Technical Program Management

Often when a company has to purchase new equipment or launch a new product line, there is a significant amount of time spent managing that program. While this time is very necessary, much of it ends up being non value-added time where the future of the company is concerned. For example, the tracking of budgets and timing charts must be maintained, but after the project is complete, the knowledge an employee gained by doing so may not add to the long-term success of the product line.

If a company makes a mistake in understaffing for a new job launch, one of two scenarios will often take place. Either there will not be enough resources to manage the program and the program will suffer, or the launch process will pull needed resources from the day to day plant operations, and the operations will suffer.

By out-sourcing the purchasing of new equipment or the launch of a new product line, much of the understaffing problems are avoided.

Technical Program Management can include any or all of the areas below:

• Formation and facilitating of a cross-functional Job Launch team.

• Tracking of Program timing through the use of Gantt charts and time lines, and the publication of updates to keep team members informed.

• Tracking of Job Launch budgets, projected spending amounts and timing, and publication of summary sheets to keep management informed of spending.

• Recommendation of equipment to purchase, based on past equipment purchases and multiple quotations.

• Coordination of tooling & gaging design, ordering, receiving, and acceptance.

• Evaluation of floor layouts to optimize equipment placement. This task can be accomplished through the use of Promodel software.

• Coordinating and conducting turn-key equipment acceptance tests at both the builders floor and at the plant.

• Coordinate the arrangement for shipping, rigging, and installation of equipment on the plant floor.

• Coordinating the PPAP paperwork required for sample submission to the customer.

• Creatation of training manuals (if not supplied with the equipment) and the training of operators in the use of equipment.

• Other tasks required for the successful launch of equipment or a product line.