Managing Occupational Health and Safety Industry

Question: Discuss about the Managing Occupational Health and Safety Industry. Answer: Introduction Mining engineering can be defined as that particular discipline of the engineering which is associated with the utilization of scientific and technological tools for ensuring the safe and efficient extraction of minerals from under the earths surface (Hilson Hilson 2017) . On the other hand, project management is associated with the planning, execution, control and management of the work forces that associated with any work groups (Kerzner, 2013). The proposed research work would be primarily aimed at highlighting the factors that have lead to the failure of organizational projects in the mining industry. The introductory section of the report provides the audience with the brief discussion into the background of the research work, whereas the detailed discussion on the same would be presented in section 2 of the report. The aims and objectives of the research work would be discussed in section 3 of the report, besides highlighting the research questions to be utilized in the study. The identification of the research aims and objectives would be followed by brief discussion of the literary articles reviewed during the project, along with the methodology followed for doing the same. The data collected during the course of the project would also be analysed and discussed in the report. Background information As a student of the mining engineering, it has always occurred to me that project management principles can be successfully utilized in any mining organization for effectively managing the technical and operational activities associate with the extraction of metals. The highly critical principles of project management can not only be utilized for managing the technologies, work procedure and other resources utilized in the mining filed, but also for ensuring their optimal utilization (Hilson Hilson, 2017). However, in the practical filed, project management principles have not yet been utilized successfully in the domain of mining engineering. In fact, the initial research work conducted in this domain indicate that the role of project management consultant is yet not well defined in the context of mining engineering (Amoatey, Famiyeh Andoh, 2017). Aims and objectives of the project It has already been discussed in the introductory section of the report that the rate of failure of organizational projects is considerably high on the mining industry: the scenario is not different in India. While the non utilization of effective project management principles can be considered as one of the primary factors for the high rate of unsuccessful projects, the identification of the environmental factors that restrict the optimal use of PM principles is absolutely required. Besides this, the research study would also focus on the identification of the appropriate role that project management consultants can play for achieving success in mining projects in India. Thus, the primary objective of the project can be outlined as the following: To identify the main reasons for project failure in Mining industries in India To identify the environmental factors that restricts the optimal utilization of the project management principles in the mining industry of India. To identify the role that project management consultants should play for achieving success in mining projects in India Research questions According to Panneerselvam (2014), the identification of the research questions is one of the most elementary steps of conducting any academic study. The author comments that research questions, when framed appropriately facilitate the process of identifying the direction of the study. The following questions have been framed based on the aims and objectives of the study: What are the main reasons for project failure in Mining industries in India? Which environmental factors restrict the optimal utilization of the project management principles in the mining industry of India? What role the project management consultants should play for achieving success in mining projects in India? It is expected that in the due course of the research study, the answers to these question would be found, thus meeting the objectives of the study. Literature review Mining industry expert Hilson and Hilson (2017) have highlighted the fact that although a the economic development of developing countries depend significantly on the successful extraction and utilization of their natural resource, yet the Indian economy is yet to reap the full benefits of being wealthy of natural resources. According to the authors, the primary reason behind such a scenario is that the success rate of mining projects is considerably low: in fact almost 62 percent of the mining projects either run out of budget or do not get completed within the timeline committed to the client. Thus, the author considers lack of project planning (or inadequate project planning) as the primary reason for such project failures. On the other hand, researchers Amoatey, Famiyeh and Andoh (2017) have commented that the mining industry in India typically suffers from the lack of skilled human resource, which affects the quality of the projects, along with the rate of success. The authors have highlighted the fact that human resources have the capability to impact every possible aspect of any project, starting from the quality of the feasibility studies conducted before starting any project work, the financial calculations and predictions associated any planning and the planning work required for the same. Thus, the lack of skilled human capital handicaps the very scop of conducting any mining project usefully. Researches Ferguson, Clinch and Kean (2011) have actively supported the opinion that human capitals associated with all mining organizations affect the success rates of the projects undertaken by them. The authors have highlighted yet another point, which demands special attention: at present, there exists a 10 to 15 percent deficit of mining engineers throughout all mining organizations of the world. It is a well known fact, that engineers act as the life-line support of all mining operations: thus guaranteeing the successful completion of any mining activity is indeed not feasible when the engineers associated with the same are overburdened. On the other hand, researchers Chenc and Zorigt (2013) emphasise on the selection and utilization of appropriate technological tools for ensuring the successful completion of mining projects. On the other hand, researchers Muduliet at al.(2013) have emphasized solely on the identification of the factors that are found to be associated with the failure of start up mining projects all over the world. The authors are of the opinion that apart from the unsuccessful or inappropriate use of project management policies in the mining industries, several other industry specific factors are responsible for the failure of such projects, the factors being outlined in the section below: Experience: It is widely acknowledged by experts across all industries that setting up start up projects require the association of experience resources in all levels of the organization. This factor is considered to be of even more importance in the domain of mining (Krishna et al. 2013). The authors have commented that in case of start up mining projects, employing experience resources in all level of the project is not sufficient: the entire team must have the experience of working together in conditions similar to that exists in the mines under consideration. According to Sreebha and Padmalal (2011), most start up mining projects lack the association of such experienced team, which eventually leads to the failure of such initiatives. Hiring process: The authors have seconded the opinion that the lack of skilled workforce is one of the core issues that mining organizations all over the world suffer from. According to them, hiring and retaining expert miners and geologists is one of the most difficult tasks that administrative heads of mining organization need to conduct and start up mining projects are bound to fail in absence of effective hiring processes. In this particular section of the report, the tools and techniques utilized for conducting the research work in practice would be highlighted. Research philosophy: The term research philosophy is defined as that particular belief based on which the entire study is conducted (Mackey Gass, 2015). The post positivist research philosophy has been utilized for conducting this study as the same takes into consideration the fact that the final outcomes of the study would indeed be affected by the environment in which it is conducted. Research Approach: The deductive approach of research work was utilized in conducting the study, as the same allows the consideration of information available from existing literary articles and papers (Flick, 2015). Research Design: The primary objective of this research work was to identify the various factors that result in the failure of mining projects in India. Thus, the exploratory research design was utilized in conducting the study. Data Collection and analysis procedure: The information included in this report has been collected from the existing literary articles and research papers that highlight the findings of studies conducted in the very same domain. Thus, it can be said that the secondary information was utilized in the project (Silverman 2016). On the other hand, the data collected from these sources were analyzed in a qualitative manner. Findings and analysis In this section of the report, the information that was collected from different secondary sources would be highlighted. These data sets would then be compared with the concepts and theories identified during the literature review phase, thus moving one-step closer to concluding the study. In an attempt to identify some of the major issues that the organizations operating across various mines of India are experiencing at present, the Mines and Metals Division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Industry (or the FICCI) had released a white paper in December 2013 (FICCI, 2013). The findings of the research work conducted by the members of FICCI are being presented briefly in the section below: A large number of small non-fuel mines are located across several regions of the country. In spite of their small size, the contributions that they make to the mining industry of the country, and to the economy as a whole, are indeed significant. However, for the last few decades, the production of these mines have almost become stagnant, primarily due the lack of capital investment in the existing infrastructure of the facilities (Sen, Mukherjee Pattanayak, 2011). According to FICCI , the main reason behind this lack is of capital investment lies in the fact that the banks and other financial institutions of the reluctant of providing loans to small sized mines. The smaller mines or start up mining organizations are often found to be not capable of hiring (and retaining) experienced miners, engineers and geologist that are required for running these projects successfully for a considerable length of time (Gottesfeld Cherry, 2011). The lack of capital investment also restricts the implementation of advanced technologies in these facilities, thus restricting the production of the facilities (Hatherly 2013). The experts conducting the study on the behalf of the FICCI have also associated this factor with the existence of the large number of non-operating mines all over the country. Along with the above mentioned factors, the authors have also emphasized on the amalgamation of the very small sized mining projects that are currently being conducted throughout the country (Iakovleva Sillanp, 2013). According to them, such amalgamation would indeed facilitate the process of procuring budgetary resources, which in turn would helping the management in solving other operational issues (as for example, the lack of infrastructure, the lack of qualified and experience resources, the lack of advanced technology, etc). POSCO , one of the largest steel makers of South Korea has in the very recent past declared that it is willing to back off from the proposed mining project that was to be set up Orissa (Posco.com, 2017). The project has an estimated valuation of 12 billion US dollars, of which the organization has already paid 4.4 millionUS dollars to the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corp way back in 2005. However, the project has yet not been initiated due to delays in availing permits from the various government departments and POSCO has cited this very lack of government initiative as the primary reason behind their decision (Muduli Barve 2011). On the other hand, ArcelorMittal, the largest steel producer of the world ( in terms of production) have also indicated that they would abandon their proposed mining project at Orissa, citing the same reason of delayed permits (Arcelormittal.com, 2017). Researchers Jia, Diabat and Mathiyazhagan (2015) have highlighted the fact that one of the most common problems associated with the mining projects of India, that often leads to abandoning of set ups as mentioned in the section of the report, lies in the fact that adequate feasibility studies are not conducted before the declaration of the same. In fact, the researchers have commented that conducting detailed feasibility studies would indeed be helpful in identifying the environmental factors that are capable of causing delays to the projects and avoiding the same (Govindan, Kannan Shankar, 2014; Karacan et al. 2011). The Planning Commission of India had released a white paper in the year 2012 so as to highlight the strategies that need to be taken up by the entrepreneurs interested in conducting mining projects so as to conduct the same in a sustainable manner (Planningcommission.nic.in, 2017). The author of the report have recommended a couple of sustainable development strategies to the concerned authorities, a brief insight to which have been provided below. It is a well known fact that mining is considered as that particular industry that plays havoc on the society and environment. This very fact have been to have resulted in the protest of the locals against setting up of new mining projects in various parts of India ( as for example the POSCO project in Orissa), which in turn have resulted in delays in the process of granting permits from the departments of the government. The authors of this report are of the opinion that the application of appropriate project management policies can play a very important role in finding solutions to such environmental and political issues. The experts have in fact emphasized on conducting activities that can reduce the extent of negative impact on the social-economic status of the locals (by developing scope of employment for locales, developing infrastructure of the region, assisting the locals in relocating to other areas, etc) to minimize the resistance of the locals. The consultation of the key stakeholders associated with any project is an alien concept in the domain of mining industry in India. In fact, this very situation is responsible for most of the issue that are experienced in executing the projects, like that of delays in permissions from all concerned departments of the sate and central governments, non availability of funding, non availability of skilled resources, non co-operation on the behalf of the locals, etc (Govindan et al. 2014; Singh et al. 2011). Thus, the authors are of the opinion that appropriate analysis of all stakeholders associated with the project, with the development of strategic plans, can significantly improve the condition of the mining industry of India. Discussion of findings The discussions presented in the preceding section of the report highlights the fact, the primary reasons behind the failure of mining projects can be boiled down to only a handful of factors including the following: The lack of capital investment in the sector, The lack of skilled and experienced resources The lack of government initiatives and Significant lack in feasibility analysis of the project On the other hand, the information collected during the literature review phase of the project indicates that the primary reasons that lead to the failure of mining projects all over the world include the following: The lack of use of modern technologies which indeed results from the acute lack of budget, The non-availability of experienced resources and The non-utilization of appropriate project management policies. Thus, it can be concluded that Indian mining industry experiences the very same issues that are responsible for failure of projects in the very same industry throughout the world. However, it has also been indentified the concept of project management is completely ignored by thee mining organizations of India, which results in generation of resistance among different sectors of the society, which further delays the project. Yet another issue that is particular to India is the concerned governmental and political offices are reluctant at taking initiatives towards resolving the issues, which is practically forcing large names in mining to abandon their project setups in India. Conclusion The discussions made in the above sections of the report indicate that the primary reasons behind the failure of mining projects in India include the following: Significant lack in feasibility analysis of the project The lack of capital investment in the sector, The lack of government initiatives and The lack of skilled and experienced resources. However, when attempts were made to identify the environmental factors restrict the optimal utilization of the project management principles in the mining industry of India, it was observed that the concept of project management is alien to the same. Project management, which is considered as one of the most essential factors required for the successful conduction of any project, includes the following: The estimation the feasibility of the project, The identification of the stakeholders associated with the project along with the analysis and consideration of the same and The identification of the risks associated with the project along with the determination of strategies for mitigating the same. In the light of the discussions made in the preceding sections of the report, the utilization of the effective project management principles is being recommended to the organizations associated with the mining industry in India. It is expected that experienced project consultants would be capable of managing the resources efficiently, besides identifying the risks associated with the same and finding means to ensure the co-operation of stakeholders of all levels. Bibliography Amoatey, C. T., Famiyeh, S., Andoh, P. (2017). 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