Importance of Resource Leveling

Resource leveling with a project plan is a process where a manager critically examines the resources available for a given project and then ensures that they are allocated in a balanced manner so that no conflicts result nor are there any imbalances in the allocation process. This is done to ensure that work is split out equally between the resources as well as making sure that all the resources are fully put into good use.

Some of the ways by which resources can be leveled is through splitting them between the available tasks or delaying some of the tasks until the required resource is available. The two main parameters that are put into consideration during resource leveling are time and resources (Henoch 2001). The main goal of resource leveling in a project plan is therefore to balance the different interests in a project with the resources available and ensure that all the allocations are done fairly without any discrimination.

One reason why resource leveling is important is because it ensures that there is maximum utilization of the resources available for the project. A manager will be able to divide the work equally so that no resources will be overused and at the same time make sure that their capabilities are fully harnessed. If no leveling is done there is a high probability that some resources will be over utilized while others underutilized.
Another reason for resource leveling is to resolve any conflicts during the implementation of the project. In any project, it happens that there may be a need for a resource such as machinery or people which in some cases may not be available at a particular time. This may result in a conflict of interests since all departments may want the particular resource at that particular time. Leveling thus ensures that these conflicts are solved since there will be proper and fair allocation of the available resources.
This will in the long run also minimize the duration period of the project (Carayannis 2002).
References
Carayannis, E. G. , Kwak, Y. H. (eds. ) (2002) The story of managing projects: A global, cross-disciplinary collection of perspectives, Greenwood Press, Quorum Books.
Henoch, J. , Ulrich, H. (2001) Agent-based simulation platform for evaluating management concept, “Proceedings of EUROSIM 2001 Spanning Future with Simulation”, Delft, The Netherlands.