Project Outsourcing: Pros and Cons

As with any brand-new project, you simply must make a conclusion whether for you to outsource or even continue applying internal project controls. Within the last two many years, millions associated with companies possess chosen for you to outsource varying aspects of business surgical procedures. Outsourcing project controls consists of several critical benefits with the business, but additionally possesses risks towards success or even vitality from the business. Prior to make this step associated with hiring a third party contract intended for project controls, keep the next points at heart.

Project Outsourcing Advantages:-

  • Reduce/Save Resource Cost Through Outsourcing Projects

When working with a fresh project, you must consider how the expense of contracting skilled workers contrasts with the expense of training central staff. Because of increasing charges for training internal staff, outsourcing will help you save cash immediately.

  • Quick Start

As a result of eradication in the training time for central staff, outsourced project controls allow develop a provided project to begin with immediately. Furthermore, businesses outsource project controls for you to expand speedily without having to worry about accessible resources, including skilled workers.

  • A detailed & Fresh Project Audit

Outsourcing project controls provides a new, already-trained person the chance to examine the ins and outs and specifications of your project. This helps in order that a concealed problem regarding scheduling, resources or project planning does not go unnoticed.

  • Gain Perception for Future Projects

Over the course of utilizing outsourced project controls, you are able to learn new guidelines for working with similar assignments from experienced, contracted professionals.

Project Outsourcing: Pros and Cons

Project Outsourcing Disadvantages

  • Potential for Increased Pricing

Although a decrease in cost is often on the list of primary causes of outsourcing undertaking controls, it can easily become one of outsourcing’s best flaws. As you move the contracted laborer will give you work for the specific charge below what exactly internal staff members may price tag, there is not any guarantee which the contracted, outsourced employee will finish the job as quickly as a possible internal employee. As an end result, the total cost regarding outsourcing undertaking controls might be double, or else triple, the cost of using inside staff.

  • Internal Resources Connection Required

Along with caveat with regards to increased fees, outsourced sources still demand input via internal sources, whether that be course, payment, or maybe reviews regarding performed function. The heart in the issue rests in the goals of the project as well as ensuring outsourced undertaking controls always provide optimal services relative to these objectives.

  • Potential Compromise of Exclusive Information

The earth of undertaking management, especially with regards to the oil as well as gas sectors, relies about the sensitive balance between available sources and new technologies. Outsourced undertaking controls poses the danger of go against of inside of information. One example is, a business that would gain an important share in the market because of innovations in design might lose this particular opportunity in the event the outsourced building contractors disclose information to some others.

  • Risk for the Stalemate

If you outsource undertaking controls, you cannot own the particular resources themselves. The resources–skilled contractors—could choose to leave assembling your garden shed without a new moment’s discover. You must keep in mind that contract for outsourcing final only so long as the contractors wish to continue using the services of your business. If anything better or maybe higher-paying arrives, you will probably face a new mountain regarding work with no resources to perform it.

Outsourced project controls are usually a cheaper as compared to using central staff for project administration tasks.

  • Outsourcing project controls enables rapid development and an instant start in projects.
  • You can certainly learn how to approach similar project down the road.
  • You can still have to use many internal assets with outsourced project controls. Think about how exactly you can keep outsourced resources on the same page as you.
  • Outsourcing poses a likely threat on your proprietary info.
  • Since your outsourced services usually are not owned because of your company, they may not always want to continue working together with you.

Outsourcing project controls offers lots of benefits for organizations, and quite a few outsourced resources are nevertheless Americans, who simply want to work over a contractual schedule. You have to understand the positives and negatives of outsourcing project controls prior to deciding to determine based within the immediate, short-term increases from outsourced workers.

Read more about PSGINCS expertise in Oracle primavera p6, primavera contract management and project control management services.

Important Things To Know About Primavera P6 Calendars

The calendars have become central to the entire scheduling. If you do not have at least one calendar created, you cannot create a schedule in Primavera P6. Here is a quick overview of the calendar features which you need to learn in order to effectively use it to your advantage.

primavera p6 calendar

Calendar for Activities

In the new calendar for Primavera P6, calendars are associated with activities. This allows you to add more flexibility to your scheduling and use multiple calendars for one project. For example, if two works are going on simultaneously at different places, one’s schedule will not affect the other’s work. You can use several calendars on more complex projects involving a lot of occupations to avoid confusion or clutter. However, you can still use one calendar for the entire project if this is what seems to be a more feasible option.

Activity Calendars and Resource Calendars

There are two ways in which you can create calendars in Primavera P6, activity and resource based. The most prevalently used calendars are activity based. For example, you need to perform maintenance of a machine every second Wednesday. In order to put that activity on map, a resource calendar can be created for that machine with the maintenance cycle scheduled into it. All other work related to that machine can now be scheduled around it, wherever the dependencies exist. In order for other related activities to become dependencies, you need to create “Resource Dependent” activity type.

Time Levels

There are three ways in which you can set time levels including; hours of the day, days of the week, and days of month / year. When setting up the rules, work can be scheduled at any of these three time levels. Here are few examples to help you know how you can set time levels.

  • Select days of the month or year that are workable or non-workable, it may include local holidays.
  • Select days of the week which are workable, like setting two days off as discussed above.
  • You can also select office timings, the beginning and ending hours for work.

Calendars and P6 Scheduler

There are different time zones and working days in various parts of the world. For example, in UAE the typically working week starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday, with Friday and Saturday off. These types of exceptional situations may arise when a project has unusual time zones to deal with. Create a calendar with Friday and Saturday off, Primavera P6 will never allow scheduling of any activity on these two days. All the work and non-work rules can be set in a calendar.

Changing Activities

Changing of activities in Primavera P6 can be tricky. Mostly, a new calendar needs to be assigned to an activity. Be careful when you assign a new calendar because the newly allocated time might add up to increase total duration required to complete the work. The adding up of time usually happens when the time levels are set in hours per day.

Primavera P6 calendars are a lot more comprehensive, although you need to learn them in order to work for you and not against you.

Ohio Gulf Coast Pipeline Project Approved

Ohio Gulf Coast pipeline map
Ohio Gulf Coast pipeline map

The Ohio to the Gulf Coast Oil & Gas Capital Project has meet Federal regulators approval.  Estimated at $468.5 million dollars the eastern Ohio pipeline project will transport natural gas from Ohio to the Gulf Coast.

Texas Eastern, a subsidiary of Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE:SE), in February lined up four companies to use its 76-mile long pipeline extension, however were awaiting final confirmation from the agency that oversees interstate pipelines.

Now, its Ohio Pipeline Energy Network– Open Project – which is stet to go forward. Houston-based Spectra hopes the project will be done fourth quarter of 2015.

As most projects of this nature it had to clear concerns and questions from environmental, landowner and government groups. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reviewed them and approved the project Tuesday December 2, 2014.

The pipeline will stretch from the Kensington processing plant in Columbiana County through Carroll, Jefferson and Belmont counties before ending in a Texas Eastern interconnection in Monroe County. Those four counties are where much of the Utica shale oil and gas activity is centered.

Texas Eastern is poised to build a gas turbine compressor station in Belmont County and make adjustments to existing compressor centers to allow bidirectional flow.  Primavera Project Management Software is anticipated to be utilized in the project controls for this project.  PSG Primavera Consultants is poised to support contractors engaged in this project and other Oil & Gas projects meet project requirements for less through its Contractor Compliance Program offering discounted Primavera software and related Primavera scheduling and project controls services.

The Ohio to the Gulf Coast Oil & Gas pipeline is among several of the new bidirectional pipelines are emerging in the Appalachia area. Natural gas traditionally flowed  from the Gulf Coast to the eastern U.S., However, with increased production from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia’s shale deposits these states have began exporting natural gas instead of importing it.

The pipeline is anticipated to carry up to 550,000 dekatherms of gas from the Utica and Marcellus shales to delivery points at the Egan Hub in Louisiana.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK), the most active gas producer in Ohio, notched the biggest commitment to pipeline earlier this year. Consol Energy (NYSE:CNX), Rice Energy (NYSE:RICE) and Total Gas & Power North America have also engaged in this initiative managed by Texas Eastern pipeline systems who have more than 9,200 miles of pipe across the U.S.

Top Reasons for Business Initiative Failures

Business initiatives can play every role provided they are properly implemented. The implementation process involves some treacherous elements to surmount. Particular change initiatives often fail than any other business ideas. However, with some proactive management and closely looking at the most common reasons you can avoid this kind of situation.

business-initiatives

Establishing Cause & Effect Relationship

Organizational changes usually have widespread affects on everyone working in a company. Usually the person or team responsible for bringing the change assumes that everyone else involved will automatically understand the why. The way to moving forward is to create a vision which is easily understandable by everyone else involved. The initiative can be as simple as introducing a new layer of management or using Primavera P6 for every new project assigned.

People usually respond to change in a positive or negative manner. If the management makes them understand the positive differences, they will certainly respond in a more acceptable manner. Another way is to bring up some numbers like increase in a productivity figure or revenue or something which will improve due to the new business initiative.

Continuous Mentoring

One of the biggest problems with change is that the person or team responsible for bringing up new initiative becomes busy with someone else. The company must assign some permanent leader or mentor who continuously oversees the change along with the transition. This person will keep pushing the business initiative forward and remain a positive influencer even when everyone else has started losing interest. The change leader is the one who will brave through all corporate storms to ensure the transition not only takes place but is a permanent one.

Cultural Diversity & Business Initiatives

Organizational cultures have always been key drivers behind success or failure of business initiatives. The change flows from top to the bottom with a willing and accepting attitude. Companies with open or networked culture usually resist change. The best way forward in that case is to rely on structured methodologies to ensure the newly introduced business initiatives have been fully accepted and implemented across the board. However, the process of implementation should be flexible enough to accommodate the culture fit of the organization. However, if things do not work out, then the organization needs to change its culture becoming a more welcoming one towards new initiatives.

Defining Success

Organizations need to understand the difference between process implementation and real success accomplished. Installing a new project management system in the company is not success but it will be counted as success when it will deliver, help cut costs and ensure achieving of anticipated results. The act of switching from one system to another is not a success. Often top management makes this mistake of shutting down a change process once they have shifted to something new without realizing the actual benefits. Stick to the switching and ensure you achieve success before shutting down the entire process.

Prescient Solutions Group, Inc. (PSG) Partners with Mobile Creative Solutions, Inc. (MCSI)

Energy&Utility-MarketSolutionPSG is pleased to announce its teaming agreement with training and implementation provider MCSI a Chicagoland based professional services firm.

PSG and MCSI have enjoyed a casual and mutually beneficial business relationship in the past and with the continuing growth of both firms, timing makes sense to take these appropriate next steps.

Jim Bratsakis President and Senior Consultant of MCSI, will work closely with PSG to manage current projects and business relationships. “Jim brings over twenty years of experience in Primavera software applications like Primavera P3, SureTrak, P6 and Contract Management (formerly Expedition).”

PSG co-founder and principal Lance Drossman brings nineteen years experience in project management software and related professional services, having lead initiatives for the adoption of PPM tools like CA Clarity, Planview , Daptiv PPM and Primavera, all which have delivered significant value to clients.  Both MCSI and PSG will leverage each firms strengths as it applies to sales, training and professional services for the firms key accounts.

Both Jim and Lance have been looking for the right blend of sales and professional services to warrant such a business partnership.  Recent multi-year projects exceeding 3.6 million dollars in project revenues makes the timing correct to combine the firms experience and expertise. “Great partnerships are based on one another’s strengths. Over the last 15 years MCSI has developed several long lasting partnerships and is excited about the opportunities that PSG creates.” said MCSI president Jim Bratsakis. Together both companies will continue to grow without sacrificing the level of excellence and confidence clients have come to expect from PSG and MCSI said PSG’s co-founder and principal Lance Drossman.

Free Project Management Jobs Board

project management job boardPSG – Primavera Consultants is very excited to announce the launch of a free Job Board, for Project Management Professionals, Primavera skilled job seekers and Employers looking for these skill sets http://www.project-management-jobs-board.com/

If you’re a Project Management professional searching for your dream job or an Employer looking for a fresh pool of qualified Project Management candidates, this job board will link you with the Individuals you seek.

Candidates (http://store.psgincs.com/candidates-1003-9.html) and Employers (http://store.psgincs.com/employers-1003-5.html) have the ability to connect online for FREE… Working one-on-one with one another. The PM Job Board provides both job seekers and companies with enhanced Job Posting and Job Seeking capabilities necessary for todays job seekers and emplyers need to find suitable jobs and candidates. Register today.

The PSG Primavera Consultants Job Board since its launch has linked dozens of companies and candidates and has been integrated as a service partner for Indeed, Dice & Hot Jobs to provide candidates and employers with a better way to find and connect with one another in the digital age.

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