Executive Summary
This report was commissioned to review the Collins Class Submarine Project “Deep trouble”. The primary objective of this report is to analyses the dimensions of risk that need continuous management due to inter-relationships of all elements within Project Management and the importance of stakeholders. The topic was researched through extensive sources, including government bodies, course materials and other sources to provide the relevant information.
In the case of The Collins Class Submarine that is unique in nature given the limited number of indigenous military builds due to their vast amount of stakeholders and resources involved. The consequence of failure is present during the entire project considering the
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The major proton of $4.38 billion was contracted to the Australian Submarine Corporation Pty Ltd (ASC) who’s responsibility was managing subcontracting for the entire project. Swedish tenderer Kockum’s AB type-471 was the chosen design coupled with a combat system that Boeing Australia Limited was to integrate (New Submarine Project 1998). At the time Australia’s industry was unequipped to handle such a task and needed a major injection of resources and skilled labours for the project to commence without ultimate failure (Refer Appendix 1).
Despite the competent skills of the labours eleven years after the tender and billions of dollars later the Royal Australian Navy commissioned an independent tank testing to be carried out. Shortly after this on the 24th July 1999 the ABC Four Corners released a scathing national report on the project and its fundamentally floored management system, stating how the Navy has commissioned none of the six submarines for a taxpayers cost of $5 billion dollars because they are unfit for service and far from battle ready. Aided with the testimony of Commodore Mick Dunne who fears the worst for the fleet (ABC 1999), at the he time was appointed by the Navy to investigate the deficiencies.
The aims of this project are to examine the case study “Deep Trouble’’ where series of events shown in the ABC Four Corners documentary will be applied in reference to the inter-relationships of stakeholders and the associated risks involved.
Project Risk
The following short case will give you a good idea of how risks surface in business and project planning and what companies do about it. Consider that you are the Risk Manager as you look at this case, as it will be a good exercise for the time when you will be that Risk Manager!
The course text discusses AS/NZS 4360 approach, which consists of a 5-phase process to manage and control risk. According to the text the risk management process phases are establish context, identify, establish and treat risk while continuously communicating, monitoring and reviewing risk (Cooper, 2005). The premise of risk management is to uncover and understand as much as possible about risks as early in the project as possible. The more one knows about risks the easier it is to make decisions for correct responses. The alternative to risk management is crises management, which in many instances is more costly, and more time consuming. Clements & Gido define a project as “an endeavor to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated tasks and the effective utilization of resource “(Gido 4). I had many opportunities to develop a Military Retirement Ceremony, so I decided to approach it as a project risk management plan. At the time I did not know it but we were using the project risk management approach discussed in the text to address the risk associated with the event. The Military Retirement Ceremony project planning began the same as most projects do by determining the objectives. The objectives are described in terms of deliverable, schedule and budget. The sponsor and the customer must agree upon the scope of any project. In this project I worked along side the sponsors.
The program to design and construct the Collins Class Submarine has become one of the most complex and expensive Defence procurement programs in history. It was devised to replace the existing Oberon submarine fleet. The Collins Class Submarine program demonstrated the capacity of Australian industry to manufacture a world-class submarine. Nonetheless, the procurement of the Collins Class Submarines has not been without criticism. The program has experienced various project management issues that ultimately lead to increased costs and time delays. This report will address these issues along with traditional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and non-traditional KPIs and their interrelationships.
The Royal Australian Navy’s Collins Class Submarine is designed to replace the 30 year old Oberon Submarines. The Collins Class is the first submarine to be made in Australia and is the most advanced of its time due to its software architecture. Deep Trouble addresses various issues that were faced during the design and development stages of the Collins Class project. This report will focus on the interrelationship between the three PMBOK knowledge areas of scope, procurement and quality management and the impact each had on the final project.
A Swedish company by the name of Kockrums was the selected tender for the design whilst the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) was met with support from the Labor Party and several trade unions to build and manage the Submarines in South Australia. The Collins class submarine project was a big and complicated project, requiring an array
When the manager of project carried out its work plan should take into consideration the possible risks that may occur within the project. The risk is the possibility that occurs a problem within a project and that may cause some change within the same (Heldman, 2011). It should be noted that not all risks are bad since they can be potential opportunities to make some changes that will improve the overall status of the project. In the same way a risk not taken into account in time can create one problem in the project and can completely change the final performance of the project. The project manager can take several elements to identify the risks. Some elements and documents that can be used to identify risks are: search internal risks of the project, such as resources
Working to understand the risks a project may endure along with the cost associated is critical in every project management plan. Understanding potential risks based on the project type, resources needed, timeline and budget still leaves gaps that creates uncertainty for actually predicating the outcome of the project. There is not a true way to predict when and where a project risk will occur but designing a plan to properly address and manage those risks will increase confidence while eliminating the element of surprise.
However, the fact remains that the Trident submarine is a new ship, and the shipbuilders could be faced with unrealized production challenges, such as mirror welds, which could slow down the build time and increase labor costs. These types of unexpected costs are the basis for the cost-reimbursement contract approach and remain a risk within every fixed cost contract. Fixed cost contracts also run the risk of reducing the quality of work in favor of remaining under budget.
A submarine is defined as “something that functions or operates underwater; specifically: a naval vessel designed to operate underwater.” This definition holds true today but started at the beginning of the Civil War when submarines originally became a popular choice of weaponry. In general, submarine crews were composed of a commander, who steered the boat, and six or more men who used hand cranks to move the boat. Many inventors intended on creating electric motors to move the boat, but they were unable to produce enough torque. Submarines were primarily used in combat because they could travel invisibly. Innovations like submarines did not just change the way people fought wars–they also changed the way people lived.
Risk or threat is common and found in various fields of daily life and business. This concept of risk is found in various stages of development and execution of a project. Risks in a project can mean there is a chance that the project will result in total failure, increase of project costs, and an extension in project duration which means a great deal of setbacks for the company. The process of risk management is composed of identifying, assessing, mitigating, and managing the risks of the project. It
During construction, there were several inappropriate risks taken. For example, time was not invested into accurately drawing engineering plans that accommodated the King’s requests to increase the size of the keel and number of guns. Additionally, when the principal
Risks management is an important step during the process of a project. Failing to manage a risk may result in unforeseen event happening and a project’s failure. For example, with limited budget, an unforeseen event or an accident occurs in the middle of a project and this matter has not been considered and needs a big sum of expense, then the project may be stopped because of this unexpected event. We should know it is necessary to understand how to identify risks and assumptions based on the information. After identifying risks, it is important for project managers to set contingency plans to prevent and deal with these risks when they occur. Of course, several problems may happen during considering
Risk management is an ongoing process that must continue through the life of a project. It includes processes for risk management planning, identification, analysis, monitoring, and control. These processes need to be reviewed throughout the project’s lifecycle as new risks arise throughout the implementation of the project. It is the objective of risk management to decrease the probability and impact of events adverse to the project. On the other hand, any event that could have a positive impact should be exploited.
Your firm, Supreme Financial Solutions, have just won a £3 million contract from Deep Blue Seaways that will require you – the Project Manager – to execute. You are pretty certain from your experience with Deep Blue Seaways that this project is seriously underfunded by possibly as much as £1 million. You are to replace their outdated finance systems with your company’s renowned Finance Wizard product, a system that processes all financial information, and produces an infinite array of management information reports that have been proved to improve strategic decision making in
Three factors define the success of any project; these are time, cost, and quality (Wysocki and RK 2013: 4). This paper identifies three main facets of project management that were inappropriately implemented, namely; Resourcing, Stakeholder Management, and Risk Management and how their improper implementation led to the violation of the three constraints (i.e. time, cost, and quality).