Why engage a project manager? A client’s perspective

Mithra V Rampersad, MBA B.Eng C.Eng. MICE R.Eng. DipLaw Dip.F.M.

Abstract: The use of project management as a tool for execution is quickly becoming globally accepted across many industries. While being increasingly accepted within the local and regional context, there is still a tendency for clients to adopt the traditional hands-on role for the execution of their projects in lieu of the engagement of a specialized project manager. This article seeks to highlight the various factors influencing the need for project management services.

Project management has been gaining momentum in Trinidad and Tobago over the past 15 – 20 years having been adopted by some client organisations (both private and public sector) in the execution of their projects. It is considered that signals of this gain include:

• Buy-in by client organisations – evidenced by recent advertisements for project management services.
• Post-academic qualifications sought by potential employers now include the PMP (Project Management Professional) designation.
• Increased professional support by organizations such as the PMI (Project Management Institute) and its local chapter the PMISCC (Project Management Institute Southern Caribbean Chapter).
• Recognition as a specialist field –verified by new academic programmes being offered at both the Diploma and Masters levels.
• Availability of a number of (international) standard conditions of engagement for the appointment of project managers.

The typical local or regional client organization therefore has a relatively robust infrastructure upon which to base a decision on the engagement of a project manager and does not necessarily have to start afresh on any such initiative. Influencing Factors In the development of capital projects, the client typically has three fundamental choices to make:

• Should the management of the project be vested with existing operational staff?
• Should a new manager or team be employed formally and specifically by the organisation?
• Should external project management expertise be procured under a service agreement? All three approaches have features that define their advantages and disadvantages. On the client’s side, this decision is primarily influenced by:
• The complexity of the project
• The availability of in-house resources
• The expertise of in-house resources
• The size and duration of the project
• Economic, risk management and feasibility drivers.
• Client organization’s history of executing similar projects

Naturally, within any organisation, some, if not all, of these factors will exist to varying degrees, and therefore the rationale for procurement of project management services will be informed by the degree of confidence which the client has in these factors.

Notably, the client’s assessment on the availability of resources should not be limited to staffing only, as successful project management is also based on the efficient use of physical, financial, time and informational resources. A typical client organisation will possess all of these in some form.

Project Parameters & Resources
Naturally, the more complex a project is by definition, the more likely it is that the client will require project management services. The choice then redounds to the source of the expertise – a previous history of similar projects executed within the client organization would have led to an accumulation of in-house expertise which can then be built upon. This then follows the model of internal project management.

If the project is one where the client organization has had no similar experience, then a case is made for adoption of externally procured project management services.

It should be noted that in theory, internal and external project management define opposite ends of the spectrum within project management procurement. In practice, most projects are executed within these boundaries, i.e. a suitable mix of both in-house and externally sourced resources.

Risk Management
The second consideration that the client organisation should address is risk mitigation.The chosen approach should be tailored to suit the risk appetite of the organisation.

Robust risk assessment and management techniques will satisfy the triad of economic, technical and financial outcomes. Typical avenues available to the client are scenario modeling, contingency planning, and risk allocation. The simple exercise of procuring external project management serves to manage risk by adoption of the risk transfer principle.

A contingent risk factor associated with the appointment of external resources is the issue of corporate confidentiality. Despite client confidentiality arrangements, the possibility exists that competitive business projects in the development stage may be compromised. Economic choices made by the client should consider two levels of comparison:

• Whether the cost of using internal resources exceed the cost of external resources.
• Whether the secondment costs of internal resources to the project team outweighs the opportunity cost of the productivity of those resources in their substantive positions.

In this respect, a full and objective cost-benefit analysis should be carried out, preferably using life-cycle costing techniques.

Further Steps
The client’s objectives will be the ultimate drivers for any project. Therefore, the method of project procurement and execution should be aligned as closely as possible to these objectives.

Engagement of a project manager is a critical step towards project success and it is argued that in making this decision, the client must carefully consider all factors that influence the judgment.

It should be equally appreciated that each project undertaken is different in both scope and approach. Hence, the adoption of one model on one project may not be appropriate for another, regardless of the similarities.

Where the client organisation forecasts an orientation towards several project developments, consideration should be given to the establishment of an in-house project division. Conversely, where projects are sporadic and intermittent, a more appropriate approach may be the procurement of external project management services.

There are many arguments for and against the appointment of a Project Manager. However it is clear that the opportunities to be derived far exceed the economic benefits of utilizing ‘in – house’ resources. Additionally, the risks associated with large projects can affect the overall performance of the organization.

The role of the professional in the building industry in a developing or underdeveloped nation

Canute Edd Spencer, FRICS, FCI Arb, MRSH
Email: [email protected]

In attempting to write an article on this subject, one must first define the term “professional in the building industry”, “developing and underdeveloped nation” and perhaps one must also explain why “in the building industry”, are they the only professionals with a contribution
to make?

Last things first, given that I am practicing in the building industry as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor (otherwise known as a Construction Cost Consultant I have been exposed and involved to this industry for many years. Because of my “tenure”, experiences and encounters throughout the years, I believe that I have developed a keen understanding of the subject matter. Equally important is my belief that I cannot or should not attempt to comment on other professionals (e.g. doctors and lawyers) since I believe that there are enough of them to speak for themselves. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the building industry is the latest recognizable innovation for developing an underdeveloped country.

In my youth, the favored professions were medicine, law and religion. Engineering ran low on the required professional charts as too Architects, we still prefer to use Draftsmen not recognizing the difference, even at the so called sophisticated society social level. Interestingly, the only surveyor known in Trinidad at the time was the Land Surveyor (or “Severere” as locally pronounced).

When I arrived in England in 1959 to pursue Quantity Surveying, it was only then that I realized that there were Land Surveyors, Building Surveyors, Valuation Surveyors, Housing Surveyors, Planning Surveyors and Quantity Surveyors, all of equal importance to and in the building industry.

After completing my studies, I believed (as I do today) that our first responsibility as returning professionals is to educate our society as to our function(s) as well as the limitations imposed upon our efficiency by the sheer circumstances of practicing in an underdeveloped country. For
example, pricing a construction project depends upon an efficient system of collecting data, once the system relied upon is flawed; no amount of qualification on your part can produce correct results.

To be successful, the professional in the building industry (Architect, Engineer or whatever type of construction professional) must consider education as his priority; education of the general public, the various stakeholders within the building industry and the business and financial sectors of our society who should most benefit from our contribution, i.e. mortgagers and financiers. Our role as an educator goes beyond educating the public generally, we are also responsible for the understanding of our fellow professionals with whom we are called upon to work and produce effectively. Specialists are trained to practice within the normal daily purview of their training. In an effort to reduce or even eliminate conflict with their lesser qualified or educated colleagues they must therefore educate themselves and their colleagues on standard practices and new developments as much as possible. With this degree of sharing, the various professionals and even their professions develop daily.

Another important aspect of our education is that of research in local techniques especially since in construction one must apply and understand the theory for its application. For instance in my Construction II class, we were required to provide the solution to a certain construction problem. Out of a class of thirty odd students, only one person produced the right answer, a Trinidadian student who had some experience in the construction industry at home. When asked how he was able to solve the problem, his only answer was “Trinidad construction boy!” However, I always recall that whatever he learnt was correctly learnt and successfully applied away from the English construction climate. In our role as educators, we must also be mentors to our young graduates and craftsmen. This task is easier said than done since many of our consultants are so bent on earning a living that they are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices towards training their locals. Consequently, at the local level we have a list of skilled artisans whose skills are acquired by on the job “pick up” training, which is adequate for some jobs locally but only thus far.

Apart from education, research into our entire building industry, within the Caribbean is also vital to our success. Many years ago, some of us started compiling statistics (on labourers, concrete works, formwork etc.) to apply to the pricing items in the construction industry. However we were advised that this exercise was a waste of time or an exercise in futility since no one would either read or apply it. Sadly, we heeded the negative advice and today we have no statistics on what to base realistic pricing in the industry. In order to emphasize my point that research in local phenomenon, theorized and put in academic form can be the basis of theorizing our local industry for the application of local solution(s) to local problems, consider another example; the ITCA did a complete research study on every type of wood in Trinidad eg. cheynette, mango, cedar etc. identifying all physical characteristics and evaluating its uses, however although this research lies somewhere in our archives, few people know of its existence. Maybe, as professionals we also need to develop some system to prevent knowledge from being lost from lack of use (which could result in the said research being redone) and maintained in some permanent manner.

My era of returnees bombarded every financial institute eg. lending agencies and the general public with quantity surveying  formation. Our approach included our fellow professionals i.e. Architects, Engineers and any other group involved in planning and organizing any aspect of the industry. As a result, today we have a much more knowledgeable cadre of building professionals who should now be more efficient in servicing the general public and financial sector. However our responsibility as professionals does not end here.

Our next challenge is to replace external examinations such as City and Guilds, Clerk of Works examinations, Institute of Builders etc. with similar local programmes which are overseen by local examining board consisting of our professionals who would have designed and compiled the syllabus.

Finally, professionals must reflect a high level of integrity in not only their everyday conduct but in their professional demeanor and practice. We must earn the respect of our community both professionally and generally. Dignity is not handed to you because you are a professional. You must earn it by your general conduct and all its members must be a party and comply with the necessary requirement. Having been a member of the building industry for nearly 50 years, I strongly believe that professionals in developing countries must:

a. Educate the public and their fellow professionals as to their function.
b. Train not only your fellow professionals but all the subsidiaries in your field. It is an investment well made.
c. Conduct research in all aspects of your profession so that one’s performance and its basis must be recorded to be in a form to be passed on and
d. Finally, strive to achieve integrity in both general and professional behaviour.

When we have developed a culture of knowledge sharing and mentoring, issues like research and development as well as professional development progress naturally finally resulting in the growth and development of the building industry.

Leveraging Project Management

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – On September 15th and 16th this year the Southern Caribbean Chapter of the Project Management Institute will host its 5th Biennial International Project Management Conference at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Trinidad. There will be 27 presentations in three tracks by international, regional and local professionals to an anticipated 400 delegates from across Asia, Europe, North America, South America and the Caribbean. The two main keynote speakers will be Dr. Rober K Wyscocki and Gopal K Kapur, both acclaimed writers, trainers and professionals in the field of Project Management.

Under the theme “Leveraging Project  Management in Today’s Economy: Innovation – Efficiently – Partnership”, the conference seeks to provide a forum to discuss, challenge and devise effective methods to operate in the current environment of global instability. Among the topics to be covered at the conference are Resource Management: Keys to Survival in an Economic Crisis, Excelling in a Recession Driven Economy, How to get 40% more Productivity from your Team, and Cash Flow Management during Project Execution. It is anticipated that delegates who attend the conference will benefit from exposure to diverse training, global trends in project management and professional development for a fraction of the cost as well as excellent networking opportunities across diverse sectors.

The PMI Southern Caribbean Chapter (PMI SCC) is the leading non-profit advocacy organization and professional network for the project management profession in our region and is a chartered component of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

For more information about theconference log on to www.pmiscc.org or contact Steve Sankar at [email protected] or call (868) 384-5693.

Guyana’s PMI Chapter

GEORGETOWN, Guyana- The Board of the PMISCC formally inaugurated its Guyana Committee which will be the focus group for Project Management in that country. The mandate of the Committee is to create awareness of the profession, create a professional network of PMPs (Project Management Professional), promote educational programmes in project management and develop the PMP credential. The Committee used the opportunity to host a Project Management Conference as part of its official kick-off. The venue was Le Meridien Pegasus and the theme was “Project Management: Methods and Practices for Sustaining Business and Development”. There were 115 professionals representing public and private sectors as well as Donor Funded Agencies in attendance. The discussion areas presented were Bid Preparation, Project Leadership, Improving IT Project Management for Regional Transformation, Cash Flow Management for Construction Projects and Recognizing the Need for Project Management in Guyana.

The President of the PMISCC, Mr. Michael Charles, kicked-off the proceedings and the keynote address was given by the Honorable Minister Jennifer Webster of the Ministry of Finance who pledged her support for this initiative and hailed project management as an important mechanism which can promote and sustain Guyana’s economic, social and infrastructural development. She further encouraged the private sector to pick up the mantle of project management as this can lead to their entry into regional and global markets. She closed by calling for private and public sector partnerships to capitalize on Guyana’s human resource capability

The PMI Southern Caribbean Chapter (PMI SCC) is the leading non-profit advocacy organization
and professional network for the project management profession in our region and is a chartered component of the Project Management Institute (PMI). There are currently over 550 members representing the construction, contracting, engineering, consulting and various other industries. 60% of our members are PMI credential holders. PMI is the global membership association for the project management profession with more than 269,000 members in over 171 countries and 251 Chapters around the world. PMI sets professional standards, conducts research, provides access to information and resources and empowers practitioners to become catalysts for organizational transformation