What Are The Problems Of Using Both Diesel Trains And Electric Trains, Essay

What Are The Problems Of Using Both Diesel Trains And Electric Trains, And Can These Problems Be Solved By Switching To Just One Or The Other - Essay Example But as, the world’s climate is changing, the technology regarding the trains is changing. Diesel fuel based trains are massively used in the world. On the electric trains have become the major sources of transportation (the Guardian, 2012). Some modals of electric trains are faster and consume a considerably low amount of energy as compared to the diesel as well as relative electric trains. In this paper, I will evaluate the problems of using both diesel trains and electric trains, and can these problems be solved by switching to just one or the other. Problems of Using diesel Trains As the diesel prices are raising, it became less feasible from economic point of view to utilize oil resources as the main source of energy. On the other hand, diesel fuel engines produce immense of green house emissions. The engine requires cooling, and thus the efficiency of a diesel fired engine is not more than 40% (the Guardian, 2012). The diesel power train engines require scheduled maintena nce. The maintenance cost remains to be high (Nearing, 2013). Problems with Electric Trains Consume a large amount of electricity energy. In case of electric failure, the train is unable to continue journey, as it requires constant supply. In case of thunder storm, the delicate electronics may no work properly. Sometimes, the hanging electric wires over the trains are considered to be less protective Comparison between Diesel and Electric Trains Electric trains are much efficient as compared to the diesel fired trains. On the other hand, the technological advancements in the electric trains made the electric power trains, the fastest trains. Electric trains convert electric energy to mechanical energy, the motors require less cooling as compared to the engines so less energy is wasted. At higher altitude diesel engines become less efficient due to the lack of oxygen but electric rains work properly in that situation. Electric trains are more environment friendly as compared to the d iesel trains. Electrical trains are equipped with backup systems in case if one motor fails, other motors support its weight. If electrical energy is from a renewable source, environmental impact of the transportation can be reduced. If electrical energy is generated from fossil fuel resources, electrical trains still generate 20-30% low green house emissions as compared to the diesel trains. Electrical trains are more economically feasible as compared to the diesel trains (Nearing, 2013). Solutions that can make diesel trains better In order to increase the efficient of the diesel trains, it is important to convert the heat energy from the exhaust to a useful form. One way of doing this, is to utilize the thermal energy recovery system. The heat recovery should be used to convert water into steam and then use steam to power the train. By doing this, the energy efficient can be increased to 80% or more. Instead of using the petroleum diesel, bio diesel can reduce the cost of the fue l and reduce the environmental impact of the diesel fired engines (Takeuchi, Goodman, & Sone, 2003). Solutions that can make electrical trains better The researches have researched much to make the electrical trains better and more secure but from general perspective, there is need to power the trains from more than one source, more than one sou

Pure Culture Methods and Gram Staining

Pure Culture Methods and Gram Staining Individual and well separated colonies are crucial when working with bacterial cultures. Pure culture method involves the step of taking a small and well isolated colony and transferring it to a sterile growth medium in a suitable culture vessel (Ryan Ray, 2010). There are three types of commonly used methods to produce pure cultures. They are the streak plate, spread plate and pour plate. All these methods require the use of aseptic technique. Streak plate is suitable for the direct plating of media that contains a large number of cells. To prepare a streak plate, a colony or a loopful of bacteria culture will be taken using a sterile inoculating loop and then the sample will be streaked several times over the surface of the solid growth media. Single cells are obtained along the streak as each streak represents a dilution process. The bacteria will grow into a separate colony and to be used for pure culture after being incubated at optimum condition (Carter Wise, 2004). Another alternative to obtain pure culture is the spread plate method where a small volume of suspension is spread evenly over the surface of an agar plate. The bacteria colonies will be evenly distributed over the surface of the agar plate after incubation. Larger colonies are the colonies that are well isolated. Pure culture can also be done by using the pour plate method. The diluted sample is suspended in agar growth at about 50 à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °c. The mixture is then poured into a suitable vessel and incubated. The bacteria colonies will grow throughout the agar plate. The colonies within the agar will be very tiny and difficult to see and count as compared to those which grow on the surface of the agar. Objectives: The purpose of conducting this experiment was to understand the principles and aim of obtaining pure cultures, to compare the separation of bacterial colonies using streak plate, pour plate and spread plate techniques and to observe and compare the colonial features of isolated bacterial colonies on solid nutrient media as well as the morphological cellular features of isolated bacterial colonies using the gram stain method. In addition, the experiment explained about the principles of gram stain method and allowed the interpretation of each of the steps in gram staining. Method: Refer to lab manual page 32-36. Results: In this experiment, mixture of Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was used to prepare pure culture using the three methods which are the streak plate, spread plate and pour plate. The plates were incubated and the colony morphology of the plates was observed. The cellular morphology of the bacteria was determined using the gram stain method. The results were recorded and tabulated in a table. Table 1: colony morphology and cellular morphology of different organisms. Organism Colony morphology Cellular morphology Gram stain Shape Arrangement Bacillus cereus Irregular, opaque and cream in colour, flat Positive (purple colour) Rod Chain Escherichia coli Circular, center, smooth, translucent, white (small), raised (Cham Tan, Group 1). Negative (pink colour) Rod Cluster Staphylococcus aureus Circular, smooth, some yellow, some white, convex. Positive (purple colour) Cocci Cluster Discussion: 1) Bacillus cereus was obtained from the big bacteria colony. When observed from the agar plate, it appeared to be irregular in shape, flat, opaque and cream in colour. It is a gram positive bacteria. So when gram stain was performed, the bacteria appeared purple in colour under the microscope. Bacillus cereus is of rod shape and the arrangement is in the form of chain. It has ÃŽÂ ²- capsule and is non motile. For Escherichia coli, it was obtained from the medium colony. When observed from the agar plate, it appeared to be circular in shape and mostly was located at the center of the agar. The bacteria colony appeared to be smooth, translucent, and some were white in colour (Cham Tan, Group 1). Escherichia coli is a gram negative bacteria. Therefore, it was pink in colour under the microscope. It has rod shape and its arrangement is in cluster form. It is motile and is a type of non spore forming bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus was from the small bacteria colony. It is circular, smooth, convex and some are yellow in colour while some are white in colour. It is a gram positive bacteria where it showed purple colour when under the microscope. The shape for Staphylococcus aureus is cocci and it is in cluster form. It is a non spore forming bacteria and is non motile. The cells seen in the original mixture matched with those obtained in the pure culture. Streak plate method is suitable for the direct plating of media that contains a large number of cells and as for spread plate method, a small volume of suspension is spread evenly over the surface of an agar plate. On the other hand, bacteria are suspended and grow throughout the agar plate for pour plate method. 2) Spread plate will be more suitable to produce well isolated single colonies from a broth culture that contains a mixture of organisms as the bacteria will be on the surface or the agar and not suspended. This way, the isolated colony can be counted and also be obtained easily compared to streak plate and pour plate method. When the bacteria is taken from a mixed broth culture, the colonies will grow and overlapping each other after being incubated. When the bacteria is incubated using pour plate method, the bacteria grown will be smaller and it will be harder to obtain a well isolated colony as they grow throughout the media. Agar has a higher melting temperature than gelatin. Gelatin will melt and becomes soft when bacteria is being incubated on gelatin media at their optimum temperature which is 37 à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ °c. 3) Agar is used in preference to gelatin for making solid media as agar will remain solid at the optimum temperature for the growth of most bacteria. Therefore, the property of agar makes it to be more effective than gelatin as a solidifying agent (Muir Ritchie, 1953). 4) Bacteria that are well separated grow as isolated colonies without affecting the growth process as these bacteria cell do not merge or overlap with other bacteria cells in compete for sources. The growth of isolated bacteria will not be limited by the depletion of the nutrients (Cruickshank, 2005) 5) Individual colony does not always consist of one type of bacterium as the bacteria could be from a mixed culture of different organisms. Therefore, an individual colony does not always originate from a single parent cell. Before staining process, bacteria culture has to be dried and fixed. Heat fixation is convenient and it retains the cell wall structure. 6) Smear preparation has to be heat fixed through the Bunsen burner flame to kill the bacteria and make them adhere to the slide. Besides, it will also allow the cells to stain better during the staining process. A good smear preparation will allow a better microscopic view of the bacteria cellular features. Correct techniques in preparation of smear are important. 7) If the whole colony is used to make the smear, the smear will be too thick. Thick smear will cause the difficulties in distinguishing individual cell. In addition, the stain might not be completely washed out. If the bacteria used is gram negative, the cells will appear purple in colour giving gram positive results which is wrong. If the bacteria is gram positive, the intensity of purple colour will be so high that it will not be easy to differentiate the cellular features of the cell. 8) Cell wall determines the shape of a cell. Cells that lose their cell wall will change its shape. However, changing the shape of the cells will not affect the reaction to gram stain. Hence, there will be no association between cell shape and reaction to gram stain The cell wall structure of gram positive bacteria is different from the cell wall structure of gram negative bacteria. The cell wall of gram positive bacteria has a thick peptidoglycan layer while the peptidoglycan layer in the cell wall of gram negative bacteria is thinner. The thick peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall of gram positive bacteria retain the crystal violet dye and stain purple even after decolourisation but for gram negative bacteria, it is decolourised by the decolourising agent. Gram negative bacteria retain the second dye and stain pink. 9) The cell wall structure of a bacterial cell is important to determine its gram reaction. 10) The third step which is the decolourisation step of the gram staining procedure is important to determine the outcome of the result. The time taken should not be too long or too short as over-decolourising will cause the cell not able to retain the crystal violet dye and appear colourless. If the decolourising time is too short, the gram negative cells will remain purple giving a gram positive result. Conclusion: In conclusion, pure culture can be obtained by using several methods which are the streak plate method, spread plate method and pour plate method. Using the pure culture, the separation of bacterial colonies, the colonial features and cellular features can be compared. Aseptic technique should be followed all the time to prevent introducing new contaminants to the environment.

Power, Morality, and Terror Essay -- Terrorism Terrorist September 11

Power, Morality, and Terror In the wake of events stemming from the bombing of the World Trade Center, citizens of the United States have slowly been coming to grips with many changes- new threats, new fears, and a new vision of the world and our place within it. As we re-adjust the lens through which we see our geopolitical landscape and begin to formulate a national security policy which can effectively respond to the terrorist threat, we must acquire a firm understanding of what motivates terrorist operatives. It will not suffice to merely throw out simplistic explanations of terrorist motives such as, "they’re evil. . .they hate us. . .they’re irrational. . .they hate freedom." Rather, we must take a systematic look at what motivates terrorism on the theoretical level. In some ways, terrorism is just a new variation on an old theme. For as long as men have lived in societies, there have been the haves and the have-nots, the dominant classes and the oppressed groups, the weak and the strong. Whereas the tactics of terrorists may be more technologically advanced and, arguably, more cruel than those used by insurgents of the past, their primary goal of altering either the regional or global polarity is as old as mankind itself. For their part, those dominant nations against whom the repressed campaign tend to engage in a brand of rhetoric which portrays the opposition as morally depraved. While this may or may not be the case, two important questions follow which are asked all too rarely. The first question is: how valid are the claims of the repressed that the dominant state itself is morally culpable? In the current case, the United States is responsible for committing a number of evils against Muslims. This is esp... ...orism is the last resort of a desperate people. Perhaps its best cure is to confront and rectify the grievances of those who suffer so greatly at our hands (often because of our narrow oil-interests in the Persian Gulf). Even a minimal increase in the standard of living in such countries, even a small acknowledgment of our role in maintaining and exacerbating this suffering- would instill in potential insurgents the one thing that stops terrorism dead in its tracks- hope. Sources: Betts, Richard K. ed. Conflict After the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace. Carr, Edward Hallett. "Realism and Idealism." Second Edition. Longman Press: New York. 2002. Coates, AJ. The Ethics of War. Manchester University Press. New York: 1997. Liang, Qiao and Wang Xiangsui. Unrestricted Warfare. Beijing: PLA Literature and Arts Publishing House. 1999.

Process of Problem Solving and Decision Making

Teamwork is important to organizations in this entire world nowadays to be successful and to have control in the market. Teamwork is basically defined as problem solving group of people who have a variety of skills and strengths to obtain the most perfect solution. Teamwork is one of the main goals for organizations to make sure that they are on the right track in obtaining their visions. There are many ways that organizations put their contributions in increasing the power of teamwork such as team building where it helps the employees to work in groups rather than individuals. Teamwork will help the organizations in the process of problem solving and decision making where it consists of several process that is cause analysis, creative problem solving, decision making and anticipate and plan. Firstly, find and analyse the cause to configure which errors or problems to be corrected or to be improvised. Teamwork is important in this process where it is more effective where it will save the cost and time in finding the cause to the problem. Each members of the team can concentrate in sectors where there they could possibly find the problem that they are searching. There are methods that practiced in some organizations such as the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) where it believes that the optimum solution only can be found if they discovered the root cause. By having the solution with RCA, it can also be used for identifying the immediately obvious symptoms for the future errors. After the cause of the problems have been discovered, the team can proceed to the next step that is creative problem solving. Creative problem solving is founded by Alex Osborn and Dr. Sidney J. Parnes in the 1950s where they made the process of finding and generating creative solutions to produce great ideas in solving problems. Despite that, to generate more ideas in solving the problems, teamwork is needed because generating many ideas must come from more brains and minds. Brainstorming can be practiced in this process where each of the group members in the team who have personal skills and abilities can give their own ideas and thus more ideas can be generated in solving the problem. These may help in having more alternatives to obtain an optimal solution regarding the problem faced. After the team has acquired a number of solutions, the decision making process will start where the team will now select the best alternatives in solving the problem. Decision making can be defined as an outcome of mental process which will lead to selecting the best solution among other alternatives. In order to obtain the optimal solution, the objectives must be reviewed first and the alternative chosen must be evaluated by those objectives. Moreover, a good decision making is essential for the success of the organization where they usually involve in some issues where it makes decision making difficult such as uncertainty, complexity, high risk consequences and also interpersonal issues. The last step in the process of problem solving and decision making is anticipating and plan to assure success. This is important after the alternative has been chosen because the team must further plan to make sure that the alternative goes well while facing the problem. It is a waste of time in the process of decision making when they do not plan on how to use the alternative effectively. After making plans for the alternative, the team can now anticipate the future effects of the alternative to make sure whether it is successful or not. If it does not work out, the team must fall back to the decision making process where they will choose another best alternative to be used. Last but not least, teamwork is a very useful in the process of problem solving and decision making because it helps much in saving the organization’s time and money as there will be more people can use their own point of view based on their abilities and skills in order to find the root of the problem, generating ideas in finding solutions, making decisions on the ideas and anticipate and plan the chosen ideas. Organizations should implement the mutuality among the members because it is very useful to assure their success and to work effectively although it is essential that team members acquire communication skills and use effective communication channels between one another to help in improving their interaction between one and another.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gatsby Essay

â€Å"It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment.†( F.Scott Fitzgerald 104) – Nick talks about how he looks at life with a new perspective and tries to abandoned â€Å"the West Egg† concept of â€Å"a world complete in itself, with its own standards its own great figures†. When he look at daisy, he explains that he could feel daisy’s pain and suffering by just looking into her eyes. So the significance of this quote is that nick is looking beyond the gilts and glamour of society so that he may see the true identity of people- as with Daisy. Later on, Nick will use this skill to find the true answer of whom Gatsby is . â€Å"The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.†(F.Scott Fitzgerald 98) -Nick describes Gatsby’s early life using a comparison between Gatsby and Jesus to reveal Gatsby’s identity. In the Great Gatsby, Gatsby transforms himself into the ideal that he envisioned for himself a Platonic conception of himself as a youngster and remains committed to that ideal, despite the obstacles that society presents to the fulfillment of his dream. He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: â€Å"I never loved you.† After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken. (F.Scott Fitzgerald 109) -Gatsby is frustrated at daisy for being a cowardly woman who doesn’t stand up for her. He believes its time for her to take action but Gatsby also realizes that it’s impractical. Gatsby would like to put everything back how it was in the past, but Daisy has moved on from the past into the present. â€Å"His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.†(F.Scott Fitzgerald111) -Gatsby opens up to Nick and tell a memorable event between Gatsby and Daisy. This is one of the times were he actually gives information about his past that is true and Nick is surprised and hears Gatsby through. Gatsby longs for the past and revisions the event where he and daisy first kissed. Gatsby fantasies about the past, believing that Daisy is the same girl he kissed many years ago. â€Å"But his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the wash-stand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor. Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing.†(Scott Fitzgerald 99) – Gatsby is a man who seems to â€Å"have it all† but in reality is troubled by one-sided love. The one thing he doesn’t have is what he needs most to fulfill him is Daisy. At night, these thoughts both torment and comfort him. The beauty of this passage is Fitzgerald’s use of both negative and positive imagery to illustrate the conflict in Gatsby’s thoughts. The imagery of the rock and fairy’s wing just elaborates Gatsby’s view of his world is crumbling apart; something like a rock is a strong foundation has flew away so easily like a fairy. Very much like the difference between Gatsby’s real world and what he wishes for himself. Chapter 7 â€Å"Her voice is full of money,† he said suddenly.†¨That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money — that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it †¦ high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl. (Scott Fitzgerald 120) – Gatsby is shocked and confused why Daisy is all about money. He doesn’t even wonder why she married Tom. So Fitzgerald adds in dialogues as a hint to fill in the missing gaps and to show Gatsby who Daisy was and is. Tom allows Daisy to ride with Gatsby because he knows she wont choose Gatsby over him. Gatsby can’t let go of the Daisy, not because of the relationship now but what they had; back in the past were he was a poor kid in the army who got this beautiful rich girl to fall in love with him. â€Å"There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control.†(Scott Fitzgerald 125) – This quote reveals that Tom is getting frustrated and shocked because of the accident. He feels as though he is losing control over both women, Daisy and Myrtle. You could see the signs of tension between Gatsby and Tom when they get into a verbal argument of some sort. Tom needs control and when he doubts his control, over a situation or another person, he cant handle it. â€Å"With every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, despairingly, toward that lost voice across the room.†(Scott Fitzgerald 134) -As she spoke, he became more and more aware that Daisy would never be his. The dream that he once had of them being together slipped away. He was becoming forced to realize the truth even though he somehow wished it was different. â€Å"So we drove on toward death in the cooling twilight†¦.† Nick: ‘â€Å"Was Daisy driving?†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Gatsby: ‘â€Å"Yes, but of course I’ll say I was.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Scott Fitzgerald 137-143). – Fitzgerald placed the first quote as a foreshadowing of Myrtle’s death. I don’t understand why Gatsby and the other characters mourn for Myrtle, they act if it was just a normal day by day event. It’s interesting how Gatsby spoke as if Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered. â€Å"He put his hands in his coat pockets and turned back eagerly to his scrutiny of the house, as though my presence marred the sacredness of the vigil. So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight — watching over nothing.†(Scott Fitzgerald 145) -Before the trip into the city and the accident, Gatsby was convinced that Daisy was in love with him and would without a doubt leave Tom for him. When he watches Daisy and Tom in the kitchen, the reality of the situation is starting to hit him. Ever since he and Daisy fell apart when she married Tom, he has entirely devoted his life to getting wealth to impress Daisy and win her back. He has devoted his whole life and heart to this woman, and so as he watches her slipping away from him again, he knows nothing more than to return to his vigil over the woman that has controlled his life.

The Spanish-American War essays

The Spanish-American War essays It has been a splendid little war wrote John Hay to Theodore Roosevelt after the fall of Santiago. Little, the Spanish-American War was; it was over in barely four months. Splendid? Maybe for those at home, reading the headline about its lucky victories. But for those men who fought in it, it was a bloody, dirty and heroic war as any in history. Zinn, Johnson, and Tindall In Howard Zinns book, he emphasized strongly on commercial possibilities, economic interest and an establishment of a white and a black republic in Cuba. In 1898, there was a turnabout in the US business attitudes on Cuba. Businessmen had been interested, from the start of the Cuban revolt against Spain in the effect on commercial possibilities there. There was a substantial economic interest in the island because according to President Grover Clevelands summarization in 1896, it is estimated that at least $30 million to $50 million of American capital are invested in the plantations and in railroad, mining and other business enterprises on the island. The volume trade between the US and Cuba, which in 1889 amounted to about $64 million rose in 1893 to about $103 million. The US government had power and profit in mind as it observed the events in Cuba. The issue with the establishment of a white and a black republic was also a concern to the Cleveland administration if Cuba w ins the war since Cuba had a mixture of the two races. Out of the three books, only Zinn wrote about this issue. A black republic might be dominant. Two-fifths of the insurgents in the field are negroes. If these men win, they would demand a predominant share in the gov...

Project Management Implementation Strategies

Project Management Implementation Strategies Free Online Research Papers Project Management Implementation Strategies Project Management is the operations function of Sonoran Steel Services. The lone member of this department must divide time between other departments. Typically, he spends about 8 hours a day in these functions. As the company grows, there is a risk that this department may become overloaded. With current revenue projections, it will become necessary to hire another project management trainee within two years. Duties in this department are as follows: Interaction with customer Contract Management Purchasing Scheduling Change order costing and management Subcontractor management Management of records And More Sonoran is a steel re-seller or broker. The marketing department sells a project and it is this department’s duty to execute the contract. Steel fabrication is a custom or job process. Krajewski and Ritzman, 2000, describe a job process as one that â€Å"creates the flexibility needed to produce a variety of products in significant quantities†. Almost every project in construction is unique. Occasionally, similar projects will be built, but identical projects are extremely rare. This forces drafting firms, fabricators, erectors, and project managers to review each project and develop schedules and manufacturing plans for that unique project. Very little inventory is maintained in a steel fabrication shop. Operating similar to a â€Å"Just in Time† manufacturing facility, all materials are ordered and scheduled for delivery as they are needed. Storage is kept to no more than two weeks inventory. There is such a vast array of material sizes and specifications; there is no other reasonable way to provide the materials needed. Sonoran will purchase material directly from the steel warehouses for some projects and will buy materials from the fabrication shops on smaller projects. No management of inventory is required for Sonoran. While not in the possession of the latest technology and software, Sonoran has a file of spreadsheets that have been developed over the past five years. These ease the transfer and storage of information. Fewer documents need to be stored as hard copy. Enlisting the use of the Internet for both gathering and transmitting information saves the company time and money. Project Management situation analysis PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRENGTHS ? 20 years construction experience ? Relative strengths ? Multiple seminars ? Core competencies ? Taught by a great mentor ? Key factors of success ? Scheduling tools ? Very good understanding of the whole project ? Establishes good relationships with contractors ? Excellent computer skills ? Skillful negotiator ? Works toward greater good of subcontractors ? Good mentor and trainer The company principal, Richard Oxford, has extensive experience in the steel industry. He has attended many seminars on project management, time management and negotiation. To add to this, he was trained by one of the best managers in the steel industry. With over 40 years in the steel industry, his mentor was a strong influence in Mr. Oxford’s development. Mr. Oxford has successfully managed several projects greater than $10,000,000 in value. This requires a deep understanding of project scheduling and schedule maintenance. Mr. Oxford also has a history of extremely good relationships with contractors. Many of the projects that Sonoran is able to bid are opportunities given by people with whom he has previously worked. One reason he is able to establish such relationships is his understanding of the larger project and the impact of steel fabrication and installation on other trades. This understanding and concern has built lasting relationships that are paying off today. PM Weaknesses Only one person with time divided Can get overloaded and not take care of projects Not a strong estimator Works from small home office As with any single employee company, there is a risk of being too successful. This leads to overloading. With the need to divide time between sales, estimating, finance, and project management it is easy to miss an important task. Working from a home office saves money, but is somewhat cramped. There is occasionally the need to spread out multiple plan sets. Another weakness is that the project manager often needs to provide estimates for change order work. The financial situation at the company has forced the owner to become an estimator. These projects are all hard bids. If a project is underbid, the company has to absorb the loss. PM Opportunities Available upgraded scheduling tools New hire to expand capacity Freedom to develop new PM systems as necessary There is relatively cheap scheduling software available called SureTrac Project Manager. This software costs approximately $500 and is able to perform more than enough tasks to manage schedule on steel projects. This software would allow the company to track multiple projects on any interval it chooses. Resource loading options can be used to track project finances. Basic Excel software is also extremely versatile. It is easy to develop job specific spreadsheets from this platform. The company’s intended growth will require departmental growth. This will require the hiring of a new project manager. Several areas can be tapped for potential employees: ? Shop Personnel ? Other companies project management teams ? Detailers ? Estimators ? Field personnel ? Recent construction management graduates Any intelligent individual from one of these areas can be trained in the art of project management. Each of these areas would bring strengths and weaknesses. Computer and communication skills are a must. PM Threats Overloading Schedule interruptions by general contractors Non performing subcontractors Bad budgets from sales The greatest threat to quality project management is job overloading. It is not always easy to predict how and when this will happen. Projects are bid to fill schedule holes, but sometimes the schedules slip or are accelerated. The general contractor may not be performing in a proper manner causing the steel schedule to slip into a conflicting position with another project. Subcontractors sometimes do not perform at expectation. All of these factors lead to overloading of the project team and possibly to poor performance. PM Trends Greater technology Electronic data transfer Global subcontracting Like many other industries, steel management is moving toward higher levels of technology. New computer programs that feed design information into â€Å"Computer Numerically Controlled† equipment is the latest development. This ends the need to duplicate information from one functional area to another. Electronic data transfer has greatly increased the speed of information transfer. Project management is nothing without information transfer. Electronic files containing complete sets of design drawings are e-mailed around the world. This has led to increase in global subcontracting. There are many low cost, high quality detailers available in East Asia and South America. This could be a cost advantage for Sonoran. Project Management Strategic Objectives 1. Project Manual 2. Develop purchasing methodology 3. Add new Personnel 4. Train new project manager 5. Online drawing Transfer The goals in this functional area are developed around improving the department by developing better purchasing methods, hiring and training new personnel. If the company intends a 50% rate of growth, it will be necessary to develop a project manual to maintain consistency in project management. It is critical that high quality consistent management be provided to contractors. This consistency will develop into consistent profits. Project Management Implementation strategies 1. Project Manual 06/30/2001 ? Determine functional areas 12/31/2001 ? Develop or adjust spread sheets 02/28/2001 ? Text development for each area 05/30/2001 The intent of a project manual is to develop a consistent set of procedures to follow for each project. While it is usually easy for one individual to be consistent, it is difficult for multiple individuals to act in the exact same manner. A project manual will be used to help train new project managers in proper job methodology. This will lead to consistent documentation, filing systems, and measurements of job costs. The intent is not to clone the founder, but to recreate things that work. Latitude will be given for personal creativity. 2. Add new personnel 12/31/2001 ? Job description 09/31/2001 ? Hiring strategy 10/31/2001 ? Interviews 12/01/2001 Future employees at the company will wear many different hats. It is important to write a good job description of the employee’s duties. This will help both the owner and new hire. From this description, it will be easier to determine the kind of individual that will best fill the companies need. A strategy for seeking such individuals will be developed and interviews scheduled. With current market conditions, the duration of the strategy development stage and interview stage may be greater than the month allowed. 3. Training 12/31/2002 ? Introduce job sets 01/03/2001 ? Plan reading 01/10/2001 ? First Project 02/01/2001 ? Estimating 06/01/2001 Training is intended to be a multi-year project. A quality project manager will take 3 to 5 years to develop. Training will include many more phases than are listed. These are the basics of development. Much training will be hands on and by observation of the existing project managers. The first project will be awarded very early in the process. At this stage of company development, the senior project manager should have time to mentor the new project manager through several projects. The company is small enough that help will always be near. 4. Purchasing methodology 03/30/2001 ? Interview steel purchasers 11/20/2000 ? Develop needs analysis for company 01/31/2001 ? Needs analysis for sub-fabricators 02/28/2001 Purchasing is a function that many companies relegate to another department. At Sonoran, this function will be performed by the project manager. To develop a purchasing methodology, informal interviews will be staged with steel purchasers in the city. From these interviews, and interviews with sub-fabricators, a needs analysis will be conducted to establish proper and profitable formatting for the purchasing plan. Software is available, but it is very expensive. NPV analysis of the software purchase shall also be conducted. 5. Online drawing transfer 12/31/2003 ? Equipment analysis 06/30/2003 ? Software Analysis 07/30/2003 ? Lease or buy plotter 10/31/2003 ? Lease or buy computer 11/30/2003 This function is not just the wave of the future, it is now. Hardware and software is extremely expensive. It will be two to three years before the cost can be justified. It is possible to use equipment from other sources. The detailers generally possess the proper equipment to e-mail drawing files and plot incoming files. If the company intends to use international firms to do detailing functions, it can pay printing firms to plot the drawings. This is expensive, but not as expensive as equipment purchase. Ideally, the cost analysis will allow for the purchase of the equipment in three years. SUMMARY The project management department has more strength than any other department in the company. The company is based upon selling project management services. A weakness is in purchasing management. Work needs to be done to improve this process. Technologically, the company needs to make improvements. While the technology is available, money for such equipment and software is not available at this time. It will be necessary to closely monitor the workload within the department, especially with the shared duties the lone employee possesses. With the companies intended growth, it will become necessary to hire and probably train another project manager within the next 15 months. Mr. Oxford is very qualified to train such a manager. 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