Successful Project Management in Pharmaceutical Plant Construction
Müller Cleaning_alt
A project manager gives the project a structure. He is the central contact person for the customer, but also for Müller Cleaning's internal specialized departments. He is in charge of the communication leadership in the project, he addresses pending issues, he is contacted in case of internal issues, he checks the possible additional customer requirements keeping an eye on costs and deadlines, and he reacts promptly if additional costs or delays occur due to new elements or customer requirements. He is the "Single Person of Contact" for the project. Customers appreciate this function, as they can rely on an efficient project management and on the commitment of the project manager, who plays the role of their extended arm for their project.
The customers prepare an URS (User Requirement Specification) according to their requirements. This URS is multilevel-checked and analyzed at Müller. During the bidding phase, the costs are defined by the Sales department and the feasibility of the desired lead time is checked. After the order, the customer requirements and the decisions made by the Sales department are forwarded to the project manager and discussed jointly. The project manager converts the customer requirements into an internal specification sheet for an optimal preparation of the design and production phases. He collects the pending technical issues and examines them both internally and with the customer.
The project manager follows strictly the defined project plan, which contains the detailed activities, milestones and dependencies. He draws the attention both of his own team and of the customer on critical paths, impending delays and possible cost overruns.
Proper Change Management
The project manager also has a central function in case of additional requirements in the course of the project: he seeks the dialog with the customer, he discusses the technical solution with him and he shows him transparently the consequences in terms of additional costs and deadlines. Eventually, the customer decides whether he wants the changes to be implemented as an added value. A proper change management allows the project manager to make sure that the changes are technically documented and regulated contractually in a binding manner.
At Müller Cleaning, four full-time project managers are in the service of our customers. Besides direct customer contact, they are constantly exchanging with all departments within the Company, among others with the Sales, Design and Software Development. During the production phase, they monitor the processes in the production shop. They perform this demanding and responsible task simultaneously for several projects. The point for them is to be committed in parallel for various customers and projects, to maintain an overview, to keep the lead and to be accessible at any time for customer questions. This requires, besides the technical know-how, a pronounced customer focus, assertiveness and good self-organization. Also communication skills and tenacity are required. Our four project managers Mathieu Caquelin, Philippe Golder, Sabine Rosenbaum and Eduard Schamber combine these qualities. Their commitment greatly contributes to the successful conduct of the projects and to the satisfaction of our customers.