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Packaging Horizons On Spec, On Time Effective project management involves great communication, creative thinking and a sense of humor. By Elizabeth Beezer Obviously, there are many variables to a major project that have the potential to temporarily throw it off course: equipment can malfunction, customers change plans, internal players can disagree...the list goes on. An effective project manager is one who effectively and efficiently plans the project, rallies the team, puts out the fires and facilitates meeting the deadline. Usually, the less senior management hears about a project, the more likely that it is running smoothly. Project managers who can report: "The job's done on spec, on time," will get noticed. Chris Hagler, a former director of marketing for a large packaging company, is one such manager. When she set out to automate the sales process for her former company, she used Microsoft Project software to develop a structured work plan. The goal was to implement a system that could track client contacts made by 65 reps across three groups: sales, marketing and technical services. Within that goal, she was tasked with developing a plan whereby the company could talk to customers at different levels, improve communications and store the gleaned information. Only through implementing an effective project management strategy did she accomplished her goals and meet her deadline. In the process, Hagler's work plan included several sections, each with its own list of tasks: develop the project document the project test pilot staff training follow up Different team members were responsible for each section. Hagler says she didn't personally take responsibility for any one section. In fact, five regional sales managers conducted the pilot study. By delegating such responsibility up front and emphasizing the importance of the project, "they were supportive when we asked them to pull their reps out of the field for three days to be trained," she explains. In advance of the arrival of the new sales software, the company initiated basic computer training for all users in March. This reduced the amount of training they would need when the new software program rolled out in September. Some users had no computer-literacy when the project began, but with the benefit of the early training, they were excited, not threatened, when the new system was up and running. Hagler counsels fellow project managers, "You need a goal. If you have no goal, you'll never get to where you need to be." She says it's also important to lay out a plan and show your team that if a deadline is missed the rest of the plan cannot come together. "Make plans very visual: 'If Chris can't get her work done, then the next person can't get their work done'." A Tall Order Pati Harms-Andray, leader of global packaging graphics for Owens Corning in Toledo, is currently managing the redesign of an entire product line. This entails coordinating minute details, such as making sure 70 different shelf keeping units (SKUs) maintain the same bi-lingual information; reducing packaging costs with the new design; and using a maximum of only three colors, two of which must be common plates across the board leaving one for UPC readability, product information and color coding. "Of course, the product information for these plates included codes which were not available at the commencement of the project and, as usual, manufacturing requirements violated design by right," explains Harms-Andray. These complications were compounded by a new administration process that incorporated electronic proofing, personnel changes in mid-project, a directive received mid-project to print on half of the bag instead of four sides and, a seasonal deadline that if wasn't met, "you may as well not bother," says Harms-Andray. Consistency is Critical Penny Walczyk, who was recently promoted from quality engineer to manager, CSIE (Continuous Systematic Improvement Effort) for AMGRAPH Packaging in Versailles, CT, manages a department of six people who provide technical support to the entire organization through Design of Experiments (DOE), capability studies and other projects. CEO Paul Brateris describes these projects as "helping position the company for growth and opportunity." This workforce is trained in statistical process control (SPC), enabling operators to detect problems based on a shift in the manufacturing process, rather than on product output. "There are no inspectors in our plant," says Walczyk. "The operators are responsible for their products, using SPC data to monitor variation in the process." Should an error occur, Walczyk's team must investigate the cause of the problem. Because AMGRAPH runs high-speed machines, "Consistency is critical," she says. Recently, a customer's operators were having trouble reading eye-marks. The CSIE staff and the press operators conducted a detailed study to find out what caused the variation. "We checked machines, people, materials," she describes. "The cause of the variation was the paper. It was like a rubberband the way it kept shrinking and stretching. When we changed the paper we had a stable repeat." "Communication is the key," says Walczyk. "Make sure you get input from everyone who is part of the project--pre-plan." Good Communication Marketing, design and manufacturing, the jobs held by Harms-Andray, Walczyk and Hagler, are worlds apart but their project management philosophies are very similar. All three, interviewed separately, listed communication skills as the most important attribute they bring to their jobs. "Communicate well to everyone involved both up and down the ladder," advises Hagler. "Communicate down so that people will understand their role in the project. Communicate up so the person who assigned the project knows that his or her confidence in you is justified." Harms-Andray relies on technology to help her be an effective manager. "Communication plays a [huge] role in our everyday management," she says. "It must be effortless to transmit information, upstream as well as downstream. Electronic tools can be a lifesaver. Access to E-mail, internal voice mail, the Internet, PDF files...the list grows every day. I am quite fortunate to work at a company that acknowledges and supports these tools of technology." Combined, she says these tools enable her to bring a project to completion. Harms-Andray has been told that her most important skills are rapport-building and keeping the team fluid, "but I also like to think it's my creative side and willingness to think out of the box." Stewardship Delegation Efficient management means sharing responsibilities. Stephen R. Covey, author of the classic training book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, strongly endorses "stewardship delegation," which focuses on results instead of methods. "It gives people a choice of method and makes them responsible for results," writes Covey. "It takes more time in the beginning, but it's time well invested. You can move the fulcrum over, you can increase your leverage, through stewardship delegation." This kind of management involves understanding in five areas: Desired results: focus on what needs to be accomplished, not how Guidelines: Identify the parameters/restrictions within which the person must operate Resources: Identify the human, financial, technical or other resources available Accountability: Establish standards that will be used for performance evaluations Consequences: Specify what will happen, good and bad, as a result of the evaluation Walczyk ensures people in her department are cross-trained to handle any project that may arise. "We have six people in my core group," she says. "We share information at meetings and training programs. Even the clerk knows how to run our measurement equipment. Everyone is involved in helping run the operation and ensuring quality. We all have equal input and we plan the studies together." Hagler contends that companies are becoming more team-based, more project-oriented. "I think this is good because people are more fulfilled if they're not doing the same thing every day," she says. However, Hagler believes the most important lesson she has learned is that many people are not used to working in a project format, which may make the transition a bit dicey, particularly for those who are used to punching a time clock. Building Client Relationships Teams can be made stronger by involving people from all ends of the project, both internal employees and external customers and suppliers. AMGRAPH has a big customer for whom it is the sole supplier. Walczyk goes to its plant every month to review problems and activities and make recommendations as to who should solve the problem and how it should be approached. "Our operators go see our customers," says Walczyk, "and our customers' people come to us. Our operators build relationships--they know the people, and they know what it takes to get the job done." Harms-Andray suggests including the experts--not just those directly assigned to a project team. "Get their input in the beginning and work it through the process," she says. AMGRAPH has a team of external suppliers, the designers, engravers, printers and extruders, to interact with its internal support people as well as with each other. "We share best practices and, at times, cross lines. But together we find the right solutions," she explains. "Working with staff and customers involves interpersonal relationships, which are rarely perfect all the time," says Walczyk, who adds that the most effective product managers recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their team and assign each member a suitable level of responsibility or involvement in the project. "I have to recognize different personalities and how they fit," says Hagler. "The good thing is, different personalities build a good team." Elizabeth Beezer is a contributing writer to Packaging Horizons Magazine. 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