Efficient Resource Management: 5 Guides for The Project Manager

An organization with an effective management of resources is set up for success. Efficient resource management is a sure way to shut out excess waste, maximize time, and ultimately enhance returns on invested assets.

A good understanding and implementation of resource management will help you as a project manager to plan in a way that your team is allocated exactly what it needs to complete a project—and no more. And this practice will position your team for continuous growth and profitability. To help you efficiently manage resources, let’s get into this project manager’s guide for resource management.

What Is Resource Management?

It describes a company or individual’s ability to organize, manage, and monitor what needs to be done in order to deliver a given project in a most efficient manner. Resources to be managed can take various forms, such as the people you hire to work on a project, the actual materials needed to do the job, and the estimated time it would take to complete the project. Even the physical space required for the work also needs to be managed, especially when this has to be rented.

Step by Step Guide to Resource Management for Project Managers

Once a project is awarded and the full scope determined, it is now over to the project execution team, led by the project manager. As a project manager, here are 5 things that require your careful consideration when planning how to manage project resources:

1. Determine and define required resources
2. Acquire the resources
3. Allocate resources
4. Manage resources
5. Control resources

1.     Determine and define required resources

What materials and resources will be needed to complete this task? Defining this is naturally the first step in resource planning. In general, there are four types of resources that are typically required on any project:

• Labor
• Equipment
• Materials
• Space/facilities

Labor

The human asset (human resources) is obviously the most important resource on any project. After all it is people, humans that will manage all other assets in connection with the project. Human resources are as varied as there are people: various skill sets (carpenters, engineers, accountants, etc.) and various skill levels (junior, intermediate, experts or seniors). Based on the job at hand, it is vital that the project manager choses the right types of human resources.

Materials  
This involves various components that will form part of the finished project, such as construction materials, databases and software for a web application, and printed materials or handouts for participants in training courses connected with the job.  These must be carefully evaluated at the resource planning stage to ensure that all component materials are accounted for.  Good project planners try to order slightly more than the exact quantity of materials needed to guard against factory defects, manufacturing waste, on-site damages, and so on. This is called contingency arrangement. And when carefully implemented, it saves lots of downtime.

Equipment
These are the actual tools to be deployed at the project site. They include tools, machineries and equipment, as well as all other items at the job site that don’t eventually become part of the finished product, but could sometimes be used to produce some of the finished products.  Which of these identified items will have to be rented or purchased outright? Which could be lifted from another section of the company? Of course, whether purchased outright, rented from third parties, or seconded from another unit of the same firm, associated costs must be adequately accounted for in the project estimates.

Facilities
All projects will need facilities of one form or the other in which to perform their work. Whether it is a small office space or larger manufacturing or production facility, space is inevitably a major concern for nearly all projects.  Whether this facility is rented or leased, the cost must be attributed to the project management (or a dedicated facilities budget where there’s one). Either case, it must be taken into account in the project estimates.

2. Acquire resources

Having determined what resources will be needed for the given project, it’s time to acquire these resources. It is unlikely that all resources required by the job will be readily available for use. Perhaps a few may be on hand (say some equipment). Adequate consideration must therefore be given to acquisition of resources during resource management.

For human resources, the project team requirement must be determined. There may then be need for invitation of applications from appropriate talents, who will be interviewed in line with prescribed selection procedures. Project equipment are then located and contractors enlisted. The same goes for facility required for the project.

3.     Allocate the resources

This is where the project manager determines which resources will be used by which team or staff, and at what time. It involves taking a look at the resources required at various stages of the project, with the aim of assigning them to the suitable team members and then monitoring to ensure these resources are used in the most efficient manner.

Many project managers have found the RACI model very useful.

The RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed) methodology of resource management uses a chart that makes an outline of the different tasks involved in a project, the agreed milestones, and the assigned personnel for each task. Allocating resources in this way has helped many project managers to make the wisest use of available resources.

4.     Manage the resources

Once resources have been acquired and allocated to appropriate personnel, these must be adequately managed to ensure they perform at optimum level.

Workers (human resources) must be assured that at the end of the project, their lives will become better than when the project started—richer, better skills. Since most projects are at best temporary, the project team needs to know that the project has improved their career prospects via an enhanced CV. If these ingredients are lacking, team members may lack motivation, they won’t own the project and may render shoddy jobs.

Subcontractors must also to be treated fairly, assured of a strong reference at the end of the project. Tools, equipment and hired facilities must be well managed and returned in excellent condition. Otherwise, there may be payment for damages, which will impact project costs negatively.

5.     Control usage of resources

This involves calculating the utilization rate, or how efficiently allocated resources are being used. The methods for doing this must be put in place at the project planning stage.

In calculating the utilization rate, hours to be billed are divided by total hours worked.  In order words, for hired construction equipment that worked for 48 hours out of the 72 for which it’s rented, the utilization rate would look like this:

Utilization Rate = 48 / 72 = 66.66%

If as a project manager you determine that resource utilization rate is clearly too low, you must take corrective actions, bearing in mind cost-benefit analysis.

Bottom Line

A good understanding of project resource management can help every business plan and manage their projects more efficiently, positioning them for success and growth. A good project manager must appreciate the value of effective project resource management. It is only then that he can plan for and manage the various resources that are required to complete the project. The 5 steps discussed in this article should serve as a useful guide for every project manager.