Project sustainability management and technology

Abstract

Like risk, sustainability is in the eyes of the beholder. Sustainability management will involve consideration and management of the broader sustainability issues involved in undertaking any project, as well as the sustainment of the finished project outcomes for the balance of its life span. Concepts such as sustainability are defined by the majority of people based on the context within which they are used. The generic definition of sustainability does not mention the ecology specifically and yet today, most would define it in terms of climate change, recycling and pollution among others. There are three main usages of sustainability in Complex Project Management / Program Management; - The environmental implications of managing resources and waste - Supporting the multiple needs of an organisation undertaking an operation remote from its’ normal source of support, and often used in the military context of an army in the battlefield. - Support of a specific project outcome from first operational use until its disposal. This discussion concerns these three elements and the impact of Technology on the management of these elements. In order to do this, it is first necessary to show that Project logistics is in its’ third iteration; (1) “Mountain of Iron” (2) Projected [Integrated Logistic Support (ILS)] (3) Precision [Smart Logistics (SLog)]. Current applications of this technology across various sectors such as Military, Airlines, Mining, Construction and Automotive will be set out with a simple systemic concept provided for illustration. A discussion of the Quantitative and Qualitative impact of SLog as well as the conclusion that Project Managers must be aware of the current and future implications of technology in the management of the project sustainability will be provided. The project logistics adage “Design for Support; Support the Design” has been around since at least the 1970s and yet a large percentage of undertakings do not consider this fundamental of sustainability. While operational capabilities are the drivers behind the development of a project neglect of any of the three elements of sustainability will mean that those capabilities cannot be maintained in an effective / economical manner. The various applications of Smart Logistics (SLog) such as Autonomic Logistics (AL), Sense and Respond Logistics (S&RL) and Prognostics and Health Monitoring (P&HM) provide the data for the precision sustainability of the project.