Work Breakdown Structure:

Breakdown of office move

Analyze the case study document and compile a Work Breakdown list of activities for the office move.

Case Study: The Nutmeg Manufacturing Company

Introduction

The Human Resources Department of The Nutmeg Manufacturing Company has to move it's present office to new premises on the other side of the city. Of the thirty members of the department, a small team has been identified to plan and manage the move, reporting to the Director of HR. The planning should start immediately and the move must be complete so the entire department can operate normally in the new premises beginning in the ninth week.

Purpose

The case study is designed to support a course in basic Project Management. This entails the management of a complete office move within seven weeks with each student as the Project Manager. This entails activities and tasks for the initiation, planning, executing, controlling and closing the project. Students will develop a plan with scheduled activities and simulate the implementation and completion activities of the move project

Background

The Nutmeg Manufacturing Company has suffered several business setbacks in the past three years and has been downsizing and reducing staff, though business now appears to be stabilizing. The office move is occurring because the Head Office building where the HR department is located, is moving to smaller, less expensive, but more modern premises. HR will be the first department to relocate and the Director, who only joined the company last month, is determined for the move to proceed smoothly and possibly be a model to guide the other departmental moves.

The HR Department currently consists of thirty full time employees. A Director of HR heads the department with five managers, twenty specialists and four administrative staff. At this time one of the managers and four of the specialists are being laid off. These five employees have already been informed and are physically leaving the company tomorrow. Their responsibilities are being distributed among the remaining staff, but their business files will be included in the move.

Current Situation

The Director and each of the five managers have individual offices on the second floor of the building. Three of the administrative assistants have desks at their workstations in a row outside the managers' offices. Of the twenty specialists, three have individual offices, six are in three offices of two people each and the remaining eleven staff members are in two large rooms, one accommodating six, the other accommodating five along with the fourth administrative assistant. These are all on the third floor of the building. Two small rooms are available for recruitment interviewing on the first (ground) floor and there is a small conference room available on the second floor for shared use with other departments.

Every employee has a desk with drawers and filing capabilities, a chair, a medium sized filing cabinet, a bookcase, a computer, a telephone, a desk lamp and a waste paper basket. Additionally;

o The Director has second filing cabinet and bookcase, a table and four chairs and a wall mounted white board

o The Managers each have a credenza, a small table, three chairs, a wall mounted white board

o The Administrative Assistants each have a second filing cabinet and a small side table.

o There are eight large filing cabinets in a central location containing the department's files

o There is one fax machine located in the coffee room

o There is one networked printer located on a small table outside the second floor coffee room and a two more printers located on a large table outside the third floor coffee room

o Other equipment to be moved include, 3 coffee makers, 1 microwave oven, 1 small refrigerator, 2 flipchart stands, I shredding machine, 2 overhead projectors, 4 boxes of copy paper, a cabinet full of office supplies, assorted pieces such as mail in trays, 1 paper trimmer, a incoming mail box with a "cubby-hole" for each employee.

The specialists' desks are all of an old fashioned style and are to be left behind, in place.

The Facilities Department has already informed the Department (and other departments) that the old telephone numbers cannot be kept and that new numbers will be allocated when the present phone equipment is installed at the new location.

New Situation

In the new office space, which will be primarily "open plan" with individual cubicles, there are only three single offices, one medium sized conference room, a large coffee room, and a small room that can be used as a filing cabinet and office supplies area.

There is no absolute limitation in the number of activities and tasks you create, but between 25 and 35 should be adequate

Lead Times

o Partitions and paneling require five business days from order placement. These may be delivered to the new site

o New cubicle desks and overhead cupboards require eight business days from order placement. These may be delivered to the new site

o Telephone wiring requires one day (at a labor cost of $1000) if carried out while the partitions are being installed, three days (at a labor cost of $3000) if they are installed after the partitions are in place

o Company Facilities Dept can move the equipment on four days notice and require one full day to move everything

o It takes one hour to drive across the city to the new Headquarters Building.

The Move

The Director's intent is to have the new partitions and furniture delivered and setup, along with the telephone jacks, prior to any movement of equipment or personnel. He would prefer, if possible, to have the move accomplished in one day, over a weekend.

The staff is responsible for packing their own belongings and files into cardboard moving boxes that will be provided. The boxes will be placed in their individual offices and cubicles.

The Administrative Assistants are responsible for packing all the common and coffee room equipment and office supplies.

Budget Costs

The cost of new equipment and supplies is not included in the move budget.

The Facilities Department cross charge the HR Department $350 per hour for the team of six movers. This includes use of necessary vehicles. Overtime, outside of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, is charged at $450 per hour

Make reasonable estimates for any other services or resources you require