Introduction
Managing and leading people is one of the tasks that are very much challenging, many managers and leaders in the organization have faced many challenges when dealing with the people they lead. Managing and leading people is not that easy since one has to deal with different people from different backgrounds, it means that as a manager one has to understand the different issues related to these people in order to perform the work effectively.
Challenges associated with managing and leading people to call for managers to be keen to observe different factors regarding the people in order to come up with a better way of ensuring that people work effectively and that there are no high rates of absenteeism reported.
Discussion
At the call center, the manager has problems in regard to the high rates of absenteeism that affect the performance and the operations within the call center. This calls for investigations in order to establish the departments with high rates and the reason behind this; this will help in making viable decisions concerning the situation. In order to come with viable information, primary data was used in the study. The data was collected from the call center management; the information provided by the manager was from the records that are kept regarding the people who report for the job daily. The report used was based on the last twelve months; the reason for choosing these data was because of the long period it covered since it would provide viable information. The data also covered nearly every person in the call center, the reason for choosing data that involved many different personnel people in the call center was because of the viability that is brought by diversity. This would enable us to come up with an accurate and well-informed decision based on the issue at hand.
Based on the data collected the cases of absenteeism are highly reported, it is like nearly every day there is a person who does not report for work. In order to establish the rates of absenteeism in different departments, the data will be divided according to different departments and it will be analyzed based on that department. This will help in establishing the departments that are highly affected hence be able to know what exactly the reason for this is.
In order to analyze the data effectively different analysis techniques will be used that will help to understand the data and draw up certain findings that will enable us to make informed decisions on the problem. An analysis of the data collected quantitative analysis technique was employed, the reason for using this technique is to help establish the relationship between the rate of absenteeism and the managing and leading problems that are associated with it.
The different departments were involved in the study in order to come up with viable information. An analysis was made on the following departmental positions managers in different departments, clerical positions, supervisors, unskilled personnel, semi-skilled positions, administrators, and technical personnel. Personnel in every position were examined and their absenteeism within the period of one year was analyzed.
Data analysis
Data collected was analyzed by use of both qualitative and quantitative methods, the reason for using the two data analysis methods is that after the interpretation of the data using quantitative methods then it was discussed using qualitative techniques. The quantitative data analysis method used was Excel whereby tables and pie graphs were used to interpret the data into percentages that would give a clear understanding. The reason for choosing Excel is because it is easy to use and makes clear interpretations of the data. The findings of the data interpretation would form the conclusions and relevant decisions were made from the findings.
An analysis of the data tables and pie charts was highly used because of the simplicity of use as well as provision of relevant data.
Table 1: Managers
| Gender | Age | Job title | Days absent |
| Male | 35 | Call center manager | 2 |
| Male | 40 | Warehouse manager | 0 |
| Male | 27 | HR manager | 0 |
| Total days | 2 | ||
| Mean | 0.65 |
The table above represents an analysis of absenteeism of managers at the call center, based on the data it is clear that within the period of one year. The call center manager was absent for work for days, while the human resource manager and warehouse managers attended to their duty full time through the one year. The total days for the managers are two days for the whole group. This shows that the managers are committed to their work and the cases of absenteeism are not out of the personal will.
Table 2: Clerical positions
| Gender F/M | Age | Job title | Days absent |
| F | 30 | Call center operator | 4 |
| F | 60 | IT helpdesk officer | 6 |
| M | 20 | Call center operator | 5 |
| M | 18 | Call center operator | 5 |
| F | 21 | Customer service clerk | 22 |
| F | 21 | Customer service clerk | 20 |
| F | 30 | Customer service clerk | 19 |
| F | 20 | Call center operator | 8 |
| M | 20 | Call center operator | 7 |
| F | 22 | Call center operator | 4 |
| F | 22 | // | 9 |
| M | 23 | // | 5 |
| M | 18 | Customer service clerk | 36 |
| F | 22 | Call center operator | 9 |
| F | 20 | // | 8 |
| M | 30 | Customer service clerk | 8 |
| M | 22 | Call center operator | 8 |
| M | 30 | Customer service clerk | 17 |
| M | 60 | IT helpdesk officer | 4 |
| M | 21 | Call center operator | 5 |
| F | 20 | // | 3 |
| M | 22 | // | 3 |
| M | 22 | // | 4 |
| M | 18 | // | 4 |
| F | 31 | // | 6 |
| M | 23 | // | 4 |
| M | 20 | // | 8 |
| M | 25 | Customer service clerk | 26 |
| F | 35 | // | 12 |
| M | 18 | Call center operator | 9 |
| F | 28 | // | 6 |
| Total days | 344 | ||
| Mean | 10.75 |
Based on the analysis made on the clerical positions it is clear that in the three positions cases of absenteeism have been reported. The positions in which there are many people not reporting to work throughout the year are the department of call center operators. In these positions, there are many people and the rate of absenteeism is very high. The rate of absenteeism ranges from three days to nine days in this particular group of personnel.
On the other hand, the group of customer service clerks also has reported cases of absenteeism, though there are no many people in this group the rate of absenteeism is very high. It ranges from eight days to thirty-six days per year, this represents the highest number of days of absents among this group of clerical personnel. The other group is the IT helpdesk officers; they represent the lowest number of people among the clerical personnel. They too have contributed much to rates of absenteeism among the clerical department, the rate ranges between four to six days per year.
This is just one of the personnel groups in the call center and the rate of absenteeism reported in this group is very high. It shows that this group is vulnerable to absenteeism and falls up should be made by the manager to establish the reason as to why the cases of absenteeism are very high in this particular group and especially among the customer service clerks. Also from the analysis males are contributing a larger number of the reported cases of absenteeism as compared to females. It shows that there may be a reason related to male absenteeism at work.
In order to determine the actual rate of absenteeism in this group of personnel mean was calculated in order to determine the average. The mean as per the data is 10.75 that is rounded off to 12, it means that at least the total number of personnel in this department do not report for work at least one day every month. This translates to high rates of absenteeism in the department.
The pie chart represents the different rates of absenteeism among the group; the group consists of three groups of personnel. From the pie chart, it is clear that the group that is highly affected is the customer service clerks with a percentage of fifty-four, followed by call center operators with forty-three percent and the IT helpdesk officer with three percent. It means that for the customer service clerks who have the highest percentage of absenteeism the days they are absent for work are many as compared to the days they report for work. The factors contributing to high rates among the customer service clerks should be looked into and ways of solving and minimizing the rates of absenteeism established.
Table 3: Supervisors
| Gender | Age | Job position | Days absent |
| F | 40 | Warehouse supervisor | 2 |
| F | 23 | Call center supervisor | 1 |
| F | 40 | Warehouse supervisor | 0 |
| F | 23 | Call center supervisor | 0 |
| F | 23 | Call center supervisor | 2 |
| M | 23 | Call center supervisor | 4 |
| Total days | 9 | ||
| Mean | 1.5 |
From the analysis of the data on supervisors, it is clear that the rate of absenteeism is not very high. Among the warehouse supervisors, one of them did not report for work for two days in the whole year while the other one was ever-present. While among the cal center supervisors three of them were absent for at one to four days during the year, while one of them was ever-present for work. As compared to the clerical group this group has very low rates of absenteeism.
Also, the people who report the cases of absenteeism in this group are young people aged around twenty-three years. And almost all of them belong to the call center supervisor position. Investigations should be made as to what is causing the absenteeism, especially among the call center supervisors.
Table 4: Unskilled personnel
| Gender F/M | Age | Job position | Days absent |
| M | 24 | Cleaner | 12 |
| F | 25 | Cleaner | 15 |
| F | 24 | Cleaner | 8 |
| M | 24 | Cleaner | 9 |
| F | 35 | Cleaner | 24 |
| F | 60 | Cleaner | 9 |
| F | 30 | Cleaner | 18 |
| F | 34 | Cleaner | 25 |
| Total days | 120 | ||
| Mean | 15 |
The group of unskilled personnel consists of cleaners both female and male, from the analysis it is clear that the rates of absenteeism are also very high in these groups. The rate ranges from eight to twenty-five days in the whole year. Every one of them at least has a record of absenteeism. The mean of the total number of days the group has reported absenteeism is fifteen, this means is very high and it means that though the people in this group are not very many the rates of absenteeism are very high. It shows that there are certain factors that are contributing to the high rates of absenteeism in this group investigations need to be carried out to establish the cause.
Table 5: Semi-skilled
| Gender F/M | Age | Job position | Days absent |
| F | 45 | Warehouse person | 13 |
| M | 35 | Packer | 19 |
| F | 45 | Warehouse person | 13 |
| M | 35 | Packer | 19 |
| F | 51 | Packer | 9 |
| F | 55 | Warehouse person | 4 |
| F | 45 | Warehouse person | 13 |
| M | 50 | Warehouse person | 13 |
| M | 35 | Packer | 19 |
| F | 45 | Warehouse person | 4 |
| M | 25 | Warehouse person | 26 |
| M | 45 | Warehouse person | 19 |
| F | 60 | Packer | 3 |
| M | 20 | Packer | 26 |
| F | 32 | Warehouse person | 21 |
| M | 45 | Warehouse person | 13 |
| F | 50 | Warehouse person | 13 |
| Total days | 247 | ||
| Mean | 14.5 |
The semi-skilled group of workers has two categories that are the warehouse personnel and the packers. Based on the above data on the table there are high rates of absenteeism recorded in this group. The rate of absenteeism ranges between three and twenty six days during this period. From the data it is evident that both male and female personnel have almost equivalent absenteeism cases.
From the data it seems that the semi-skilled group consist people of different ages who hold two positions the warehouse person as well as the packers. The highest absenteeism rate is recorded among the young employees as compared to the older people. Employees between ages of thirty five and twenty have the highest numbers of absenteeism recorded, while the other higher ages have lower rates of absenteeism recorded. This means that there is a reason or contributing factor to the increased absenteeism rates among the young employees as compared to the older ones hence the reason for investigation for the reason to this.
Though the two groups of people have higher rates of absenteeism the warehouse personnel have a higher rate of absenteeism as compared to the packers. The total days the warehouse personnel are reported to be absent the whole year is one hundred and fifty two days while for the packers is ninety five days. The mean is 14.5 which is a very high figure meaning that the rate of absenteeism is also very high in this department.
Clear analysis between packers and warehouse persons shows that there is a problem with the warehouse personnel that is contributing much to the high absenteeism rates. The manager should investigate the reason as to why the absenteeism rates among the warehouse personnel are very high.
Table 6: Administrator
| Gender F/M | Age | Job position | Days absent |
| F | 31 | HR officer | 3 |
| F | 42 | HR officer | 5 |
| Total days | 8 | ||
| Mean | 4 |
The group of administrators is comprised of Human resource officers also they have reported cases of absenteeism ranging between three to five days for the whole period. Here it seems as if age does not play as significant role in the rates of absenteeism, though the officer with the higher age has the highest absent days for work. The mean average is four a number that is not very high as compared to other departments.
Table 7: Technical
| Gender F/M | Age | Job position | Days absent |
| F | 50 | IT officer | 1 |
| F | 50 | IT officer | 0 |
| Total days | 1 | ||
| Mean | 0.5 |
Technical personnel consist of IT officers and the rates of absenteeism are very low in this group of personnel. Through out the period is only one of the officers who are reported to be absent. This shows a high degree of commitment among the IT officers, also the group has the lowest number of absenteeism cases.
Findings
Table 8: combination of all departments
| Position | Total days | Rate |
| Managers | 2 | 0.27 |
| Clerical | 344 | 47 |
| Supervisors | 9 | 1.23 |
| Unskilled personnel | 120 | 16.41 |
| Semi skilled personnel | 247 | 33.79 |
| Administrators | 8 | 1.09 |
| Technical personnel | 1 |
Based on the data analyzed it is clear that the clerical department has most of the people and total days for each one of them is 344 which represents the highest rate of absenteeism. It also shows that nearly every day there is a person in this department who does not report for work. The other department following the clerical department is the semi-skilled personnel that have a record of 247 days for the period of one year, whereas the unskilled personnel have higher rates of 120 days. From the table these three departments contribute a lot to the higher rates of absenteeism at the call center. Thorough investigations should be carried out in order to determine the reason as to why there are high rates of absenteeism.
Supervisors and administrators also have reported cases of absenteeism but the rates are minimal while technical personnel and the managers have the lowest rates. With the technical personnel having the lowest, It means that there is a certain reason that is contributing to high rates of absenteeism among certain groups while others having minimal rates. The groups with higher rates they are basically the low level personnel and the manger should ensure that investigations are carried out to determine the reason.
Table 9: shows relationship between service years and rate of absenteeism
| 11years | 0 years | 3 years | 1 year | 4 years | 2 years | 5 years | 7 years | 8 years | 9 years | 10 years | |
| 1 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 4 | |
| 12 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 13 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 4 | ||
| 12 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 24 | |||||
| 19 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 3 | ||||||
| 36 | 5 | 13 | 5 | ||||||||
| 8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 4 | 13 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||
| 5 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||
| 3 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 21 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 19 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 26 | |||||||||||
| 9 | |||||||||||
| 19 | |||||||||||
| 8 | |||||||||||
| 9 | |||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||
| 26 | |||||||||||
| 26 | |||||||||||
| 13 | |||||||||||
| 9 | |||||||||||
| 4 |
Service years mean:
| 0 | 12.3 |
| 11 | 6.5 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 1 | 7.77 |
| 4 | 9.5 |
| 2 | 7.9 |
| 5 | 8.14 |
| 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 12.3 |
| 9 | 18.5 |
| 10 | 8.75 |
People who have less than one year of employment have the highest rates of absenteeism, on the other hand the ones with highest number of years in service have the minimal rate of absenteeism.
Recommendations and conclusion
The manager can set up a payment system whereby they will be paid based on performance, it will mean that the more one performs the more one earns. This would work out effectively in minimizing absence of the employees in the departments that are highly affected.
Since the departments registering high rates of absenteeism are very vital it means that the operations at the call center are highly distrusted by this. In order to improve the operations the rates of absenteeism should be minimized such that if a person has to be absent is for important maters and this would help to minimize absenteeism. Also it would encourage many of them to work and to attend job since they know that they will be paid based on what their performance.
In most cases when the low level personnel communicate their problem indirectly and this might be one of the ways used by the group. Also higher rates of absenteeism signify lack of satisfaction in work one is doing, the dissatisfaction may be because of various reasons that include poor working conditions and low salaries among others. Manager should carry out investigations based on these issues in order to establish the exact problem.
The manager should set up rules and regulations regarding absenteeism, this is because with strict rules it would be possible to minimize the rates since the employees fear subjection to the penalties of absenteeism. Apart from setting of strict rules the manager can implement certain incentives that would encourage the employees to attend to their duties effectively.
Policy Statements And Procedures For Fire Alarm Project.
Summary
This paper has been constructed in order to check out the proprietary industrial and commercial standards as has been affiliated by ISO. The purpose of the paper is to give an elaboration of the incidences that determines the procedure for the application of the same. The information is all on the basis of ISO standardisation.
The matter of concern is the fire alarm construction industry and the follow up of all the standards for the maintenance of laws as has been determined by ISO.
Summary of the Report
The fire alarm construction industry is such a sector that employs lots of people. However this is the only industry that needs to keep a track of all types of waste and pollution. The researches show that the waste from fire alarm industry is very high in European countries. Keeping this as one of the factors related to the management of fire alarm projects the matter is also o great concern for the transparency and the comprehensiveness of the assignments. This is the basic area of analysis of this paper.
This paper is going to present a report for the follow up if ISO standards so that the outcomes like these can be brought under control.
Introduction
In this paper there is a structure of policy statement and procedure that will get analysed. The matter of concern is to check out; how far these policies and the statements are followed as per the instructions given in ISO. As in iso.org, the thought is to grasp the idea of fire alarm Management and Economics under the follow up of all the principles led by ISO. The expectation criteria are all as per the norms held by ISO. There is the need for a balanced managerial command for the maintenance of the money that gets invested and the application of the project as per the preconceived norms.
Levels applied
I have followed the following levels in order to implement and scrutinise the policy of ensuring the quality of 100,000 pieces of fire alarms.
- Level I: In the 1st level of the pyramid there is the single, overarching Quality Policy in order to guide the organization in all decisions.
- Level II: The next level is of Quality Manual that defines general guidelines for completing all sorts of ISO particulars, such as Calibration.
- Level III: In the third level it is all about documented procedures to define the process of completing a specific task: calibrating a specific instrument.
- Level IV: The final stage is of keeping records and forms based on the Quality Management System and at the same time showing compliance to the International standard and Customer specification.
level I – policy- Inspection by samples
Introduction
In order to the policy of ensure the quality of 100,000 pieces of fire alarm as per the standards set by ISO acts as a conglomeration with strong links to legal authorisation and governments follow ups, there is the random selection for sample out of all the available products. The follow up of the regulation released by ISO 21930:2007 – ‘Sustainability in fire alarm construction’ of fire alarm is thoroughly made concerned. Rick Jelliffe, states that it is here that the policy was supposed to be a helpful tool for all kinds of people involved in the construction projects.
For Dell’Isola, A. J, the policy must serve all the points related to the environmental impacts of ensuring the quality of 100,000 pieces of fire alarm as per the standards set by ISO acts. The process of urbanisation is very much a part of its regulation. While following this means it is very important that there should be maintenance of Quality Assurance in every section of fire alarm Management and Economics.
Procedure
The criteria for inspection get followed by two levels of documentation. The first is the Quality Policy statement that gets linked to the business plan. On the other hand there is this element as has been determined by ISO 9001. In order to have all the elements get followed the projects must have proper revisions of all the papers and the various aspects of the contract with all checked dominance. The samples need to be checked out and out. The documentations as has been forwarded by the client need to be adequately scrutinised. The determined factors that are declared in the contract must have the proper declarations.
The matter of concern is all related to the quality assurance system that will affiliate that the business is capable enough to carry out the requirements as has been demanded by the client in the contract.
Confirmation and verification of quotations/tenders with all kinds of elaboration needs to be specified. Each and every sample as has been forwarded for the persuasion of the ensuring the quality of 100,000 pieces of fire alarm as per the standards set by ISO acts must go through the strict process of quality confirmation scrutiny. The control over the sample of designing is also an integral part of the process. It is the understanding of the formulation that needs to be well managed. All the samples needs to be well scrutinised as they will turn up to be the basis of the whole 100,000 pieces of fire alarm. The management factors too need to have some comprehensive contribution in the application of the projects (Adams, J. R. and Barndt, S. E. 1978, pp. 32-39).
Conclusion
As when the samples get analysed the matters related to the comprehensiveness of the project comes under eagle’s eye. Sometimes in some cases the supplier seems to be a t a confused state, he get bewildered by the hugeness of the assignments and often is at a stake. Most of the time the supplier follow the instruction as given by the designer and the demands of the owner thus gets transferred to him. As the supplier has to manage with productivity and costs on a fixed price contract, most of the time he ignores the act of understanding the criteria as has been determined by the owner of the assignment.
The policies and the procedures thus are all marked under question. In such cases the intervention of legal proceedings might get counted for the elaborations. The whole matter gets into limited perspective and that makes the project go loose. These are also some sample works where the contract gets followed by obscure legal language or legal niceties that are very keenly designed to protect one party against the other.
level ii – quality manual – Full Traceability
Introduction
All the matters related to Quality Assurance are the provision that creates a kind of satisfactory evidence. This sense of security is very much a part of the supplier’s interest over the contractual norms. The major field for this lies in the dynamic speculation of the sections that are a part of goods, works or services as forwarded by the company. These are all upgraded and modified as per the demands and the needs of the customers.
They are more about getting into the trend then to be a part of the store. As per the norms led by ISO, there is the need for prequalification systems. This is for the purpose of having the quality assurance compliance level and for the rigid commitment. These types of commitments are followed as to maintain regular use of the system. The follies are always over the violation of the contract. It is here that the ISO needs to be kept under consideration to avoid all kinds of discrimination.
Procedure
If any kind of failure comes in for the inspected items then it is very important to have all kinds of preparation to back up the situation. The test must be full proof, but at the same time it is also very important to have the quality analyst and the supplier’s inspect over the products. The effort is to bring in full traceability. For a relevant purpose of the same it is very important to keep some alternative options for getting the best ever solution.
There needs to be the accessibility for the procedures in place to program fixed by the design process. The strict inclusion of authentic witness is equally important. There should be enough space for the development of all kinds of activities for the participation of suitably qualified persons in the fire alarm project.
The next very important section is the speculations over the documents. The rigid and authentic documents results no hassle in the continuation of a fire alarm project, whereas it is very important to maintain the standards and the dominance of all these aspects for clear demonstrations. These documents must have upgraded clarifications. All kinds of records and verifying receipts too are important to get the actual assessment over the traceability. All the documents, whether they are received or delivered must be followed under strict records. This maintenance of the records is done for the purpose of making clearance for the authorisation for the purpose of release.
Conclusion
International Workshop Agreement (IWA) under ISO stands very strictly for this particular section of maintaining record. According to the sources as has been initiated by IWA, the requirements for standardization in areas related to the technical structures and expertise is very much a matter of legal concern. It is very important to have technical urgency along with all sorts of industrial wideness. A misuse or in a state of mismanagement the quality of the projects fall and the things like drawings, specifications, contracts gets seriously affected. There should be the readymade preparation of all kinds of listed documents related to the current revision status.
Any kind of changes to documents is very important to keep under notification (R. M. Wideman, 1980). Whether the document is received or distributed to others the status needs to be well checked and very elaborately demonstrated and clearly identified. It is necessary for the purpose to ensure that all parties need to receive current information related to the changes in the fire alarm project.
level III – DocumentED PROCEDURES – Document Control
Introduction
The levels of demonstration and in making the assignment more interesting there has to be the addition of positive management towards the maintenance of staff attitude to the use of the system. The quality of persuasion and the maintenance of the standards are all a part of quality requirements. It supports the projects to get well managed and well manufacturing specifications. There is a necessary follow up of Prequalification Benchmark Criteria, while dealing with the documents. It is equally indispensable to have the certification of ISO 9001 quality assurance systems from a JASANZ accredited certifying organisation. This is the mark of authentication that will support the validity of the documents.
Procedure
As the proceedings get followed there comes in the documentation of Certification of a Quality System. This is collected in order to proof the basis of comparison with the definitions that are well elaborated and are made aware of in detailed means. According to ISO in order to have the positioning in construction industry of fire alarm as per the standards set by ISO acts, the participant must have at least 5 years experiences. This is for the accuracy and the expertise as has been collected. ISO also declares that the need is also for 3 years experience in auditing Quality Systems in the construction of fire alarms.
These criteria needs to be accepted and the submission of proper documents related to all these experiences needs to be submitted. The years of experiences are all counted in the way of declaring proficiencies. It is the declaration of Independent certification of compliance with ISO 9001 standard that these need to be accepted. The candidatures for the same thus need to be followed.
Extensive documentation regarding all the aspects of core and critical activities of particular projects always wants justification. A certified document in such a state is really of great help and it is very important to deal with the aspects related to the same. The assurance is more for the confirm declaration of the Quality System in the fire alarm project. All the levels of quality assurance needs to be well scrutinised and there are lots to be taken under consideration for the same.
The managing skills and the preparation for the risk assessment features are very important to be noticed1. Every kind of risk associated with the project has to be made aware to all the participants. The act of fire alarm projects are always considered as a matter of spear analysis and this is the basic behind the realization of the situations that might get the project into some trouble.
The documentation part for any kind of project is very vital and every point needs to be comprehensive and well elaborated. This can be well supported by the application of periodically assessed reviews on the specified and important aspects of the Quality System. The elements that are parts of the whole system need s to be considered consideration for the future persuasion. As to follow the instruction of ISO, there is a very important practice of compiling the industry and government’s needs.
Conclusion
The Quality Assurance requirements to a fire alarm project, is equally important as the assessment of any kind of Risk Manager is done. It is for the purpose of an appropriate quality assurance to reduce the risk factors. The dominance has to be of ISO, and there cannot be any kind of compromise to that. The affiliations are all authenticated when ISO gets followed. It is here that keeping record of every small and important thing becomes necessary and mandatory for quality perspective. The responsibility always inclines to get over the levels and the regulations determined by ISO.
Levels IV – Records and Forms – Quality Plans
Introduction
In order to have a good perspective over the collection and implementation of fire alarm projects, it is very important to have all kinds of assurance that are related to the quality. The act of assuring the implementation process is very much supported by the authentic documentation of the project. In the process of documentation of the quality assurance there is the need of having a process of manufacturing on trust2. This is a very vital point that needs to be followed. ISO strictly support the bond of trust and instructs that it is only through the process of trust that the intensive corporate lobbying can be well managed or handled.
Procedure
As a matter of fact ISO declares for a clear understanding of every level in a fire alarm project and by the means of a transparent system of comprehensiveness, there is provision for a mutual set up. The declarations for quality control are equally strict and are legally supported. Establishment of a conceptual project plan for some kind of wider prospects is gets counted on the basis of quality, time and cost that get invested terms of scope. Project feasibility and the factors in support of financial viability needs to be kept in a balanced form to have detail about the way the fire alarm is manufactured (R. M. Wideman, 1995).
This can be exemplified by a pro forma analysis on the basis of a cost per square meter. The calculation and the efficiencies are all done on the basis of the total estimation that has been decided within the project. The economical factor and the investment flow too play major roles in quality assurance. The task can be made easier if experience and data can be collected on previous similar fire alarm projects. The construction costs of the fire alarms and the details related to the forward estimating of these costs during the development stage for budgeting purposes needs to be followed as per the trade practices.
The preparation for the purpose of collecting the drawings and sketches during the development phase has got all the possibilities of gathering the concept unit costs into trade category costs. This the means through which the establishment form and choice of materials gets decided.
Foundations and structure needs a detail estimation of steel, aluminium, wood, glass, block, drywall, etc., for a good concrete construction. The elements and the stuffs related to the project needs proper clearance of being eco friendly. It is equally very necessary to take care of the environment all around3. ISO supports those projects that are working with the estimations related to proper quality of the materials used and the maintenance of hygiene and harmless wastes.
The regulations are for the benefit of future and for the establishment of stronger perspective. There are lots of points that the supplier and the manufacturers need to follow for a proper legal and eco-friendly project. All kinds of products need to be expected on the non-biased information basis. It is equally very much essential to establish uniformity and consistency in all the possible ways that the environmental product declarations are made. ISO is very particular in making an overall assessment of the fire alarm projects. All its assessments are on the basis of providing good quality in an eco-friendly atmosphere.
Conclusion
Conceptual project plan in terms of scope are all on the primary needs of having better scope to grow and to deliver best of the results. In order to avoid the problems it is very important to have a managing team that can well speculate the issues on the basis of its experiences and its professional comprehensiveness. The feasibility of a project is directly proportionate to the team that is in charge of it. Just being a part of the project is not enough there should be appropriate sense of excellence.
Conclusion
It is thus has been well discovered that the aspects related to the domain of making a good fire alarm project lies in the formation and the follow ups of the ISO regulations. Added to the deliverance of high and good quality of work, the expectations are also related to the sections that are legally correct and well supported by the ISO. Along with the carefulness towards the environment and proper working atmosphere the need is also to have well documentation of every simple thing that gets into the project. The matter related to quality assurance and documentation is all very important. Added to this the participation of professionalism with the sense of maintaining trust and faith with the owner and the customer is also very much topic of concern.
In managing every level of a fire alarm project the assignment holders should have a proper transparency of communication. There should be a smooth ride of elaboration and comprehensiveness related to the matter of construction. A true follow up of all the legal proceeding is of great value. These are all determined by the regulations set by ISO. These speculations state that it is thus a matter of moral accountabilities as well as the proper demonstration of every aspect that is related to the management of the fire alarm project. Proficiencies and skills are the ingredients in it, but the sense of trust and the maintenance of good reputation too need to have some concrete space in the implementation of the project for sure success.
References
Adams, J. R. and Barndt, S. E. “Organizational Life Cycle Implications for Major Projects.” Project Management Quarterly, Vol. IX, No. 4. 1978, p. 32-39.
Dell’Isola, A. J. “Value Engineemanagementring in Construction.” Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
Discover ISO – ISO’s name (2007). Web.
Discover ISO – Meet ISO. Web.
General information on ISO”. 2007. Web.
ISO Directives, Part 2: Rules for the structure and drafting of International Standards. 5th Edition”. (2004). Web.
ISO n.d.
ISO’s name. Web.
Jelliffe, Rick “Where to get ISO Standards on the Internet free”. Web.
The ISO directives are published in two distinct parts: ISO Directives, Part 1: Procedures for the Technical Work. 5th Edition. (2004). Web.
Wideman, R. M. “Project Management Examined.” Unpublished lecture material for the University of Victoria, British Columbia, 1980.
Wideman, R. M., Cost Control of Capital Projects, BiTech Publishers, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Second Edition, 1995.
Footnotes
- Implementing ISO 9001 is much like preparing a meal from a recipe and serving it to a registration auditor. You will need system documentation and auditors training to be able to successfully audit and maintain the QMS. The following task list assumes that both of these items have been accomplished and are in place.
- ISO 9001: 2000 was developed to give a generic set of requirements for a quality management system (or QMS) that will apply to a wide variety of organizations.
- The building construction industry is recognized as a major employer, but also as a sector responsible for generating a large amount of waste and pollution. It is estimated that the building industry is responsible for approximately 40% of the waste in European countries.
The Global Oil Industry Overview
Introduction
The Global oil industry is the industry that encompasses the process of acquiring oil through exploration, extraction, refining, marketing and distribution on a global level. Oil is a major source of energy and has been referred to as ‘Black Gold’ because it is vital to many industries and the modern civilization depends on it as a source of energy for various industries as well as fulfilling other energy needs. Oil also acts as a raw material for many other industries including plastics, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and solvents (Nye, 236).
Oil is a source of a large percentage of the global energy consumption. Europe is the lowest dependent on oil, with oil accounting for 32% of its energy consumption. The Middle East is the highest dependent on oil for its energy consumption, oil accounting for 53% of its energy consumption. An amazing 30 billion barrels is consumed globally every year. The developed nations are the top consumers of oil and its products, with the United States consuming 24% of all of the oil consumed in the world. The industry is broken into three major phases: downstream, midstream and upstream (Eckes, 26).
Summary of the study
This study will focus on the world’s oil industry. It will analyze how the oil industry performs its task of obtaining, processing and distributing of oil and its products. It will also focus on the impact of oil in the world’s economy and how the prices of the oil affect the world’s economy. The study will also look into the trends of the oil industry from the past, present and how the trends are likely to change in the future.
The table will also have an insight in some of the world’s leading oil producers, consumers, exporters and importers. This will give a broader picture into the trends of the oil industry in terms of pricing and marketing of the products.
In the oil industry trends, the study will focus on the issue of oil pricing and usages in diversified regions in the world. This will give an insight on how the oil is extracted, processed, refined and distributed to the final customers all over the world.
Oil exploration
The exploration of oil takes use of a process called Hydrocarbon Exploration. Geologists use state of the art technology to detect hydrocarbon whereby they employ the art of exploration geophysics to gather evidence about the presence of hydrocarbon and its extent. The tests are done on the earth surface and even underwater. The areas that are suspected of having hydrocarbons are surveyed using such methods as Magnetic Survey, Gravity Survey or seismic reflection surveys to investigate the characteristics of the sub-surface geology. If there is any interesting feature, commonly referred to as leads, then they are investigate further using the seismic survey. In case of a prospect being identified, it must be evaluated and then it is given the oil company’s criteria of selection. The oil company is responsible for drilling an exploration well which is the ultimate test for checking the possibility of the existence of oil or gas (Penrose, 211).
The exploration of oil is very risky not withstanding the amount of money that is involved. Only corporations that are of substantial wealth and size can afford an offshore exploration and a remote area exploration. The other entities that can afford such exploration are national governments. This is because it involves millions of dollars to explore and the risk involved is very high. Smaller companies are the ones that explore for onshore hydrocarbon deposits and they are relatively cheap because some wells can cost as low as $100,000 United States dollars (Penrose, 235).
Oil extraction
This is the process of removing the oil that can be used from the earth for processing. It involves three stages; primary recovery, secondary recovery and tertiary recovery.
The primary recovery stage involves a mechanism of natural orientation. It involves the oil being displaced by water up the well and the natural gas expansion on the reservoir’s upper side. There is also the expansion of gas that is contained in crude oil and also drainage through gravity which is a result of the oil movement in the reservoir moving to the lower parts from the upper parts. The factor of recovery during on this stage is usually 5% to 15%. All that is necessary after this is connection to an arrangement of complex piping and valving to be transported for processing and storage (Levy, 108).
In the secondary stage, since overtime the underground pressure will fall and there will not be enough pressure to push the oil up the well, they depend on external force in the reservoir. This is achieved by increasing the reservoir’s pressure by injecting fluids. There is the usage of pumps also in the secondary stage of recovery. The fluids used in increasing the pressure may vary from water, natural gas (re-injection), and air or carbon dioxide injection. The recovery factor of the secondary recovery from about 30% depending on the oil characteristic and the reservoir rock properties (Lesser, 158).
In the tertiary recovery stage, the major process is reducing the viscosity of oil so as to increase the production of oil. This involves the use of methods known as Thermally Enhanced Oil Recovery (TEOR). Using this method, the oil is heated which makes extraction easier. The most common form of TEOR is steam injection which involves the usage of a cogeneration plant. It uses a gas turbine which generates electricity and the heat produced is used to heat water to produce steam. This steam is then injected into the reservoir. Another method is carbon dioxide flooding which is also used to reduce the oil’s viscosity. This recovery stage is initiated when the secondary recovery is not capable of continuing enough production. It is also practiced only when there is the possibility of oil being extracted profitably. This stage recovery factor is 5% – 15% (Heiss, 36).
Oil refining
Oil refining is done in an oil refinery.
It encompasses industrial processing of crude oil into useful products which are used as a source of energy. These products include petroleum, diesel, heating oil, petroleum gas, asphalt base and fuel.
World major oil producers
In the world the leading oil producer is Saudi Arabia which boasts of a capacity of 10.72 million barrels of oil on a single day. It is closely followed by Russia with a capacity of 9.67 million barrels a day. The table below represents the world leading oil producers.
| Country | Total Oil Production (million barrel per day) |
| Saudi Arabia | 10.72 |
| Russia | 9.67 |
| United States | 8.37 |
| Iran | 4.12 |
| Mexico | 3.71 |
| China | 3.84 |
| Canada | 3.23 |
| United Arabs Emirate | 2.94 |
| Venezuela | 2.81 |
| Norway | 2.79 |
| Kuwait | 2.67 |
| Nigeria | 2.44 |
| Brazil | 2.16 |
| Iraq | 2.01 |
World major oil exporters
This list is again championed by Saudi Arabia and followed closely by Russia. Saudi has a capacity of exporting 8.65 million barrels on a single while Russia has a capacity of 2.54 million barrels per day (Koppes, 23).
The table below shows the world leading oil exporters.
| Country | Total exportation (Million barrels per day) |
| Saudi Arabia | 8.65 |
| Russia | 6.57 |
| Norway | 2.54 |
| Iran | 2.52 |
| United Arabs Emirates | 2.52 |
| Venezuela | 2.20 |
| Kuwait | 2.15 |
| Nigeria | 2.15 |
| Algeria | 1.85 |
| Mexico | 1.68 |
| Libya | 1.52 |
| Iraq | 1.43 |
| Angola | 1.36 |
| Kazakhstan | 1.11 |
Product Usage
The petroleum products after they have been fully processed and distributed are used in very many ways. For example all of the transportation energy in the world today is virtually dependent on petroleum products. In this era of globalization, petroleum is a paramount and very important source of energy before there can be invented other sources of energy.
Petroleum products are also used in other industries as well. There is a good host of industries which are dependent on petroleum products and by products for their manufacturing. A good example is the fertilizers and plastics industries which use the petroleum products and by products as a fundamental raw materials for their production (Levy, 258).
Other industries as well are indirectly dependent on petroleum products for their production. Many industries that use machinery in their line of operation are dependent on petroleum because they have to fuel the machines and other uses like oiling. Electricity generation also depends on fueling and thus petroleum is very vital to any economy (Penrose, 258).
World leading oil consumers
The United States is the leading oil consumer in the world followed closely by China and Japan. The table below shows the leading oil consumers in the world and the million barrels they consume per days.
| Country | Oil Consumption (million barrels per day) |
| United States | 20.59 |
| China | 7.27 |
| Japan | 5.22 |
| Russia | 3.10 |
| Germany | 2.63 |
| India | 2.53 |
| Canada | 2.22 |
| Brazil | 2.12 |
| South Korea | 2.12 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2.07 |
| Mexico | 2.03 |
| France | 1.97 |
| United Kingdom | 1.82 |
| Italy | 1.71 |
Current trends in the oil industry
Prices of oil products
The world has witnessed a rising trend in the prices of the oil products which raised concerns about this primary source of global energy. This can be explained by the fact that oil products are the kind of products that are dependent on the global economy and hence they pricing is dictated by the global demand and supply for them. In the recent years, oil production is expected to fall while in the markets the oil demand is increasing globally. The prices of oil products are also dependent on the price of crude oil and that has been rising steadily in time (Clark, 209).
Currently, the oil industry has been faced with criticism over its raising of petroleum products prices. However, as we have witnessed above, the supply of the oil products is seen to be diminishing while the demand is overwhelmingly increasing. It is common economics why the prices of petroleum products are rising by the day. The Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) organization have tried to resolve this issue by putting quotas on the producing countries, but in so doing they have also recognized the predicament of rising the cost of fuel. In short, raising the cost of petroleum products is hold in the global economy at ransom and this should be addressed with specific policies on oil production and marketing throughout the world (Heiss, 365).
Usage
In the modern world, petroleum products are virtually used to power all transportation related machines all over the world. Apart from that, other industries are dependent on petroleum products as their main source of raw materials. These industries include pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, plastics and other industries which are numerous to mention. The oil products in the world that are most commonly used include such products like gasoline, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel. Apart from that, other by products are also used in the named industries. So the industry is depended upon by various industries which are very vital to the modern civilization. Over 40% of the energy that is used by manufacturers, households and businesses is derived from petroleum products (Lesser, 198).
Production and distribution
Currently, there are various steps taken from the point of production to the point of marketing. One step is the production of the petroleum products. This step involves the processes of exploration, which is to find the location of hydrocarbon deposits. This process is very costly as it needs both sophisticated technology and equipment and also highly trained professionals. It also involves the process of extracting which is also very expensive and can only be done by very large corporations in some instances like offshore drilling and remote place drilling. It also requires state of the technology and equipment and also highly trained professionals. There is also the process of transportation which also involves trucks or pipelines. The maintenance cost of the trucks is also very expensive whereas the construction of pipeline systems is very expensive as it requires a lot of labor both trained and untrained (Levy, 296).
The next step is refining which is the process of turning the crude oil into usable products like gasoline and asphalt base. This process is also very expensive because it will also use state of the art technology and sophisticate equipment. The employees of oil refineries are also highly trained and thus costly to hire. There is also the workforce who include trained and untrained people who work in the refineries and they are also very expensive to hire. Most of all the maintenance of any refinery is very expensive (Eckes, 55).
The distribution step comes as the last step. This step is involved in moving the finished products to the end consumers. It is also an expensive step because it involves transportation using various forms of transportation. In the third world countries, there have been concern over the usage of tankers in transporting oil products because they are responsible for the deteriorating road systems in the countries. It is also very unfortunate because the governments are hard pressed by their respective budgets that it is very hard for them to repair the roads that have been damaged by the tankers. It is in this respect that oil companies are heavily taxed and hence the burden usually falls on to the end consumer (Koppes, 63).
The current trend in the oil industry can be said to be the root of the high oil prices, which can then be connected to the rising global demand for oil products, heavy taxation, over reliance by the global markets and finally the process of production and distribution of the petroleum products.
Future trends
As far as oil products are concerned, the future trends are dependent on a number of variables. One of them is that there is the emergence of renewable energy which, some experts believe, will phase out the use of fossil fuels. But before then, with the increased usage of renewable energy, the reliance of petroleum products will have to diminish and hence the prices are expected to fall or mostly to remain constant over some years (Patterson, 365).
All the other trends will have to remain as they are now unless new technologies are developed for exploration, extracting, processing and distribution. The international organizations will also have to curb the use of fossil fuels in relation to the rising global climate concern which the burning of fossil fuels are believed to be chief in affecting the global climate.
Oil marketing
In the 1960s the oil industry was dominated by multinationals such as Shell, BP and Mobil. These multinationals accessed around 80% of the global oil and related products reserves. But today, western multinationals are in control of about 10% of the global oil and the rest is controlled by firms that are run by states all over the world (Clark, 236).
The oil sold to governments all over the country especially where no oil is mined or where the country cannot produce enough oil to sustain itself. It sold as crude oil to corporations owned by the governments. Many governments in the world own their own refineries which are run by corporations. The distribution of the products of the government owned refineries is done by the government run corporations. In many countries the government own corporations then distribute the products to the wholesalers and retailers and the production eventually reach the end consumer.
References
Clark, John G. The Political Economy of World Energy: A Twentieth-Century Perspective. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1990.
Eckes, Alfred E., Jr. The United States and the Global Struggle for Minerals. Austin, Texas, 1979.
Heiss, Mary Ann. Empire and Nationhood: The United States, Great Britain, and Iranian Oil, 1950–1954. New York, 1997.
Koppes, Clayton R. “The Good Neighbor Policy and the Nationalization of Mexican Oil: A Reinterpretation.” Journal of American History 69 (1982): 62–81.
Lesser, Ian O. Resources and Strategy. London and New York, 1989.
Levy, Walter J. Oil Strategy and Politics, 1941–1981. Edited by Melvin A. Conant. Boulder, Colo., 1982.
Nye, David E. Consuming Power: A Social History of American Energies. Cambridge, Mass., 1998.
Patterson, Matthew. “Car Culture and Global Environmental Politics.” Review of International Studies 26 (2000): 253–270.
Penrose, Edith T. The Large International Firm in Developing Countries: The International Petroleum Industry. Cambridge, Mass.
World-Oil, (2008), Web.