Project management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Project management - Case Study Example Utilisation Utilization = Actual output/ Design capacity In this case the actual output is 12,000kg and designed capacity of 20,000kg. Utilization will be; 12,000/20,000*100%= 60%. 60% utilization determine the effective capacity since if the plant is not turned on, then the effective capacity is zero. Ultimately, the dry cleaner designs will have some redundancies which lead to simple de-bottlenecking "adding" to capacity.   v. Efficiency Efficiency is the actual output as determined through a percent of effective capacity. Hence, it is given as; actual output / effective capacity. In this case study, efficiency will be; (12,000/16,000) * 100% = 75%. (b) Managing Actual Output, Utilisation and Efficiency of the resources available The concern in the dry cleaning business is more on productivity that relates to competitiveness. The business will not be able to earn greater profit or charge a lower price. There is need for the business to increase its efficiency from 75% to over 80% to boost operational efficiency whenever probable. Utilization as well is at 60% which is low. The solutions to increasing utilization is through keeping the dry cleaning equipment in proper operational conditions, correcting quality problems, reducing bottlenecks and training of employees (Krajewski & Ritzman 2005). In order to increase the actual output, the company must use a benchmarking method which measures capacity from choice of one not requiring adjustment or constant updates. The dry cleaning company can benchmark the existing operational efficiency against other efficient dry cleaners in the locality whether in emerging or mature markets. The next step is to evaluate the efficiency of work process to point out areas requiring improvement. Finally, the company can develop solutions meant to increase performance in these areas. This can include checking the speed of receipt of garments, sorting, cleaning, drying and packaging of cleaned clothes. Increasing the hours worked for each employee is one input which should be increased to over 70% but by not increasing the number of employees to run the dry cleaning business (Krajewski & Ritzman 2005). The gains or losses must be tracked and performance standards established. The company should also create worksheets capturing weekly, monthly and yearly data. Question 2 Devise and implement a brief project management plan to include; a) Scope Management Scope management ensures clarity of project guidelines drawn from the triple constraints such as cost, quality and time or schedule. For instance, a construction project synchronises the triple constraints to drive stakeholders’ perceptions of the success of the project. The scope of the project plan is monitored for probable changes if the scope of the project changes (Carly 2004). Agreeing on the scope ensures minimal rework which commits extra resources, time and cost overruns. In the case of the construction project, the prefabs will take 45 days to complete 4 houses. The expected project cost will be $4500. This project is anticipated to be made of cedar, cemented floor and Gall sheet roofing. The project will involve a sufficient amount of work, only necessary work is carried out and work completed contributes to success of the construction project. The project will use existing technology since it is conventional (Thieraus et al 2009). The scope is clearly defined and the design