In times of change, in order for the vision and strategy of a company to be realised, there needs to be proper project management, says Johnson Controls Africa Region project operations manager Yasas Jayakody.

“Project management helps to drive organisations forward by building the frameworks and environments within which teams and individuals can function optimally in order to meet project time and cost constraints while achieving performance requirements in the delivery of projects,” as well as the desired quality of the end product,” he explains.

Jayakody says that Johnson Controls’ Global WorkPlace Solutions team has first-hand knowledge of creating optimised business environments for companies. “When mergers and acquisitions occur, when companies downscale and when they realise the need for transformation, they call on the Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions team to lead and assist with the internal restructure and optimisation of their facilities,” he adds.

Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions is a provider of facilities, corporate real estate and project management solutions.

Jayakody further states that when the Work Place Solutions team do their work, they take into account the staffing make-up of the client company, the processes employed by the company and the technology that is required in order to design an effective solution for the company.

Jayakody says the Global WorkPlace Solutions teams make use of a Web-based reporting tool that has global project management best practices embedded into it. The tool provides a snapshot of the project as well as the risks involved and is also able to allow the WorkPlace Solutions team to perform project management remotely. The tool is embedded with capabilities of acting as a project interface and it is able to keep the team and all project stakeholders fully aware of project deliverables and performance progress against targets and within cost and time constraints.

He further adds that in order to deliver projects successfully, the team working on the projects needs to have relevant knowledge and experience relating to the specific industry they are working in, such as engineering and construction industries.

“The key factors that contribute to delivering a project successfully for the client include knowledge of the principles that need to be applied in the client’s particular industry, such as health and safety; gaining a full understanding of the needs of the client at each project site; knowing and understanding who the users of the project are; and being able to engage with the client and the users at all levels. It also involves effective cost-management to ensure that the project remains within budget,” he explains.

In addition, he says that understanding and defining the scope, the risks involved and the possible constraints are all important factors necessary to complete the project successfully.