You are 15 months into a 4 year JV process plant project,(FIDIC Type Contract, Seperate OoC / IC) and the EVM data is just pushing your project into the RED status. Your Project Director is putting pressure on you, as PCM, to make the numbers look better as a RED status will mean additional Company Board reporting and external team reviews which he wants to avoid. The Company runs a well proven progress measurement system. Current project EVM issues are:
1 The internal D&E charge out rate, used by the project for the bid, for the previous financial year has just been increased (5%) by Finance to balance the D&E Cost Centre end of year accounts
2 The central Company Procurement Department (which charges 3% for its services) has similarly charged the project £200k as your share of its end of year cost overrun
3 The project currently has 23 VO's submitted to the Client but as they have not been signed off by the Project Supervisory Board (not met yet) they have not been approved by the Client. THe JV IC partner informs us they will have to go to the Company Chairman has he has no delegated powers of approval. They have been included in the schedule (had to to keep the logic) but with zero budget. Costs have been identified seperately, but are included in the overall cost.
4 The Client had placed 6 P&E PO's (representing 25% of CV) with suppliers for the VLLI's with the stated intention of novating these to the JV (so are included in contract / budget sum). Unfortunatley after 9 months of negotiation only 4 have been novated and the 2 remaining ones will never be.
5 A single action nominated supplier has insisted (and been paid!) a 10% downpayment to reserve a manufacturing slot even before he begins to work on a bid instead of the normal payment on placement of order.
6 A D&E personnel supplier has just told you that due to mistakes in implementing overtime recording in his new accounts system you have not been billed for 2,000 manhours for the last financial year.
How would you treat each issue in order to help (or not) your Project Director?