Project Management
Core content
Scope, schedule, cost and quality are managed together. A work breakdown structure defines deliverables at a level that can be estimated and controlled. In the critical path method, the critical path has zero total float and any delay on it delays the project; float belongs to an activity but is often managed at project level. Earned value uses PV (planned value), EV (earned value) and AC (actual cost): CV = EV − AC, SV = EV − PV, CPI = EV/AC, SPI = EV/PV. CPI above 1 means under budget; SPI below 1 means behind schedule. Know contract types - lump sum (contractor carries quantity risk), unit rate, and cost-plus (owner carries cost risk) - plus the change-control principle that no scope change proceeds without documented approval. Risk management: identify, assess using probability × impact, plan the response (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept), then monitor. Quality planning, QA, QC and handover documentation complete the picture.
Traps: computing schedule variance in days rather than cost; believing SPI > 1 always means early completion (it measures value, not time); confusing total float with free float; treating a verbal instruction as an approved change; and assuming lump sum transfers all risk, including unforeseeable conditions.
Worked example. PV = 400 000, EV = 360 000, AC = 390 000. CPI = 360/390 = 0.92 (over budget); SPI = 360/400 = 0.90 (behind schedule); CV = −30 000; SV = −40 000. The project is late and overspent, so the response is to review the critical path and cost drivers rather than simply adding resources.
Rule of thumb: EAC ≈ AC + (BAC − EV)/CPI, but this forecast only becomes reliable after roughly 15–20 % completion.
Health, Safety and Quality
Core content
Risk management runs as a cycle: identify hazards, assess likelihood and severity, apply controls, record and review. The hierarchy of control is the most examined idea: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls (guards, ventilation, isolation), administrative controls (procedures, training, permits), and PPE last. Permits to work, lock-out/tag-out, confined-space entry, hot work, working at height and lifting plans are administrative controls that must be verified, not assumed. Quality: QA is process-focused and preventive; QC is product-focused and detective (inspection, testing, measurement). ISO 9001 requires documented processes, control of records, management review and corrective action. Non-conformance reports trigger root cause analysis - 5 Whys or a fishbone diagram - and corrective action, not merely rework. Audits, calibration records, inspection and test plans and hold points provide the objective evidence.
Traps: choosing PPE as the first control; substituting disciplinary action for engineering controls; confusing QA with QC; treating corrective action as identical to repair; assuming zero recorded incidents means zero risk; and assuming a permit makes a job safe rather than confirming that the controls are in place.
Worked example. A risk matrix scores likelihood 4 × severity 4 = 16, a high risk that must be reduced before work starts. Fitting an interlocked guard may drop likelihood to 1, giving a score of 4 - an engineering control that outperforms any amount of training or signage.
Rule of thumb: if a control depends on a person remembering to do something every single time, it is the weakest class of control available.