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NCEDADVA
PROJECTS
PRACTICAL ADVICE from manufacturing experts on solving critical issues.
Managing the scope, budget
and timelines of advanced projects
23ADVICEOF PEERPIECES
NOTES FROMTHE FIELD
VOLUME 3
To better ensure accurate project planning,
the modern manager needs to take account
of many variables. These variables can
involve financial details (how many hours
have been billed to date? what’s the estimate
to completion?), logistics (are purchase and
production orders on time?), and resources
ADVANCED PROJECTS(is there enough capacity in the engineering
department?). To plan for these demanding
situations, managers need a real-time insight
into the status of projects, including the
availability of materials and resources, and can
help forecast potential problems.
WHAT IS “NOTES FROM THE FIELD”?
To help manufacturers with some of the
key industry issues Columbus has asked the
Manufacturing Community “What advice would
you give your peers to better manage the
scope, budget and timelines of advanced
projects?” Experts from our manufacturing
customers, our employees, analysts, consultants
and partners from all over the globe have fed
back either directly to Columbus or via our social
media channels to give their “Notes from the
Field.” We received hundreds of responses
which were distilled into this document which
we hope you will find useful and interesting.
“ 1. Get the scope clearly defi ned - module-wise, functionality-wise, transaction-type-wise, input screen / user interface-wise, docket (document)-wise, report-wise.
2. Get the scope signed by all concerned (if possible, in their blood.) - users, module-leaders (client-side), top management.
3. Get the roll out plan by setting the priorities on the above scope list.
4. Get the roll out plan signed by all the parties (no blood needed here.) You are ready to manage everything and you will have a smooth sailing. ”
DESIKAN SRINIVASAN, India
“ When managing complex projects companies should leverage actionable KPIs such as the ones given through Earned Value Analysis. Having an accurate Estimate to Complete amount and Variance at Completion value goes a long way to get people focused on adjusting the projects early on. Another very important aspect is to have the ability to closely monitor and track change orders to the projects and how that is going to impact planning and costs. A Gantt chart view of the project tasks as resources also helps in assuring the project is going as planned and that if there are any issues along the way it becomes visually clear that there is action that needs to be taken. “
LUCIANO CUNHA, United States
Nothing new but Scope Creep is
the main enemy. Stick to what
is in scope at all times and align
customer expectations with your
eff orts and expectations of the
clients’ eff ort.
HENRIK DALL, United States
Monitor the constant production
parameters and plan the
continuous supply of stock.
EDVINAS T, Lithuania
“ Consistent use of a formal methodology greatly enhances the management of scope, milestones and fi nancial performance. Top level management involvement and driving users to engage deeply throughout the project timeline is crucial to overall implementation success. “
NIELS SKJOLDAGER, United States
NOTES FROMTHE FIELD
Q:What advice would you give your peers to better manage the scope, budget and timelines of advanced projects?
Robotics manufacturedby Kuka Robotics,
a Columbus customer
“ Identify a report for simple weekly evaluations of all your projects based on scope, budget, and timeline. Identify concerns and creep early and act. Be proactive. A more comprehensive view should be done monthly. Don’t forget to review your quote system to compare quoted to actual. “
MIKE MAKELA, United States
“ Managing expectations is an absolute key in controlling the scope, budget, timeline and profi tability of complex projects. Start with clearly defi ning and agreeing to all major project expectations and success factors and then continuously monitor progress against those through the entire project. “
TOM NALL, United States
The goal must be to ensure that
project management quality
is consistent. Use a solution
that provides a consistent
methodology/framework to
promote on-time and on-budget
projects.
VICTOR WASCHTSCHENKO, United States
Implement a more formal methodology.
DAVID CSORDAS, United States
“ Advanced Project management is vital for any contracting vertical in today’s world. A simple project accounting solution will not fl y. We should enhance this by introducing material, manpower, equipment and preliminary cost budget and also by having a fully-fl edged WBS system. ”
ANTONY PRABHATH, UAE
Once a budget and timelines are
setup against a project a good
way to manage and review this is
to use a visual planning tool. This
allows you to review, manage and
adjust said timelines.
JOHN ROBINSON, United Kingdom
Set up standard procedures for
the management and review
of change orders. Ensure that
change requests are reviewed
at least weekly, and that
management is required to
respond to change orders
within a week.
CHRISTOPHER JOHNSTON, United States
Manufacturing at Thorlabs, Inc., a Columbus customer
Defi nitely meet regularly, keep
the lines of communication open,
and always remember that it is
IMPOSSIBLE to over communicate.
Defi nitely use SharePoint
extensively as a management tool
for the project, to store important
documents, and to drive weekly
review sessions.
ROB TERRY, United States
Use experienced and competent resources .
TROELS KJEMTRUP, Denmark
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Project Planning?
Advantages:
1. Everyone is clear on what the milestones are and when
2. Everyone is aware of the dependencies and what other work is happening when
3. You are able to clearly track progress
4. You are unlikely to miss something major by having a plan
Disadvantages:
1. Too much time can be spent tweaking Gantt charts to get everything lined up
2. Too long of a plan takes a great deal of time to update
3. Project sponsors assume every task as set in concrete which reduces your fl exibility to change the order of deliverables around and yet still meet the end date
4. Getting bogged down in the details of the plan can cause one to lose sight of the big picture
5. Increases the risk that time is spent managing the plan instead of managing the people. Having the right processes, tools and right level of details are some of the success factors for project planning
KURT HATLEVIK, Norway
“ The ability to have everything in one system / database. Visual project planning can replace the need for MS Projects. Planning of activities can be performed within visual project planning linking activities and materials as required. Comparing original budget / forecast to actual and being able to create a new forecast based on completion to date, gives far more accuracy at any stage in the project lifecycle. “
ASHLEY DOUST, United Kingdom
“ Review project plan regularly to monitor the progress in terms of schedule and budget. Update project plan regularly with the completed work to have a clear visibility on the task that needs to be done. Determine remaining work to be completed with the team to identify how it will impact your budget. ”
EMAD AKHTAR, UAE
“ Use a solution that provides a Quotation Statement to view the cost of the WBS, to quickly adjust specifi c cost categories changes specifi c for this quote and do what-if’s on your project quote. Use the simulations, changing the expected margin in the quotation statement to develop your sales price for your fi xed projects. ”
DEBORAH VERMILLION, United States
Good reports, pulled from a
number of data sources including
the business system and probably
into excel. Then excellent Project
Management and communication,
probably using Sharepoint.
ANONYMOUS, United Kingdom
Our ERP solution will inform you
when you can make the goods
and which shifts they will run
on, It really is helpful from start
to fi nish.
DEX RIMINGTON, United Kingdom
“ Realistically to evaluate the situation and plan properly, also plan works and resources. Employees must have a clear general understanding of what is being done and what is being aimed to achieve. It is necessary to keep related employees informed on time. If anybody in the team has some doubts, this uncertainty needs to be resolved. ”
LINAS TAMKUTONIS, Lithuania
1. Defi ne the project scope more ‘realistically”... this is for the sales team who bring in the orders.
2. Make the business process and documentation as accurate as possible.
3. Quantify the requirements - this will make scope defi nition more specifi c - the scope and business process will then have minimum ‘diff erences.’
4. Break down each requirement as clear activities. Capture each requirement as a separate point. Capture each of these in the gap-fi t document - and clearly categorize as fi t/workaround/gap.
5. Most important - do not give solutions in the requirement document stage itself. Have a separate FDD document.
6. Judge the activities vis-a-vis the time lines as realistic as possible - have a clear discussion with PM at this stage.
7. Once the design document is ready, and the project timelines fi t... its only project monitoring and control thereafter. Which depends on too many internal - external factors. So we can’t suggest the control mechanism for these so early. Here too all stages should be captured in tandem with the full project team.
8. Remember - it’s team work at the end of it all.
NIRAJ NANDA, India
“ Always go through the project quotation stage to manage the initial budget and estimates, putting into the “work breakdown structure” as much detail as possible. Focus on the deliverable tasks, and estimate time, resources and expenses in achieving each task. Schedule the full project based on fi nite role level capacity, and include some specifi c milestones with a reasonable milestone buff er. You are then setting out your plan to be achievable at day 1 , with a clear “approved” budget against which to monitor events & costs throughout the life of the project. ”
DAVE WARD, United Kingdom
HOW CAN COLUMBUS HELP?
The full ColumbusManufacturing solution includes our best practice business
process modeling with RapidValue, our own Advanced Discrete Manufacturing
and Supply Chain Solution modules, Microsoft Dynamics AX, and our proven
implementation methodology, SureStep+.
ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT Whether you manufacture heavy machinery that’s installed at remote sites or produce materials as a project services organization, you face daily challenges for keeping project costs and schedules under control and balancing the fl ow of goods.
Columbus Advanced Project Management, part of the ColumbusManufacturing ERP solution, ensures that you can effi ciently and cost-eff ectively manage projects that involve complex change management and custom requirements. Microsoft Dynamics AX serves as a stable, rich foundation for traditional ERP functions. Industry-specifi c functionality integrates seamlessly with the system to provide advanced quote-to-service capabilities that can adapt to changing needs.
BENEFITS1. BUILD COMPETITIVE, PROFITABLE MARGINS
FROM THE START. Gain quick insights that let you manage the margins/mark-ups for all levels of the work breakdown structure. Balancing the margins between hours, materials and expenses across your entire work breakdown structure.
2. RECORD AND RE-USE KNOWLEDGE TO IMPROVE PROJECT QUALITY. Respond quickly and accurately to a tender or request for quote by leveraging your previous experiences. Re-use previous quotes, apply templates, and leverage past project results to build informed quotes that refl ect expertise and experience.
3. SIMPLIFY COSTS, PLANNING, AND EXECUTION MANAGEMENT. Advanced Project Management allows you to tailor the fl ow of materials for your project so that the logistics stream minimizes roadblocks and stoppages that aff ect planning, costs, and delivery promises.
4. SAVE TIME AND EFFORT FOR MULTI-LEVEL PRODUCTION ORDERS AND PURCHASE ORDERS. Integrated, current information tailored to project requirements lets you balance materials resource planning (MRP) with project planning, so that the right products and components are available for schedule-driven tasks.
A big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to the Manufacturing Notes from the Field including:
Aleksandar Jovanovic, Antony Prabhath, Ashley Doust, Christopher Johnston, Claudio Tirelli, Dave Ward, David Aronson, David Csordas, Deborah Vermillion, Desikan Srinivasan, Dex Rimington, Edvinas T, Emad Akhtar, Eva Foss, Helge Hansen, Henrik Dall, Jeff Powell, John Robinson, Jolanta Žaludiene, Jon Anders Haugland, Jørgen Gjerde, Ken Jarlfort, Kevin Brandt, Kurt Hatlevik, Linas Tamkutonis, Luciano Cunha, Martin Burden, Mike Makela, Mike Wilson, Morten Skogbrott, Niels Skjoldager, Niraj Nanda, Norman Carmichael, Olav Bækken Natvik, Pål Linde, Rob Terry, Rune Kinden Sjursen, Sam Graham, Steve Weaver, Stuart Mackay, Thomas Hauge, Tom Nall, Troels Kjemtrup and Victor Waschtschenko.
The ColumbusManufacturing Notes From The Field Series:
Volume 1Engineering Change
Volume 2Sales Quotations
Volume 3Advanced Projects
Volume 4Plant Maintenance
Volume 5Service Management
Volume 6Supply Chain
For more information on Columbus, our clients’ experiences and our solutions, please visit www.columbusglobal.com
’Columbus’ is a part of the registered trademark ‘Columbus IT’
ABOUT COLUMBUS:
Columbus is the preferred business partner for ambitious companies worldwide
within the food, retail and manufacturing industries. We exceed 20 years of
experience and 6,000 successful implementations, and we’re proud to off er our
customers solid industry know-how, high performance solutions and global reach.