Unit 8; Access Control

Project description
After retrieving and reviewing the article, prepare a critique outlining the main points of the article as well as explaining why these are critical

to the success of any project.
Your response should be in the form of a 400-500 word essay and follow the General APA Guidelines. The essay should be in 12 print type, double-

spaced, with margins of 1 inch on all sides. Your citations should also reflect the APA style guidelines

Access Control
Project managers must
be effective communicators
who can convey
critical information,
which is what Darryl
Keeler (center).
president of Tech
Systems, strives for
with his managers.
By Joan Engebretson, Contributing Writer Project
Security systems Integrators are learning
something that their counterparts in information
technology and electrical contractiiig
have known for some time — namely,
the value that disciplined project management can
bring to a business.
“With the technology getting easier, the pressure
is more and more on managing delivery and
making money on projects.” notes Nadim Sawaya.
president of Enterprise Pertomiance Gonsulting.
Pittsburgh. Calif., a firm that öfters training and
consulting on project management tailored for the
security industry.
When Sawaya consults with a systems integrator,
part of the analysis he does involves process
mapping to determine where a company may be
losing money. He has found that the net margin on
a job. on average, ends up at 10 percent less than the
original estimate. If a company can correct that by
implementing project management best practices.
Sawaya says. “The financial impact is huge — they
can double or triple their net present value.”
To ensure success, systems integrators must
adopt a project management culture, Sawaya
says. They need to provide the infrastructure.
including written procedures and operations
manuals, to allow a project manager to effectively
manage.
A PROJECT MANAGER’S RESPONSIBILITY
Project managers typically are responsible for
overseeing an installation from the time of sale
until final delivery to the customer, and for ensuring
that cost and delivery targets are realistic and
that they are met. To achieve that, project managers
must be effective communicators who can convey
critical information to engineers, installers, and
salespeople, as well as key stakeholders on the
client side. Many project managers handle several
projects in various states t)f completion at a time,
which means that organization and documentation
is critical.
Entrance Controls of Vancouver, Wash., is one
company that contracted with Enterprise Performance
Consulting to help it implement a project
management program. The result. Entrance Controls
president David Pelkey explains, is that “We
have an operations platform, an operations manual
and it’s all mapped to software that runs the company
and that everyone uses.”
54 April 2008 SDM
By iiiiplLMiienling a formal project management
program, Pelkey says. Entrance Controls was able
to increase the amount of technician time the
company actually bills from 75 percent to over 90
percent — a result Pelkey attributes to the fact that
in the past, technicians had to do their own project
management.
Kntrance Controls also put project managers
through a formal training program put on by Enterprise
Performance Consulting and as a result.
Pelkey says, “We have received a lot of compliments
and comments from customers about the
responsiveness and professionalism of our project
managers.”
Another benefit, he says, is that, “Other contractors
we work for recognize that we’re accomplished
at project management, which protects us
during construction projects. Before they were
running circles around us.”
The customer gets
exactly what they expect
the first time.’
— Wayne Smith. Tech Systems
methodology for years,” he explains. “Sharing this
methodology gives us credibility when dealing
with projects where IT is heavily involved.”
By following practices learned as part of the FMP
training, Smith says, “You get it right the first time.
Your deliverabies are very specific and you have to
have it laid out so IT knows exactly when and where
you want to implement software or a firewull. The customer
gets exactly what they expect the first time.”
Andy Chambers, director of regional services
for Tech Systems., leads several project manage- Management
TRAINING & CERTIFICATIONS
Several different organizations, including the Security
Industry Association (SIA) and the National
Systems Contractors Association, offer certification
programs in project management. Increasingly,
systems integrators also are hiring or training
people to be project management professionals
(PMPs), a certification program of the Project
Management Institute that has a heavy emphasis
on information technology best practices.
Tech Sy.stcms of Duluth, Ga., 5DA/’s inaugural
Systems Integrator of the Year in 2004, is one
security systems integrator that has PMP-certified
project managers on staff, along with employees
who have become certified security project managers
(CSPMs) through a SIA program that is tailored
for the security industry. “With convergence, you
really have to adopt both programs,” comments
Wayne Smith, vice president of network services
for Tech Systems.
PMP training emphasizes testing and authorization,
which is especially critical in an IT environment.
Smith says. “IT has been using this
Tech Systems has 27 project managers on staff.
PHOTOS BY ROB YOUNG
April 2008 55
BEST PRACTICES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
ment teams, including 13 employees who have
received CSPM certification. “When you see a
problem, it teaches you what questions you need
ask and it emphasizes how project managers
should document what they do on a daily hasis,”
“”Chambers says.
*” Chambers also likes the fact that the CSPM
program requires certificate recipients to get continuing
education units after certification. “In our
industry there are so many changes, it’s important
to keep up-to-date with them and maintain professionalism.””
Chambers comments.
‘When you see a problem,
¿teaches you what ques-
:ions you need to ask.’
In the following short segments, we explore
some of the best practices in project management
today and learn how they have helped systems
integrators improve the quality of their work and
maximize profitability.
1. GET EVERYTHING STRAIGHT UP FRONT
Entrance Controls has a fairly formal process for
what president David Pelkey calls “turnover” —
where salespeople and sales engineering turn a
project over to the company’s operations staff,
which includes the project manager. As part of the
process, all project parameters are discussed and a
strategy is created, Pelkey says.
“Operations takes the information and has up
to two weeks to re-estimate it,” Pelkey explains.
Before the two weeks are up, Pelkey says, operations
determines whether the job can be done at the
proposed margin or not, and if not, an explanation
is provided.
The commission for the salespeople is driven off
the accepted gross margin, which may not match
the margin at which the job was sold.
As a result, Pelkey explains, “The
project gets sold pretty accurately.”
This approach also provides a
strong motivator for the operations
staff by providing a clear margin
goal to which operations has agreed.
A quarterly monetary incentive is
also involved. “If they did 10 jobs that came in
10 to 15 percent under their estimate as a group,
everyone who touched the job gets a piece of that
reward based on individual salaries and how much
time they spent on the job.” Pelkey relates.
Albuquerque, N.M.-based systems integrator
SCI Inc. also relies on project managers to help
ensure that a project meets its margin goals, but
the company approaches that goal a bit differently,
SCI co-owner Daved Levine notes that the .scope
of work, in combination with the project detail and
design material package, becomes the P&L (as in
“profit and loss”) guideline for each project.
“Project managers can be creative about how to
accomplish that.” Levine comments. “We love to
see artistic installations where the cable is brought
in and managed beautifully or conduit that could
be a sculpture.”
Although meeting schedules is important,
Levine says, “We reinforce quality of work over
speed. No one is ever pressured to do things fast,
just to do it right and do it well. If something will
take a bit more time, but it’s within the company
allowance, the project manager is allowed to make
that decision.”
He adds, however, that ‘There is a cut-off point
and beyond a certain point, the project manager
must involve someone else.”
2. STUDY YOUR CONTRACTS
Often a systems integrator is a subcontractor to
another contractor or general contractor. In those
situations, it’s particularly important to review
contracts carefully and to know what to iook for,
advises Pat Van Haren, president of Grand Rapids,
Mich.-based systems integrator SecurAlarm.
One general contractor worded a document so
that SecurAlarm would have been required to
do warranty work for a year, regardless of the
cause. “If another contractor hammered our equipment,
we would have had to replace it,” Van Haren
recalls.
SecurAlarm project managers make sure that
indemnification clauses are worded so that the
company will only be involved in a lawsuit if it
‘Liability, indemnity and warranty
are key things. We’re
not afraid to negotiate a
different clause.’
— Pat Van Haren, SecureAlarm
56 April 2008 SDM
BEST PRACTICES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
is at fauli. “That way. if there’s a suit on the job,
we’re noi dragged in unless we had a part in it.” Van
Hiireii explains.
– “L,iäbility, indemnity and warranty are key
things.” Van Haren says. “We’re not afraid to
negotiate a different clau.se.”
SecurAlarm often borrows new wording from
sample contracts published by the American Institute
of Architects. That organization publishes an
invaluable resource book, Van Haren says. SecurAl-
Even when the client is a
general contractor, it’s critical
to have a kick-off meeting
srior to starting a project.
arm also belongs to the American Subcontractors
Association and has found that to be a helpful
affiliation.
3. THE KICK-OFF MEETING
The kickoff meeting with the client is a critical
event. The project manager and key members of
the team that will work on the job should attend
the meeting, along with key personnel on the client
side, Sawaya advises. The goal ofthat meeting, he
says, is to “set expectations and designate the scope
of work.”
The project manager also should ensure that the
company has an approved engineering submittal
from the customer before doing any work on the
project, Sawaya advises.
RFI Communications & Security Systems, a San
Jose. Calit.-based systems integrator, has found
kick-off meetings with clients to be extremely
beneficial in managing client expectations, which
in high-tech Silicon Valley sometimes tend to be
unrealistic.
“We used to have great meetings internally but
then we found that the client may have had a different
perspective,” comments Brad Wilson. RFi
president.
Even when the client is a general
contractor, it’s critical to have
a kick-off meeting prior to starting
a project, notes Bob McMenimon,
founder of Canton, Mass.-based
integrator MAC Systems — and if
subcontractors are involved, they
should also be present.
4. DON’T OVERLOOK STOREO MATERIALS
In ordering materials tor a job. systems integrators
face a delicate balancing act. To get volume
discounts, they may need to place a large order.
But they also need to recognize the hidden costs of
ordering material too early – such as storage costs,
which should also include the cost of insurance.
“Make sure you know how to bill for stored
materials,” advises Van Haren, who notes that
systems integrators may be able to bill general
contractors or end-user clients for storage. He cautions,
however, that “If you only get 90 cents on the
dollar for stored material, you’d better time your
purchases coiTectly.””
Another important timing issue pertains to warranties.
The clock on a warranty period starts
ticking when equipment is purchased — and if the
equipment is not installed right away, it shortens the
coverage period once the equipment is installed.
5. DOCUMENT ALL CHANGES
A key benefit of a formal project management program
is to put a systems integrator into a stronger
position when it encounters issues created by other
contractors that can impact the integrator’s ability
to meet its project goals.
“One of the key things I tell project managers is
even though we may be further down on the food
chain, we’re just as entitled to relief from schedule
impact and cost impact.” comments Doug Whidby.
vice president of operations for Convergint Technologies,
Schaumburg, III.. SDM’?. 2007 Systems
Integrator of the Year. “Documentation on a project
is crucial and needs to be timely and detailed.”
The two tnost critical documents involved in
working with other contractors are the request for
information (RFI) and the change order request
(COR), Whidby says. If. for example, the project
manager were to hear that an end-user client organization
was planning to add a door to a new construction
project, it would be the project manager’s
responsibility to issue an RFI asking for continuation
that a door was being added. In the RFI. the
project manager also would ask if the door should
be added to his or her scope of work.
‘On several large projects, a
particular piece of documentation
has saved us in the
$20,000 to $50,000 range/
— Doug Whidby, Convergint Technologl
58 April 2008
BEST PRACTICES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
RFIs and CORs should be issued to whomever
the systems integrator is contracted with, which
could be a general contractor or subcontractor. That
entity may not have the answer to the question, but
it is the responsibility of that entity to determine
^the answer by issuing an RFI to its client, who,
^if necessary, issues an RFI to its client until the
decision-maker is reached.
“We might generate several RFIs or CORs in the
course of a large project,” Whidby relates. “The
project manager should maintain a log of each
request, when it was sent, when it came back and
if it was approved or disapproved.”
RFIs or CORs also should be issued when a
‘We try our best to factor in
the ‘what its’ but sometimes
you have to figure things even
out over a number of jobs.’
— Mike Gordon, Red Hawk
systems integrator is unable to perform work on
schedule because of something another contractor
did — such as failing to install a door on time.
“On several large projects, a particular piece
of documentation has saved us in the $20,000 to
$50,000 range,” Whidby says. “Without documentation,
there would be very little chance of securing
that money because inherently we’re a lower-tier
contractor.”
6. CLOSEÜUT
Systems integrators also can benefit from instituting
formal procedures for closing out a job.
Red Hawk, a nationwide systems integrator
headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo., does a
closing audil on a job in the month that it was completed.
“We don’t turn it in for billing until we make
sure it’s correct,” comments Mike Gordon, project
manager for Red Hawk. “If we used subcontractors,
we make sure we got the bills. If there were
add-ons, we make sure they were included and we
make sure that all labor has hit ihe job.”
At that time, the company also looks for lessons
learned that it can apply to future jobs. After doing a
lot of work for local schools, for example. Red Hawk
has found that halls can become crowded between
classes, temporarily preventing technicians from
working. The company now factors in extra time in
planning such jobs while school is in session.
Ultimately, a systems integrator has to learn to
expect some surprises, Gordon says.
When bidding such jobs. Red Hawk could factor
in extra costs to cover such unexpected delays.
But, Gordon notes. “We want to get the job and if
we factored in everything that could go wrong, we
probably wouldn’t do a lot of jobs. We try our best
to factor in the ‘what ifs’ but sometimes you have
to figure things even out over a number of jobs and
often they do.”
Convergint Technologies’ project managers also
follow a rather formal process for closing out a
job. “When operations turns a project over to the
service group, they go out and do a job walk,”
Whidby notes. The project manager and service
manager walk through the site and review a handover
document.
Having a formal closeout process also can ensure
that the project manager has a clean break with
the customer and can provide a clear demarcation
for the beginning of the warranty period, Whidby
explains. •
Upcoming Project Management Training Opportunities
Enterprise Performan
Security Project Man
Two-day course
Dates: May S-6
Location: PSA Security Network. PSA-TÊC.
St. Pheasant Run Resort & Spa, St. Charles,
For information:
www.psasecurity.corn;
telephone (303) 252-8607
Five-day course
June 2-6: Bristol, Conn.
Sept. 8-12: San Jose, Calif.
Nov. 3-7: Dallas, Texas
For mformation:
Stephanie Mathias, smathias@siaonline.org;
telephone {703} 683-2075
60 April 2008