Creating and Managing a Project

Employees must be given Project Manager authorization by the Authority Control System before they can create a Project. They have total control once they have created the Project. The Project cannot be accessed by anyone else (including other Project Managers) unless they have been given authority by the Project Manager who created the Project.

WARNING: The smallest component that is managed by the Project Management System is the Work Order. The Work Order may contain Tasks that are then managed by the Scheduling System. The smallest unit of time recognized by the Project Management System is days. All Work Order planning has been rounded up to the nearest day when DURATION is calculated. Work Orders attached to Projects should be for major activities that are measured in days. Activities that take significantly less than a day should use the Task structure included in the Work Order System.

Access Through:

            Maint Icon

            Project Management Menu

            Maintain Projects

Project data entry requires four screens.

Main Page

Project # - Enter the number of the Project to be created or edited or press Enter to be assigned a system generated number. A Lookup is available.

Status - The Project's Status will be either Active, Canceled or Finished.

Project Name - Enter the name of the Project. The Project Name will be used on Lookups in other areas of the system.

Attached to Project # - A large Project can be divided into several small Projects which are then attached to a master Project. This can greatly simplify Project Management. Projects can be nested many levels deep. This is a display only field.

Description - Enter a description of the Project.

Project Start Date - This is a required entry and is the starting point for the Project matrix. All Work Orders that have no predecessors will use this date as their Start Date.

Projected End Date is automatically calculated using Work Order predecessor/successor relationships and Work Order Duration. It can be calculated only after all attached Work Orders have a defined duration.

There are now four options:

Click on Project Design to enter design information, set up costing switches and enter other miscellaneous information.

Click on Authorizations to set switches for automatic scheduling and to setup Authorizations.

Click on Project Control to attach Work Orders and other Projects and to establish predecessor relationships.

Click on Cost Analysis to view planned and actual costs of the Project.

Click on Save to save the record after the desired information has been entered on ALL screens.

Project Design Page

Design Information:

Initial Design Completed - Enter the date of completion of the initial design. Click on Clndr to invoke a calendar.

Initial Cost Estimate - Enter the initial cost estimate.

Final Design Completed - Enter the date of completion of the final design. Click on Clndr to invoke a calendar.

Project Approved - Enter the Project was approved. Click on Clndr to invoke a calendar.

Budget and Costs:

Budget - Enter the budgeted amount.

Est Cost, Act Cost and Percent of Budget are display only fields that are updated when Work Orders attached to the Project are planned and completed.

Other Information:

Cost Center - Enter a Cost Center Number. This Number will be automatically entered on any Work Orders attached to the Project. A Lookup is available.

Department - Enter the Department Name. A Lookup is available. This field may be display only depending on the setting of a switch on the Set Ledger System Software Switches screen.

Project Rating - Enter a number between 1 and 100. This rating will be automatically entered in the WO Rating field on any Work Orders attached to the Project and will replace the rating that is normally calculated using the Work Order Priority and the Equipment, Location or Cost Center Rating. WO Rating is an indication of the relative importance of the Work Order and is a guide for the Scheduler.