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.