Magnetec: Implementation of a global project management system

Agile and classic project management methods: Creating a common understanding
Magnetec
Magnetec

MAGNETEC – “SMALL SIZE – BIG PERFORMANCE”

MAGNETEC GmbH – founded in 1984 – sets new standards as a competent manufacturer in the market for high permeability toroidal cores.

As a problem solver, our customer not only offers high-quality, globally recognized and successful product innovations for the latest applications, but as an agile medium-sized company it also meets the increasingly important requirement for flexibility and speed in product development and subsequent series ramp-up.

Since 1998, MAGNETEC has been supplying cores made of the nanocrystalline alloy NANOPERM for universal utilization in power electronics. Easily recognizable by their blue color, the products are offered both as catalog parts and as customer-specific solutions.
  • Industry: Metal processing
  • Foundation: 1966
  • Employees: 7,200 in 20 countries

Outgoing Situation

Magnetec has a large number of different projects that are not only cross-departmental, but also in most cases handled by international teams. The challenges of the status quo at that time were mainly:

  • Lack of transparency in terms of: Number of projects, availability of resources, – cost/benefit ratio and final evaluation.
  • No common language or workflow
  • Partially redundant work or incomplete communication
  • Lack of methodological and social skills

Goals

  •  Introduction of a common language for project management according to the PMI standard (Project Management Institute)
  • Establishment of an international project management process (incl. all documents, roles and responsibilities)
  • Definition of international filter criteria for top, medium and small projects
  • Qualification of project managers and teams as well as other relevant roles of the Magnetec project management process in all countries
  • – Adaptation and implementation of project management software
  • More efficient processes with measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for each project – avoiding redundancies and creating transparency

The Cooperation

In October 2019, the conception started with a first kick-off workshop with the aim to consolidate and prioritize the needs and fields of action of the project managers.

At the beginning of January 2021, the management of all international locations was then informed about the further procedure and involved in the analysis of the criteria, determination of the local contact persons and the selection of the strategic projects.

After selecting and customizing the project management software, the trainings were adapted to the needs of the target group. The training sessions were then held virtually in the summer of 2021 with all responsible project managers (approx. 70 people) in Microsoft teams. There the participants loaded their own projects into the software and worked on them.

After the training sessions, the TOP projects and resources for 2022 were defined in the strategy meeting in September and recorded accordingly in the software. In addition, a standardized monthly reporting system was set up.

3 x 3 live online Sessions per Module

7 Runs in 2021

90 participants

4 countries

The Result

The introduction of a global project management system has led to a harmonization of the common understanding of agile and classic project management methods and their application.

Employees can use uniform standards for initiating, planning and implementing their projects. In the end, all projects are also evaluated according to their cost/benefit balance and the corresponding lessons learned are recorded for each team.

  • Global project selection process and criteria
  • Agree, track and achieve goals
  • Efficient structured workload
  • Overall transparency on status, costs and resources
  • Compliance with certification requirements (IATF/ ISO)
  • Stronger focus on customer and market needs
  • Promotion of entrepreneurial thinking and acting

 

Marc Nicolaudius, Managing Director

Marc Nicolaudius

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