Does your project team have a common vision and goal?

Sometimes projects are conducted as a series of disconnected efforts where each team from planning, design, construction, and testing views themselves as separate entities. With each trying to finish their portion of the work and get on to their next project. These “separate” efforts have goals to accomplish, and sometimes they regard each other as the obstacle to accomplishing those goals. The downstream team often feels that the upstream team doesn’t understand the difficulties they are experiencing and that they are just trying to throw the work product over the wall and claim success. The upstream team feels that the downstream team is too demanding and will not accept something less than perfection. Conflict ensues, and the overall program suffers. 

What does the customer or project owner want? Does the customer want the design function to succeed at the expense of the testing function? Would they prefer the construction team succeed and the design team fail?

The truth is that the customer wants the end product – a new, operational capability delivered on time, at a reasonable cost, and which they can operate reliably and in compliance with the regulatory authorities. Why? So that the customer can serve its clients. A program in conflict only serves to agitate the project owner… “Why can’t these groups just get along?!”

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

An excellent program leader takes all the functional teams and helps them to see each other as teammates. That leader guides them to a common understanding. That leader helps them see that when the overall team succeeds, then they each succeed. And even more importantly, the project owner/customer achieves its goal. When the project owner has a goal that is satisfied without having to negotiate every possible conflict between misaligned functional teams, that is a project owner who will want to engage that collection of teams again and again.

CAI can help you navigate your program to achieve your end goal. We have experts that understand the technical work and understand what the functional teams need from one another. We have leaders who can inspire those functional teams to not only cooperate, but to collaborate, resulting in a high-functioning team.

Success Story Summaries:

• A large Medical Device manufacturer needed assistance with onsite Program & Project Management (PPM) services due to their own team’s inexperience and workload. CAI developed a 5- to 7-year capital plan, budget for each phase, concept drawings, and a schedule of timelines that detailed not only physical modifications, but also the process systems and revenue associated with each change on a year-by-year basis. Management approved the plan and are currently in the process of executing it.

• A sterile fill operation in the Northeast contacted CAI to assist as PPM to avoid FDA compliance issues. CAI managed the overall design and construction modification of the sterile fill suite renovation as well as handled the process and facility C&Q. This fast track project was timed to allow for plant shutdown and was re-started 12 weeks later to start the qualification process. The facility has been reviewed by FDA and is now starting a new phase of renovations.

• A medical device manufacturer needed experienced PPM services to supplement their own in-house team to formulate an expansion. The client did not have qualified or experienced individuals on staff that could handle this work without affecting current projects. CAI acted on the owner’s behalf and led the project team to receive funding approval for the concept and renovation strategy.

Learn more about our Program & Project Management (formerly Owner’s Project Management) Services here.

Come visit Mike at the ISPE Annual Meeting at Booth #800!

About the author:

Michael Martin, Global Director, Program & Project Project Management  has 32 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He developed a solid technical base and reputation from his early assignments in design, construction, maintenance, and project management. For the past 20+ years, he has been involved in various leadership assignments in manufacturing, engineering, and project management. Mike inspires high performance from his team even in difficult circumstances. He has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to integrate himself into diverse cultures and to get individuals from various cultures to work together and accomplish very difficult goals. Mike brings systematic thinking and organization to the teams he leads, and this approach builds consistency and higher performance as the team develops.

Can’t attend the Meeting? Email Mike at michael.martin@cagents.com