Project Management in the Oil and Gas Industry

However, it is important understanding that the complexities involved in the management of oil and gas projects are very technical in nature and requires a high level of concentration and investment for them to be successful. The budgets and schedules are often tight because the stakeholders usually demand a good return on investments and transparency. As such, it is crucial for a project manager to give their best by ensuring they assemble a good project team, develop the squad, and management if they are to achieve good results since every step of these projects counts. 1 A consistent framework is required to provide guidance, in addition to the application of the best project management practices that ma e available. It is important that a team that well-skilled be assembled for these kinds of projects.

This is because there will always be consultations even after the projects begin. The advice of experts in this industry is often sort after due to the very small margin of error that the project managers usually maintain. 2 It is, therefore, vital to consider the phases in through which a project goes through in order to be successful. They should be undertaken carefully to avoid any kind of losses during the management of a project. The manner in which a project is approached largely determines how successful it will be once execution begins. The next process is monitoring and this is pretty obvious that supervision has to be conducted to ensure that everything is running smoothly. Then finally, the close of a project is also important because it is at this point that the manager learns whether the project has been a success or not.

3 PMBOK also focuses on knowledge areas that are very vital in ensuring a project is well managed. Project integration and scope management are key areas where a manager should keenly focus on. The knowledge about integration and scope are helpful to a project in the sense that they provide crucial information on how to coordinate the processes involved in project management hence ensuring a smooth running of activities. 4 It is vital understanding that project managers require some form of certification in order to qualify for a chance to be allowed to supervise a project. PMBOK is usually published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) which essentially with the certification of individuals in the field of project management. 5 PMBOK is important in project management because it ensures that only qualified individuals get the chance to handle projects.

This is helpful because inadequate knowledge about managing a project can lead to poor performance and could potentially be catastrophic especially for projects in the oil and gas industry. Essentially, the PMBOK is a guide used to provide direction to the project managers on the best practices to be undertaken in order to ensure the task is a success. This could also result in handling the unnecessary tasks which essentially leads to a loss of time, which in most cases is usually limited. Scope management is critical in a project as it keeps the team on track hence it becomes easier to monitor the whole project. The project cost management area of knowledge is also another key aspect of any project.

For a task to be accomplished there has to be a good budget that will cover the costs of the resources and manpower involved. This area of knowledge goes all the way back from the point of planning where the aspects of the project are dwelt in, in depth. This means that the team that is performing the activities of the project must have quality policies. This will enhance the quality of the overall work they perform on the project. Herein the objectives and the needs of the project have to be set right so that it becomes a success. Quality work is also determined by how the team managing the project have prepared themselves. Project resource management is a knowledge area that is very common in most projects irrespective of the industry.

Collection of information regarding the project has to be done on a timely basis and that is why this knowledge area is very important. Any delays in collecting information mean that other tasks may stall. The same information needs to be distributed to various destinations within the project site to facilitate the happening of other tasks. Managing communications also requires storage and retrieval knowledge. This is important because sometimes during the undertaking of the project there may be times when there shall be the need to properly store information so that records are kept for future reference. This is important because the project might at some point require some resources and this calls for the buying of material for example. Procurement is not restricted to material resources alone.

Sometimes the team may lack something or an expertise who they might need to outsource in order to proceed with their work perfectly. This area of knowledge includes activities like procurement planning where a plan on how to acquire the items to be outsourced is figured out. The source from which the items have to come from is also stated in this area. There are a lot of aspects that require managing within the department of human resource. Once such issues are put under control it becomes easier to handle every aspect that arises within the team that has been tasked to carry out a project. Generally, managing the human resource in a project in the oil and gas industry is tougher than in most of the other industries.

6 Project human resource management involves the process of recruitment and selection. In an oil and gas project, the people recruited have to be very competitive and knowledgeable and skilled on matters that concern the industry. Performance appraisal can also help the project manager outline the strengths and weaknesses of his team thereby finding out how to work with them. Once the team members what they are good at and what they need to improve on, efficiency is achieved because people understand what they are weak at and, therefore, sort help from other team members in such areas whereas they put most of their efforts in what they are good at. 7 Managers of the oil and gas industry projects often focus on motivating their staff.

This is important because statistics show that a motivated worker performs tasks assigned to them more efficiently than those who are less motivated. Motivation can be in many forms ranging from monetary rewards to promotions. ) Plan Human Resource Management This is vital in the project because the human resources available determine how good or bad the progress of the work shall be. This process takes place in the early stages of the project as it describes how the manager will equip and improve the team. The inputs herein include the activity resource requirements which indicates the resources that will be needed for the project. A thorough evaluation of the time estimates that were created is also done at this stage. 8 Enterprise environmental factors are also another input, which shows the organizational structure of the company in charge of the project and marketplace information.

a. ) Good and Bad Practices There are various practices under this section that may be considered good and others may be termed as bad, in an effort to trying to manage the human resource of a project. Anticipating future human resource needs is one of the practices in a project under the oil and gas industry. It is always important to think about the future because the projects do not take a single day to get completed. As such, it means that there may be needs in the human resource department that may arise along the way, those that may not have been planned. The availability of the individual and their knowledge of the industry and work is also important. The project manager gets to decide who they feel is interested in the task.

There are three methods to acquire the team members of a project. The use of pre-assignments is significant because of the need to sharpen the expertise of the team members when the real task comes. Virtual team building can also be used to acquire staff for a project. When a manager has understood the needs of a project it then means that they can be able to outline what kind of expertise they have to employ to the project to make sure it is successful. The tasks and activities needed at every stage of the project are the important aspects to reveal to a manager what they need to know about the team members they should be looking for. Failure to analyze the project is a bad practice because this can end up making the project manager to pick team members who may not be of help to the task mandated to them.

Talking to the people in other departments like human resource is a good practice that is very key. This is important because the team manager gets to know what other departments he will be coordinating with, shall require from the members he has in the team. Team training is also used in developing a project team. This method particularly dwells on the competencies of the team members and the main aim is to make sure they deliver their best on the project. Team co-location is an important aspect at this stage because it helps the team members to interact on a face-to-face basis. Rewards and recognition methods promote hard work. This is because the team members who behave well and perform excellently on their tasks are rewarded and recognized and this motivates them and the others as well.

) Manage Project Team This process involves keeping track of the performance of the team members in order to help improve their service delivery towards the project. Any potential issues that may arise amidst the people handling the project, which could potentially be hazardous to the project are resolved at this stage. This exercise is aimed at straightening the shortcomings that arise in the team, which are related to communication. The team management activities can only be a success if the team manager carries out their roles diligently thereby ensuring the team members have the best environment in which to work from. A project team can be managed in a number of ways including the use of communication and supervision. 12 a. ) Good and Bad Practices A clear definition of the project scope and getting the team to agree on the same is a good practice that can yield better returns for the project.

This essentially helps the team manager get everyone on the same objective and this makes work easier. Failure to define the scope and agree with team members on the same can bring confusion to the project, hence it is a bad practice. Conclusion It is, therefore, vital understanding that the oil and gas industry involves projects that are complex in nature and that is the reason when picking team members more emphasis is placed on their abilities and amount of knowledge they have.  Project management for the oil and gas industry: a world system approach. CRC Press, 2016. Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (5th ed. Project Management Institute. Sage, 2017. Turner, J. Rodney.  Handbook of project-based management.