A paper presented to the first Engineering Congress, The Institution of Engineers, India - Calcutta, January 1987

Introduction | Definition | Traditional | Hard-Soft | Environment
Characteristics | Concepts | Control | Breakdown | Fundamentals
Prerequisites | Summary | Appendix A | Appendix B

Appendix A

Overseas Project Management

Typical Problem Areas and Situations

A)  During Concept Development

  • Project Objectives
  • Technology
  • Location
  • Facility Selection And Design
  • Sponsor Sharing
  • Capital Cost Estimate, Split and Sourcing
  • Management Capability of Prime Borrower

B)  Environmental Conditions

  • Impact on Physical  Environment
  • Impact on Social Fabric
  • Impact on Local Industry
  • Regulatory Intervention
  • National Content
  • International Content
  • Political Stability

C)  Market Conditions

  • Raw Material Supply
  • Raw Material Cost
  • Energy Requirement & Supply
  • Sales Effort, Revenues, Sensitivity to Completion
  • Customer/User Rejection
  • Purchase Agreement Default
  • Lack of Detail in Market Requirements

D)  During Planning

  • Inadequate Project Planning
  • Inadequate Field Data
  • Inadequate Design
  • Unfamiliar Industrial Field
  • Regulatory Approvals
  • Political Approval
  • Social Acceptance
  • Inadequate Concept Development
  • Precipitous Market Pursuit
  • Failure to Assess Project Risks

E)  Organizational Difficulties

  • Joint Venture Partner Mismatch
  • Untrained Project Management Team
  • Inadequate Project Team
  • Senior Staff Changes
  • Captive or Uncooperative Engineering Team
  • Unmotivated Participants
  • Limited Local Resources or Skills

F)  During Execution

  • Inadequate Execution Planning
  • Precipitous Project Initiation
  • Multinational Consortium
  • Multinational Engineer/Constructor
  • Uncooperative Foreign Participant
  • Limited Domestic Experience
  • Inadequate Infrastructure
  • Failure to Complete Contract
  • Lack of Start Up Planning
  • Unexpected/Insurmountable Technical Hurdle

G)  Control Difficulties

  • Lack of Communication & Direction
  • Lack of Feedback On Progress, Problems & Solutions
  • Lack of Commitment to Succeed
  • Unrealistic Budget
  • Unrealistic Schedule
  • Lack of Scope Control
  • Lack of Quality Control
  • Poor Project Performance

H)  Start-Up And Operating Difficulties

  • Inadequate Operator Training
  • Lack of Technology Transfer
  • Excessive operating Costs
  • Limited Marketing Capability
  • Limited Exporter Capability
  • Inadequate Commercial Arrangements
  • Insufficient Gross Annual Revenue
Summary  Summary

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