CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 1
AtlasCom
Dragan Z. Milosevic, Peerasit Patanakul, and Sabin Srivannaboon
I. PROBLEM & SOLUTION
Problem: The management perceived that the manufacturing productivity and quality of the
company have been declining. They attempted to use CPM to resolve the problem however it was
not effective due to its complexity. Now, what would be the best project management tool that the
team can use that would allow them to enhance the productivity and quality of their products?
Solution: It can be enhanced through the use of Six Sigma since it concentrates on increasing
efficiency, raising productivity, and delivering consistent products to consumers. Meanwhile, in
this methodology skilled and experienced workers are necessary due to the difficulty in applying
for Six Sigma accreditation.
II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AtlasCom is a company that is widely known for manufacturing advanced and specialized
construction equipment and is operating for more than 50 years. However, it turned out that
AtlasCom was being left behind by its competitors due to its declining manufacturing productivity
and quality. Thus they did reengineering that involves two-tier teams to complete the project. The
team opted to use CPM schedule which was a network diagram technique for analyzing, planning,
and scheduling projects that demonstrates the project activities through nodes or arrows,
identifying which has the significant impact on project completion time and scheduling them to
meet the set date of completion with a reasonable and least cost. Also, the longest path in time
from start to finish is the critical path that shows the least time required to get the job done and has
the highest priority path to be managed. However, the second-tier team members found the CPM
schedule to be a bit complex, thus, they were unable to use it. As a result, they opted to use a short
- term outlook schedule wherein they would pull out activities from CPM that were owned by a
team member and were to be done in the coming two weeks, presenting them in a Gantt chart
format. However, a short-term outlook schedule is questionable in terms of accuracy in
information and it can get out of control if not under supervision since different members will
create their schedule. Thus, to solve the problem that could be beneficial up to the long run, the
usage of Six Sigma since it concentrates on increasing efficiency, raising productivity, and
delivering consistent products to consumers. Meanwhile, in this methodology skilled and
experienced workers are necessary due to the difficulty in applying for Six Sigma accreditation.
III. BRIEF HISTORY
AtlasCom is a company that is widely known for manufacturing advanced and specialized
construction equipment and is operating for more than 50 years. However, it turned out that
AtlasCom was being left behind by its competitors due to its declining manufacturing productivity
and quality. To address this problem, the company has decided to launch several projects that
include reengineering the factory layout. A two-tier team was appointed to complete the project.
The first tier was a cross-functional group that comprises middle managers responsible for
handling the project effort. This group was also the main project team. Whereas, the second tier is
an extended team of manufacturing specialists that is responsible for doing the project work.
Meanwhile, the main team has been provided basic project management training to fill in their
, CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 2
lack of a formal project management process and experience before hiring a consultant to help
develop a detailed CPM schedule.
In preparation for the execution of the project, the main team explained the CPM schedule
to the second-tier team and requested them to start with the work and to report the development in
a week. However, the second-tier team members found the CPM schedule to be a bit complex,
thus, they were unable to use it as a basis for planning, organizing, and reporting. As a result, a
quality improvement project including members from both teams was asked to find a solution to
the problem. After a week, they opted to use a short-term outlook schedule wherein they would
pull out activities from CPM that were owned by a team member and were to be done in the coming
two weeks, presenting them in a Gantt chart format.
IV. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
V. COMPANY ANALYSIS
AtlasCom
Dragan Z. Milosevic, Peerasit Patanakul, and Sabin Srivannaboon
I. PROBLEM & SOLUTION
Problem: The management perceived that the manufacturing productivity and quality of the
company have been declining. They attempted to use CPM to resolve the problem however it was
not effective due to its complexity. Now, what would be the best project management tool that the
team can use that would allow them to enhance the productivity and quality of their products?
Solution: It can be enhanced through the use of Six Sigma since it concentrates on increasing
efficiency, raising productivity, and delivering consistent products to consumers. Meanwhile, in
this methodology skilled and experienced workers are necessary due to the difficulty in applying
for Six Sigma accreditation.
II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AtlasCom is a company that is widely known for manufacturing advanced and specialized
construction equipment and is operating for more than 50 years. However, it turned out that
AtlasCom was being left behind by its competitors due to its declining manufacturing productivity
and quality. Thus they did reengineering that involves two-tier teams to complete the project. The
team opted to use CPM schedule which was a network diagram technique for analyzing, planning,
and scheduling projects that demonstrates the project activities through nodes or arrows,
identifying which has the significant impact on project completion time and scheduling them to
meet the set date of completion with a reasonable and least cost. Also, the longest path in time
from start to finish is the critical path that shows the least time required to get the job done and has
the highest priority path to be managed. However, the second-tier team members found the CPM
schedule to be a bit complex, thus, they were unable to use it. As a result, they opted to use a short
- term outlook schedule wherein they would pull out activities from CPM that were owned by a
team member and were to be done in the coming two weeks, presenting them in a Gantt chart
format. However, a short-term outlook schedule is questionable in terms of accuracy in
information and it can get out of control if not under supervision since different members will
create their schedule. Thus, to solve the problem that could be beneficial up to the long run, the
usage of Six Sigma since it concentrates on increasing efficiency, raising productivity, and
delivering consistent products to consumers. Meanwhile, in this methodology skilled and
experienced workers are necessary due to the difficulty in applying for Six Sigma accreditation.
III. BRIEF HISTORY
AtlasCom is a company that is widely known for manufacturing advanced and specialized
construction equipment and is operating for more than 50 years. However, it turned out that
AtlasCom was being left behind by its competitors due to its declining manufacturing productivity
and quality. To address this problem, the company has decided to launch several projects that
include reengineering the factory layout. A two-tier team was appointed to complete the project.
The first tier was a cross-functional group that comprises middle managers responsible for
handling the project effort. This group was also the main project team. Whereas, the second tier is
an extended team of manufacturing specialists that is responsible for doing the project work.
Meanwhile, the main team has been provided basic project management training to fill in their
, CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 2
lack of a formal project management process and experience before hiring a consultant to help
develop a detailed CPM schedule.
In preparation for the execution of the project, the main team explained the CPM schedule
to the second-tier team and requested them to start with the work and to report the development in
a week. However, the second-tier team members found the CPM schedule to be a bit complex,
thus, they were unable to use it as a basis for planning, organizing, and reporting. As a result, a
quality improvement project including members from both teams was asked to find a solution to
the problem. After a week, they opted to use a short-term outlook schedule wherein they would
pull out activities from CPM that were owned by a team member and were to be done in the coming
two weeks, presenting them in a Gantt chart format.
IV. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
V. COMPANY ANALYSIS
