Project Specification
British Airways has had its share of misfortunes, as described in the T5 Heathrow experience. According to Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British airways, he identified the loopholes that led to that fateful day (BBC, 2008).The debacle caused in 2008 was a result of poor coordination, inefficient training of personnel, and inadequate security screening facilities (BBC, 2008). In order to solve these problems, there is a need to create quality change in certain areas, such as, for example, by increasing the sufficiency of screening equipment and training the stuff to be flexible and reliable. In this context, the project’s specification involves increasing sufficiency and efficiency among the workers, finding ways of providing sufficient service delivery to the passengers, and identifying modern and effective screening equipment to avoid debacles.
Resources Implications Budget (£)
Human resources
A well-trained team of stuff will enhance coordination in the company. Service delivery will be efficient at all times.
In addition, there is a need to counsel the members of the staff as they work under pressure most of the time. This will relieve them of some of the burden and make them know that there is someone concerned about their welfare. £ 850, 000
Financial resources
In order to achieve efficiency and good service delivery, there should be enough finances. This can be acquired from the company’s investments and the stakeholders. £900,000
Equipment resources Advanced screening equipment is required to speed up the screening process. Air traffic controllers also need equipment to ensure proper blocking and create more space. £500,000
The table above represents the importance of the different resources for achieving the project’s course. These three resources are responsible for increasing the chances of good coordination, proper service delivery, and in the end, increase sales.
Some stakeholders may find it expensive to initialize change in T5. For example, appreciating the use of new systems such as screening equipment to reduce lateness. Purchasing new equipment will require some extra cash. Stakeholders are responsible for a number of changes in a company. The calls they make will determine the fate of a project or the success of a company. The stakeholders should contribute or come up with the amount required to implement change successfully. The help of stakeholders in raising the needed funds will determine how the project in place can be achieved eventually.
Stakeholders should also participate in the screening process to determine the most appropriate personnel to direct a department. While they help in choosing the appropriate person to handle the department issues, they will be in a better position to identify a neutral person.
There was poor coordination among the staff in terms screening passengers and their luggage. Initially, the staffs were few and less experienced. Therefore, there was a need for additional training for the staff on how to use time efficiently. Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, stated that the staff had difficulties in moving around the car park and getting through some security areas (Osborne, 2008). If the staff is given enough training and techniques for moving around, then they could effectively assist the travelers in getting to their flights on time.
Another important resource that should be considered to instill change is financial resource. T5 did not have enough money to sustain their passengers when they cancelled the flights. The travelers were given $100, however, hotels asked them for more than twice as much for accommodations. In order to solve such a scenario, the company should invest in well-equipped loges for their customers in case of a problem like this. There were few trained staff to handle the passengers, and this contributed to the debacle all throughout.
Task 3: Project plan for applying change in quality systems at BA
After reviewing the situation that befell Terminal 5 Heathrow, there was a need to change and improve certain factors in the company. In order to do this, a survey should be done to identify the departments that face problems. Research proved that there should be change in the human, financial and material resources. Through the help of the project management team, it was important to carry out analyses via the Product Breakdown Structure (PBS), the Work Breakdown structure (WBS), the Cost breakdown structure (CBS) and the Critical Path Analysis (CPA).
Product breakdown and work breakdown to improve resources at BA
Cost breakdown
Amount
Training Air traffic controllers $ 780, 000
Training Marshalls $500,000
Training security guards $450000
Training other employees $800,000
Buying screening gadgets $200,000
Workshops $100000
Regular counseling $100000
Corporate treat $500000
Increase parking space $1000000
Models for change
While carrying out the project plan, there were certain models used to provide quality change. Training, counseling, supervision and coordination are important models that should be dealt with to initiate change.
When the staffs are trained, they get equipped with skills and knowledge for handling challenging situations. For example, in case there is a misunderstanding between a passenger and a BA staff, the BA staff can be patient and help resolve the issue without involving a third party. In the end, the travelers will be satisfied with the work the company is doing. Training also equips the staff with advanced skills to handle the current technology (Caruso, 2011). There are usually new methods of screening that save time. Therefore, when the staffs are given regular training, they will be equipped to face any challenges that may come up.
British Airways should ensure that it has efficient supervisors who are ready to work hard. Working in the BA can be stressing and, therefore, requires someone who can handle pressure. In the end, the level of coordination will be high and fewer debacles will be experienced. Under other circumstances, having experienced supervisors who understand the employees motivates them to work harder. Teamwork is the greatest thing that can stimulate change in an organization. Therefore, a supervisor should encourage teamwork at all times in the work place.
When people work under pressure, they get stressed out a lot. Therefore, it is important for BA to make sure that they have regular counselors to help the employees deal with their personal and work related issues that cause them undue stress.
Coordination is an important model for change. According to the fiasco that faced T5, it was discovered that poor coordination among various departments led to the cancellation of many flights. To avoid such incidents from happening again, creating seminars that can bring various departments together to appreciate the work of their colleagues can help (Greenberg, 1976). In this case, the staff learns how various departments work and how effective they are to each other.
Plan to implement models of change
Implementation of the models will depend on the stakeholders. They give the final word if they are satisfied for the need of change in the company. Once BA is ready to handle the operations, the people who are responsible for working on the training and counseling are informed (Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009). There is a need to have a backup plan in case any of the trainers fail to show up. The trainers also need to be paid on time to make sure that they do not lose trust in the organization. The organization will have to do the training in shifts so as not affect the regular BA routine.
Grant chat
Name of task Duration Starting time Finishing time Human resources
Survey the airport 2 days Monday
03/ 23/ 2009 Tuesday
03/ 24/ 2009 Site supervisor
Meeting with stake holders 2 days Thursday
03/ 26/2009 Friday
03/ 27/2009
BA chairman and project manager
Order and wait for supplies 7 days Saturday
03/28/2009 Friday
04/03/2009 Online warehouse
Train staff 14 days Monday
03/30/2009 Sunday
04/12/2009 Trainers and counselors
Supervise trained staff 7 days Friday
04/10/2009 Thursday
04/162009 supervisors
Test new gadgets I day Monday
04/13/2009 Monday
04/13/2009 Engineers
Analyze the new system 2 days Thursday
04/17/2009 Saturday
04/18/2009 Project manager
Name of Task Time in days
MARCH 23-29 MARCH 30-APRIL5 APRIL 6- APRIL 12 APRIL 13- APRIL 18
M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S
Survey the airport
Meeting with stake holders
Order and wait for supplies
Train staff
Supervise trained staff
Test new gadgets
Analyze the new system
Critical path analysis
Task Duration Start
Survey the airport 2 days (Monday and Tuesday) Monday – Tuesday (7am- 4pm) 18hrs
Meeting stakeholders 2 days (Thursday and Friday) Thursday – Friday (9am- 5pm) 16hrs
Order and wait for supplies 7 days (Saturday- Friday Saturday- Friday (8am-5pm ) 63hrs
Train staff 14 days( Monday- Sunday) Monday- Sunday (8am-4pm) 112hrs
Supervise trained staff 7 days( Friday – Thursday) Friday- Thursday ( 8am-2pm) 42hrs
Test new gadgets 1 day(Monday) Monday(8am-11pm) 15hrs
Analyze new system 2 days(Friday- Saturday ) Friday(7am-4pm) 18hrs
Total hours 284hrs
Monitoring and evaluation of the process
There should be supervisors who make sure that the process goes on well and smoothly. As the training goes on, other trained personnel who have worked with the industry should be employed to monitor how the employees are utilizing what they have learned in practice. The training should take one month to make sure that all employees have ample training. In addition, the employees should not be forced to go for counseling. They should be advised and, in case of difficulty in opening up, then the employee can be given time to sort out his own issues.
When the training is in progress, sampling of employees to give their feedback on the training can help in knowing how the project has progressed (Martin 2006, p.5). Some passengers, too, can be asked to comment on the kind of service delivery they are given. These comments can help in solving challenges that face the project.
While defining the tools and resources used for systematic quality change, it is vital to know of their importance. Having a well-trained staff will increase the level of service delivery and sales (Imparato, Urbana and Ruster, 1999). The company will garner more sales as it will have more customers. Finance is equally important to make sure that the project is in order.
Task 4
While addressing the quality system changes at Terminal 5 Heathrow, for British Airways, it is noteworthy to consider the importance of human resources. Virtually, the human resource is the most important resource. Human beings are the ones who coordinate all other resources to make a project successful. Therefore, it is important to train human resources to have the best outcome. When employees are trained, they usually have the courage to perform their work to the best of their abilities (Miller and Johnson, 2013).
In the BA community, there are several employees who work together to make work a success. They include engineers, security guards, air traffic controllers, marshals, receptionists, hostesses, pilots, and service crew. Without this group of hardworking personnel, work in the British Airways would be unsuccessful. It is vital to note that these human resources require regular training on how to handle pressure within the company. All these employees should have strong analytical abilities, good communication skills, excellent technical knowledge, and good problem solving skills. They should also show attention to detail, think logically, demonstrate creativity and be team players. In order to sustain quality change, the human resource requires proper training and respect to be able to do its job efficiently. In addition, there is a need to boost the employees’ morale by giving them a reasonable salary and regular counseling (Novotney, 2010). In addition, giving the staff a treat occasionally to help them release stress can increase morale. The project manager should be in a position to coordinate the staff and be patient with them.
Task 5: Monitoring the project
Projects should be monitored and evaluated after their implementation. When monitoring is done, the project manager is in the position to know where things are not going straight. While trying to administer quality change in BA, there were certain challenges faced. There are certain stakeholders who were against the idea of purchasing new screening equipment to instill quality change. They were not convinced that buying new gadgets could solve the problems faced in T5. In addition, the time allocated for training was not enough to train the staff adequately. There were issues with space in the parking lot.
Training the staff is essential for boosting the morale of the employees and giving them analytical skills to handle challenging situations. However, the challenge at hand was to get enough trainers to handle the situation. Initially, the trainers had agreed on a certain amount for their services. However, due to the unavoidable circumstances they demanded a raise. The trainers breached the contract, making it a challenge to handle the training sessions as per the project plan. In order to solve this scenario, the stakeholders should be involved in filing a case against the training company that breached the contract and pay consequential damages (Hemanth & Associates, 2010). At the same time, alternative trainers can be incorporated to handle the situation within the shortest time possible. In addition, stakeholders can be advised on the importance of purchasing new equipment. Identifying the few that need replacement is vital. In the end, it will reduce expenses within the company. In order to make sure that the project is monitored smoothly software will be put in place that will continuously act as a monitoring agent on the IT system. In case of any faulty issues, the software will signal the engineer or supervisor in place and a replacement will be done accordingly. While tracking a project by using EVM, the project manager can evaluate the work in progress daily basis and determine how the project will end. Therefore, through an earned value analysis, the EVM showed that the training started earlier than expected with determined personnel who ended up making the project a success.
Task 6 Earned value analysis
In any project, the project manager usually makes it a point to give an estimated amount of time to carry out the project alongside the cost that will be incurred. However, after carrying out a critical path analysis of the project, it would be easy to determine if the project will use more or less of the approximated value. According to the BA project, to create quality change in the company, some aspects need to be reorganized with the aim of reducing costs. In addition, certain activities may speed up and be ahead of schedule while others may lag behind. Either way, they affect the cost of the project. While the project was in progress, the resources like screening gadgets, were received earlier. Therefore, training the staff started earlier than expected. In addition, some trainers were not able to make it during the training session. An alternative had to be put in place and fortunately, the trainers got were cheaper than the previous once. They made it a point to train the staff at the shortest time possible. In the end, costs reduced and the company did not have to pay as estimated. They paid less by $50,000.
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