How this Canadian-born paper company thrives in a paperless era

In July, 1918, a Torontonian named Roy Hill took a gamble. He borrowed $432 from a life insurance policy and $1,500 from his parents - who took out a second mortgage on their home to do it - to start his own business: He called it the Canadian Pad and Paper Company. Hill worked 16-hour days out of his Wellington Street office in downtown Toronto. He was the company's manager, salesman, shipper and paper cutter - and did it all using rented equipment. In the evenings his wife would streetcar to the factory to help package the shipments. Within two years, the Canadian Pad and Paper Company outgrew its offices and moved to a larger space nearby.

Slowly but surely, Hill's gamble paid off. Business was thriving. Hill's cardboard-covered notebooks could be found in schools everywhere. Following the purchase of another envelope company in 1958, Roy Hill changed the name of the company to Hilroy Envelopes and Stationary Limited. The business moved yet again to - appropriately - an elementary school-looking building on Eglington West. Roy Hill - who remained chairman of the board well into old age - passed away in 1978, leaving behind a Canadian legacy. Hilroy's primary-coloured exercise books have been a staple in Canadian classrooms for the better part of a century. And here's the remarkable thing: The brand still produces 14 million of those notebooks a year - making it the largest stationary company in the country. It takes just 45 seconds to make a Hilroy notebook. But it takes years to build an iconic brand. It's amazing that a paper company can not only survive, but still thrive in a paperless era.

Source:https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/how-this-canadian-born-paper-company-thrives-in-a-paperless-era-1.5146339

Hilroy is trying to move away from traditional power to alternative energy sources. They want all their production plants and all their offices to be converted to solar power. Seneca Solar has been chosen as a vendor and you are the Project Manager for Seneca Solar. The business case has been approved. In Phase-1, Seneca Solar converting the head office in Toronto to solar power. The project start date is next month. Because you are experienced, the executives call on you to You have done similar projects before. The project was just approved and the executives want a cost estimate by end of day. Which cost estimating technique would you use?

• Which estimation method would you use?
• Specify and explain why?

One of your team members, Sally Riemer, is responsible to estimate cost and time for Phase-1. She has told you that a contract will be central to the success of the project and because of this both parties agree to delay the project start for 3 months. Because of the contract and protecting profit margins estimates have to be very accurate.

• Which estimation method would you use?
• Specify and explain why?

Considering that Seneca Solar has successfully delivered more than 100 solar panel installation projects for different building sizes in the last 5 years and that in a project the costs incurred are $ 82 per solar panel and that Phase 1 will require 1200 solar panels

• Which estimation method would you use
• Specify and explain why?

CEO at Hilroy wants to see the work package in the WBS and also wants to understand how you would make the budget for your project.

• Name the steps to convert WBS to a project schedule?
• How critical path analysis helps you as a project manager in managing time and cost?

Below is a network diagram for Phase 1 of the solar installation project. Answer the following questions a. What is the duration of the project?

b. Which is the critical path?

c. What is the float of Task B?

d. what does 0 (zero) float mean? How does a Project manager use this concept of float in managing projects?