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fractional leadership

Plant Rearrangement

December 21, 2019 by stevebeeler

Plant Rearrangement Image 2

Successful companies are faced with significant challenges 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 plant rearrangement to be successful? Integrate these parallel actions into your 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.

Extra Floor Space Image

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.

Managing projects, big and small, is a big part of my day job as a Professional Engineer.  Visit my Project Management page for methods and case studies.

Plant Rearrangement

Filed Under: Operations Engineering, Project Management Tagged With: fractional leadership, plant rearrangement, project management

Fractional Leadership

October 2, 2019 by stevebeeler

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.

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

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 a part time capacity for two and half years, I led the event management of the FF50th, a five-day celebration of Formula Ford’s 50th anniversary.

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.

fractional leadership

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.

Filed Under: Operations Engineering, Project Management Tagged With: fractional leadership, operations engineering, project management

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