OBJECTIVE - Something one wants to get done. A specific statement of quality, quantity and time values. In contract/procurement management, to define the method to follow and the service to be contracted or resource to be procured for the performance of work. In time management, a predetermined result, toward which effort is directed. (June 2007) OBJECTIVE EVENT - An event that signifies the completion of a path through the network. A network may have more than one objective event. (November 1990) OBSOLESCENCE – (1)The condition of being out of date. A loss of value occasioned by new developments which place the older property at a competitive disadvantage. A factor in depreciation. (2)A decrease in the value of an asset brought about by the development of new and more economical methods, processes, and/or machinery. (3)The loss of usefulness or worth of a product or facility as a result of the appearance of better and/or more economical products, methods or facilities. (November 1990) OCCURRED RISK - A risk event or condition that was identified during risk assessment and that actually occurred. (December 2011) OFFSITES - General facilities outside the battery limits of all process units, such as field storage, service facilities, utilities, main electric substation, administrative buildings, rail tracks and storage yard, etc. (June 2007) OMISSION - Any part of a system, including design, construction and fabrication, that has been left out, resulting in a deviation. An omission requires an evaluation to determine what corrective action is necessary. (November 1990) ON-STREAM FACTOR - The ratio of actual operating days to calendar days per year. (November 1990) OPEN SHOP - An employment or project condition where either union or non-union contractors or individuals may be working. Open shop implies that the owner or prime contractor has no union agreement with workers. Syn.: MERIT SHOP. (November 1990) OPEN-ENDED ACTIVITIES - CPM activities that do not have a predecessor or a successor may be said to be “open- ended.” Aside from the one activity starting the CPM network and the last activity in that network, open-ended activities “break” the logical network and may not exhibit correct float calculations. (March 2010) OPERATING COST - The expenses incurred during the normal operation of a facility, or component, including labor, materials, utilities, and other related costs. Includes all fuel, lubricants, and normally scheduled part changes in order to keep a subsystem, system, particular item, or entire project functioning. Operating costs may also include general building maintenance, cleaning services, taxes, and similar items. See also: MANUFACTURING COST. (November 1990) OPERATION - Ongoing endeavor, or activities that utilize strategic assets for a defined function or purpose. (January 2002) OPERATION PHASE - Period when the completed deliverable is used and maintained in service for its intended purpose. The operation phase is part of the asset or product life cycle as distinct from the project life cycle. See also: LIFE CYCLE - ASSET LIFE CYCLE. (June 2007) OPERATIONS RESEARCH (OR) - Quantitative analysis of industrial and administrative operations with intent to derive an integrated understanding of the factors controlling operational systems and in view of supplying management with an objective basis to make decisions. OR frequently involves representing the operation or the system with a mathematical model. (November 1990) OPPORTUNITY - Uncertain event that could improve the results or improve the probability that the desired outcome will happen. See also: RISK; THREAT; UNCERTAINTY. (June 2007) OPPORTUNITY COSTS - The value of a lost opportunity of an alternative that is not selected. See also: ECONOMIC COSTS. (December 2011) OPPORTUNITY COST OF CAPITAL - The rate of return available on the next best available investment of comparable risk. \[1\] (November 1990) OPTIMISTIC DURATION - The shortest of the three durations in the three-duration technique or PERT. (June 2007) OPTIMISTIC TIME ESTIMATE - The minimum time in which the activity can be completed if everything goes exceptionally well. (June 2007) OPTIMUM PLANT SIZE - The plant capacity which represents the best balance between the economics of size and the cost of carrying excess capacity during the initial years of sales. (November 1990) ORDER OF MAGNITUDE ESTIMATE - An estimate prepared based on little or no project definition. See also: COST ESTIMATE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM, CLASS 5 ESTIMATE. (May 2012) ORGANIZATION BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (OBS) - A hierarchical relationship of the organization, including subcontractors, responsible for managing a designated scope of work within the work breakdown structure (WBS). See also: WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (WBS). (January 2014) ORGANIZATIONAL CODES - Numerical or alphabetized characters that the user specifies for the system to associate with a particular activity for sorting purposes. See also: CODE. (November 1990) ORIGINAL DURATION - First estimate of work time/duration needed to execute an activity. The most common units of time are hours, days and weeks. See also: BASELINE. (June 2007) OUT-OF-SEQUENCE PROGRESS - Progress that has been reported even though activities that have been deemed predecessors in project logic have not been completed. Scheduling software may include a “switch” to turn on or off how the calculations deal with out-of-sequence progress. (June 2007) OUTLIER - A value on the outer range of all values for a sample or population. (December 2011) OUTPUT - Goods, services, or other results created by a process. (August 2007) OVER TARGET BASELINE (OTB) - In earned value management according to the ANSI EIA 748 standard, under unusual circumstances a performance measurement baseline (PMB) may no longer be reasonable for performance measurement. Typically, this is when there is a significant difference between estimate at completion (EAC) and budget at completion (BAC) at the total project level. An OTB is when the estimate to complete (ETC) is planned for the future as the baseline, resulting in a performance measurement baseline (PMB) value that may exceed the contract budget base (CBB). An OTB may be in conjunction with an over target schedule (OTS) and/or a single point adjustment. (October 2013) OVER TARGET SCHEDULE (OTS) - In earned value management according to the ANSI EIA 748 standard, under unusual circumstances, a performance measurement baseline (PMB) may no longer be reasonable for performance measurement. Typically, this is when there is a significant difference between the forecast finish and the baseline finish at the total project level. An OTS is when the schedule is baselined to a date that exceeds the contract requirements. (October 2013) OVERHAUL - The distance in excess of that given as the stated haul distance to transport excavated material. (November 1990) OVERHEAD - A cost or expense inherent in the performing of an operation, (e.g., engineering, construction, operating, or manufacturing) which cannot be charged to or identified with a part of the work, product or asset and, therefore, must be allocated on some arbitrary base believed to be equitable, or handled as a business expense independent of the volume of production. See also: GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS (G&A). (May 2012) OVERLOAD - In planning and scheduling and resource planning, an amount by which the resource required exceeds its resource limit. (June 2007) OVERPLAN (UNDERPLAN) - The planned cost to date minus the latest revised estimate of cost to date. When planned cost exceeds latest revised estimate, a projected underplan condition exists. When latest revised estimate exceeds planned cost, a projected overplan condition exists. (November 1990) OVERRUN (UNDERRUN) - The actual costs for the work performed to date minus the estimate or value for that same work. If the actual costs are greater, it is an overrun; if the actual costs are less, it is an underrun. See also: PROBABILITY OF UNDERRUN (OR OVERRUN). (June 2007) OWNER - Entity, public body or authority, corporation, association, firm or person with whom the contractor has entered into the agreement and for whom the work is to be provided, See also: CLIENT. (June 2007) OWNER FURNISHED FIXTURES & EQUIPMENT (OFFE) - That items the responsibility of the owner to furnish that become incorporated into the contractor’s work. The timing, interface and quality of OFFE are often the subject of dispute, delaying and affecting the contractor’s work. (June 2007)