Managing Installation and

Maintenance Operation
Level 4
 UNIT ONE
Operational Plan Develop
Research, Analyze Resource Requirement
For the development of an operational plan, an organization needs to be
able to research, analyze and document the resources on the following
points:
• The duration of the project; when it will start and the aim of
completion. This should include current and upcoming desired and
clear goals. Time frames should be set at the start with clear plans
about the project.
• Financial resources; how much fund is currently available to sustain
the project and any risk that may occur in the funding needs to be
identified prior. It is important to be able to convince investors and
suppliers about the plan and the resources needed to help achieve a
profitable completion of the project.
• Human resource and other capacity requirements; evaluate the labour
and the skills needed and available that are important to complete the
project. It is important to consider where the human resources will
come from and how many staff are required. This should include
maintenance and servicing resources such as customer service.
 Operational Plan Develop
• Identify the risk and evaluate mitigation strategy; what are these strategies and how
to overcome if they were to arise. For instance, if there is a gap in resources, there
need to be a plan to fill in the gap. So, all risks are evaluated and plans are devised
to be prepared and also to minimize the occurrences of these risks. The ability to
measure the performance to monitor improvements need to be available.
• There are several ways available to consult with team members about their input on
a project. Emails and intranet may be used as a quality assurance and a way to
improve the process. It is also an efficient way to get the same message across the
whole group, especially in big organizations.
• On the other hand, it is an approachable system to welcome any opportunities for
the staff to respond and provide feed backs. This will contribute to the planning
process and goals. Also, newsletters may be used to provide the staff about the
important information about the plan with open opportunities to revert back with
feed backs. Furthermore, the use of surveys, questionnaires and information
sessions may help to encourage staff to respond by providing specific feed backs
about the project.
 Operational Plan Develop
• Quantitative and qualitative data are gathered for the operational plan of
the project.
• In addition, there can be meetings; formal or informal. While informal
meetings can be held anytime and anywhere, formal meetings require a
safe and controlled environment. Both ways aim to gather feed backs.
• Another different way to consult teams members are through interviews.
Structured interviews may help the management to get the feed backs
needed in regards to specific aspects of the operational plan. These are
done through specific questions.
• A more open way to gather such feed backs and information is through
brainstorming sessions whereby new ideas and solutions are generated.
These are analyzed to further determine its importance. To make these
sessions fruitful, it is important to always welcome and recognize the
effort of all participants for bringing their input and feed backs to the
organization. This is in order to encourage more open participation.
 The process consulting mode
These formal and informal communication channels might include:
• Open meetings e.g. stakeholders are invited to come to an open
meeting or a series of meetings
• Surveys e.g. stakeholders are invited to complete a survey
(paper or online type)
• Focus group e.g. a select cross-section of stakeholders, small in
number, are invited to attend a meeting or series of meetings
• Invitation to send a written response e.g. stakeholders are
invited to submit comments in writing on a proposal or plan
• Informal meetings e.g. organization management might mingle
with people at an event a canvass certain ideas and see what
response they get
 The purpose of consultation
A. To invite stakeholders to provide advice to the
management of the organization about their needs,
wants and expectations. In other words, tell the
organization what value it wants and how it can provide
this value.
B. To invite stakeholders to comment on plans that have
been created by organization management to provide
this value requested by stakeholders.
C. To quell any criticism that organization management
have not taken account of, or are not listening to the
needs of stakeholders in developing strategic and
operational plans.
 Developing Operational plan
An operational plan
An operational plan outlines the tasks each employee will
need to carry out to accomplish the goals laid out in the
strategic plan.
• Steps in how to do an operational plan should
incorporate the following as you outline your strategy:
 Develop a strategic plan.
 Prioritize your goals.
 Use leading indicators.
 Draw on your organization.
 Communication is key.
 The process consulting mode
• An operational plan outlines the tasks each employee will
need to carry out to accomplish the goals laid out in the
strategic plan. The operations section of a business plan
expands on the company:
 Objectives.
 Timeline.
 Procedures.
• In other words, your operational plan should, clearly and
in detail, elaborate on the physical, financial, and human
resources you will allocate on a day-to-day basis in
support of your company's broader strategic objectives.
 Creating an Effective Operational Plan
• The best operational plans have a clearly
articulated objective that everyone in your
company is focused on achieving.
• Your operational plan will, therefore, be a
useful document for your investors.
• However, it can also help you and your
employees by encouraging you to think
carefully about deadlines and tactics.
 Steps create an operations plan for your small business

Step 1: Examine your organization's vision. ...

Step 2: Define the goals and strategy. ...
Step 3: Plan out activities. ...
Step 4: Assign roles and responsibilities. ...
Step 5: Monitor and adjust
The operations plan should provide
answers to the following questions
• Which personnel and departments are
responsible?
• What tasks is each employee or department
responsible for?
• Where precisely will daily operations occur?
• How much should be budgeted to each
department to complete these tasks?
• What are the deadlines for the completion of
each task?
 Operational plan
• An operational plan must have clearly articulated
goals.
• This section should state in clear terms what the
company's operational objectives are.
• Operational objectives should be thought of as
your plan to achieve your company's strategic
objective.
• A good operational objective should be:
– Measurable.
– Specific.
– Timely.
– Realistic.
 Develop and Implement Contingency plans

Contingency plans
• The contingency plan is a proactive strategy, which is more of a reaction to
something that unwanted happened.
• A contingency plan is set up to account for those disruptive events, so you‘re
prepared if and when they arrive.
• While any organization is going to plan for its product or service to work
successfully in the marketplace, that marketplace is anything but stable.
• Unpredictability might be the enemy of business, but that doesn‘t mean that it
doesn‘t exist.
• To execute a plan believing you can avoid unpredictability may be fatal to your
organization‘s future.
• A contingency plan is a plan, and like any plan, it requires a great deal of research
and brain storming.
• And like any good plan, there are steps to take to make sure you‘re doing it right.
 step in contingency plan
• Identify and Prioritize Resources: Research your company and
list its crucial resources, such as teams, tools, facilities, etc.,
then prioritize that list from most important to least
important.
• What Are the Key Risks? Figure out where you‘re vulnerable
by meeting with teams, executives and every other
department in the organization to get a full picture of what
events could compromise your resources; hire an outside
consultant, if necessary
• Draft a Contingency Plan: If you can, write a contingency plan
for each risk that you identified in the above steps, but start
with what‘s most critical to the life of your organization. As
time permits you can create a plan for everything on your list.
 Implementation of a contingency plan
• Here are the steps you need to follow in a
contingency planning process.
Step 1: List down the key risks
Step 2: Prioritize the Risks Based on their Impact
Step 3: Create Contingency Plans for Each Event
Step 4: Share and Maintain the Plan
 Unit-Two
Work Activities Planning And Scheduling
• To effectively prioritize your projects, you need to identify how
urgent and how important all your different work tasks are, and
rank them accordingly.
• Important work should align with your long-term goals and
mission, whereas urgent work simply needs to be done as soon
as possible.
• By learning proper prioritization techniques, you‘ll become more
productive in your work life and more focused on your goals.
• Prioritizing work involves making difficult decisions about the
importance of your ongoing jobs.
• Follow these seven steps to learn how to prioritize work
effectively:
Work Activities Planning And Scheduling
Work Activities Planning And Scheduling
 Step-1
Have a list that contains all tasks in one
• Effective prioritization comes from understanding the full
scope of what you need to get done—even the most
mundane tasks should be written down and considered.
• To give you a complete picture, it‘s a good idea to include
both personal and workday tasks in a single task list.
• Everything from picking up your dry cleaning to scheduling a
one on-one meeting with your boss should be captured in the
same place.
• Once everything is written down, prioritization typically
happens according to the importance, urgency, length, and
reward of each task.
 Step-2
Identify what‘s important
• Understanding your true goals while it might seem like an
immediate time management strategy, prioritization is key in
achieving long-term goals.
• Understanding what you‘re really working toward—be it a
promotion, a finished project, or a career change—helps you
identify the tasks most pertinent to those future outcomes.
• It can be a good idea to break these larger goals into smaller,
time-related goals.
• For example, a yearly goal can be deconstructed into
monthly to-do lists, which then lead to weekly tasks, daily
priorities, etc.
 Step-3
Highlight what‘s urgent
• Your to-do list should provide full visibility of
deadlines, helping you to identify which tasks
must be completed promptly and to plan
ahead according to future deadlines.
• Creating deadlines even when they‘re not
formally required is also important; otherwise,
you will continue pushing back important
tasks simply because they aren‘t time-
sensitive.
 Step-4
Prioritize based on importance and urgency
• the Most Important Tasks (MIT) methodology. This strategy
involves creating a separate list of just three tasks that must be
done that day.
• These tasks should be chosen more for their importance than
their urgency.
• To decide, ask yourself goal-oriented questions: What tasks will
have the biggest impact on the end result? What can I get done
today to further my progress toward that goal?
– Urgent and important: These tasks should be done first
– Important but not urgent: Block off time on your calendar to get this
done, without interruption
– Urgent but unimportant: Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.
– Neither urgent or important: Remove from your to-do list
 Step-5
Avoid competing priorities
• When the tasks you‘re working on aren‘t particularly
difficult, it‘s relatively easy to manage them in tandem.
• However, as difficulty increases, research shows
people who are in positions of power are more likely
to prioritize a single goal, whereas people in low
powered positions will continue to try and manage
multiple priorities.
• This dual-task strategy has been linked to a decline in
performance, which means the most important tasks
aren‘t fulfilled to the highest standard.
 Step-6
Consider effort
• When staring at a long to-do list, it‘s easy to become
overwhelmed by the work that needs doing—a feeling that
reduces productivity and leads to procrastination.
• A strategy to overcome this involves evaluating tasks
according to the effort required to complete them.
• If your to-do list is becoming too burdensome, prioritize
those tasks that require minimal time and effort and move
through them quickly.
• This clearing of tasks will give you some breathing space
and generate a sense of accomplishment to propel you
throughout the day.
 Step-7
Review constantly and be realistic
• One of the steps in the five-step “Get Things
Done” (GTD) methodology from productivity
consultant David Allen involves critical
reflection.
• Frequently reviewing your task list and
priorities is key in “regaining control and
focus”
 Break down tasks/work activities
• A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a
deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition
of the work to be executed by the project team
to accomplish the project objectives and create
the required deliverables.
• A WBS is the cornerstone of effective project
planning, execution, controlling, monitoring, and
reporting.
• All the work contained within the WBS is to be
identified, estimated, scheduled, and budgeted.
 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
1. List of all tasks
• complete list of all tasks to be performed within the project
in the form of work packages.
• This should not be done by one person alone (e.g. the
project manager) in a quiet room, but in a team. In
practice, the brainstorming or mind mapping method is
suitable for this purpose.
2. The tasks clusters
• The defined tasks are clustered according to subject areas
or time schedule. The best method for sorting depends on
the project content and must be defined on a case-by-case
basis.
 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
3. Define work packages
• Following clustering, the identified tasks are summarized in
work packages.
4. Assignment of responsibilities to the work packages
• If the work packages are defined in the form of headings and in
their place in the hierarchy, it‘s time to get down to business:
Who does what? The assignment of responsibilities to the work
packages takes place in the team with the technical experts.
• Each person in charge must make a commitment to his or her
task.
• And above all, they must have the necessary time and know-
how. Otherwise, the nomination of another employee must be
considered.
 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
5. Define start and end dates of work packages
• Once the responsibilities have been determined, the work
packages are timed by defining the start and end dates. It is
important to consider where the priorities lie and which work
packages are interdependent. Which activities must take place
one after the other, which can be parallelized and which are
perhaps not so important and can therefore be postponed?
6. Documentation of the created Work Breakdown Structure The
last step is the documentation of the Work Breakdown
Structure created. In the course of this, each sub task also
receives a coding – the work package number. This ensures
that there is a fixed place in the Work Breakdown Structure
and that the work packages are clearly identified.
 Summary of WBS
• In the implementation phase and in project
controlling, the work breakdown structure is used
as the basis for recording the progress of the work
packages step by step and for identifying problems,
pending decisions and any delays in deadlines.
• The finished Work Breakdown Structure is then
stored in a central location and distributed to the
project team members. A cross-check with the
project goals is helpful for quality assurance of the
content of the project structure plan.
 A good WBS should exhibit the following
characteristics:
• Definable—can be described and easily understood by project
participants.
• Manageable—a meaningful unit of work where specific responsibility
and authority can be assigned to a responsible individual.
• Estimate able—duration can be estimated in time and cost required
to complete
• Independent—minimum interface with or dependence on other
ongoing elements
• Integratable—integrates with other project work elements and with
higher level cost estimates and schedules to include the entire project.
• Measurable—measure progress; has start and completion dates
• Adaptable—sufficiently flexible so the addition/elimination of work
scope can be readily accommodated in the WBS framework.
 Unit three
Allocating Resources
• Resource allocation, also known as resource scheduling, recognizes
and assigns resources for a specific period to various activities.
• These activities can be either project or non-project.
• Resources can be either fully or partially available.
• Resource managers must take resource availability into account
while allocating them to the projects.
• Resource allocation is the process of assigning and managing assets
in a manner that supports an organization's strategic goals.
• A resource can be considered a production factor that‘s used to
produce goods or services.
• Resources can be many things, including labour, machinery,
technology, natural resources, real estate, financial resources, etc
 Allocate Resources
• There are 6 steps to performing a proper
resource allocation:
– Divide the Project into Tasks
– Assign the Resources
– Determine resource attributes
– Resource Leveling
– Re-allocate as necessary
– Track resource utilization
Operation planning and scheduling
• Operations management, also called
“operations planning” or “operations
scheduling” is a term assigned to the planning
of production in all aspects, from workforce
activities to product delivery.
 Plan & Organize Work Activities
• Planning and organization makes efficient use of your time at
the office by keeping you focused from beginning to
completion of a project.
• A comprehensive plan for work activities and projects
ensures you challenges all necessary steps for success.
• Organizational tools allow you to track the planning progress
for the activity.
• An organizational plan also facilitates collaboration and
information sharing with other team members who play a
role in the completion of the activities.
• The modification your organizational method allows you to
create the most effective planning system for your office.
 Plan & Organize Work Activities
• Step 1: Identify the scope and goals of the planning
process related to each work activity. Determine what
you need to accomplish for the success of the activity or
project. Identify the employees who will play a role in
the task if it is a team project.
• Step 2: Break down the major tasks for the activity into
smaller steps that you need to take for completion,
essentially creating a to-do list for the project. If other
employees are working on the tasks with you, assign
each person a role and specific responsibilities to divide
the workload.
 Plan & Organize Work Activities
• Step 3: Establish the timeline for completing the work
activity. Assign each individual task that goes into the
activity a completion date to make sure everything is
completed in a timely manner. Give yourself enough time
to complete all associated tasks before the deadline passes.
• Step 4: Write each due date for the project tasks on your
calendar, or set up reminders that pop up on your
computer screen as the deadlines approach.
• Step 5: Identify potential problems or barriers you may face
for the work activities. Create an action plan to avoid those
issues to keep the project on track.
 Plan & Organize Work Activities
• Step 6: Utilize an online project management program for
major work activities that are critical to the company's success.
These programs are particularly effective for complicated
projects or activities that involve many team members.
• Step 7: Schedule planning meetings when active participation
and feedback is needed from others working on the project.
Keep the meetings focused and productive to use the time
efficiently.
• Step 8: Send out regular updates and communication to all
other employees who are working on the project. This allows
all team members to stay informed and update their to-do lists
and timelines as necessary.
 Set Realistic Timetables
• There are some grouped tasks that need to be done at specific
times of the day.
• For example, opening and closing tasks can't be done in the middle
of the day.
• However, other tasks have timetable flexibility. Break the day down
into sections to establish a routine. For example, the first hour of
the day could be devoted to returning messages from voicemail and
email.
• The next hour could be devoted to sales related tasks with the
following hours before lunch reserved for client meetings.
• Think about the best time to perform activities. For example, if you
need more energy to write proposals, it might be better to place
this task earlier in the day and reserve less energy intensive tasks
for later in the day when your energy is lower.
• Establish realistic timetables to accomplish tasks.
 Remove Potential Distractions
• There are so many potential distractions in everyone's workday.
• Personal cell phones, text messages, instant messages, social
media and internet surfing are huge distractions but aren't the
only ones.
• Excessive coffee breaks and talking to co-workers greatly
reduce productivity as well.
• Set break times and turn off all devices that could potentially
distract from completing tasks. Be realistic about checking
devices and talking to co-workers but develop the discipline to
limit it to certain times of the day.
• Some people even turn off email notifications, setting specific
times to read and respond to email, focusing energy on
immediate tasks rather than trying to multitask.
 How to Reduce Project Duration
"Time is money"

• Keep track of how time is used and eliminate time wasters

• Create an agenda or system to follow when working on
projects. Make weekly or daily task lists, including detailed
items to do;
• Understand how you work best. Try working in a few
different environments, with music on and without music,
and while multi-tasking and without multi-tasking. Think
about which environment feels more comfortable to you,
and compare the work you got done in each.
• Collaborate and delegate. Work with others, and split up
the project into parts by strengths.
 UNIT FOUR
Monitoring and Reviewing Performance
Processes
• Performance Measurement Carefully constructed
performance measures are an essential asset
management tool.
Performance measures should be:
• Current: provide information about current performance
• Available: At the fingertips of those who need to know,
when they need to know
• Reliable: Provide information that will not be
subsequently proven to be inaccurate.
 Performance Measurement
• In general asset performance management measures are
focused on the tactical issues. It is however important that
there is alignment between the efforts at all levels.
• There are a number of different ways of carrying out
performance measurement
• The following are some of the most commonly carrying
out performance measurement:
A. Random auditing
B. System auditing
C. Monthly auditing
D. Annual audit
 Performance Measurement
A. Random Auditing Audits can include customer satisfaction
surveys, sample condition surveys. Random audits are frequently
used to independently audit the performance of Highway
Authorities who are working under quality management systems
their purpose therefore is to provide an independent crosscheck
on performance.
B. System Audits Where asset management software systems have
been implemented the system, if properly used, will provide a
source of performance management data. For example customer
query systems will be able to provide response times to queries
and also be able to identify areas of exception. I.e. particular types
of complaint or query or particular geographical areas generating
a high number of queries
 Performance Measurement
C. Monthly audits Where established management
systems are in place it is possible to obtain monthly
performance statistics. In general these may focus on
activities and the time taken to complete them.
Progress against an established program may also
provide a useful management tool.
D. Annual audits Some indicators will be based upon
information supplied by others annually. This limits
the use of such indicators to annual reviews.
 Budget to Actual Variance Analysis in FP&A
(Financial Planning & Analysis)
Variance analysis
• A common financial control approach is the
use of variance analysis.
• Variance analysis is a tool that is used in
controlling budgets.
• The difference between the planned value and
actual values is called the variance.
 Variance analysis
• A key function for the FP&A professional is to perform a budget
to actual variance analysis.
• A budget to actual variance analysis is a process by which a
company‘s budget is compared to actual results and the
reasons for the variance are interpreted.
• The purpose of all variance analysis is to provoke questions
such as:
– Why did one division, product line or service perform better than the
others?
– Why are selling, general and administrative expenses higher than last
year?
– Are variances being caused by execution failure, change in market
conditions, competitor actions, an unexpected event or unrealistic
forecast?
 Variance analysis
• The basis of virtually all variance analysis is the
difference between actual and some
predetermined measure such as a budget,
plan or rolling forecast.
• Most organizations perform variance analysis
on a periodic basis (i.e. monthly, quarterly,
annually) in enough detail to allow managers
to understand what‘s happening to the
business while not overburdening staff.
Identifying Areas of underperformance and
Recommending Solutions
What is underperformance?
• Underperformance is when an employee is
performing their duties below the required level
expected.
• The following points underline some of many
examples that class as underperformance:
– Failing to perform duties to a high standard/altogether
– Non-compliance of work policies and procedures
– Bad behavior that negatively impacts others in the
workplace.
Five Steps in Managing Underperformance in
the Workplace
1. Set clear expectations and match employees to the skills
required
A performance problem often results from company
and/or employee uncertainty about what the job entails. If
you have input into hiring, you can help prevent this
problem by stipulating job requirements that are as precise
and clear as possible. Exact job specifications will not only
assist in the hiring process by allowing candidates to be
specifically evaluated on their ability to do what‘s required,
they allow you to document exactly what the expectations
are, so there will be no confusion in your managing or in
their understanding of the job.
 2. Conduct performance reviews.
Ask questions such as:
• What do you think the expectations are?
• Are you aware of the areas where you‘re not meeting
expectations?
• Are there specific problems you‘re having that can be
addressed, such as inadequate equipment?
• Are there parts of the job you simply can‘t do because
you don‘t know how or aren‘t able?
• Are you having problems with coworkers that are
delaying your work?
 3. Provide necessary training.
• In many cases, performance problems are a result of
an employee being unprepared for the job.
• This may be because the employee was hired without
the necessary skills, or the job may have evolved.
• In these lack-of-skill cases, training is essential to
correct the underperformance.
• Your role in managing this training will be to budget
for it, to advocate for additional funds if necessary,
and to stipulate what the training should be and how
much of it the employee needs.
 4. Install a mentoring program
• In a mentoring program, employees are matched
with someone more experienced within the
company who can help the employee learn the
skills and attitudes needed to do the job.
• A mentor can seek to inspire a passion for the
work in the employee, as well as continually be on
hand for encouragement and advice.
• A solid mentoring program can turn
underperformers into stars, and you can help
facilitate the program and/or be a mentor yourself.
5. Encourage a sense of ownership.
• Many employees are just ―earning a
paycheck‖ and have no real excitement about
the company, its vision, or its opportunities—
nor do they see themselves as an integral part
of the enterprise.
Conducting Performance Appraisal
• Performance appraisals are primarily used to
improve an employee‘s performance.
• It can also be used to justify an employee‘s
compensation and their potential for promotion.
• An effective employee performance appraisal
process can drive performance, reduce
dissatisfaction, identify training opportunities and
boost company culture.
• Appraisals are typically conducted with a
performance appraisal form.
The end