TITANIC

TITANICTHE UNSINKABLE SHIP

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION2PROJECT BACKGROUND3PROJECT PHASES4PROJECT INITIATION4PROJECT PLANNING4DESIGN9CONSTRUCTION10TESTING (PLANNING & EXECUTION)10IMPLEMENTATION & OPERATIONS11LESSONS LEARNT13REFERENCES14APPENDIX 115APPENDIX 216

INTRODUCTION

In the current economic environment, value-for-money is a priority. Many businesses have drastically reduced their spending in recent times. In this scenario, an effective project management practice works to control the added risks that project activity introduces to normal business practice. Various reports in the past have shown that project failures have been on the rise. A recent survey report The 2013 project management survey report by KPMG indicates that while project activity is on the rise, so are the failure rates. It is thus imperative that we discuss the lessons learnt from the blunders made in the past. The lessons learnt can then be used to make project management more effective in the modern business. Mark Kozak Holland, author of the Lessons from History series very rightly says that we should focus on Lessons from the past that assist the projects of today to shape the World of tomorrow.

The Titanic project was one of the biggest blunders to have been ever made in the field of project management. In 1912 Titanic sank with a loss of 1328 lives, the greatest maritime disaster in the 20th century. Weighing over 45000 tons, the Titanic was the largest vessel in the World to sail on Sea in its time. The passenger facilities aboardTitanicwere of the highest standards of luxury. It was referred to as the Unsinkable ship. In this paper, we shall dwell in understanding the various stages of the Titanic project.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In the early 1900s the transatlantic passenger trade was highly profitable and competitive. White Star and Cunard were the major ship lines vying to transport wealthy travellers and immigrants in this route. In 1907, White Star faced stiff competition when Cunard Lines launched two of its vessels - Lusitania and the Mauretania. The two ships were poised to set new speed records for crossing the Atlantic Ocean. White Star also needed to replace its aging fleet. So it came up with an idea to invest in emerging technologies in gigantic ships. The plan was to build three gigantic ships Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Olympic and Titanic projects would run in parallel. Britannic would be built with the profits of the first two projects. Titanic was built by Harland & Wolff, one of the premier shipbuilders of the World to add to the fleet of Cunard Lines. The project was financed by JP Moran, the richest man in the World, during those times. The project started off on a very sound footing.

PROJECT PHASESThe project is divided into the following phases-1. Project Initiation2. Project Planning3. Design4. Construction5. Testing (Planning and Execution)6. Implementation and OperationsPROJECT INITIATION

Looking to answer his rival, White Star chairmanJ. Bruce Ismay met with William Pirrie, who controlled the Harland and Wolff, which constructed most of White Star's vessels. The two men devised a plan to build a class of large liners that would be known for their comfort instead of their speed. Project justification was based on unparalled luxury driving customers back, rather than speed on crossing. The main motive for White Star to take up this project was to stay competitive in the market by transforming business and replacing the aging fleet. Huge size of the ship and luxury were the prime focus, as the perception was that luxury attracts customers more than speed.

PROJECT PLANNING

The planning of the project was done taking into consideration the following parameters- Integration management Scope management Time management Cost management Quality management Human resource management Communications Management Risk Management Procurement ManagementIntegration managementThe business model of the project had a very sound footing. The following is the business model for the project:

Profitability analysis showed a 2 year breakeven and 75 % of revenue from was targeted from 1st class.

PROJECT OBJECTIVETo deliver 3 ships over 7 years. Revenue from the first two ships will fund the third. Considerations were to taken for safety, comfort and luxury and reasonable speed.Scope ManagementThe scope of the project was based on scale up of previous ships and considerations were made for use of emerging technologies.The work breakdown structure for the project was as follows:

For all 3 ships Design < 6 months For each ship Construction ~ 3 years Launch fitting out < 12months Sea trials < 2months Maiden Voyage = 1 week Total effort ~ 4 yearsTime management- The project has been classified as a Waterfall project. The first two ships were to be built in parallel, with delivery 9 months apart. The following is the schedule of the project:

Cost managementCosts were scaled up based past project experiences Final cost of the project arrived at $ 15 million for a pair.Quality managementHarland & Wolff had the best reputation for quality & craftsmanship, perfect quality standards were used in procurement of materials.Human Resources managementThe large workforce consisted of sponsors, operations team - captain, officers, and crew from White Star and the design team & remaining workforce of around 3000 workers from Harland & Wolff.Communications management-The following are the stakeholders of the project and their respective roles in the project: Project Sponsor Bruce IsmayExperience in projects and operations, marketing

Project Integrator- Lord PirrieExperience in projects, expert in ship building and emergent technologies

Project Financier/ Chief Executive JP MorganExperience in financing projects

Project Manager Chief Architect Thomas AndrewExperience in projects expert in integration of emerging technologies

Chief of operations- Captain EJ SmithExperience in operations, accepts the deliverables.Risk management-The risk planning was done under the following areas: Technical quality or performance risksExternal outside of the projectOrganizational unreasonable cost, time and scopeProject Management faults in managing project

Use of unproven and complex emerging technologySelect wrong integrator to meet contractual obligationsInadequate funding or disruption of fundingInaccurate scope

Ability to integrate technologies to a single unitLegal issues- regulationsUnreasonable cost, time and scope expectationsInaccurate financials

Expectations for impractical levels of quality and performanceWeather Force majeure risk in Atlantic storms traversing iceberg AlleyPoor project prioritizationInaccurate schedule

Changes to industry standardsCertain months like April worst months for icebergCompetitions with other projects for resources and materialLower quality work

Not meeting Government regulationsPoor external communicationOperational readiness and preparedness of officers and crewNot transferring lessons learnt between ships

Long construction project (6 yrs). Changes in business model, technologyFailure to test and inadequate sea trials

Labor issues (unions)

Procurement managementThe planning for procurement of materials for two Olympic Class Liners was as follows: Based on a cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) Bill of Materials & Labour were passed onto White Star Harland & Wolff guaranteed 5% profit on the contractThis was the standard practice followed in the shipbuilding industry.Project was signed in April 1907 and construction started with huge project investments reconfiguring the shipyards for the next 50 years. The project was a great opportunity for Harland & Wolff to modernize.DESIGN

Thomas Andrew led the design team. The ship was designed taking into account the non -functional requirement of safety. Ship builder's model was used to test the worst case failure scenarios - like groundings and collisionsA double skin hull was selected for groundings and for collisions 15 vertical bulkheads were designed. There were increased numbers of look-outs in the forepeak and bridge wings. Triple stacked lifeboats, a total of 48 numbers were used in the design. (Appendix 1) The best of the emergent technologies were incorporated in the ship. Andrews included all technologies (new and proven) to MAXIMIZE safety. With so many precautions taken for the safety of the passengers, there grew a perception within the team that the ship was unsinkable.

But the design was compromised by- Changing from 48 to 16 single lifeboats. This was done due to the perception that having such a large number of lifeboats on the ship would make it less luxurious. Lifeboat regulation was outstripped as the ship needed to have a minimum of 20 lifeboats as per the increased size of the ship. Also, 1178 instead of 3600 lifeboat places were accommodated on board with the assumption that the ship would remain afloat for long enough for rescue of the passengers. To accommodate the dinning salon, largest room ever to go to sea, height of 2 of the 15 feet bulkheads ( every 60 feet) was compromised CONSTRUCTION

The construction consisted of 3 phases: Building of the external structure Launch of the ship Fitting outConstruction went on without any hassles and Olympic was successfully launched. Newspapers spread the word that the ship was 'Practically Unsinkable'. The ship was launched in 62 seconds in front of a crowd of 100,000. Ismay added safety to size, luxury and comfort in his promotions during the launch.Even the fitting out of the Olympic was carried out without any flaws. TESTING (PLANNING & EXECUTION)

Olympic had completed 8 weeks of trial, and it was then ready for its maiden voyage. Titanic was also launched on the same day. Two spectacular events coincided on the same day. Through maximum publicity the perception of unsinkable ship was passed on from the core team to the public.During Titanics fitting out Ismay suggested 3 major changes in the ship: - increased class accommodation by 100- created cafe parisian- Open promenade deck 'A' to stop sea sprayAll the above changes were blindly accepted, even though it was affecting project deadlines.3 major incidents happened with the Olympic: Tug Hallenback was pulled under Olympic's propeller during docking There was collision between Olympic and Hawke in the Isle of Wight due to Bernoulli effect. Both the ships were severely damaged. Olympics 2 aft compartments were flooded, starboard engine stopped working. Propeller blades got damaged, internal frames twisted, propeller shaft got damaged and it could not be repaired (had to be replaced). Cost of repair was 17 % of the original cost of the project. Lead time for new orders would take months. This meant cost and time implications for the project. To catch up on the lagging project schedule, Titanics workforce was shifted on Olympic. Project Titanic was cannibalized Olympic hit a floating wreck in Grand Banks, under the surface and lost a propeller blade. The propeller blade had to be repaired. Work on titanic was stopped. While Olympic was being pulled out of dry dock, its port side got grounded. This further delayed Titanic's schedule, also not much cash was left.(Appendix 2)

As a result of this delay in the project Olympic, Titanics sea trials were cut from 8 weeks to half a day. She went for her maiden voyage as soon as she got her 1 year certificate.IMPLEMENTATION & OPERATIONS

There were 100 articles on Olympic, only 30 for Titanic. To revive public interest, Ismay planned the strategy to beat Olympics best crossing time. Strategy was to race towards Iceberg Alley, navigate slowly and then speed up again. Officers were aware of French liner Niagara's collision in Iceberg Alley.Titanic left harbour in haste; it pulled New York Liner towards her and broke her moorings. But fortunately the collision was avoided. Lessons from Olympic had not been learned. Officer's still carried on compromised testing to meet the new crossing time record. Lifeboat drill was performed with only one lifeboat. This gave it a certificate to sail.3 feedback mechanisms were used to alert the proximity of field ice. Lookouts - Lookouts in the crow's nest were missing their binoculars from day1. Officers refused to share theirs, because of rank. Ice bucket test - Rope was too short to collect sea water for temperature measurement. Mariner took tap water and fudged the test. Wireless Marconigram - It received iceberg warnings from other ships but operators were overloaded by commercial traffic. Around 250 messages were sent and received.At 7: 30 pm in the evening last ice warnings were passed to the bridge, Captain at dinner. 37 seconds after the lookouts gave a warning, there was a collision but not severe. Two damage assessment teams were sent for inspection. No damage was reported by the first group. Ismay got impatient, and did not wait for the reports from the second assessment team. He assumed that Titanic was safe to sail again. Engine was started and Titanic sailed again. This caused the plates to further get ruptured and increased flooding. Had it not been so at 8 knots the Titanic would have arrived at Halifax port within a few days time.Second damage assessment group reported that pumps were not keeping up with flooding. The compromised design of bulkhead heights increased flooding and after more than an hour the captain ordered that lifeboats be filled.

LESSONS LEARNT

The Titanic project had a very good business model, with the breakeven point being achieved in 2 years and 75 % of the revenue being generated from first class. But the perception of the core team about Titanic being an Unsinkable Ship led them to make the following blunders Compromises in design and testing. Elevation of expectations of end deliverable allowed business pressure to override operational procedures. Lack of stakeholder management. Further compromises in the implementation.

REFERENCES

1. KPMG Project Management Survey 2013.2. Project Management Blunders Lessons from the Project that Built, Launched and Sank Titanic by Mark Kozak Holland.

APPENDIX 1

The figures below show the initial design of the gigantic ships Olympic and Titanic which were later on compromised.

APPENDIX 2

The effect of the 3 incidents that happened with Olympic due to which the Titanic project was hampered is shown below in the S-shaped cost curve.

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