Project management is at the core of all well executed projects and is increasingly regarded as a specialised role for dedicated professionals. Cynergin has a combined experience of over 70 years of managing a vast array of projects and a thorough understanding of modern techniques to enable effective delivery.

As projects become ever more complex and timescales tighter, a thorough understanding of the project deliverables is essential. Often projects involve the coordination of many different people and tasks, frequently in a precise sequence. To aid in this Cynergin use Microsoft Project to log and plan tasks. However, technology alone is not the full answer.

Call (+44) 0845 257 7080 (local rate from UK) for an exploratory discussion or email us now with your contact details and the nature of your enquiry and one of our specialists will call you back as soon as possible.

Basic Planning

When planning a project it is essential to understand:

• Project Objectives and Deliverables
• Financial Parameters and Constraints
• Time milestones
• Operational milestones
• Client needs and expectations
• Health and safety
• Planning
• Space constraints
• Current operations and activity

The Contractor will also have needs and expectations

• Health and safety
• Planning
• Site set-up
• Timescales
• Financial
• Measurement
• Completion requirements
• Post-project evaluation processes

Prioritising

Overlaying this understanding is the determination of a "critical path", For some clients there is a mission critical outcome, or in some situations a critical avoidance. For example, in the hospital environment disruption and noise avoidance are important, but avoiding anything which could interrupt clinical essential services takes highest priority.

Track Record

Cynergin have successfully completed nearly 20 complex PFI projects alone and can assist in all areas of planning and site supervision.

It is worth noting that PFI in general has a better track record of delivery than the Public Sector when measuring the key construction factors of:

• On time delivery
• On budget delivery
• Delivered quality

Treasury and National Audit Office statistics based on a representative sample of 66 projects indicated:

• PFI projects were 88% delivered on time vs. only 30% for traditional procurement
• 79% came in on or under budget vs. 27% for the Public Sector
• 98% of PFI projects were assessed as having matched or exceeded quality expectations

Tools

Gantt Charts and Network Diagrams

These are useful for analysing and planning projects and assist with:-

• Planning the tasks
• Scheduling the tasks
• Allocating the correct resources
• Working out the critical path
• Establishing a completion date
• Monitoring progress

An essential concept behind project planning (and Critical Path Analysis) is that some activities are dependent on other activities being completed first. For example, you have to put down building footings before you can erect the brickwork

These dependent activities need to be completed in a sequence, with each stage being more-or-less completed before the next activity can begin. We can call dependent activities 'sequential'.

Other activities are not dependent on completion of any other tasks. These may be done at any time before or after a particular stage is reached. These are nondependent or 'parallel' tasks.

Critical Path Analysis

In critical path analysis items that must be completed at a certain time are identified for the whole project to be completed on time. Clearly some items may not be critical and there can be flexibility in when these are carried out. Modern software systems such as Microsoft Project allow this analysis to be carried out within the Gantt chart.

Stakeholder Management

An important and sometimes overlooked aspect of project management is stakeholder management. This is the action of effective communication to all parties concerned with the project from support to delivery. Each stakeholder has different needs and a strong communication strategy is required to ensure that everyone understands what is required and what is being achieved.  

We offer the full range of project management services for engineering-based construction projects. All of our project managers are experienced professionals trained in Microsoft Project.

We can also provide contract monitoring services including monitoring of payment mechanisms and service level agreements.