Here at Central Conveyors Ltd, conveyor projects are our lifeblood. We have years of experience in tackling conveyor work of all shapes and sizes, across all industries. One thing connects them all - planning. Without thought and care projects that seemingly seemed under control can present unexpected issues, which is a headache you can do without.
In this weeks blog we highlight 5 high level ways that can help keep your project on track.
1) Requirements via one channel/person: If you are dealing with several points of contact in one business, then it can happen that requirements slowly start to be drip fed into the provider, through different communication channels. Before you know it you have requirements that have not been centrally signed off, or agreed by decision makers. Avoid this by establishing one line of communication/one person that is the designated feed for requirements. Agree this at the outset of the project and instantly you will know that any project requirement HAS to come via the designated channel, and that it cannot be accepted into the workflow outside of this channel/person.
2) Requirements that have been signed off: You may have a great relationship with your customer and be used to dealing in an informal way. However without sign off and/or a written agreement that says 'i agree' or 'i accept' the requirements then you are in the realms of uncertainty. The customer should and must sign off the work to be completed. This reduces risk in that before any work starts you have it in writing as to what you will be working on. This process in itself is so important as it can highlight elements that have been missed, or included when not needed.
3) Check your diaries and ensure that all of your staff that are needed for the project are available. If you are working on something that is critical and you need specialised staff to assist then you need to check that they will be available. This simple step is missed by companies time and time again, meaning that the expertise required to finish a job is missing. The impact this can have upon your production times can be devastating and mean the difference between hitting and missing a deadline.
4) Testing your product in an internal and in the customers location is vital. This step should have as much effort poured into it as the design and manufacture of the product. A quick turn on, or switch to live is not enough. It should be checked by several experienced colleagues and signed off both in the manufacturing facility and in its new home. These processes will differ somewhat but they both have the same aim. To find problems and fix them thus keeping your reputation and time line in check.
5) Checking that the appropriate finances and paperwork are in place before manufacturing begins is vital. What ever your agreement with the customer this needs to be written down and agreed. There is no point in trying to look back should the worse case scenario occur. Go into the project, in agreement and in writing.
These simple tips are based upon years of experience of completing projects, and place you and the customer in a reasonable, fair and transparent position. We hope that you find them useful.
As always we are here to discuss your next conveyor system project, so get in touch with us here at CCL for a friendly discussion as to how we can help.