Managing Projects: a 3 Tier Approach to Achieve Better Results

by Ellen McKewen

Every year brings about new and more efficient processes that manufacturers can take advantage of in order to increase and enhance their upcoming projects. For example, a project management methodology might be used to implement a new software program or install new machinery. For your project to be successful, it has to include change management to ensure acceptance from the people using it. In addition, the project needs to support the corporate strategy. Managing projects can then be viewed as a three tier approach that is selected and pioneered by a leader and implemented by employees through change management.

Tier 1: Leadership: Doing The Right Project

The decision to determine which project to implement should be decided by your leadership team. Getting the leadership team on the same page with respect to determining the right project to implement is crucial for optimal global results.

Once the leaders have come to a consensus on which project to implement, they will begin designing a project management methodology.

Tier 2: Project Management: Doing The Project Right

A suitable methodology includes both the management and the strategizing of a project. Communication is critical to each level of the project’s hierarchy

-from the leader to the workers carrying out the project.

The goal of project management is to become more competitive and improve effi   anywhere within your manufacturing organization for better global effi              . In order for project management to be suc cessful, the overall direction must be properly set and communicated (Tier 1 Leadership). A well-defi project management plan ensures on time completion of the project.

Tier 3: Change Management: Doing The Implementation Right

While project management is the planning and strategizing of a new process, machinery, or software, change management is the implementation of it.

Change management focuses on the implementation of the project through the people who will be using it. The only way that a project will be successful is through the acceptance and adoption of it by its users. Therefore, the person (change agent) who carries out the change management of a project should look to encourage employee buy-in and foster acceptance from them.

The change agent should be able to recognize and be prepared to address some personnel factors that affect the speed of change, such as:

•       Speed of adoption: Improve how quickly people get on board with the change and address resistance through effective communication, sponsorship and coaching.

•       Use of a new system: Prevent people from “opting out” of the new system and reverting to the old system.

•       Proficiency: Increase likelihood that people maximize proficiency in the new system by proper training.

Successful change management helps employees overcome reluctance for new buy-ins resulting in meeting your project’s objective, being on schedule, staying on budget, increasing your ROI, reducing push back and enhancing proficiency when using systems.

Implementing change management improves the predictability of project success by addressing people issues up front. Often times, the buy-in of change by your organization’s personnel can affect the speed of seeing the benefits  promised by your project.

Working Together to Achieve the Best Results

Managing projects using a three tier approach will improve the results and success of your project. While each tier functionally operates on its own, optimal results happen when all three are integrated and infused into managing projects.

Remember that you must choose the right project and clearly communicate its overall direction. Once the project is identified the project management methodology will need to be designed. Finally, change management is the implementation of the project to ensure there is internal buy-in from its users.

Manufacturing’s Economic Impact: So Much Bigger Than We Think

by Stephen Gold

Two measures commonly used by the government to measure manufacturing’s overall impact on society are badly underestimating the impact of that critical sector. One is the proportion of gross domestic product for which manufacturing accounts. The other is the “multiplier effect,” which measures the impact on other industries from an increase in economic activity by a specific industry.

Official national statistics state that manufacturing’s proportion of GDP— its annual value-added divided by the value of all goods and services produced in the country—stands at about 11%. The U.S. Department of Commerce finds the total requirement manufacturing multiplier is around 1.4.
Both figures grossly understate manufacturing’s impact. By a long shot. Intuitively, we should know this—contemporary Americans are surrounded by and completely reliant on thousands upon thousands of manufactured goods, whether we’re working, eating, driving, flying, sleeping, playing, or relaxing. Judging by the sheer volume of stuff in our lives, how could manufacturing represent only a tenth of the economy?

It doesn’t. New research by MAPI Foundation Chief Economist Dan Meckstroth, using analysis of national input–output tables by Interindustry Forecasting (Inforum) at the University of Maryland, shows manufacturing’s total value chain actually accounts for about one-third of U.S. GDP, or three times the impact that the narrow official data suggest. Moreover, manufacturing’s multiplier is 3.6, also nearly three times as high as the simplistic estimates; we fi that every $1.00 of manufacturing value-added generates $3.60 of value-added elsewhere

Why is the government’s estimate so misleading?
For one thing, there are several inaccuracies, such as including fiinal sales of imports and some double-counting of transactions in the Commerce Department calculations.
More substantively, official manufacturing statistics are based narrowly on information collected at the “establishment”—or plant—level, as opposed to the “fi level. That means numerous manufacturing-related activities, such as corporate management, R&D, and logistics operations, are not included within the NAICS codes for manufacturing (31-33) when they are located separate from plants. For example, Commerce classified the work of senior executives in Briggs & Stratton’s headquarters as “management of companies and enterprises” (NAICS 55), Caterpillar’s R&D centers as “professional, scientific and technical services” (NAICS 54), and Stanley Black & Decker’s warehouses as “wholesale trade” (NAICS 42). The MAPI Foundation’s approach places the value of these firm-related activities back into the calculus of manufacturing’s total economic clout.

Yet another reason the government measure is misrepresentative: it captures only the creation of upstream value, including the processing of raw materials and intermediate inputs, and the production process. The manufacturing value stream is actually much broader, encompassing the associated activities in both the upstream supply chain and the downstream sales chain of manufacturing goods sold to final demand.

Even this definition of the value stream is incomplete. Final demand goods are those destined for an end user; they are either exports or goods sold to households, businesses, and demand goods do not include intermediate inputs for nonmanufacturing supply chains, such as gypsum and cement bound for the construction supply chain or chemical fertilizer used in the agriculture supply chain. Adding this data provides a more holistic and accurate perspective, because but for the production of all of these manufactured goods, no value would be generated in manufacturing’s upstream supply chain and downstream sales chain, or in supply chains of other sectors.

Let’s take a closer look at this new, improved analysis of manufacturing’s total value chain.
Start with the upstream activities associated with manufactured goods for final demand: these include the value of all the intermediate inputs purchased for use in production, such as raw materials, process inputs, and services. As Meckstroth observes, car manufacturers need steel to make cars, the steel manufacturers need coal and iron ore to make steel, and all the raw materials need to be transported from place to place. The value-added of all intermediate inputs upstream of the factory that go into manufactured goods destined for final demand is $3.1 trillion.

As the goods move downstream from the factory loading dock through the sales chain, add in the value derived in the transportation, wholesaling, and retailing of the goods. More value is generated in related services such as rental, leasing, insurance, professional services, maintenance, and repair. Combine the value of all these downstream activities with the producers’ value and throw in the value derived from manufactured imports, and this makes up the manufactured goods sales chain. The MAPI Foundation estimates that downstream added value on manufacturing goods for final demand totals $3.6 trillion.

Combined, the (up and down) value stream of manufactured goods for final demand equals $6.7 trillion.

Again, this reflects only the value chain for goods made for end users such as households and businesses. Goods designated for nonmanufacturing supply chains provide an additional $510 billion in value-added to manufacturing’s total value chain.

In all, manufacturing’s total impact on the economy is 32% of GDP.

In other words, the manufacturing footprint is about a third of the economy, not a tenth. Policymakers need to sit up and take notice of who’s really driving our economy.

Workforce Development - STEM vs. Humanities?

States Increasingly Aim to Cut Humanities Funding, Boost STEM

The New York (NY) Times reports that some state government officials around the country, frustrated with rising student loan debt, tuition costs, and the lack of skilled workers, want to reward colleges that turn out majors in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering, and math — and reduce funding for humanities education. Proponents of such measures cite the lifetime earnings gap between humanities and STEM majors as the reason for passing the policies. Opponents argue that success in the workplace requires soft skills gained through liberal-arts studies and that the government can’t and shouldn’t try to predict what jobs will be required in the future.

Industry Stresses Development of Skilled Workers Who Are Job-ready at Graduation.

In a commentary for IndustryWeek, Bob Graff, an executive with Yaskawa America’s Motoman Robotics division, wrote of the challenges manufacturers face in preparing high-school, vocational, and college students “with the certifications and skills to be productive upon graduation.” A key element of this effort, he explained, is the industry’s focus on helping shape curricula in STEM fields “to meet the growing demand for technical careers in automation,” and, in turn, skilled manufacturing jobs. Graff cited a study by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute concluding that 60% of the 3.4 million manufacturing jobs expected to be created over the next decade will be unfilled due to the shortage of skilled workers.

Associates' Corner -- Vergason Technology, Inc.

Founded by Gary Vergason in 1986, Vergason Technology, Inc. (VTI) grew from a fledgling    toll coating supplier to an internationally recognized leader in vacuum coatings and equipment. The company started in a 500 square foot addition on the side of Gary’s parents' barn and has grown to a 37,000 square foot corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility located in Van Etten, NY.

Innovation has always been a strength for VTI. In 1988, VTI delivered the fi of several bone implant coating systems and the world’s fi commercial PressSide® Rapid Cycle Metallizing System was built in 1989. VTI’s cathodic arc patent pioneered the discrete anode, switched arc arena in 1991. The company’s patented CatArc® technology is used today to supply high quality, low temperature thin fi coatings and equipment for substrates demanding critical temperature control to maintain high hardness, uniform thickness control and dimensional stability.

The company’s products and services incorporate thermal evaporation, cathodic arc vapor deposition, magnetron sputtering and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to produce a wide variety of tribological, decorative, reflective and electronic shielding coatings.

VTI’s specialized coatings include SuperChrome® PVD Coating, a safe alternative for decorative chrome plating; NexSteel® Decorative Coating, a popular alternative for traditional brushed stainless steel and BlackCat® Tactical Coating, a tough, non-reflective black finish featuring a thermal stability rating of 1700°F.

With over 200 installed systems worldwide, VTI has supplied equipment for many types of applications and industries including automotive, industrial, and commercial lighting; solar and photovoltaic applications; reflective coatings; coatings for RFI, EMI, and ESD shielding; decorative coatings; ceramic wear coatings; tactical coatings and corrosion resistant coatings.

Gary feels the one aspect that has remained a constant over the past 30 years, is VTI’s dedication to world class service and results every time. With technology constantly on the move and vacuum coating being the coating preference for many applications, he is excited to see what the future holds.

VTI is certifi to the ISO 9001:2008 standard, a milestone the company achieved with assistance from AM&T. VTI is also ITAR registered and RoHS compliant. For more information, visit www.vergason.com

Associates' Corner -- Buckingham Manufacturing

Linemen and arborists throughout the world trust the Buckingham name to help them do their jobs safely and efficiency. Serving their customers for over 120 years, Buckingham has continued its vision leading the industry in product innovations, manufacturing the highest quality products, and creating customized products to meet our customers’ needs.

Buckingham is ISO 17025-2005 Accredited, ISO 9001:2008 Certified and is a CSA Group Qualified Testing Facility. Buckingham designs and manufactures climbing and fall protection equipment specifically designed for the electric utility, telecommunications, wireless telecom, cable and professional arborist markets. Buckingham follows all applicable standards including OSHA, ANSI, ASTM, CSA and CE requirements pertaining to their product lines.

Established in 1896 under the name Stephen’s  Company,  the fi has since grown from producing just pole climbers to manufacturing a vast array of new product lines, and improving on the originals. The company has since changed its name to what is now known as Buckingham Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Under the management of H. Andrew Batty Jr. and James Pennefeather, Buckingham continues to expand product lines, sales and distribution systems and introduces new manufacturing technology. This year, the company has given their look an update and debuted a new corporate logo. This logo was designed to be modern and sleek, while also preserving Buckingham’s great history. They have also implemented many other great changes to provide the customers more product knowledge including new videos available on YouTube, a new website, and an increased presence on social media. 

Buckingham is also hitting the road with a new lineman’s rodeo trailer that will be traveling to tradeshows and rodeos all over the country. Buckingham understands that its on-going success is dependent on its loyal customer base and the continued addition of new and satisfied customers. With Buckingham’s tenured customer service staff, implementing these new social media strategies and visiting these shows will allow Buckingham to connect with valued customers more than ever before.

For more info, contact Jim Nichols at 607-773-2400 or visit www.buckinghammfg.com