General Physics (UK) Ltd

Case Studies - Project Management

• Major Utilities Supplier
• Food Ingredients Manufacturer
• Leading JIT Fastener Supplier
• International Carton Manufacturer

Major Utilities Supplier

This client had a robust project management process which project managers were urged to use and to follow. Despite this strong model, many projects undertaken overran or overspent or both. Two areas within the IT division were chosen for pilot training: a data warehouse project within the retail operations and an IT operations team working on the merger of two sets of mainframe activities at a corporate level.

Individual project teams were chosen to undergo training on the GP project management model "Roadmap to Project Management Success." One of the teams was already working a project following the prescribed company project management system and one of the teams was in the initial stages of set up.

After participating in the GP Project Management Tools and Techniques programme (three day curriculum in two extended days) the existing team found critical errors in their project plan. They were able to determine a new direction to take, thereby eliminating a potentially embarrassing overrun. The new team reviewed their planning strategy and devised a radically realigned—but more workable—strategy, and developed a simplified methodology.

Food Ingredients Manufacturer

This client relied on fast, flexible new product development and product change expertise for its competitive edge and enjoyed a high reputation within the industry for new products. However, when a quality costing system was introduced, the product development process was shown to be wasteful, unreliable, and costly.

The Marketing and Product Development teams undertook a course of project management training and coaching, delivered by GP. This led to the development of a new process. The outcome was a reduction in development time and in the cost of non-conformance.

Leading JIT Fastener Supplier

This client wished to take a total approach to business development, with a robust project management foundation for their business development personnel to use.

After attending the Project Management Tools and Techniques course, sessions of process development consulting, and individual coaching, the team was able to reduce both set-up time and errors. Stress within the team also decreased.

International Carton Manufacturer

This client introduced Total Quality Management (TQM) and a culture of continuous improvement. As part of the new culture, it embarked on a number of major improvement projects. A number of project managers (team leaders) were selected, and as part of their training, they undertook a course of project management training. As a result, the improvement projects ran in an orderly fashion to successful completion.