Resource Planning and Management in Construction Projects

Resource planning and management1
RESOURCE PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
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Resource planning and management 2
Resource planning and management
Question 1
Materials and resource management primarily deals with organising and constructing a
strategy for the movement (Langford et al. 2014, pp. 33). It coordinates arrangement, sourcing,
procuring, moving, storing, and monitoring of elements in a proper manner to provide a
proactive decision to the customer at a minimum cost. The goal is to deliver an interrupted chain
of materials for the manufacture on time. Thus, materials are released to a supply base, and on
time, such that the customer is not inconvenienced. It ensures customer satisfaction; loyalty and
risk of a customer changing to another source are rare (Burtonshaw-Gunn 2017, pp.26).
Therefore, costly inventories will have their way to the intended consumer ensuring the company
goals are attained. For convenience and better planning, the company can put in place the use of
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to manage materials control (Kim et al. 2012, pp. 67). ERP
ensures proper management of financial resources without compromising the quality of the end
product as well as customer satisfaction (Kim et al. 2012, pp. 68).
A buffer stock is a supply of materials for production as a reserve meant to avoid
unforeseen shortages and demands. It can also involve ensuring that surplus materials or
resources are stored and used when scarcity of the same arise in the future (Langford et al. 2014,
pp. 37). Two types of buffer stock schemes exist, two-price scheme and single price scheme. In a
two-price plan, minimum and maximum rates are determined. When the amount of materials
drops close to the minimum price, the manager starts ordering the stock. In the same manner,
when the prices are close to the maximum determined rate, the manager disburses the material.
In a single price scheme, the minimum and maximum rates are made equal and hold when the
market price is always fixed. It is a far much external process, and thus, a two-price scheme is

Resource planning and management 3
favourable for an organisation (Verzuh 2015, pp.29). Concerning the organisation in inquiry, it is
the manager’s responsibility that the hazardous material is stored in the right manner and
condition, such that it does not cause harm to the workers and environment at large. Thus, the
workers must be provided with safety clothing, as well as insurance covers. The materials should
be stored in such a way that they do not spill and pollute the environment. Materials should also
be disbursed at the right time to ensure that they do not stay longer than intended thus
minimising risks (Loosemore et al. 2012, pp. 11). The company should have right disposal
policies, and employees should be adequately trained on the appropriate disposal method.
Volatile materials should be kept under the right conditions to reduce the volatility; these
conditions may include the use of proper containers, optimum environmental conditions such as
temperature and pressure (Dimon 2013, pp. 12). The volatile materials should also be transported
in the right way and in the least possible time. The approach would ensure that content gets to its
intended destination within the shortest reasonable time. Thus, reducing the chances of losing the
material, reducing the risk of environmental pollution as well as ensuring that whoever is
handling the substance is safe (Loosemore et al. 2012, pp. 12). If possible, the volatile material
should not be stored in bulk. It would be better if the material is acquired in the correction
proportion enough to produce the batches required at a specified time.
Equipment spare parts should be bought in advance; ensures that in case a machine
breaks down, it is repaired immediately (Eastman 2018, pp.62). Thus, production is not affected
while awaiting acquisition of spare parts. It is necessary to ensure spare parts bought are genuine
which will guarantee longer life.