Steve Beeler

You have a goal…I have a way to get you there.

Project Management

Great Mementos

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Shelter in place is providing time for many projects that would not get done otherwise. While decluttering, I found some great mementos. Not just souvenirs, mementos tell a story.  Here are four COVID-19 decluttering favorites:

Mementos Steve Beeler with Dr Deming circa 1989

During the late 80’s, Ford (and the rest of the global auto industry) was desperately trying to catch the Japanese on quality. Part of that effort was to put problem solving resources into assembly plants.

I was on one of the plant quality teams, assigned to Louisville Assembly Plant. We received extensive training in statistical methods: SPC, DOE, etc. During a training off-site at the Dearborn Inn, W. Edwards Deming stopped by for a visit. Yes, that Dr. Deming.

After an impromptu talk, photos were taken. I am just behind Dr. Deming’s right shoulder. On his right are David Kho and Steve Redding. To Dr. Deming’s left are Ben Monhollen and Jim Dottavio. I think that is Dave Johnson at the left edge of the photo.

Mementos Steve Beeler LAP Process Capability Reviewe circa 1991

The next two mementos came from Q1.  Ford’s Q1 quality award was a well-conceived program to “stretch” plants to improve quality methods and systems. A major Q1 stretch was to demonstrate process capability on (I think) 50 significant characteristics. An SC was something important to our customers: dirt in paint, door efforts, box-to-cab fits. Voice of the customer.

All SC’s were documented with flow charts, fishbone diagrams, control plans, reaction plans, and control charts on SPC boards near the production operation. The task was to first achieve statistical control and then reduce variation. The higher the Cp/Cpk, the more points toward Q1.

Here’s a photo of the Brakes SPC board during Louisville Assembly Plant’s process capability review. The SC’s would have been brake pedal travel and parking brake pedal effort.

I am just right of center in the red tie. John Coleman is behind me. It’s Lanny Vincent in the short sleeve shirt looking in. I think that is Vera Linnansalo to his left. It looks like Steve Redding in the light blue shirt in the back with Stu Kendrick mostly hidden behind him.

Mementos Steve Beeler LAP Ranger Box-to-Cab Fit circa 1990

Here’s a summary sheet from the Louisville Q1 Process Capability Review. This SC, Ranger Box-to-Cab Margin Left Side, earned 13 points towards Q1 with a Cp/Cpk of 1.35/1.28. In the background of the image, you can see the Ford Blue SPC board.

I don’t remember the two operators in this photo but I can remember others on the team like it was yesterday: Larry Graham, Bob Bearden, Frank Kindrick, Ed Atherton. Good people, all of them. It was a busy time…we were working towards Q1, preparing for the initial Explorer launch, and building 87 (!) Rangers and Bronco II’s per hour.

Mementos Steve Beeler ISO 9001 Pocket Guide

After all the plants were through Q1, the next stretch was ISO 9001. Somebody convinced Alex Trotman that ISO 9001 registration was a perfect fit for his “Ford 2000” global reorganization. A letter was signed and the two-year clock started ticking.

I found myself on a very capable team responsible for the initial registration of 31 North American stamping and assembly plants.  Project management?  This was it.

A big challenge (and there were many) was communication. How to get one message to tens of thousands of employees?

Building on lessons learned at Oakville Assembly Plant’s single site ISO 9002 registration, Julie Trosen designed a pocket guide. I wrote the content, a “Cliff’s Notes” version of the Vehicle Operations quality manual. Don Riker sold the concept to senior leadership. Carlos Filio translated it into Spanish for our Mexican plants. A PO was approved for 100,000 pocket guides.

The story continues. One by one, other Ford activities adopted the pocket guide…and soon it was global! I found nine versions in a hanging file. I am sure there were more.

And the 31 plants were registered in only 21 months…whew!

Great mementos, to be sure.

Project Management Tools

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Project Management

Project management is a mix of art and science. Here are three project management tools that you should have in your toolkit. None are complicated and together they provide breadth and depth in project definition, design, and control.

Project Plan

A critical early (if not first!) step in project management is to paint a picture of the project: who, what, where, when, and how. The more complete the picture, the more likely is success.

The project plan describes the project in its entirety: deliverables, timing, people, market and financial analyses, etc. This document goes by a variety of names. A business plan for a startup. A product direction letter for a new gizmo. A statement of work for software installation.

I outline my project plans in Word. Outlines are fast. Fast to write. Fast to read. Fast to edit. Fast to change.

What differs from one situation to another are the main project headings.

Fourteen headings were needed to paint the picture of the FF50th, a large event that a I recently managed: Objectives, When and Where, Leadership Team, Car Eligibility, Tire Rules, Driver Eligibility, and so on.

Another set of headings were needed for a cleantech startup: Executive Summary, Market Opportunity, Technology, Product, Competition, Management Team, Business Model, Manufacturing Plan, Financials, Risks, etc.

Now that everyone sees the big picture, the next tool is a Gantt chart to break the project down into sequential and parallel workstreams.

Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a great way to visualize project tasks: start dates, end dates, what can be done in parallel, what must be done in sequence. Here’s how to build one:How to Build a Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a matrix of tasks and time. As few as two dozen tasks are often enough. Depending on project duration, time increments can be in days, weeks, or months.

I do Gantt charts in Excel. List tasks down the left in start date order. If two or more tasks start on the same date, use end dates to break ties. Simply fill cells between start / finish dates with the color of your choice to illustrate task timing.

Write Gantt chart line items in a “do something” format: design logo, assemble prototype, etc. Pairing an action with an object provides clear, concise task definition. Building in milestones or touchpoints is a great way to keep everyone focused on project deliverables and moving forward.

The depth of a Gantt chart in a time period indicates how many tasks must be worked on simultaneously. If your Gantt chart goes vertical, spread out the work.

Any line item on the Gantt chart that requires an invention, regulatory approval, or some other significant uncertainty must be managed carefully. I pull risky line items as far forward as possible to provide extra time. No Rube Goldberg stuff on my critical path!

Next tool: a punch list with detailed who, what, and when assignments.

Punch List

Like a Gantt chart, a punch list is a matrix with tasks down the left. That’s where the similarity ends. While a Gantt chart provides big-picture visualization, a punch list captures specific assignments. Here’s how to build one:How to Build a Punch List

I also do punch lists in Excel. List tasks down the left. Order is not important…the tasks will be sorted many times as the project moves forward. Write punch list line items in a “do something” format to provide clear, concise task definition. Punch list tasks will be much more specific than the workstreams on your Gantt chart.

Each line item will have columns to capture its status, who it is assigned to, and when it is due. The comments capture recent actions, next steps, agreements, decisions, and other news. This is the project’s memory…write good comments and update them frequently!

A risk column can highlight higher risk tasks. Uncertainty demands extra attention. Get an early start on these items and watch them like a hawk.

I like a countdown to the project’s due date front and center…the clock is ticking!

A punch list can grow unwieldy with additional line items as a project moves forward. Color coding and sorting help highlight what needs attention and when.

Project Management Tools

Turn your project management into more science than art with these three project management tools.  Fast and nimble, you can always know where you are and what you need to be working on next.

Do you have a project to manage? Click HERE to ping me. I will be happy to help you set up your project management tools.

Plant Rearrangement

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Successful companies are faced with significant changes while moving up the growth curve. A plant rearrangement and/or relocation is often required to add capacity. It is a big undertaking to move everything and everybody while maintaining production. Here are three tips for a successful plant rearrangement:

Plan and communicate. A complete plant layout of the “new” plant is essential. Better to find out that there is not room for everything in AutoCAD than after the physical moves have begun. A Gantt chart to document move sequence and timing is equally essential. Again, it is better to have thought through the move sequence before getting painted into a corner. To obtain buy in, allow time in the planning process to socialize the new plant layout and timing plan. The more input, the better.

Identify risks. Effective project management mitigates risk.  Besides moving equipment and people around, what else must happen for the rearrangement to be successful? Integrate these parallel actions into your rearrangement Gantt chart. Is a key supplier’s JIT/JIS implementation aligned with the plant rearrangement timing plan? It won’t be unless that risk is actively managed.

Provide slack. A little slack in floor space, people, and time will minimize problems. Extra floor space will reduce the (inevitable?) probability of moving something twice. If new equipment is coming in, a staging area (whether in the plant or at a nearby warehouse) will be required. Overtime will be needed to build ahead before production cells are moved. Build some slack time into the Gantt chart to absorb delays and the otherwise unexpected. Bringing in an experienced project manager can provide the fractional leadership to pull everything together.

These three tips are a good start towards planning a plant rearrangement and/or relocation. Need help with a plant rearrangement or other operational challenge? Click HERE to reach out.

Plant Rearrangement

Event Management

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What makes an event a special project management challenge? Everything has to be ready in the first minute! In automotive, there is a “Job One” date when the first car rolls off a new assembly line. After Job One, production ramps up as problems are solved. In event management, there is no such luxury. When the gates open, it is go time.

I recently completed a two-and-a-half year adventure in the planning and organization of Formula Ford’s 50th anniversary celebration at Road America. The FF50th was a very complex five day event with a full slate of racing and off track activities The FF50th was not perfect but it was pretty good.

FF50th Group Photo
A timeless image of an historic occasion (courtesy Jay Bonvouloir)

Keys to Success

Here are some keys to successful event management:

First, write a business plan that paints a picture of the event. Thoroughly think through the who, what, where, when, and why. I outlined the FF50th business plan. Outlines are easy to edit and can be read quickly by busy people. Eleven headings fully scoped the FF50th: Objectives, Where and When, Sanctioning Body, Leadership Team, Car Eligibility, Driver Eligibility, Race Groups, On-Track Schedule, Surprise & Delights, Communication Channels, and Budget.

Next, start thinking about the how. That’s where the “traditional” project management tools come into play, first a Gantt chart followed later by a punch list. The timing plan should pull decisions as far forward as possible to provide more slack time for all the little details. Remember: an event has a hard deadline…get ready for it!

Event Management Gantt Chart
FF50th Gantt chart

The Gantt chart defines blocks of work and timing at a “big picture” level.  The punch list gets into the nitty gritty of who and when at the task level.  It is also a good place to capture decisions and other project data.  The Gantt chart is updated infrequently.  The last revision to the FF50th’s Gantt chart was made eight months out.  One the other hand, the punch list changes about every time something happens.  In practical terms, that means daily (more on this below).

FF50th Punch List
First page of FF50th punch list

With the picture painted and a work plan taking shape, the next step is to recruit people to work on the event. No doubt the right people are the single most important key to successful event management (and anything else I can think of, for that matter). Find people who will start with your picture and then surprise you daily with something better.

The last key to successful event management is a new project management trick that I learned while doing the FF50th. About six weeks out, the world was spinning just a little too fast for my punch list…all the little details! To slow things down, I drew up a short list of twelve deliverables that had to be done right and on time. Then frequently during the day, I reviewed the list asking a simple question: Is there something that I need to do NOW to make this deliverable happen? If the answer was yes, then that e-mail was written or that phone call was made right then and there.

Event Management Short List

The short list eventually grew to nineteen deliverables. Even so, the world slowed down and the “must haves” all fell into place.

Steve Beeler

So there you have it, an event management road map. Now go out there and deliver an epic event!  Click HERE to let me know how you are doing.

Fractional Leadership

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Some time back, LinkedIn suggested that I connect with someone who described herself as a Fractional CEO. This title caught my interest. A Google search led me to a series of articles on fractional leadership. To my great surprise, I discovered that I am ahead of a curve that I did not know even existed.

fractional leadership

Every organization, from time to time, is faced with skill set gaps and limited resources. Fractional leadership is a cost-effective option to meet critical objectives that would overextend management teams…or just not get done.

Fractional leadership is a simple concept. A fraction, of course, is a portion of a larger something. Leadership requires vision, perspective, organization, inspiration, accountability, etc. A fractional leader becomes an essential part of your team, a hands-on implementer on an interim or extended part-time basis.

I found aspects of fractional leadership in most if not all of my case studies.  At one end of the time horizon, I provided daily (including weekend) boots-on-the ground project management for a manufacturing plant rearrangement that spanned seven months.  In another case, I worked part time for two and half years to organize and deliver an event, the FF50th.

At established companies, a fractional leader is an effective solution during periods of transition: a new product or IT systems launch, a plant relocation or rearrangement, an ISO registration, an opening of a new sales territory, integrating an acquisition, the unexpected exit of a key executive, etc. A fractional leader can quickly and cost effectively fill a transitory mis-match between skills and resources.

Startups and emerging growth companies are excellent candidates for fractional leadership. A fractional operations engineering expert can provide technical direction, supervision, and business acumen until cash flow catches up for a full-time hire.

I merely discovered, and did not invent, fractional leadership. Here is a link to one of the better articles that I found:

Kimberley A. Whitler: “The Outsourced Executive: A Growing Leadership Staffing Solution” (Forbes)

Fractional leadership is a nimble, flexible, and cost-effective alternative to a full-time hire and my preferred client relationship. Facing a work bubble or skills gap? Consider fractional leadership instead of a full-time hire.

If a fractional leader is a potential solution to your business challenges, please click here to start a conversation.