NEWS

Manufacturing project management assists organizations to create better production plans, control production processes, manage risks and measure and quantify success. The term project management creates assumptions due to its vagueness.

There are countless intricacies and details to work through before a consumer can receive a product and this is where manufacturing project management comes into play. Below are some of the common misunderstandings about manufacturing project management.

Misconception:  PM Needed Only for Negative Risk Occurrences

When it comes to risk assessment, some believe that it only needs to be done at the beginning of a project, but, risk is never ending.

A project almost never ends up the same as the initial plan. After all, the market is always changing; new developments can crop up at any time, accompanied by new and unfamiliar risks.

Risks can be either negative or positive. If a manufacturer is using outside quality services, it is often assumed that the manufacturer must have a problem to solve. When in fact, manufacturers that plan for risks end up ahead of the game, in lieu of waiting for a risk to occur. Have a plan to escalate those positive risks as well.

Misconception:  PM Needed Only for Large-Scale Projects

One size does not fit all. Project founding ideas and stakeholders are not all created equal. Big or small, one week or years upon years, projects and the management of each may have different approaches depending on scale, all are equally important.

No matter the scale of a project, all projects have a similar goal to deliver a product or service on time, within budget and to specification. Manufacturing project managers are there to assist in accomplishing your goal(s).

Misconception:  We Have Our Own PM Team

Project management allows companies to accomplish more work in less time with fewer resources without sacrificing quality.

Sometimes help is needed. Hiring an outside project management team is not unnecessary overhead. There may come a time when there is an ongoing project and it is time to launch a new project and all of your internal resources are tapped. Or, maybe you want to increase your turnaround times. As stated above, it does not need to be about negative risks.

Strong leaders are not afraid to ask for help to meet strategic goals. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), organizations with robust project management processes out-perform those that do not in three ways:

• On-time delivery is 28% higher
• Within-budget delivery is 24% higher
• Goal achievement is 20% higher

What other project management myths has your team discovered? How are they resolved? Click here to let us know.

I hope this article diminishes some of the misconceptions regarding manufacturing project management and gains respect for the manufacturers that utilize outside resources. False assumptions hinders growth.

Let’s work smarter, not “harder” – together.

If you are looking for a manufacturing project management full-service partner to offer solutions in your quality control, engineering or production, click here to contact Sustained Quality Group or call 615-953-1907.