Implementation of Hybrid Project Management Throughout the Company
Digitalization in Pharmaceutical Company
Software Implementation is often perceived as a complex undertaking which is met with little acceptance on part of the employees, particularly if it includes the implementation of new methods. At Losan Pharma GmbH, things were quite different. Here, project management software was implemented in two steps while relying on hybrid project management. The hybrid system allows to provide each employee only with the scope of functions he/she requires for his/her work depending on the planning horizon. Planners can continue to use the established traditional planning method with an extensive range of functions while the majority of employees complete their task management and time recording with great ease using the agile tool following its implementation throughout the company.
The entire staff could be integrated in a standardized project management governance structure. By implementing a standard project process, digitalization could be realized with success and the company now disposes of a more modern project management setup without abandoning its proven PM tool and its established planning method.
Control Complex Projects
In 2007, Losan implements the multi-project management system PLANTA project, initially only in the area of research and development, for planning and realization of external development projects for the production and packaging of pharmaceuticals and test samples.
PLANTA project allows 40 employees in F&E to structure the often comprehensive projects with long lead times and many work packages and their complex data for dates, effort, and quality data. The system in which time is recorded on work packages allows for transparent accounting of hours worked and accrued costs which can then be communicated to the client along with the invoice. Customer projects are planned with milestones using the proven traditional planning method in accordance with the cascade model. With the help of templates, individual customer project plans are created, the required resources are assigned, and controlling can be carried out efficiently for both Losan and its customers.
Hybrid Project Management Throughout the Company
Due to capacity expansions, digitalization and automation projects as well as the construction of another business site, 12 years later, Losan was dealing with such a large number of projects that a company-wide project management solution became necessary. In late 2019, an internal project with employees from all company departments was launched. All projects were supposed to be carried out in accordance with standardized plans and a uniform methodology. Each project member was to manage his/her own tasks and record his/her hours worked , so that they can be juxtaposed with the project budget.
The agile tool PLANTA pulse was rolled out for all 600 employees who work at the two business sites and is primarily used for task management and recording of hours worked via Kanban boards. The hybrid connection to the planning tool PLANTA project allows them to retain the established project planning method and to carry out efficient project controlling at the same time.
With the collaboration tool PLANTA pulse, they can can also plan projects in an agile manner according to Kanban and Scrum and carry out sprints to respond flexibly to changing requirements.
However, Losan only uses agile planning sporadically for internal organisation projects. They still plan their pharmaceutical projects, a sector which is highly regulated, with PLANTA project since they come with fixed dates and specific objectives, e.g. a market approval for a drug by a fixed date or large-scale infrastructural projects with extensive reconstruction of production rooms/laboratories which must be qualified and accepted by the regional council to get approval for the production of medicinal products at that site (GMP “Good Manufacturing Practice”).
New Governance Structure
To implement standardized hybrid project management throughout the company, a standard project process and a PM guide for the 4 phases of preparation, planning + initiation, controlling, and finalization with checklists and approvals was developed and mapped in the PLANTA system. This development brought about the new governance structure for complex administration of customer and company projects. According to the policy, every project must be planned, budgeted, and approved in PLANTA project in line with an approval process. It is obligatory for all employees to carry out their task management with PLANTA pulse and they have the duty to carry out tie recording on all projects. Hours worked can be recorded without media break on cards in the pulse board, right where employees manage their tasks. For budget planning, project controlling and status report creation rely are based on the recorded hours worked from the projects.
Using PLANTA since 2007
Hybrid PM since 2020
Avoid Hyper-Administration
Losan’s primary goal is to include all company projects in their project management while avoiding hyper-administration. A central project management office which oversees the central project planning in cooperation with a project portfolio steering committee help to achieve this goal. This structure is backed up by six PMOs who unburden the project managers in project administration and furthermore make sure that the governance be adhered to. Another factor that helps to avoid hyper-administration is that external customer projects are structured by three categories: smaller C projects, of which around 35 run simultaneously, are planned in only one task in PLANTA project. Detailed task planning is carried out in PLANTA pulse in accordance with the typical Kanban principle: todo, in process, in testing, approved/completed. Tasks can be planned in any number in the Kanban board. Each employee has a clear overview of his/her tasks and the project plan in the traditional tool remains uncluttered. For the B projects, of which around 20–25 run simultaneously, there are usually several tasks in project for reporting and several boards in pulse. Large-scale A projects are projects like the aforementioned infrastructural projects, of which usually 5 run simultaneously and in which new lines of production or buildings are planned with budgets running into the millions. The expansion of their own plant is mapped as a program which comprises several projects.
The persons responsible for the digitalization project, Kerstin Moerel, head of project & process management R&D + lead project management office, tells us that the new task tool is used on a daily basis and that it can be used intuitively, which means that hardly any training is required which increased its acceptance by the staff. „The benefit of the new tool is not limited to the fact that it enables all employees to manage their tasks in boards but it also improves communication and collaboration significantly. PLANTA pulse is a very good collaboration tool which allows us to reduce mail traffic significantly since now everything is set out on cards in Kanban boards and everybody is included in the information chain. It serves to map department boards, meeting boards, and even vacation planning, so that all employees concerned can keep themselves up to date. In the pandemic, we also introduced digitalized store floor management, a short meeting in the morning during which existing problems are discussed which are then documented transparently on cards so that everyone can consult them and find out who has solved them or will solve them and how. This does not only benefit our project management but also perfectly assists us in our day-to-day business and helps us to keep everyone up-to-date.“
Additional Components Used
Losan also uses the Portfolio component of PLANTA’s enterprise project management system to facilitate the management’s decision making in strategic projects, e.g. by means of risk and opportunity evaluation. Since the standard functionalities of the new PLANTA versions already meet Losan’s needs, they now use the customizing options of the software suite to a lower extent than before when all planning was carried out in F&E projects. The next upcoming project is an interface between the PLANTA systems and SAP ERP to achieve a better integration of the isolated project management solution into the company IT.
