Introduction
In today’s dynamic and forever-evolving world, corporate organizations have been compelled to adapt and execute new strategies to remain competitive and thrive in an ever-changing and highly competitive marketplace. The scenario surrounding the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, located in the United States of America, will be examined in this case study. Resulting from this oil disaster, we have a scenario that is severe and unprecedented for any oil firm in the world. As a result of the serious oil spill accident, which was one of the most expensive catastrophes in the history of human civilization, A circumstance like this necessitated the making of some really important project management choices. By providing possible solutions, we hope to provide a better solution to the problem as a result of our discussion of project failure scenarios.
What were project management tools used? What should have been used to make it more successful?
The management mechanisms at BP did not guarantee that the equipment was tested to the required standards. It was determined that BP did not have enough controls to guarantee that laboratory testing was completed promptly or that test findings were extensively scrutinized in-house or with the client. An example of a clearer failure in management or communication is impossible to envision. The government also neglected to provide the required supervision to avoid similar mistakes in judgments and administration on private sector companies. Many important components of drilling operations were left to the discretion of the business, with little oversight from the government. The apparent absence of rules regulating some critical technical choices at BP is concerning. Like many other companies, BP concentrated its engineering assessment on the original well design and paid little attention to critical choices about drilling methods throughout the drilling process (Graham et al., 2011). Furthermore, BP did not consider the entire range of dangers associated with the temporary abandonment strategy. Part of the problem may be attributed to the rules’ narrow reach. While this was true, BP did not equip its licensing official with the necessary direction and expertise to make an appropriate evaluation of the procedure’s suitability to complement the rules.
What practices would you have changed or added to make it more successful? What methodologies were used?
Companies should put measures to ensure that vital knowledge gained is effectively transferred and dispersed throughout the organization. For instance, sponsoring coaching sessions for critical staff, coordinating organizational meetings to debate valuable lessons, incorporating the experience gained to the project management office inventories and interval training, and incorporating the experience gained straightforwardly into the company’s project management process. Activities are all examples of procedures that must be implemented. When the officer was trained, he would have been better prepared to respond quickly because he would have known what to anticipate, how to assess the seriousness of the threat, and how to take swift action. The staff of any organization engaged in complicated and high-risk activities should be trained both for regular operations and for emergencies. Creating quality management plans beforehand in the project’s lifecycle should be a priority (Schwartz, 2020). These plans should include quality assessment techniques, minimal production standards, and a strategy for ensuring that the standards are met, and the criteria are adhered to. In light of the fact that risk factors and severity levels are always shifting, proper change management procedures should be implemented to analyze the effect of design modifications and to amend the risk management strategy on an ongoing basis due to shifting circumstances.
Recommendations for BP
Enhance the financial incentives for the sector to participate in security and risk reduction technology and spill response and recovery solutions. To be more specific, damage limitations should be raised to mirror the danger presented by offshore drilling. If insurance pools are used, it is necessary to create corresponding financial obligation demands, strengthen external monitoring, and generate risk-based rates. If third-party coverage is utilized, it is necessary to produce risk-based premiums. Enhance the ability of institutions participating in offshore drilling to conduct effective supervision. The establishment of third-party evaluations of safety and risk-management operations is crucial for ensuring continued monitoring of these activities. In addition to the many chances for such monitoring, there are several other options, such as an independent safety review board to look at offshore mishaps. Routine third-party evaluations of the security environmental management system were required. A thorough individual analysis of containment and opportunity to fix before they were endorsed as part of the approval process. Additionally, more public assessment of manufacturing research & innovation in spill prevention, reduction, and response innovations was considered part of the approval process.
Conclusions
To conclude, situations like the case of BP forced the making of some highly crucial project management decisions as a consequence of the deep oil leak disaster, which was one of the most costly calamities. As a consequence of our analysis of project failure scenarios, we have been able to better answer the issue by proposing viable remedies. Whenever a project begins to fail, there are tools to spot it and qualified project managers to help reduce the extent of project failure as soon as possible. As a result, project managers must be educated in such strategies to recover failed projects and lessen the likelihood of failure. Applying the methodologies outlined in this paper will improve the project’s chances of success.
References
Graham, B., Reilly, W., & Beinecke, F. (2011). National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Report to the President. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-OILCOMMISSION/pdf/GPO-OILCOMMISSION.pdf
Schwartz, M. S. (2020). Beyond petroleum or bottom line profits only? An ethical analysis of BP and the Gulf oil spill. Business and Society Review, 125(1), 71-88.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/basr.12194
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