Blueprint for success. (includes related article on the automated grit blaster system)

The mid '90s have brought many interesting industrial trends. Some commercial, military and aerospace contracts have been downsized significantly. The commercial truck market is exploding. Computer hardware is developing so fast that today's technology is outdated in six months. In all cases, business efficiency has become paramount. Never before has it been so crucial to manage how facilities and equipment dollars are spent. These guidelines will help both project managers and supporting organizations maximize the effectiveness of their capital spending programs.

Virtually every capital project, whether it involves a $25,000 piece of equipment, a $2,000,000 assembly system or a $200,000,000 plant, can be broken down into six phases:

* defining the need and expectations

* gaining preapprovals and budget identification -- ensure there is awareness and support

* developing the specifications

* screening and selecting vendors

* designing and building -- transforming thoughts to paper to parts

* testing and qualification to verify compliance with expectations.

The complexity of individual phases, the number of people from the project team involved in each phase and the time consumed in each phase will usually vary depending on the nature and size of the capital project. Regardless, how you guide the project and the way the team approaches it will determine its success. Strong and careful management of these phases, combined with attention to detail, assures the right outcome.

Define the Need

Preliminary goals for a project typically include a performance function, operator interface, cost approximations and a schedule. Begin by focusing project ideas into an outline. Define the details to be evaluated and how the project will be handled. The definition of needs may come quite easily. For example, the shop supervisor may want to integrate individual machines into a cohesive line, an old turret lathe that can no longer be rebuilt may need to be replaced, equipment may be needed to manufacture a new product line under development or a solvent cleaning system is being phased out due to environmental activities.

It is critically important to establish agreement at this stage on what the project is expected to accomplish, and how the project will be evaluated to determine how well the goals have been achieved. Answers are needed to questions such as: Will the new system build the same part or perform the same process as the one it replaces? Can improvements be incorporated into the part or the process with the new procedure?

Other parameters that may bear on expectations, evaluation or both include change in depreciation, faster processing, improving …