Operations management

Table of Contents

1. Topic pack - Operations management - introduction
2. Operations Management (OM) - Introduction
3. 5.1 Production methods notes
4. 5.1 Production methods - questions
5. 5.2 Costs and revenues - notes
6. 5.2 Costs and revenues - questions
7. 5.3 Break-even analysis - notes
8. 5.3 Break-even analysis - questions
9. 5.3 Break-even analysis - simulations and activities
10. 5.4 Quality assurance - notes
11. 5.4 Quality assurance - questions and activities
12. 5.5 Location - notes
13. Innovation - notes (HL only)
14. 5.6 Innovation - questions
15. 5.7 Production planning - notes
16. 5.7 Production planning - questions
17. 5.8 Project management - notes (HL only)
    1. Project management - introduction
    2. Critical path analysis
    3. Critical path analysis - The rules and methodology
    4. CPA Stage 1 The data collection
    5. CPA Stage 2 The draft network diagram
    6. CPA Stage 3 - tidying and simplifying
    7. CPA Stage 4 - Earliest starting time (EST)
    8. CPA Stage 5 - Add the Latest finishing time (LFT)
    9. CPA Stage 6 - Identify the CRITICAL PATH
    10. Use of networks
    11. Float analysis
    12. Evaluation of networks
    13. Example - A simple project network
    14. Use of CPA diagrams
18. 5.8 Project management - questions (HL only)
19. Print View

Use of CPA diagrams

What are CPA charts used for? Look at the title again, especially PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Technique). CPA is used for:

• Planning, and then
• Control (checking performance)

of complex projects.

The plan should be reviewed regularly, and the actual performance compared with the plan (this is variance analysis again). If there are problems, then the team should work out solutions. Staff on non-critical activities may help out on critical ones that are drifting late (provided, of course, they have the requisite skills).

CPA can go beyond the obvious platform of time control. As a management philosophy it immediately has implications for efficiency, and allows construction/project type firms to be effective and profitable. It can help considerably in decision making in the area of resource planning, including capital and revenue expenditure forecasting and planning.

This will be true if, at the time of collecting the time estimates, managers are also required to estimate the following:

• Staff needs - supervisors, fitters, riggers, electricians etc.
• Plant needs - cranes, hoists, drill, welding sets etc.
• Capital needs - cost of items in that activity
• Revenue expenses - estimate of daily payroll and materials payments