Line of Balance(LOB)

Line-of–Balance (LOB) method is a project planning and control method which in projects with repetitive nature has proved to be more efficient than the network techniques like CPM and Petri-nets. Much of the reason for superiority of LOB to other planning methods is because it considers an additional dimension (unit of production) in the representation of the activities. Unfortunatly this method is not well introduced in the Project Management litrature. The following references are recommended for the readers:

Arditi, D., P. Sikangwan, et al. (2002). "Scheduling system for high rise building construction." Construction Management and Economics 20: 353-364.

Arditi, D., O. Tokdemir, et al. (2002). "Challenges in Line-of-Balance Scheduling." Journal of Construction and Engineering Management 128(6): 545-556.

Harris, R. B. and P. G. Ioannou (1998). Repetitive Scheduling Method. UMCEE Report No.98-35. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan.

Lumsden, P. (1968). The line-of-balance method. Oxford, Pergamon Press.

Mendes, R., L. Fernando, et al. (1998). Replanning Method for Multi-Story Building Construction using Line of Balance. International Group of Lean Construction Conference.

Currently I am writing a teaching case study which describes a real case where application of LOB has been proved to be beneficial. The case study is in review and will soon appear in ECCH case study collections. visit http://www.ecch.com/

Unfortunatly the most well known project management softwares like MS Project and Primavera do not provide any feature to develop LOB plans. The most well developted software for LOB in my appinion is Dynaproject from Graphisoft. Visit www.dss.fi

Upcoming relevant conferences to Project Management

British Academy of Management Conference, 11-13 September 2007, Warwick
http://bam.ac.uk/conference2007/

PMI research Conference, 13-16 July 2008, Warsaw, Poland
http://congresses.pmi.org/ResearchConf2008/

EurOMA Conference, 17-20 June 2007, Ankara, Turkey
http://www.euroma2007.org/

22nd European Conference on Operational Research, 8-11 July 2007
http://euro2007.vse.cz/index.php

International Academy of Management and Business Conference, January 28-31 2007, Las Vegas, USA
http://www.iamb.net/lasvegas/2007/index.html

INFORMS Annual Meeting, November 4-7 2007, Seattle, USA
http://www2.informs.org/Conf/

5th International Conference on Construction Project Management, 1-2 MArch 2007, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/cee/iccpm_iccem/

IEEE International Engineering Management Conference, 29 July-1 August 2007, Austin, Texas, USA
http://www.iemc07.org/index.html

Free Certificate course in Software Project Management

BLEKINGE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY offers an online course on "Software Project Management for Professionals", starting 28thAugust 2006.There is no tuition fee.Official University transcript will be issued.Limited number of participants. Selection will be made among eligibleapplicants based on application date, only.
Apply here: http://www.bth.se/utb/bas.nsf/Instructions?OpenForm

Winners and Losers in Project Management

A survey of project managers in the UK reveals changing fortunes and pressures, with a massive switch from permanent to temporary/interim employment.
Heywood, Lancashire, UK (PRWEB) July 15, 2006 -- UK Project management recruitment specialists Arras People conducted a survey of over 1,000 current practitioners working in the field of project management, a growing sector in UK employment. The results show how the market has changed since 2000, and the key drivers in the sector today. See www.arraspeople.co.uk/Files/Release/Arras_survey_pressrelease_Final

Scope Creep : The Scottish Parliament case

The Scottish Parliament Building was officially opened on October 9 2004 in Holyrood. The building is a complex of several buildings including Debating Chamber, Tower buildings, MSP building, Canongate Buildings, Queensberry House, Media Tower and public facilities. The total floor area of the complex is around 29,000 square meters and accommodates the members of the Scottish Parliament and the parliamentary staffs. The construction started in late 1997 and its progress turned to a controversial issue from different aspect including the selection of the site, selection of the consultants and the considerable time and cost overruns.The project was planned to be finished in 2001 with estimated £40 million (AGS 2000 p.10). The project was finished in 2004 with final cost of £431 million(AGS 2004 p.1). There have been many reasons behind this escalation of the cost and time overruns which are well documented in the public inquiry reports published by Auditor General of Scotland in 2000 and 2004. Among the many reasons for cost and time escalation the effect of numerous design changes have been considerable. The design changes have increased the project cost and time in two ways; Firstly by the direct cost associated with the implementation of the requested changes and secondly by the ripple effect of the changes on rework and productivity of the project.
An auditor report with very interesting information can be found at the following address:
www.holyroodinquiry.org

This project has very good potentials to be further research for learning lessons for future project management practices.

My book review is published in System Dynamics Review

My review about the book : "Modelling Complex Projects" is published in the summer edition of the System Dynamics Review. You can download the review from the journal website:


Terry Williams. John Wiley & Sons, 2002, ISBN 0-471-89945-3, 276 pages

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112680813/ABSTRACT