The art of planning for the future has always been a human trait. In essence a project can be captured on paper with a few simple elements: a start date, an end date, the tasks that have to be carried out and when they should be finished, and some idea of the resources (people, machines etc) that will be needed during the course of the project.

When the plan starts to involve different things happening at different times, some of which are dependent on each other, plus resources required at different times and in different quantities and perhaps working at different rates, the paper plan could start to cover a vast area and be unreadable.

This was a problem facing the US Navy in the development of the Polaris missile system. There were so many aspects to the project that a new technique had to be invented to cope with it: the PERT technique. This and later developments led to mathematical techniques that can be used to find the critical path through a series of planned tasks that interconnect during the life of a project.

You could begin the story of modern project management from this time. But that would be unfair as project management is not only about planning but also about human attributes like leadership and motivation.

Nevertheless, the idea that complex plans could be analyzed by a computer to allow someone to control a project is the basis of much of the development in technology that now allow projects of any size and complexity not only to be planned but also modeled to answer 'what if?' questions.

The original programs and computers tended to produce answers long after an event had taken place. Now, there are many project planning and scheduling programs that can provide real time information, as well as linking to risk analysis, time recording, costing, estimating and other aspects of project control.

But computer programs are not project management: they are tools for project managers to use. Project management is all that mix of components of control, leadership, teamwork, resource management etc, that goes into a successful project.

Project managers can be found in all industries. Their numbers have grown rapidly as industry and commerce has realized that much of what it does is project work. And as project-based organizations have started to emerge, project management is becoming established as both a professional career path and a way of controlling business.

So opportunities in project management now exist not only in being a project manager, but also as part of the support team in a project or program office or as a team leader for part of a project. There are also qualifications that can be attained through the professional associations.

One reason for the rapid growth is the need to understand how to look after complex projects, often in high tech areas, which are critical to business success but also have to use scarce resources efficiently.

Most people still want their projects to be on time, meet quality objectives, and not cost more than the budget. These form the classic time, quality, cost triangle.

In fact if you have an unlimited budget and unlimited time, project management becomes rather easy. For most people, however, time and money are critical and that is what makes project management so important today.

Each project has different requirements and expected results. Projects can range from short duration to long term duration. Dunn Consulting has the expertise and resources to successfully plan and execute projects of almost any type, but we primarily focus on those projects relating to business turnarounds and disaster recovery projects. Dunn Consulting will provide preliminary analysis of the project, determine its expected duration and costs, along with expected benefits of implementing the plan. Most projects include a financial risk analysis of the project being undertaken including pro forma budgets, duration and expected date of completion. Our most recent projects are listed below and indicate our ability to perform.

Dunn Consulting Group and our partners have the experience and capability to provide a diverse range of project management solutions for a variety of different projects ranging from short term to long term duration. The most recent successful project was the establishment of temporary housing in September 2005, utilizing FEMA trailers, to set up a trailer park in Lacombe, LA for 225 employees of a major defense contractor located in Slidell and New Orleans East, LA, displaced as a result of hurricane Katrina. Dunn Consulting Group just completed, in November 2006, deactivating the FEMA park (returning the trailers back to FEMA) and obtaining a full unconditional release from the landlord of the leased site after we found the employees alternative housing without paying an extension fee of $340,000 or a holdover fee of $675,000 to the landlord as per the lease terms. Management of that site was ongoing for over 14 months.

Another major project was the on-site management of a Midwestern timeshare company consisting of three campgrounds and a condominium timeshare project. While an officer of a large Commercial Finance company at that time, the principal managing member of Dunn Consulting Group managed the orderly liquidation, and the ultimate sale of the entity, to another Timeshare Developer. During the 21 month process the lender’s hypothecation loan was repaid using the existing cash flow of the business by utilizing proper debt collection procedures, providing member enhancements and properly monitoring and maintaining the borrowing base coverage. Cash flow was provided by maintaining membership dues and travel club renewal fees at pre-bankruptcy levels.

Dunn Consulting is committed to provide exemplary service to those industries and companies in need of disaster recovery services including site selection, site set-up and site management of FEMA provided trailers or other alternative housing needs. Under FEMA and DHS guidelines, industrial sites are not subject to the same regulations as private residential sites and Dunn Consulting has the experience, the political contacts and the fortitude to deal with those agencies which affect your company. Dunn Consulting also deactivated the housing community including dealing with FEMA sub-contractors who picked up the trailers and delivered them back to FEMA. Due to the complexities involved, Dunn Consulting will provide the necessary procedures and action steps to plan and execute your project to mitigate the risks involved in dealing with those governmental agencies which can be quite time consuming and costly.

From the initial site selection process, Dunn Consulting Group was instrumental in assisting the Senior Leadership Team of the defense contractor by allowing them to focus on production schedules to meet their pre-Katrina contractual obligations, thus providing an important resource that met both the needs of the company and its displaced employees. The total process of finding an acceptable site, obtaining approval for the FEMA trailers, site preparation including electrical and sewer hookups, obtaining Parish approval for zoning waivers along with the setup of the trailers took less than two months. Dunn Consulting Group managed the project on site in LA including budgets, temporary housing alternatives, personnel placements, FEMA requirements as to eligibility of employees and the hiring of a manager for the park. Included was the construction of a Laundromat, assignment of school bus routes, police protection and mail delivery and pickup. From August, until the first week of November 2006, Dunn Consulting Group was on site managing the deactivation of the site ensuring that the ground lease terms and conditions were met and all improvements were removed for the site by October 31st. Learn more about FEMA Site Mangement.

The project described below is typical of a successful project utilizing all aspects of debt, asset and cash flow management techniques and strategies ultimately resulting in the sale to a third party and the repayment of debt due lender. With over 30 years of experience the principal of Dunn Consulting has the expertise and resources to successfully execute your project.

• From November 2003 until July 2005 was the on-site manager for a major Resort Finance commercial finance lending institution.
• Primary responsibility was to manage 3 right to use campgrounds, an RCI points based condominium property along with all the operating assets for the company for the benefit of the lender who took possession as the result of a “363” foreclosure sale.
• Reduced the debt due lender by $9 million resulting in a successful third party sale in July 2005 with full repayment of the debt.