ABC Telecom Pty Ltd (Australia) is advertising a project manager position to expand their NBN rollout business. Tom applied for this position and at the interview he was asked to work out a solution to a project scheduling problem. The problem description is as follow: Tom will be leading an optical fibre upgrade project along a section of La Trobe Street in the Melbourne CBD. Initially, Tom was given 55 weeks to complete the project. This include the project initiation, planning, executing and closure phases. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling mix-up made by the Public Works Department of the Melbourne City Council, ABC Telecom has been asked to finish the upgrade project by 31/07/2020 (i.e. within 43 weeks) so that Metro Trains Melbourne can commence their track maintenance work along the same section on La Trobe Street from the following week. With no other options, Toms supervisor asked him to develop a revised plan to shorten the original project schedule so that it can be finished by the time requested by the Council.

There are nine (9) major activities, five (5) of which are considered as critical. As this is an interview question, Tom was asked to simply call these activities A to I. Activity A requires 11 weeks to complete but can be reduced by 2 weeks for a cost of $5,000. Activity C takes 14 weeks and can be shortened to 6 weeks for a cost of $32,000. Activity E has a duration of 48 weeks and can be reduced by 10 weeks for a cost of $20,000. Activity F takes 10 weeks to complete and can be reduced to 6 weeks for a cost of $4,000. Activity G has a duration of 16 weeks and can be shortened by 6 weeks for a cost of $18,000. Activities B, D, H, I have a duration of 14 weeks, 23 weeks, 18 weeks, and 22 weeks respectively, but they are not considered as critical.

a) Which activity(ies) should be shortened so that Tom can deliver the project by 31/07/2020? To receive full marks, you must show your steps clearly. [6 Marks]

b) What would be the cost per week saved?