The manufacturing industry is one such industry that has shaped the concept of product management. Even then, it has a lot to learn from Project Management. This is because it is hard to stay focused on how to best execute the project management tactics.
In this article, we will discuss the pain points in the manufacturing industry and 5 reasons why the manufacturing industry should implement project management, and the Benefits of Project Management in manufacturing.
The Pain Points of Manufacturing Industry-
When it comes to the manufacturing industry, there are specific challenges and pain points it needs to overcome and are regarding scope, schedule, cost, and quality. These probably are very familiar terms for project management professionals, as they are the four corners of The Devil’s Quadrangle.
For manufacturers, such as Dyson, for example, what poses the biggest challenge is to produce quality products in the shortest time available. To gain a competitive advantage, what is important for the manufacturers is to reduce the time to market, lower the production costs and also keep scope in check. However, when stepping on these stones, the quality of products can’t be compromised, as the quality of products is directly related to consumer satisfaction and profit.
Another pain point of the manufacturing industry is that it involves a multitude of interdependent processes. This makes the task of scheduling a challenging one as one process is dependent on the other one. Also, the manufacturers have to keep the quality of the product in check at every step of its manufacturing.
To summarize some of the biggest pain points in the manufacturing industry, they are as follows-
- Forecasting the budget, timelines and defining a scope
- Meeting the goals of cost, quality and delivery
- Security of cost-effective materials and resources.
- The management of the changing client expectations and demands.
Here are the 5 reasons why the manufacturing industry should implement project management.
Implementing project management in the manufacturing industry will help to overcome a few of its challenges and will also enable the manufacturers to produce better products in a short time while also keeping the costs in check. Here is how manufacturers will benefit from the implementation of project management.
1. Increased flexibility
With the Lean project management methods, manufacturers can enable their production teams to work flexibly simply by avoiding simple steps in the process. These unnecessary activities are usually called ‘wastes’ in terms of Lean Project Management and are such that don’t add any value to the further process. Thus with the help of Lean Project Management, you can streamline the processes and increase the efficiency of the product thereby increasing its quality.
2. Ease in Tracking the Progress
With Project Management, you can not only plan the processes but also track and control the progress of a project. Traditional project management tools like the Gantt chart will help you to structure the processes and also track the progress of the project. This will also allow the manufacturers to address any kind of delays in the schedule and take necessary steps for its prevention.
3. Better Risk Management
For any process, especially the manufacturing processes, it is important to manage risks. Any project can get off track by an unforeseen event. With so many processes being interdependent in manufacturing, an inconsistency at any step can delay the further process. And it can be anything like even a loose screw. Although automation has helped in improving the efficiency of the manufacturing process, automation to is prone to malfunction. Effective risk management involves the following steps:
- Identification of the risk
- Assessment of that risk
- A response plan &
- Monitoring the status of the risk
4. Effective Utilization of Tools
For the manufacturing industry, using the right project management tools will help the manufacturers to create a better production process, manage risks in an efficient way, and measure success. It can also bring out collaboration between different team members across different departments.
5. Continuous Improvement
For project management and the manufacturing sector, the goal is alike- to improve continually. This it is important to improve the production process and products and the utilization of the tool. For any business, it is important to grow. And with the help of project management, it can be easily achieved.
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