Problems Should Be Solved to Help the Youth Become Experienced Future Managers
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he began by doing his compulsory military service in Kordestan. Afterwards, he was appointed in charge of the state television in Zanjan province. He was born in 1959 and is a graduate of mathematics and computer. Since 1986, after four years of working with the state television, he was officially employed by the Ministry of Petroleum.
Mr. Ja'far Heidar Esfahani is known as a perseverant, caring, and humble manager who has been working with the Gas Engineering and Development Company as director of planning and project control since March 2006.
The following, is the text of his interview with the Public Relations Department.
In response to our question about responsibilities of director of planning and project control, Mr. Esfahani said that the department’s responsibilities are varied, but the important point is that the role of planning and project control department in implementing plans and projects of the Gas Engineering and Development Company is very critical and no project can be finished in the absence of an accurate schedule.
“Before establishment of the Gas Engineering and Development Company, such activities were the responsibility of the planning department. However, despite the hard work that went on there, its role was not remarkable. After establishment of the company, the department was supposed to become more active due to high number of plans and projects and, therefore, director of planning and project control has been considered as a member of board of directors,” he added.
Mr. Esfahani further noted that from the time a project is launched till the time it is finished, staff of the department control activities and schedules of all the projects and while examining the problems, take decisive steps to solve them in cooperation with project managers.
“Project management is now a professional task in the world and we try to build up the necessary culture and develop needed manpower in this field. Therefore, young workforce with good knowledge of project management can become directly engaged with our work to gain more experiences and become skillful at world-class level.”
Mr. Esfahani opined that the range of activities at the Project Planning and Control Department was not limited to setting timetable and control of ongoing projects and said, “This department is duty-bound to cooperate with the Planning Department of the National Iranian Gas Company for basic planning of capital projects as well as in various stages of defining a project including economic feasibility studies, studying early description of a projects and their goals, making large-scale and strategic plans, exchanging agreements with the Planning and Strategic Supervision Department of the Presidential Office, getting necessary decisions passed by various authorities including the Economy Council, gathering information and preparing necessary reports to create investment opportunities, outlining projects, and providing necessary reports on projects which have been funded through buyback or other means.
Also, preparing matrix of the company and appointing planning and project control officials who work under the supervision of project managers and who are the link between the department’s policies and project managers are other tasks undertaken by the department. Through providence and support of the managing director as well as in cooperation with project managers, this department has introduced various qualified people to play a role in different projects and this is one of the achievements of the department.
Another duty of the department is to examine the current model of project management in company’s projects and try to build culture, get technical and methodological updates and develop an integrated management system for projects. Studying the route of projects and analyzing available resources in addition to setting priorities for company’s projects in view of limited resources and, in other words, playing a role in management of the company projects basket in cooperation with other departments are further duties of this department.”
Director of Project Planning and Control Department mentioned young age of the company staff as a problem for achieving certain goals, saying, “Due to limited human resources in the field of project management and absence of necessary experienced manpower, we have had difficulties finding qualified personnel. Despite all those problems, the department has, thus far, employed 10 young specialists in industrial engineering, project management, and other related fields. We hope that our young manpower will endeavor to gain more practical experiences and further improve overall performance of the company. Meanwhile, the department is still trying to recruit more creative, young, and specialist employees.”
In conclusion, he explained about motivating the personnel by saying, “I have based my work on trust and feel that the management could be more effective through a friendly relationship based on honesty. I have continuously tried to increase sense of responsibility among my staff. I believe that when people feel that their efforts are appreciated, they will be more motivated to work.”
Public Relations Department of Gas Engineering and Development Company
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