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Launching a new manufacturing plant is serious business and involves a lot of hard work. It also requires the coordinated efforts of a dedicated project team with the proper skillset and proven project management experience.
And while the work is serious, people don’t always have to be. A little humour and levity are often appreciated by those individuals challenged with solving difficult problems, working very long hours, and with a fixed project deadline.
The launch, ramp-up and stabilization of a new production plant necessitate meticulous project planning and occasionally some trial and error. It is through error that hard lessons are learned. Truly what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
This book was developed specifically for Launch Teams and is essentially a guide for new manufacturing plant launch preparations, production ramp-up and process stabilization. Each chapter highlights best practices, special methods and lessons for project team members to consider.
As with all best practices the practice needn’t be accepted but to ignore the benefit is potentially a lost opportunity to improve and excel.
Admittedly much of the content is slanted towards manufacturing operations but many of the lessons also apply to other industries and service sectors.
Also included are a series of short stories that demonstrate what may happen if insufficient attention is given to the project planning, stakeholder expectations, quality assurance, and risk mitigation.
Prologue: sink or swim
“When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over and then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up.”
King and owner of Swamp Castle. A movie character in Monty Python’s quest for the Holy Grail.
As with Swamp Castle the Launch Team responsible for the construction and commissioning of a Greenfield manufacturing facility require a solid foundation on which they will build the project. The requirements for Launch Team members and the new plant project go well beyond soil sampling, water tables and site suitability.
The Senior Leadership Team and the performing organization must provide unfailing support for the project and make available sufficient resources to allow the Launch Team deliver on all stakeholder expectations and project deliverables.
The ‘Iron Triangle’ for project Scope, Cost, Time and Quality: The Iron Triangle gets its name because changing any one of the three main project constraints also impacts the other two. For instance if the scope of project work is significantly increased, the extra project hours add cost and can impact the schedule. Changing the project scope can also impact the expected quality of the deliverables.
Project Management: Do the core members of the Launch Team have project management experience and the skills to pull off a flawless launch and to properly manage project resources?
Leadership: Is there strength at the top? How effective is the project leadership team?
Project Resources: Who controls the project finances and how deep are those pockets? Are the right people available and are sufficient organizational resources available when required by the Launch Team?
Schedule: Project timelines are developed from experience and based off reliable estimates. Dictating an arbitrary fixed deadline to a new plant development project is the most arrogant example of Leaderships lack of experience with effective project time management and schedule development. At the Magic Shop a wand will cost around $6.99. A schedule cost overrun costs much more.
Skillset: Do the skills of the Launch Team members complement each other? What experience and knowledge do they possess in engineering, project planning, problem solving, technical services, and quality management methodologies?
Mindset: Are organizational goals, project objectives and personal values aligned between all the Stakeholders? Does everyone of the team have the same sense of urgency and a willingness to commit to going the extra mile? Will the team follow and fall in if lead by example.
Project planning and risk identification: For anyone that has jumped in feet first off the high diving board stopping to look over edge doesn`t make the leap any less scary but, it does provide an opportunity to check for obstacles in the pool. Effective project planning gives the project team an opportunity see the obstacles and to mitigate the risks.
Of course diving in the pool from the 10 meter board isn’t likely to end well if the first major consideration; learning how to swim was never properly addressed.
The book is filled with over 100 pages of hints, launch project considerations and details on a variety of plant start-up activities. To obtain a copy of the book, please go to our contact page and send us an email and contact information.