Project Management Services
For over 40 years, the Design Systems, Inc. team has had the opportunity to serve in both project management consultancy and hands-on project management services. Tell us about your project and we can advise you on what role we can assume to best suit your needs.
What is Project Management?
A project management team looks at the methodologies, systems, software and other operational aspects of a particular project and through a process of analysis, planning, coordination and execution meets a set of established goals. Common goals are to reduce waste, increase efficiency, meet budget, schedule and safety goals.
What Are the Benefits of Project Management?
Working with lean consulting firms like DSI, which offer analysis, planning, coordination, and the implementation of cohesive solutions, can provide many benefits including:
Reduced error rates
Improved team communication and flexibility
Reduced costs
Improved risk management efficiency
What Does a Manufacturing Project Manager Do?
Because of the diversity of manufacturing projects, the role of a project manager can vary. These are a few key tasks that a project management team or individual can handle for your company:
Organize a new production line installation
Navigate an emergency repair process
Assess the efficiency of your existing production process
Improve organizational communication
Maintain a project budget and schedule
Our project planners and team of industrial engineering consultants works with all sizes of projects to provide organization, communication and efficient, effective project management services.
What are the five phases of project management?
Project management can be divided into five distinct phases. While the activities, objectives and resources in each phase vary depending on the project scope, these five phases can be reliably used in most projects:
Initiate the project and complete a feasibility test
Plan the project using specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals
Execute the project with the right team
Monitor the project objectives and KPIs
Complete the project and offer evaluation
Missing a step or overlooking a key area during a step can lead to delays, additional expenses or unsatisfactory results in the project. This is where project managers knowledgeable in lean consulting work with you to create action plans for each step.
Key Components of Effective Project Management
A key component of effective project management services is the commitment to ensuring your projects meet all established targets the most important of these being finishing on time and within budget.
Preliminary Planning: Many project management professionals argue that the planning stage is the most important. At this stage, we consult with you or your clients to better understand what the deliverables, parameters and restrictions are. This information provides us with the context we need to make good decisions that keep your project on track.
Design and Detail Engineering: Projects in manufacturing, engineering and construction have several moving parts that must align together to reduce delays and ensure on-time completion. We incorporate all of these factors into one detailed plan that shows when activities need to occur, in what order and who the responsible parties are.
Installation Coordination: Having a strong plan in place plays a crucial role in the successful completion of a project, but you also need professionals on site to ensure the project goes according to plan. We meet this need by providing professionals who coordinate the execution of the plan as well as resolving any unforeseen issues.
Start-Up Commissioning: Just as important as ensuring workers follow the plan is ensuring that the work completed meets specifications. With this in mind, our manufacturing project management professionals address issues related to product quality, work quality, or changes in the client's original plans.
Project Closeout: At the start of the closeout process, our professionals check each deliverable to ensure everything was completed as planned. If there are any quality issues in the project, we want to discover this immediately, so we can resolve it in a timely manner or present solutions. We then invite you or your client to review the work and approve completion.