RUBIGAS
Biogas as an alternative source of energy in rural areas
RUBIGAS Project Quality Management Manual
(2013-1-PL1-LEO05-37532)
Introduction and basic tenets.
The Quality Management Manual (QMM) describes how the project management team will
implement the quality policy required for successful executing of the project and providing
highest quality of project results. The QMM provides input to the overall project management
plan and includes quality control, quality assurance and continuous process improvement
approach for the project.
Project QMM is established to provide processes and activities to be performed to determine
quality policies, objectives and responsibilities, so that the project will satisfy the needs for
which it was undertaken. It implements the quality management system through policy and
procedures with continuous process improvement activities conducted throughout, as
appropriate.
The basic approach to quality management described herein is intended to be compatible with
that of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This is compatible with
proprietary approaches to quality management such as those recommended by Deming, Juran,
Crosby and others, and non-proprietary approaches such as Total Quality Management
(TQM), Six Sigma, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA).
This document complements project management and as such recognizes the importance of:

Customer/End user satisfaction; understanding, evaluating, defining and managing
expectations so that customer requirements are met.

Continuous improvement; the plan-do-check-act cycle is the basis for quality
improvement as defined by Shewhart and modified by Deming. Quality improvement
initiatives undertaken by the project consortium should improve the quality of the
project’s management as well as the quality of the project’s product.

Prevention over inspection; the quality is planned, designed and built in and it is prior
to inspection as preventing mistakes generates much less cost.

Management responsibility; success requires the participation of all consortium
participants and all members of the project team.
Process approach
Following recommendation of International Organization for Standardization this document
promotes process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness
of a quality management system, to enhance partners and potential user satisfaction by
meeting their requirements. Process approach means identification of processes, together with
their mutual interactions and their management to produce desired outcomes.
An advantage of process approach is the ongoing control that it provides over the individual
processes as well as their combination and interaction.
Usage of process approach within a quality management system emphasizes the importance
of:
a) Understanding and meeting requirements and needs,
b) The need to consider processes in terms of added value
c) obtaining results of process performance and effectiveness
d) continual improvement of processes based on objective measurement
The model of a process-based quality management system based on Deming’s scheme and
adapted to projects needs is shown on the picture below.
This illustration shows that potential user satisfaction as well as partners trouble-free
cooperation is obtained by means of communication and customers/partners feedback on
each, specific stage of the project. The illustration also emphasizes the role of prevention,
which is much more economically reasonable, than inspection and introducing of
ameliorations. Nonetheless the ‘check’ stage is compulsory to provide high quality project
outcomes. This stage will by fully implemented during project activity by realization of pilot
testing training, which will provide feedback from users. Feedback forms will be delivered by
separate document attached to pilot testing methodology.
Reporting
Constant monitoring of project progress executed by specific partner is to be reported
regularly in half a year period. Regularly delivered reports are not only to acknowledge tasks
realization, but also to prevent possible risks and collect feedback from partners. It helps to
improve project quality during its realization as well as level of project outcomes.
It is crucial tool for implementation ISO based standards together with plan-do-check-act
cycle, emphasizing role of prevention and in-between communication oriented towards
partner’s feedback.
Reporting procedure will contain filling of:
1) staff timesheets form,
2) activity report form,
3) travel & subsistence report form,
4) dissemination report form (this form as well as the whole procedure is elaborated
separately),
5) financial report table (provided by Polish National Agency).
Reporting forms are attached to this manual.
External evaluation
Evaluation can be defined as the systematic appraisal of the success and quality of a project.
Success refers to whether the project objectives have been achieved, and quality refers to
whether the needs of the stakeholders have been met.
The evaluation of the project progress, management and final outputs/products will be
performed by external evaluator in 2 separate parts:
-
The first part undertaken at the end of first period of the project should be done in the
form of Formative evaluation, which aims to assess initial and ongoing project
activities, with a view to improve the work in progress and increase the likelihood that
the project will be successful
-
The second part undertaken at the end of the second period of the project should be
done in the form of Summative evaluation, which aims to assess the quality and impact
of a fully implemented project, and to verify if the project has reached its stated goals.
Evaluation, in context of process approach to project realization, is two-sided tool of synergic goals. It
helps with outcomes assessment as well as being a factor raising the project quality.
Tools and techniques for best quality of project management
Below list show processes specified to deliver trouble-free project realization:

Time table – to define deadlines for scope of activities

Risk management – to define possible risk and threats

Internal communication – to communicate problems within the consortium

Partner’s feedback – information gathered from partners to rise quality level of the
project
It is important to remember that above list dynamically changes and importance of the
processes as well as their ways of implementation can be modified according to project
progress and realization.
Tools and techniques for best quality of project results
Below list show processes specified to deliver high quality project products/outcomes:

Need analysis – to define customers/end users expectations and needs

Training methodology
results/products/outputs

Internal evaluation of project results performed by project partners

Partners responsibility range – to define particular partner tasks and partners
responsibility
–
to
define
level
of
quality
for
final
project
It is important to remember that above list dynamically changes and importance of the
processes as well as their ways of implementation can be modified according to project
progress and realization.
Time table it is a tool which, in graphical form provides full information about project tasks during lifetime of the project. Thanks to it, all
partners have opportunity to keep deadlines and check own tasks to do:
Meeting
No
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10
1.11
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
6
6.1
6.2
6.3
7
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
Work package/task
Management and coordination activities
Kick-off meeting, Kraków 09-10.01.2014
Constitution of the Project's working groups
Signature of collaboration contracts with partners
Development of project's intranet
Development of the project's website
Six month internal raport
Mid-term report and final report
Consortium meeting Bulgaria
Consortium meeting Cyprus
Consortium meeting Romania
Consortium meeting Slovakia
Need analyses
Methodology and questionaire development
Survey
Development of national needs report
Development of Integrated report
Update and development of the training content
Developing training metodology
Update and development of the general module
Update and development of biomass module
Update and development of agro-biogas plants module
Update and development of geothermal energy module
Update and development of solar energy module
Update and development of wind energy module
Update and development of water energy module
Translation
Electronic resources development and administration
Development and maintaning training platform
Integration of the training resources into training platform
Management electronic resources of the project
Pilot testing
Development of the manuals for tutors and trainees
Development of questionnaire for evaluation report
Providing pilot case
Development of the national evaluation reports
Development of the integrated evaluation report
Quality control plan
Development of the quality management plan
6 months evaluation report
Evaluation report at the end of the project
Dissemination and valorisation
Development of project leaflet and promotion materials
Development project website
Providing dissemination national conferences
Providing dissemination international conference
Articles, advertisments etc.in press, electronic media, etc.
National reports from the conferences
Development integrated conferences raport
Development integrated dissemination raport
Lead partner Partner involved
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
Zem. Inst.
All
Eurosuccess
All
CPIP
All
SUA
All
SUA
All
SUA
All
SUA
All
SUA
All
SUA
SUA
Zem. Inst.
All
CPIP
Zem.Inst.
SUA
IZ PIB
Zem. Inst.
IZ PIB
IZ PIB
Zem.Inst.
SUA
CPIP
Eurosuccess
Zem.Inst.
CPIP
Eurosuccess
SUA
IZ PIB
Eurosuccess
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
All
Eurosuccess
All
IZ PIB
SUA
Eurosuccess
All
All
All
Eurosuccess
All
Eurosuccess
Eurosuccess
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
CPIP
IZ PIB
All
IZ PIB
IZ PIB
CPIP
All
CPIP
All
IZ PIB
All
CPIP
All
SUA
All
CPIP
All
CPIP
All
CPIP
All
CPIP
All
2013
12
1
2
3
4
Deliverables
5
6
2014
7
8
Conferences
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5
2015
6
7
8
9
10
11
Risk management – faces difficulties which may appear during implementation and
realization of the project. The most important part of the process is identification and
definining of risks in a selected domain of interest. Once risks have been identified, they must
then be assessed as to their potential severity of impact (generally a negative impact, such as
damage or loss) and to the probability of occurrence. The fundamental difficulty in risk
assessment is determining the rate of occurrence since statistical information is not available
on all kinds of past incidents. Furthermore, evaluating the severity of the consequences
(impact) is often quite difficult for intangible assets.
As the project is not of very high complexity, identification of main threats is possible and
those are: delays in elaborating of specific tasks, communication problems caused by cultural
variety and linguistic barrier, staff problems, despite of using the same standards established
by consortium, various level of training materials, problems – mostly technical - caused by
sub-contraceted companies.
QMM faces most of the above threats. To avoid serious risks endangering the project,
consortium partners are obliged to inform the leader about problems and difficulties as soon
as they appear.
Internal communication - It is important to use a range of tools, including face-to-face meetings.
Good communication and good partnership working need good tools. Communication methods should
allow partners to stay focused on the project objectives. Realization of the project within international
consortium is cultural and linguistic challenge. There are no easy solutions, but recognizing the
problems is an important step towards a solution.
Internet voice conferences and webinars will be used to solve arisen problems in the time between the
meetings. These tools will also be used for preparation of the partnership for meetings.
Need analysis – is basic and key tool required for providing high quality of project outcomes. It stands
grounds for any further project activity as well as delivery of high quality of final products
corresponding to real needs of project beneficiaries.
Training methodology – needs to be elaborated throughout partners’ cooperation and established to
define level of quality for final project results/products/outputs. Elaborating of training methodology is
very important process, which by means of partners close cooperation and mutual feedback has to
determine outcomes level according to the same standards. It refers directly to the ‘inspection over
prevention’ concept being – together with needs analysis – part of the project planning.
Training methodology defines: theoretical background and training curricula, methodology of training
materials elaboration (technical requirements), methodology of executing of the training(s).
Internal evaluation – is deemed as a part of ‘check’ stage. This process starts directly after finishing
of training materials content elaboration and engages all partners’ activity. Cross-evaluation of
elaborated materials should be executed by the whole consortium before triggering of another process
related to project stage of pilot training. Feedback provided by partners is measurable and as such,
very important as beginning of the checking process.
Internal evaluation will be executed by means of:
a) internal evaluation form;
according to:
b) internal evaluation schedule.
Partners’ responsibility range – while being described in the attachments to the contracts between
the partners and the leader, scope of partners’ responsibility must be precisely defined, but also stays
dynamic in face of possible risks.
Attachments:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
staff timesheets form,
activity report form,
travel & subsistence report form,
financial report table (provided by Polish National Agency)
internal evaluation form
internal evaluation schedule
(Above attachments are provided as separate documents)