How planners are valued in your comapny/ country?

Andy,



I would also like to share my experience as I have been a planner for more than a decade and various type of project.



What I came across is that type of projects and duration play more part in the role of planner that the company or country. Genrally shorter the project more emphasis given to planning also maintenance projects(shutdowns etc) team feel more dependent on planners for success than a construction project team.



Also as I myself have worked in the field execution as project manager / area engineer. I realized myself that having a good planner in your team is one of the requisite for success. While the project manager is busy with other issues the planner keeps a vigil on schedule and keeps a tight control on the schedule.



Now comming back to your questions.



Questions;

1. What has been your experience in developing plans and schedules?

The toughest part, this activity always happens when the project team is being mobiized specially from construction I always have to rely upon my experience, available data in estimation department etc. Also it is very difficult in case of EPC project where things are not clear and we have to rely on FEED information. In case of Constrction projects and shutdown the scope is much more clear.



2. Do you receive support from your project?, and how would you describe that support?

Effort is required but once can always garner support from the project team by convincing them that it is they who need the planner in the long run than the planner who will need them.



3. Do Project Managers allow us enough time to set up our plans and schedules?

Being proactive always helps as most of the project managers dont realize the effort invloved in developing the plan and schedule. The trick lies in starting early.



4. Do you have enough staff on your planning team?

Planners are like gold hence we always have shortage of planners specially good ones. The planner usually is the most frustrated person in project as he has something always going on his mind.



5. What is the meaning of life?

Life is challenging and the satisfaction of finishing a project on time or ahead of time is something which we taste rarely bust relish it for long long time.

The Value of Planning & Scheduling





As all of us know, being a planner or scheduler is a great job. Our discipline is at the crossroads of the project information highway.



Why is it then, when ever I speak with friends and colleagues, the conversation invariably turns to the lack of support many of us deal with on a daily basis?



Why do we have to struggle to get the basic information we need to set up and run a project schedule.



I’ve been involved with many different facets of planning and scheduling, from component repair, and maintenance of major assembly items through to software infrastructure projects and railways.



The common theme across all these areas, in my experience, is that planning and scheduling is not that important as the people employed on these projects were employed because they know what they’re doing and they just simply won’t follow a plan.



Now I’ve struck this type of resistance at many different levels of the organizations, in some it’s the workers, others it’s the middle managers, and even from senior management.



I’m not completely cynical toward project management; on the contrary, I see it as my job to not only provide a quality plan and schedule, but also to educate the masses in the benefits of having a good plan and schedule.



The other thing that I have found is that most places I’ve worked think you can just throw a schedule baseline together overnight (or in a week), then start producing reports all in the blink of an eye.



However there are many positive notes to my working life, as I mentioned, educating the masses has the biggest benefit, it not only gets people to understand what a correctly statused schedule can provide, but it invariably increases the quality of information you get back to do your work.



So after all that hot air from me;



Questions;

1. What has been your experience in developing plans and schedules?

2. Do you receive support from your project?, and how would you describe that support?

3. Do Project Managers allow us enough time to set up our plans and schedules?

4. Do you have enough staff on your planning team?

5. What is the meaning of life?

And when it all goes correct - on time, then its the site team who has worked rigoursly and completed the project on time.



And Management thinks, Planners are basically just - "BUTTON PUSHERS"!!

The other thing Chris is that by definition we planners are the onse looking ahead.

Managers dont want to hear the bad news and so often take the Ostrich approach.

When things eventually go Tits up as we forcast,

"Its the programme thats wrong"

In a lot of cases I think Andrew has got it right, but what really tees me off is when they try to make the planner the scapegoat for other people’s mistakes. No matter what they pay you it’s not enough for that sort of crap.

I think in even the best companies Planners get the Mushroom treatment.



Kept in the dark and fed bullshit?