2013 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PLAN FOR NEW MINE IN GYMPIE Project -Vison 1 Date Initiated: 22 March 2013 NORTH EAST MINING COMPANY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PLAN FOR NEW MINE IN GYMPIE Submitted by: Sponsor: Monte Date: 22 March 2013 CEO, North East Mining Company Approval: Ross Date: 22 March 2013 Consultant NORTH EAST MINING COMPANY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PLAN FOR NEW MINE IN GYMPIE CHANGE LOG REVISION HISTORY REVISION# APPROVAL DATE CHANGE DESCRIPTION Table of Contents 1. Integration Management 1.1 Methodology 1.2 Change Control 1.3 Performance Reporting 1.4 Dependencies 2. Scope Management 2.1 Deliverables 2.2 Inclusions 2.3 Exclusions 2.4 Handover 3. Time Management 3.1 Schedule 3.2 Milestones 4. Human Resource Management 4.1 Stakeholders 4.2 Resource Capability 5. Communications Management 5.1 Organizational Structure 5.2 Escalation 6. Risk Management 6.1 Constraints 6.2 Assumptions 6.3 Potential Issues 7. Quality Management Appendices   RATIONALE : North-East Mining Company has operated in Australia for the past 5 years and is now opening a new mine near Gympie to extract and refine gold. The CEO of the company has given our team a task to work on a spread sheet model to assist in making decisions that will maximize financial performance by minimizing overall costs of the mine’s environmental impact. Gympie is prone to flooding therefore it is prudent to anticipate floods and make appropriate damage control and cost control plans. Pro-active controls are usually more cost effective than reactive measures. Maximising financial performance of a business is important because it ensures success and sustainability of the business. When financial performance is good, the business is capable of rewarding its investors as well as meeting its costs. Failure to meet costs or reward investors usually leads to business failure and shutting down of operations. Keeping environmental costs low is very important because it improves organizational image by reducing negative perceptions linked with environmental damage caused by mining operations . It also makes the business avoid penalties and unnecessary involvement with regulators. PROJECT OBJECTIVES: BUSINESS OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROJECT:  Study and understand the existing spread sheet model. Understand cost drivers and their link to the operation’s environmental impact.  Identify and correct mistakes on the existing spread sheet  Improve the model such that the user interface allows the CEO and other end-users to clearly discover the effects of implementing various environmental management initiatives under different scenarios.  Test the model by using it to determine possible outcomes of various environmental management initiatives under different scenarios and assumptions  Use results from the tests to give recommendations as to which environmental management initiative meets the corporate goal of maximizing financial performance by minimizing overall environmental management costs. Clearly communicate this optimal environmental management strategy.  Train end users how to make use of the spread sheet motel and official hand it over to them. LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM :  Gaining practical experience on how to deal with various aspects relating to planning and running a project.  Better understanding of project management software such as Microsoft project and excel  Improved understanding of how cross-functional teams work and how to make them more efficient and effective.  Better understanding of links between specific aspects of mining operations and the environment. BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS): Benefits to be realized from using the improved spread sheet model to make recommendations coupled with actual implementation of those recommendations will include the following: BENEFIT IMPACT Reduced operating costs Ems reduces operating costs through waste reduction, energy conservation, and other savings Reduced legal risk & potential liabilities EMS provides a structured framework for identifying and meeting regulatory requirements. This results in fewer fines and other regulatory complications over time. Reduced future liabilities and constraints EMS provides a consistent way to manage the organization away from constraints imposed by future regulations, material shortages, community complaints, and other issues. Reduced insurance costs Insurance companies are beginning to recognize the risk reduction that accompanies a formal EMS Improved credit ratings A formal EMS can demonstrate to the lenders a reduced risk that results in lower interest rates Prevention of pollution Improved environmental compliance which in turn leads to Improved relations with regulatory agencies Improved operational efficiency Improved financial performance and greater sustainability Greater understanding of links between specific aspects of the operations to the environment 1. INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT 1.1 METHODOLOGY: Our team will break the project down into 3 phases namely: Phase 1: Initiating &Planningstage - At this stage we will establish and clarify the project’s goals, objectives and operating ground rules. - Here we will also be determining action or work to be done to achieve things set out in the initiating stage Phase 2: Executing &Controlling Stage - At this stage we will be performing the planned tasks - We will also be monitoring, measuring progress and adjusting processes. Phase 3: Closeout stage - Involves delivering the final product of the project to the client, training the end user how to use the product, filing all records, preparing lessons learnt report and holding post project evaluation meetings. Execution and controlling phases will be done simultaneously with some adjustments to initial plans also being done concurrently where necessary. The initiating and planning stages will be done collectively by the project team in two meetings. The first meeting will be a 2 hour brainstorming session and the second will be a 3 hour detailed discussion whose output should include a task schedule, workflow chart and brief procedures manual. In the second meeting team members will be assigned tasks. Based on strengths and capabilities, each member will get a number of tasks relating to each stage or phase of the project. Members will be expected to do their tasks in their own time then compile appropriate reports and email them to other team members 24hours before the next meeting. Two, 2 hour long meetings will be held weekly and each team member should have read and made notes on work sent to them by team mates. In each meeting we will discuss, alter, approve and adopt output of each member before discussing what we expect from each team member in the next set of tasks. Some follow-up on progress relating to these assigned tasks will be done via email and telephone correspondence while the bulk of it will be done in the next meeting . 1.2 CHANGE CONTROL: Our project team has agreed that change control should be managed by the group as a whole and should be handled as detailed in the procedure below: I. IDENTIFY NEED FOR CHANGE OR REQUEST FOR CHANGE - When someone asks for a change that will potentially have significant impact on the project, the requestor should submit the change request in writing using a change request form. - We will track the change requests by logging them in a scope change control log. II. ASSESS THE CHANGE REQUEST: - The team will review the impact of the proposed change on our project in terms of cost, schedule, performance and outcome. - We will also review what will happen if we do not implement the change or postpone the change. - We will then consider other alternative changes that could be done in place of the proposed change and select the best possible option. III. ACCEPT OR REJECT CHANGE REQUEST Our project team will: - Accept or reject the change – depending on the importance of the change. - Involve the project sponsor (Monte) in making the assessments and decisions. - inform the requestor and all concerned parties, if the change has been rejected. IV. IMPLEMENT ACCEPTED CHANGE REQUESTS - If the change has been accepted, we will document it, and update project plan to take into account the change’s impact on the project’s schedule, budget and outcome. - We will then communicate the accepted change and its impact to the requestor and all concerned parties (include the change in the next project review meeting). V. FOLLOW-UP OR REVIEW PROGRESS - The team will then monitor progress according to updated project management plansand baselines. 1.3 PERFORMANCE REPORTING: To measure and report performance, our project team will track and document key aspects relating to deliverables, achievements as well as levels of completion of the crucial tasks and phases of the project. Performance parameters that will be given close attention will be as follows:  Effectiveness: measuringand reporting the degree to which the process outputconforms to requirements. This will confirm whether we are doing the right things.  Efficiency: measuring and reporting the degree to which the process produces therequired output at minimum resource cost. This indicates whether we are doing things right.  Quality: measuring and reporting degree to which our output meets customer requirements and expectations.  Timeliness: Measuring and reporting whether a unit of work was done correctly and on time.  Safety: Measuring and reporting the overall health of the organization and the working environment of its employees To measure levels of completion as well as quality, actual performance will be compared to baselines and budgets or forecasts that were set at the planning stage or in meetings preceding execution of the tasks in question. Variances between the actual work done and planned work will be recorded and reviewed to determine the cause. Corrective action will then be taken accordingly. To measure achievements, past performance will be compared to current performance. Our process will be conducted in the following steps: I. Identifying the critical activity to be measured II. Establishing performance goal(s) or standards. III. Establishing performance measurement(s). IV. Collecting and recording data. V. Analyzing the data collected and drafting relevant reports accordingly. VI. Comparing actual performance to goal(s). VII. Checking whether corrective actions are necessary. VIII. Making changes to bring things back in line with goal IX. Analyzing whether new goals are needed. Where team members are falling behind on their work they will be given necessary assistance or given new tasks that they will be more comfortable with. Team members are also encouraged to communicate in a timely mannerany challenges they could be facing so that they get help in good time for things to remain on schedule. Gantt charts will be updated frequently such that they also give a clear picture of the variance between planned and actual performance on an on-going basis. This will act as an early warning system for the team . 1.4 DEPENDENCIES: Project inputs will be significantly influenced by other projects, some of which are related to this project while others are not. I. Team members have to divide their limited resources, especially time, among a large number of responsibilities and commitments. If more time is apportioned to other commitments, less time will be available for execution of this environmental management project. II. Team members are currently involved in study projects in which they are being trained and equipped with project management skills as well as skills on how to run computer based project management programs and software. Output of these other skills development projects will make positive contributions towards successful completion of this environmental management project. III. Recommendations to be made at the end of this project will to a large extent depend on weather and gold price data to be received periodically from an external source. Consequently, concluding on the recommendations will depend on quality of the gold price and rainfall information supplied by this external source . 2. SCOPE MANAGEMENT 2.1 DELIVERABLES: External Deliverable: Things we expect to deliver at the end of the project (week 11) include: I. A Complete , reliable, accurate, useful, highly informative, easy to use, clear & well presented, easy to understand excel spread sheet model II. A memo detailing the recommended environmental initiatives to be adopted. The recommendations will be based on results of the spread sheet tests carried out using the improved model. III. End-user training. Project team members will trainsome of the key end-users how to make use of the improved model. This would ensure that the users make effective use of it. Things to be delivered to external parties during performance of the project: I. Memos and reports containing progress updates to keep the client / end-user informed such that they can give feedback which can in turn be incorporated into the ongoing project plan and processes. Internal Deliverables: During the course of the project, a number of things will be produced by various elements of the project for the purposes of being used elsewhere within the project. Such things that are output of one part of the project, and an input to another part (internal deliverables) will include the following: I. Budgets and baseline reports. These will be produced during the planning phase and they will be a crucial input used for analyzing progress during the control phase of the project. II. Progress reports (to be delivered by email 24hrs before each weekly meeting). These will be an output of progress tracking done during the control phase and they will be important input in determining which areas proceeding as planned , which ones need attention and which ones need to be changed. 2.2 INCLUSIONS:  Project plan document  Microsoft project file (GANTT Chart)  Excel File (completed spread sheet upgrade)  Memo containing resultant recommendation on ideal environmental management strategy. 2.3 EXCLUSIONS :  Non financial data such as unquantifiable information relating to effects of the mining operations as well as the environmental management initiatives on society and the surrounding environment.  Impact of the initiatives on health and morale of the mine’s employees  Nature and size of the impact that the initiatives will have on the company’s image.  Competitors’ information. This would allow the CEO and his teams to learn from what competitors are doing and how they are doing it. This will enable deciding whether to adopt what competitors are doing well and avoid mistakes similar to those they made.  Relevant Government policies, such as monetary policy, tax policy and environmental policy.  Statistical Process control Chart to monitor variations 2.4 HANDOVER : Team will hold a pre-handover meeting 72 hours before handing over the final deliverables. In the meeting the team will check if the project objectives were achieved, if client requests made during the course of the project were incorporated, and finally the model will be put through a series of tests to confirm its functionality. At the end of the meeting the team member given the task to handover to the final client will be asked to do a demo presentation to ensure they become familiar with the actual handover procedure. Hard copies and electronic versions of deliverable documents will be delivered to atleast 2 end-users. The end-users will be notified of the delivery date a week in advance and follow up reminders will be sent to them after the team’s pre-handover meeting. Duplicate back-up files and copies of the model as well as critical records will be kept separately by 3 key team members. Two other project team members will be made ready to take over the handover formalities in case the person initially picked for the task fails to do so for unforeseeable reasons. Person responsible for the handover: Project plan handover date: 02 April 2013 12:00 3. TIME MANAGEMENT: 3.1 SCHEDULE: All stages and tasks to be performed for the project are as shown in the schedule and Gantt chart attached in appendix of this project plan. 3.2 MILESTONES: MILESTONE DEADLINE DATE: Approve and adopt the plan 29 March 2013 File progress reports 29 April 2013 Signoff the project 17 May 2013 4. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: 4.1 STAKEHOLDERS : STAKEHOLDER ROLE INFORMATION NEEDS End-user / Mine employees 1)Giving input / feedback during designing and modification of the spreadsheet model 2) Testing functionality of the spreadsheet at completion 3) Putting the model to use and implementing its recommendations 1) Tasks to be executed 2) Execution deadlines and baselines 3) Quality standards to be met 4) Costs and benefits of operations and environmental management systems Environmental protection authorities and other regulators Monitoring and regulating the effects of the mine’s operations on the environment 1)Environmental costs of the mine’s operations 2) Steps being taken by the mine to reduce these costs. Project Team 1)Designing and modification of the spreadsheet model 2) Testing functionality of the spreadsheet at completion 3) Putting the model to use and implementing its recommendations 4) Giving input &/ feedback during and after designing and completion of the model. 1) Tasks to be executed 2) Execution deadlines and baselines 3) Quality standards to be met 4) Costs and benefits of operations and environmental management systems 5)resources available 4.2 RESOURCE CAPABILITIES : RESOURCE TYPE COMMENT Physical Laptop computers are the key physical resource needed and all project team members have them Organizational Our team has designed and organized our tasks and procedures in a strategic systematic way that mitigates most of our constraints and weaknesses. Technological We have unrestricted access to crucial project management software and access to the internet for useful databases, tips and relevant knowledge. We also have access to efficient communication technologies such as email, mobile phones, and instant messaging platforms such as whatsapp. Human We have a diverse team made of individuals from different continents and different academic backgrounds all contributing useful skills and knowledge. Team members also have high aptitude levels enabling them to learn relevant skills timely. 5. COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT 5.1 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE : Project Roles and Responsibilities Role Participant Responsibilities Project Manager ● Manages project in accordance to the project plan ● Provide overall project direction ●Direct/lead team members toward project objectives ●Handle problem resolution Technical Operations Manager ● Understand the user needs and business processes ● Communicate project goals, status and progress throughout the project to personnel in their area ● Review and approve project deliverables ● Coordinate participation of work groups, individuals and stakeholders ● Help identify and remove project barriers ● Assure quality of products that will meet the project goals and objectives Resources Personnel • Handles all aspects of the project requiring use of project management software and excel functions. 5.2 ESCALATION: As a team we have agreed that conflict and differences in opinion tend to be inevitable when people (especially from different backgrounds) work together on a project. Consequently we have decided to be proactive and adopt the “win-win” approach to conflict resolution as our preferred method of resolution whenever problems do arise. This approach resolves differences as follows: 1.Before starting to resolve a conflict, it should be analyzedby asking questions from the conflicting parties. 2.Once sufficient information about the conflict has been gathered, actively seek common ground in order to emphasize the agreement side of things – this starts the conflict resolution process on a positive note. 3. Now the conflicting parties should be asked to brainstorm possible solutions to the issues at hand. 4.Once the parties have identified possible resolutions, the next step is agreeing on guidelines on how to implement these resolutions. 5. The final step is documenting and implementingthe resolutions. 6. RISK MANAGEMENT 6.1 CONSTRAINTS: CONSTRAINT: POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Team members have a large number of other responsibilities not linked to the particular project. Consequently finding common free time slots to meet frequently for long discussions will be a challenge. Team will hold 2 meetings weekly. Each member will work on assigned tasks at their own free time then email other team members what they have worked on at least 24hrs before the next meeting. Members will review the work of other team mates before coming for the meeting then they will take note of issues they wish to raise for further discussion in the next meeting. Team members have limited basic training in using project management software and have no practical experience in project management. Get online training on how to use project management software as well as consulting project management experts whenever the need arises. There is no upper limit to what can be achieved in terms of improving an excel spread sheet model since excel tools and operations are robust and inexhaustible. One can continuously or constantly find better ways of doing thing on excel indefinitely. The team, together with the end-user will list key spread sheet deliverables in order of priority then set upper and lower limits on these deliverables. Nothing beyond the upper limit will be pursued and all deliverables below the lower limit will be worked on to bring them within the agreed ranges . Completion deadline. The project has to be completed and handed over before the established deadline date. The project has been broken down into tasks which have been scheduled in a way that will enable running some concurrently while others are organized in sequences that will ensure a smooth fairly quick flow of the process. 6.2 ASSUMPTIONS: The team will be able to identify and correct all the errors contained in the current excel spread sheet model. If this assumption does not materialize, then results of the project will not be a good quality end product. Timeline estimates are realistic and there will be no major derailments. If this assumption is incorrect, the project will not be finished in the stipulated time. Project team members will adhere to plans and execute assigned tasks in a timely manner. End users will be cooperative and they will be willing to change business operations to take advantage of the functionality of the spreadsheet and its recommendations. No new taxes are environmental protection laws will be introduced just before delivery of the completed spreadsheet model or immediately after its handover . 6.3 POTENTIAL ISSUES: There are a large number of issues whose occurrence would jeopardize completion of the project and delivery of a good quality product. These would include the following: 1. Project team member falling ill or opting out of the team (resigning) 2. Changes in environmental protection legislation 3. Changes in penalty rates for environmental infringements or changes in other costs currently assumed to be fixed or static costs in the model 4. Changes in delivery deadlines or required deliverables 5. Lack of cooperation or feedback from end-user during design and formation of the spreadsheet. 7. QUALITY MANAGENT: QUALITY MANAGEMENT PARAMETER COMMENT QUALITY PLANNING We will set baselines and budget at the planning stage. These will act as our quality targets. QUALITY ASSURANCE We will send the baselines and budgets to the client / end-user so as to get feedback and ensure we are setting out to do the right thing. Making the end-user aware of our targets will force us to be committed to that standard or better so that we do not fall short of the expectations we would have cultivated in the client / end-user. QUALITY CONTROL We will continuously measure performance and compare it to baselines and budgets, taking note of the variations and making necessary adjustments. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT We will constantly research to find ways of improving what we planned and what we will be doing. We will also be constantly seeking client feedback at all stages of the process and at major milestones. This will allow us to make improvements where the client highlights the need. Project Plan Report: Outstanding! A very detailed and thoughtful project plan.