SportsTurf

April 2015

SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.

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30 SportsTurf | April 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com I f you would ask any turf manager what tools they need you will likely hear "more time, more money, and more people." The reality is that most are unlikely to get even one of those three. When that is the case, the challenge then becomes doing the best you can with the resources that you have available. Most sports field managers are well trained in turfgrass science. However, they are routinely thrown into the role of project managers responsible for effi- ciently managing those three things they always need more of: time, money, and people. The average turfie's training in that role may be less than ideal but with a little planning and effort you can outperform almost any general contractor. As more projects are being completed in-house, the skills of the turf manager must change. Basic project management principles can often be easily applied to projects in the turf- grass management industry. Contrary to popular belief, not all projects have to be construction or renovation events. The term can also include acquiring new equipment, developing a master plan, conditioning your facility for a special event, or implementing a new procedure. The word "project" does not always mean putting a shovel in the ground. No matter what your project is the goals remain the same: do it right, do it on time, and do it within budget. Project management generally has four definitive stages: definition of the problem, planning of the project, execution of tasks, and closing/handing-off of the project. Typically turfgrass managers are very good at executing tasks. It is the definition, planning, and hand-off phases that can cause projects to fail. Poorly planning a seemingly simple budget or timeline can make the best-executed project appear to be a failure. Execution of tasks with little-to-no planning is what causes projects to come in late and over the budget. To avoid such pitfalls most project managers turn to some type of software. Large-scale projects will likely use sophis- ticated software to manage tasks and the flow of work. Such elaborate and expensive software is likely not necessary for projects that turfgrass managers will face. A project is not going to succeed or fail because of the software used (or not used) to plan the project. Additionally, the burden of learning new soft- ware can easily hinder the effective management of a project. The better approach for turf managers is to use an entry-level software that is quick to learn and easy to use. There are many free/cheap online-based programs that will aid turf managers without the burden of learning a new software. Project management for sPorts turf managers FACILITY & OPERATIONS ■ By Nick JaNovich

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