Case Studies

Project Management Standardization

Energy & Resources, PMO & Project Delivery

The Context

Our client is a European leader in intelligent home comfort systems (heating equipment). The organization employs 17,500 people worldwide, including 2,000 at the French industrial site where MIGSO-PCUBED (MP) was engaged.

Standardizing a project management process regulates the project phases (milestones) and associated deliverables, standardizes tools, and simplifies the overall structure. Project quality can be controlled, managed, and improved by defining a common frame of reference.

In most industrial organizations, a project department is responsible for defining the project management process, deploying the working tools, and monitoring their application. This entity was present at a group level of our client, but not represented within their industrial plant.

Therefore, the project management process is not well known or utilized. This leads to difficulties in project management, with a direct impact on project performance causing issues like:

schedule drift
uncontrolled project expenditure
lack of contingency anticipation
incomplete governance
inadequate internal and/or external project communication

The Mission

The client’s objective was to improve the management of key projects in the department’s project portfolio. With this in mind, the client approached MP to roll out project management processes to the entire plant.

Thanks to our expertise in project management, MP was able to closely support the client teams and ensure the success of the project.

The Solution

MP needed initially to review and revise the existing project process documentation and then implement a standardized plan throughout the plant:

1. Summarize the project process

The project process was synthesized to clarify each phase and improve team efficiency. One of the corresponding actions was to create a visualization of deliverables, enabling them to be grouped into categories for better organization and more structured tracking. Of course, deliverables are constantly updated throughout the project lifecycle, reflecting their evolution at each phase.

2. Diagram the project milestones vs. industrial maturity milestones

3. Universalize the deliverables

The deliverables have been simplified by detailing the activities and associating examples.

4. Provide project steering tools in a “tool library”

A library of tools has been made available to facilitate project steering. Most of these tools are based on practices and methodologies developed within the client’s organization. However, in the absence of specific tools, it was necessary to create them to meet specific project needs. Examples of available tools include action tracking, project cost monitoring, macro-planning, and milestone presentations, offering a wide range of solutions to ensure effective management throughout the project lifecycle.

This standardization of tools allows for uniformity and provides support during a back-up or a change of project manager or stakeholder.

5. Set up a project committee at the top level of plant management

A project committee was set up at the plant’s top management level to monitor and validate the milestones of ongoing projects. This body also plays a key role in prioritizing projects within the portfolio, enabling resources and efforts to be focused on the most strategic initiatives for the plant.

6. Raise awareness of the process

Process awareness was reinforced by a clear and detailed presentation, enabling all players to understand the various stages better. At the same time, coaching on cultural change was provided to facilitate the adoption of new practices and support the transition to a working environment more aligned with process objectives.

These awareness-raising sessions were aimed at both project managers and all other resources that might be involved in the project.

The Benefits

This standardization has harmonized the “project language,” and made everyone’s activities more concrete. It has also enabled us to enhance the skills of our project management resources, thereby improving the maturity of our projects.

This project governance helped top management to better steer the project portfolio at the plant level.

Key figures:

~10 tools created
+60 people trained
+50% of project milestones validated

Client Feedback

“All stakeholders now see the value of their contributions to the project” – Project Leader

“The tools deployed enable us to manage our project better” – Project Leader

“The scope of the project is now clearly defined with Top Management and validated in the Project Charter” – Project Leader

“The presentations are clear, making it easier to understand the project’s progress and the need for decision-making” – Top Management

Thank you Servan BOUSSEAU for contributing to this article.

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