the modification and renovation project is in the sixth week of the execution stage, is
within budget and on time due to appropriate coordinating of people and resources, as well as
incorporating and executing the activities of the project in accordance with the project
management plan. The project’s progress is communicated regularly to the stakeholders and
monitored regularly.

During the entire project the various processes and activities have been monitored and will
continue to be examined to ensure alignment with the project plan as advised by the Project
Manager Mr. Colvin Mitchell.

The Bpi renovation has not yet been completed, however with the current progress of the
project, the final inspection should be within two weeks and closure ought to remain as
scheduled.

5. Project risks
Project risks are uncertain events or occurrences that may positively or negatively impact the
achievement of one or more of the project’s triple constraints-scope, time and cost which will
affect quality, as defined at the outset in the project charter (see appendices figure 5).

5.1 Project Risk Management

Project Risk Management is defined in the PMBOK 5ed, (2012, p.308) as the … ‘processes of
conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and
controlling risk on a project’.

Identification of project risks determines which risks might affect the project and documents
their characteristics in a Risk Register Report. However, too much time should not be taken in
identifying risks, after the Risk Register is made qualitative and quantitative analysis should be
done to understand which risks require Project Managers to spend time and/or money on.

Responses to risks include activities such as:

1. Risk acceptance which does not reduce any effects however, it is still considered a
strategy. This approach is commonly used when the cost of other risk management
options outweigh the cost of the risk itself.

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2. Risk avoidance is the opposite of risk acceptance; it avoids all exposure to any risk
whatever and is generally the most costly of all risk response options.
3. Risk transference or deflection involves passing the risk to a willing third party, such as
outsource companies. This shifts the risk to firms that are better prepared to handle the
risk.
4. Risk mitigation or limitation is the most common risk management technique used. This
strategy limits a company’s exposure by taking some action. It is a strategy engaging
some risk acceptance and risk avoidance.
5. Conversely, if the risk has a positive impact it should be exploited. Exploitation entails
discovering ways to duplicate the risk to increase the impact if it does

Risk control is a critical stage in the risk management process. Efforts to control or manage and
mitigate risk have a price in terms of the three constraints. Hence, before action is taken to
accept, avoid, transfer or mitigate, these costs must be carefully considered. Furthermore, risk
control methods must consider the impact that the risk could have on the project and be
aligned with project requirements, value and overall priority.

5.2 Bpi warehouse modification and renovation project risks

Firstly, during initiation, the major risk identified was improper management for the project
due to the lack of a suitable Project Manager, since none of the Bpi employees have experience
with project management. This risk could affect either time, cost or scope. The response chosen
was risk transference and Mr. Colvin Mitchell was contracted for the position, as he previously
worked on a similar project at the Chaguanas warehouse. This decision was made using
qualitative analysis.

The second main risk foreseen was the cost of materials due to the current economic recession
and high inflation rates. Prices could increase drastically pushing the project above budget
therefore, when quotations were received for materials in the first week, all required items
were purchased to avoid this risk.

Another chief risk was the ability for the construction company contracted, Knaggs Contractors,
to deliver on the objectives. Although the company had good reviews and submitted a
competitive tender neither Mr. Colin Mitchel nor any other member of the project team had
first-hand knowledge of their capabilities. This would inevitably impact on the overall quality of
the project. The response to this risk was avoidance because of budgetary constraints as Knaggs
Contractors tendered the most economical offer and other options would be too costly.

These three foremost risks were assessed using probability of risk and impact on the project.
Values for each were assigned and the score calculated for the risk (see appendices figure 6).

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6. Project Issues
Managing project issues are just as important as risk management. Issues must be managed
well in order to provide the best chance of project success.

An issue is a problem associated to a project that is about to arise or is currently occurring.

Issues must be resolved as soon as possible; otherwise it may have unfavourable effects on the
project.

7. Conclusion
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of project management is that it allows for flexibility. It
allows managers to map out the strategy that they want to take to see their project get to
fruition.

Project management is very often represented on a triangle. A successful project manager

needs to keep a balance between the triple constraints so that the quality of the project or
output is not compromised.

There are many tools and techniques available in order to meet the challenges associated with
the three constraints and any good project manager will use appropriate tools in order to
execute the project successfully.

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References

A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide), 5th edn. 2012,
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, p. 308

Burke, R 1999, Project management: planning and control techniques, 3rd edn, John Wiley and
Sons Ltd, United Kingdom and Australia.

Burke, R 2013, Project management techniques (College Edition), 2nd edn, Burke Publishing.

Brydenpi n.d., viewed 16 August 2016, http://brydenpi.com.

Hayes, DS 2000, 'Evaluation and Application of a Project Charter Template to Improve the
Project Planning Process', Project Management Journal, vol. 31, no. 1, p. 14.

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Appendices

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