Tag Archives: business

Are you a headless chicken?………………….#innovation

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You must be doing something really important eh ? running around like a headless chicken all day putting those fires out. You haven’t got time to headless-chickenthink about future products because your far too busy fixing the current ones!
But hang on a minute……if your not focusing on those future products where is your future revenue coming from when all the old ones become obsolete?

How do you escape this vicious circle ?

  • Keep a timesheet to find out how much time you spend fire fighting & how much on future products.
  • You will probably find it’s 80/20
  • To turn this around you need to gradually increase the time you spend on future product development  to 80%
  • Resist the urge to persist in fire fighting.
  • As time progresses the time you spend on fire fighting will decrease because you have put more effort into your future product development, getting it right first time and minimising the need for fire fighting.

so, are you a headless chicken ?
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Stage gate process aids product development #pmot

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ISO9001designprocessIn the Automotive# industry thousands of individual components are designed, developed, prototyped, tested and tuned silmultaneously to be brought together as a finished car which has to meet exacting standards for safety, perfomance and reliability.

An incredible feat of engineering and project management which is made possible by the effective use of a rigorous stage gate process based on ISO9001 . Here the output of one stage has to meet pre-defined standards before the project is allowed to move to the next stage.

The key to continued success is the fine tuning of the process itself based on ‘lessons learned’ from previous projects.
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What is #Quality ?….

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RolexQuality has a number of definitions, ‘fit for purpose’, ‘exceeding expectations’ ‘meeting specifications’. It can be a tricky thing to measure but we all know it when we perceive it.

Take a Rolex watch for example, the materials used in its construction, its finish, its mechanical integrity all tell us it is  a ‘Quality’ item – this is naturally reflected in its price.

Although lots of fakes exist it is impossible to replicate the original without investing the same levels of workmanship and materials into it’s manufacture. This gives us a clue as to the origin of the Quality of the object. It lies in the specification & manufacture of the object within a given set of tolerances.

This is reflected in the luxury end of the automotive industry where body panels are specified as beng within a tight dimensional tolerance which in previous generations of product may have been deemed impossible.

Such tolerances lead to a vehicle which is perceived as high Quality without the buyer neccesarily understanding why.

So, if we can capture the expectations of the customer & translate them into product specifications with tolerances we can design & build something which has increased added value & perceived customer Quality.

 

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Climate Change cries out for a technological solution

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The International Protocol on Climate Change issued a comprehensive globereport this week which indicated that 95% of Scientists agreed that Global warming was as a direct result of human activity and that unless we take decisive and immediate action average surface temperatures will rise 2 degrees Celsius by the end of this Century resulting in catastrophic changes to our weather systems.

Only the most foolhardy or blinkered could ignore such a report but generating action is proving to be incredibly difficult.

It is no good for relatively wealthy westerners to criticize people in other parts of the world for wanting to grow their economies and as a result share in the increased wealth this brings. In the last Century we were doing exactly the same and, whatever the faults of free market Capitalism, there is no denying the wealth generating energies it unleashes.

What we need is a technological solution to Climate change which allows energy to continue to be consumed without the harmful effects of carbon dioxide generation from fossil fuels.

Vast parts of the globe are barren deserts which could be used for solar power generation. If we embarked on an International  Government backed enterprise to build a number of vast  solar arrays we could generate a massive amount of clean energy and at the same reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Of course this will not be easy and will bring massive engineering & scientific challenges (not to mention the political ones) but what could be more important than saving the planet on which we and our descendants live.

Allowing people to invest and profit from such an enterprise will guarantee success. This will allow continued economic growth without trashing the planet we all depend upon.

All it takes is some imaginative leadership from our Politicians, but maybe that’s asking too much ?

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10 things which make for Project success……#pmot

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consultants5There are several things which make for a successful project, here are some of them:-

1)
The product or service which is the output of the project can be clearly specified. This is easier said than done especially when the output is a software system or something which is difficult to define. However, this makes the product spec more not less necessary. If the project is to be deemed a success the output needs to be defined as clearly and thoroughly as possible.



2) The product or service has one clearly defined customer. It is always easier to meet the demands of one tough customer rather than the competing demands of several. It is important to meet the customer or their representative face to face to agree the spec.



3) The Project Manager has experience of delivering similar projects.



4) The Team has been through the Storming, Forming & Norming stages of Team development.



5) The Team is multi-functional & chosen for this specific project.



6) The project is planned properly – 70-80% of the PM’s efforts should be expended in the planning phase, the plan should be repeatedly reviewed by the Team, and proper contingency should be put in place to manage the risks.



7) The PM needs real authority in order to ‘get stuff done’



8) Regular Team meetings need to be held to review progress.



9) The team are located in the same building, even better the same room.



0) The PM is calm, assured & approachable

Could you suggest some more ?

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10 tips to minimize cost at the Design stage….

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Bizplan03All companies need to be mindful of costs & for those producing products this is best done at the Design stage. Here are some suggestions:-

 

  • Before beginning the design a Product Specification is essential, this needs to have been agreed at Senior Management level.
  • The product design needs to meet the spec and no more.
  • The material choice is critical, why make it out of gold if steel will do.
  • Use minimum thickness, as long as the design meets the spec.
  • Reduce the number of components as much as possible.
  • Re-use existing design components wherever possible – this gives Purchasing negotiating strength over suppliers and reduces inventory.
  • Consider Manufacturing by minimizing the number of process steps in manufacture.
  • Hold regular Design reviews & involve other parts of the Organization.
  • Build a prototype to test the design.
  • If possible test the Design using Computer Aided Modelling.

If you need help minimizing cost at the Design stage feel free to get in touch.
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#Insource is the new #Outsource

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workersA recent report from Deloitte suggests that bringing jobs back in house (Insourcing) is a small but growing trend against the much larger tendency to Outsource which has dominated western industry for the last thirty years.

Companies are increasingly realizing that Outsourcing is no longer the best value option. Anyone who has been involved in Outsourcing knows it is never as simple as it’s made out, often requiring intensive effort from Managerial & Engineering staff & extensive, frequent travel. Not to mention increased wage costs in China & India, increased shipping costs and numerous supply chain delays.

The biggest issue Western companies face with Insourcing is the lack of trained, skilled staff to deliver the service. Having made thousands of workers redundant in the pursuit of cheaper Outsource options this is somewhat ironic.

This need may be met by making good use of the highly skilled Freelance professionals who operate in the market to satisfy just such demand.
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email – are you busy doing nothing ?………….. #leadership

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emailEmail is a great way to waste time and avoid responsibility. Think about it – how often do you use email to avoid doing something or push the responsibility to someone else ?  Take a look around the office – how many of those ‘busy’ individuals are just busy doing nothing ?

So here’s a challenge – for one day only forget about email. Answer every question you receive by email with a phone call. Even better – go and talk to the person face to face. You will probably be surprised how much this personal interaction improves your productivity – and if it works for one day why not try it more often.

Email is great for communicating complex data or visual imagery but is no substitute for a conversation.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk

If you need project management support feel free to call me on 0775 172 2603

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Bentley – made in Crewe, England

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The News from Volkswagen Group this week that Bentley’s new luxury SUV will be built in Crewe, England is welcome news indeed, not only for Bentley Motors Ltd but also for the North West of England and the area’s supply chain.

Volkswagen Group (owner of Bentley) is investing over 800m GBP in the new SUV and creating around 1000 jobs in Bentley & the local supplbentley-suvy chain.

This illustrates the Group’s faith in the Engineering & build quality of Bentley as it was rumored that it could be built in Brataslava alongside the Audi Q7 & Porsche Cayenne.

It is likely the car will enjoy a facelift as the EXP9F prototype received mixed reviews at the Geneva Motor Show.
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When persistence is not always good…………………….#pmot

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Project Managers are generally encouraged to be persistent and this characteristic is normally seen to be a “good” thing and something to be encouraged.

listeningSometimes, however, being persistent can bring “bad” results.

Consider the case of a Project Manager who has a preconceived agenda & seeks to impose it on a meeker member of the team. Despite the initial objections of the Team member the Project Manager persists and “badgers” the other into doing what She wants.

Six months later the project hits a major hurdle and the Project Manager realizes this was exactly what She was warned about all those months ago but chose to ignore in order to bash ahead with her agenda.

The wise Project Manager always listens to her Team and is prepared to question her own agenda with as open a mind as possible.

Persistence is a great attribute of any Project Manager but not when it impedes good judgement.

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