Chapter I: Introduction for the project
Background for the project
Building maintenance is essential, for different reasons: The first reason for the importance of maintaining a building is because it retains the value of the investment and to ensure longevity of the components of the building. For example, a property that has missing roof tiles, a boiler that requires replacing, or windows that need to be repainted cannot retain its value as much as one where regular maintenance has been undertaken (1998). The second reason for maintaining a building includes the desire to continue the buildings function, maintaining a building puts it in a condition in which it continues to fulfill its function. For example, where condensation has been persistent and extensive, and no rectifying measures have been adopted, the health of the occupants may be severely affected; eventually the area of the building affected becomes a health hazard, thus no longer providing a clean, safe environment to inhabit. A reason to maintain a building is to present a good appearance, by regular decoration of walls, doors, windows, and so on, which indicates that a building is probably well maintained, as well as being a more pleasant to live ( 1998).Maintaining a building is necessary to make sure that problems and tragedies will not strike the owner, tenants and clients of the building. There are many issues that have to be put into consideration as building maintenance is managed. One of which is the maintenance of risers. This paper is a dissertation on the streamline process flow along the riser inspection and maintenance process to achieve higher productivity and enhance overall effectiveness.
Company Profile
The oil industry is regarded as one of China’s pillar industries. The restructuring of the oil industry is significant for the reform of China’s large State owned Enterprises (SOE) and for the country’s effort to construct competitive modern companies. Following the nation-wide restructuring of the industry, he company-wide restructuring for flotation created two giant integrated companies, PetroChina (PetroChina Company Limited) and Sinopec (China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation). The two companies have been successfully listed on the international market and have entered the league of top ten publicly-traded oil companies in the world. In China, the oil sector is held up as a beacon for other sectors to study in restructuring to face the challenge of globalization and consolidation. China’s oil industry is of great importance for the global political economy, with major implications both for the main supplying regions, for the high-income countries, and for the firms based in those countries. Each of the global leading oil companies has major investment commitments in China and has formed various partnerships with the Chinese majors ( 2004).
The global leading firms must recognize that the transformation of the business capabilities of the Chinese majors is not easy to predict. It is necessary for them to keep in mind the fact that large Chinese companies operate in a different political-economic environment from theirs. China’s political leaders have to consider the huge difficulties that stem from the existence of around one billion poor people within their boundaries, and the complexities involved in the reform of China’s political system. Locking China into the world economic system by agreeing to accept the rules of the WTO does not guarantee a politically stable and economically rational environment for investment. China still has a long way to go in its transition. China’s large firms were to experience widespread defeat, especially in key ‘strategic industries’, in the battle on the global level playing field of the WTO, that would raise deep issues not only for the Chinese government, but also for international relations, and, ultimately, for the large firms headquartered in the high-income countries ( 2004). One major oil company in Hong Kong and China is Hong Kong and China gas Co. Ltd. Hong Kong and China gas Co. Ltd. Towngas was first public utility in Hong Kong. Currently, with more than 3,000 km of pipeline network and an 85% economic reach, the Company supplies town gas to over 1.5 million customers in the territory. The core business comprises production and distribution of gas, marketing of gas and appliances, and comprehensive after-sales services. In recent years, Towngas has diversified into various green businesses including LPG filling stations and utilization of landfill gas. There are about 16,000 residential buildings using Towngas in Hong Kong. As service risers are installed at the same time when building constructed, their ages are about the same as their buildings ages. Among all the buildings, 24.9% of buildings are between the ages of 20-30 years, while 19.6% of buildings are over 30 years old. Since the aging problem of service riser increase, workflow management system was considered not only to improve their performance, but also to create a platform for better management.
Project management process
Triple constraint of project management
Projects are fraught with risks of many kinds. When the project contract is finalized, many factors will have been considered and an agreement about the risk assumption will have been reached. There are three prime risks associated with project construction and completion. Generally, they are described as cost overrun risk, risk of delay, and technical risk. Cost overrun risk refers to the fact that many projects are finished significantly over estimated cost ( 1997). One constraint for the project is the scope or reach of the project. This involves what aspect of the business will be changed. The scope determines the boundaries of the project. Another constraint for the project is the time that will be used to finish the project. Time is important because it will determine which aspect of the project needs more focus. This constraint needs to be balanced thoroughly so that the project can achieve all of its purpose. Lastly a constraint for the project is the budget. The budget is the one used to finance all that will be needed to finish the project. The budget is important because without it the project cannot move on to its other aspects.
Aim, objectives and Scope
Aim
The goal of this project was to design an efficient workflow management system in Riser inspection and maintenance. The recommendation aimed to simplify and smooth out the various processes that involved the operation in regular safety inspection section.
Objectives
1. Propose solutions to the existing problems in the section.
2. Design a simple and efficient process flow, make good use of resources
3. Propose regulation and guidelines to standardize the riser inspection and maintenance processes.
4. Increase performance level while creating a more desirable working system for the employee.
5. Better management over the information in the section. The leader for the project and their skills
Project leader
The leader for the project will be the manager of the company’s maintenance team. He will closely work with the top management and the administration staff. The project manager needs to have perseverance and diligence in making sure that all aspects of the project will push through. The project manager needs to have the drive that will help them finish the project no matter what happens. The project manager needs to make sure that he can relate well with all the personnel that will be involved in the project. The project manager needs to have enough patience in dealing with various kinds of personnel. The project manager need to make sure that he is responsible and is willing to do the best they can to finish the project. He needs to plan wisely the actions that will be taken and take full responsibility once the project fails. The Project manager should be prepared for the criticisms and intrigues that will be hurled towards him. He needs to be ready for all people that will try to discredit them or the improvements he has done in the project.
Stakeholders for the project
The stakeholders for the project include the management team of Towngas, the clients of the company, the company’s employees and the lawmakers of the country. The management team of Towngas is a stakeholder because the success of the project will depend on how well they supervise the planning and implementation of the project. The clients are stakeholders because the success of the project and the opening of a new branch will affect the way they can transact business with the firm. The employees are stakeholders because improvements in the risers can help improve their effectivity and efficiency. The lawmakers are stakeholders in the case because they are that ones that will create or change laws pertaining to building maintenance.
Scope
The scope of this project includes the development of a web-based workflow management system for productivity monitoring, process lead time measurement and outstanding order notification. Beside the development of such web-based system, all data in the system used for standardize the riser inspection and maintenance workflow so that the time and human resource for the process are reduced for better performance.
Structure of dissertation
There are different chapters for this project. Each chapter has a different focus for a specific course of action that will benefit the study. The different chapters will contribute to the success of the study and it can be used as a starting point for further studies. The first chapter was the introduction part wherein general ideas and goals of the study were discussed. The second chapter will be the literature review part. The second chapter used various resources to gather necessary data. The literatures presented will come from books and other sources that are deemed to be helpful in the advancement of awareness concerning the subject. The third chapter will focus on discussing the instruments and methods used for the study to be a success. The fourth chapter will focus on the identification of the problems. In this chapter the issues with the project will be discussed. The barriers of the project will also be given attention at this chapter. The last chapter will focus on the progression of the project and the changes it has created.
Literature Review
What kinds of buildings that require attention
Throughout the 1990s the construction industry operation has remained labor-intensive despite the labor shortage and consequently high wages. The private building sector had shown little sign of any significant technological advancement. The housing sector was such a context and the incubator for the development of advanced technology and management techniques, to be applied, adopted and adapted by the construction industry at large. There has always existed the need for continued strife for greater efficiency and raising standards (2003). Housing remained one of the most coveted and expensive commodities in Hong Kong while construction itself was a complex task of converging diverse skills and techniques to produce a tempting object. Probably stemming from the then downturn in the property market, it was observed that a number of developers in the private sector have shown a heightened interest in the adoption of more efficient construction methods. With the drastic reduction in land prices, construction costs have become more significant in the equations of developers’ profits (2003). As changes in the housing and construction sector continue the kinds of buildings that needs attention remains the same. The kinds of buildings that require attention includes those dilapidated and hazardous buildings. These buildings can threaten the safety of the tenants. Other buildings that require attention is those buildings that doesn’t follow building codes and safety measures. The improved construction and housing technologies can give further assistance in determining the buildings that need attention.
Current legislation
There is a fundamental problem with building and housing codes and standards. The problem revolves around the question of who defines what is minimally acceptable. Throughout the world, official standards have been set by the dominant groups in society, essentially reflecting their own standards of health and comfort. All such standards make it illegal to construct or inhabit substandard housing without regard to either the views or the resources of large segments of society unable to afford them (2000). The current legislation in Hong Kong assist in ensuring that the buildings and housing systems are free from being branded as buildings that require attention. The legislation makes sure that there are fines and punishments for buildings and housing systems that they see as something that is hazardous. The non legislative initiatives give a secondary reason for owners to ensure that their building will be safe and free from safety threats. The non legislative initiative provides reminders on how the building management can make sure that it is properly maintained.
Building management and the issues
Facilities management may be in the hands of a large structured organization that accepts contracts for integrated or specialized facility management. Building asset management must make decisions on how maintenance, repair and renewal should be carried out. This task can be executed by in-house staff, or contracted out on a one-off or permanent basis. Facilities management requires technical and management skills. It also includes leadership functions for co-coordinating an organization’s internal and external relations (1998). The building and facilities management accepts comments and ideas from different sectors; they are open to ideas that will help in reducing the instances of building maintenance and unsafe building situations. The building and facilities management carefully checks for safety issues towards the building and do initial steps to solve the problem.
Measures in overseas countries
A private housing industry indeed exists and is the dominant force in the housing supply system, but it operates within, and is dependent on, governmental action at every step of the housing-provision process. The laying out and paving of streets; the supply of water; sewage disposal; utility provision; building codes; zoning restrictions; health, fire, and safety codes; standards for materials; regulation of labor as to wages, hours, conditions of work, and safety standards; mortgage insurance; the financing and regulation of financial institutions; direct research and development; the setting of industrial and materials standards; the control of imports; the provision of those public services and facilities without which most persons would not be able to remain in occupancy of housing; the regulation of tenancy, including eviction controls, requirements, or prohibitions as to relations between landlord and tenant; mortgage foreclosure laws all of these things are public activities (1990). The legislation in the US has minor differences with the legislation in Hong Kong. Both of the legislation aims to provide assistance to the private residential building owners and their clients. Both provide safety measures that must be followed. The main difference of the legislation pertains to how the legislation is made. In the US, legislations were made by lawmakers together with some feedback from the constituents while in Hong Kong the legislations were made based from the law makers own idea of what’s best for the region. The legislations can affect the kinds of systems that will only be permitted. The legislations dictate the boundaries of the change in system.
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