On March 15th EyeOn hosted the 1st round table ‘Project planning and control’ for shipbuilder suppliers. Main theme of the round table was getting to know colleagues in the business and share knowledge. Participating companies in this round table were Alewijnse, Bakker Sliedrecht, Eekels Technology, Huisman Equipment, RH Marine Group, and Wärtsilä. Between these participants, builders of complex cranes, large engines, and electrical installations, there were lively discussions which showed that there is much to be learned from each other. Participating companies showed both their knowledge and expertise as well as their vulnerability and challenges.
For example we discussed the role and responsibility of planning between the shipbuilder suppliers and the yard. According to the operations manager of an electrical installation company: “Planning has to be agreed on before contract, it is the only way to make the project a success!”.
During the round table two subjects were discussed in detail.
1. What are your best planning practices to get effective control over the project progress and make planning more action driven?
- A planning is to make decisions.
- Focus on interfaces, with both internal and external stakeholders.
- Different levels of the planning can be used for different decisions (horizons).
- It is essential to talk about planning with the client before the contract is signed.
- Delivering or not delivering on time is mainly dependent of the information supply of the client and other suppliers.
- Make sure everyone speaks the same planning-language (clear definition of planning elements).
- Try to be in the lead towards customers (yards) by presenting your own planning and process.
- Progress meetings are used to make decisions and define actions. Make minutes to ensure proper follow-up.
2. Which reporting is used to monitor and steer the project on executive level as well as the operational level?
- Reporting should only be done on exceptions (mainly for KPI’s).
- S-curves are nice to use, yet always focus on the critical path and the story behind the figures.
- Just start with creating your own resource planning based on available data, and improve it afterwards step by step.
We look back on a successful 1st round table. The enthusiasm of the participants, the open and informal atmosphere and willingness to share knowledge and learnings gives us the energy to facilitate the next round table, which will be organised later this year. Interested to join this session? Please contact Paul Husslage at paul.husslage@eyeon.nl.