Project Management Methodologies Assignment - Latino Engineering

Project management methodologies
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Date

Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................3
CIP Strategy for Latino Engineering....................................................................................................3
Processes..........................................................................................................................................4
Organization.....................................................................................................................................4
Technology.......................................................................................................................................4
Information......................................................................................................................................5
Seven Basic Quality Control Tools.......................................................................................................5
Cause and Effect Diagram...............................................................................................................5
Flow charts.......................................................................................................................................6
Check-sheets....................................................................................................................................6
Pareto diagrams................................................................................................................................6
Histograms.......................................................................................................................................7
Control Charts..................................................................................................................................7
Scatter Diagrams..............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................8
References............................................................................................................................................9
Appendix I: Diagrammatic representation of Latino Engineering CIP..............................................11

Introduction
Latino Engineering Company has for the last thirty years been a trusted designer and manufacturer
of various engineering equipments for diverse industries, including oil and gas, infrastructure, and
construction firms. This gave the company a loyal customer base and led to impressive business
performance in terns of sales revenues. A year ago, the founder, Mr Dominic Latino decided to sell
the entire company to the new owners rather than sell a portion of the company, fearing that tis
would dilute his control of the company and especially his ability to make decisions fast. The new
owners took over the company and agreed to retain the name and the employees, although some
managers left in pursuit of greener pastures. In the last twelve months, the company has faced the
challenge of increasing customer dissatisfaction, with complaints ranging from defective
engineering products, poor design and development follow ups with clients, a non responsive
customer service, Latino Engineering taking too long to solve customer issues, and cases of the
wrong equipment being packed and sent to customers. The complaints basically point to two main
issues; poor product design and production, and poor customer service. The departure of some
managers and Dominic also imply that the control levels at the company changed for the worse,
given the mounting problems touching the core of the company’s reputation. This report, therefore,
is a proposal for a framework that will ensure the stated problems are solved through a process of
continuous improvement. The report first discusses the development of a new vision for the
company and then uses quality control tools to initiate the process of continuous improvement. To
ensure permanent and lasting improvements and move the company from lean improvements to
lasting improvements, as argued by Mishra and Gupta (2010) and Fine, Hansen and Roggenhofer
(n.d). To ensure lasting changes and restoration of Latino Engineering to its former glory, this report
proposes that the continuous improvement framework of Kaizen that will not only enhance quality
improvement, but also help create an organization-wide understanding and internalization of
continuous improvement (CI) as it makes CI everyone’s duty, according to Kaiser (2015) and Imai
(2012).
CIP Strategy for Latino Engineering
The problems at Latino Engineering are complex and significant; the continued growth and survival
of the company depend on them being solved. To solve the problems, the root causes must first be
established and steps taken to continuously make improvements (Demers 2008). A root cause
analysis will be undertaken in the context of the key aspects of the organization before the problems
can be incrementally reduced (Rudy, 2014). To determine the root causes of the problems, the POTI
model will be employed to develop a blue print and vision of what Latino Engineering should be by

evaluation the processes at the organization, the organization itself, its attendant technologies, and
information. Using the POTI model, the high level scope of what will be changed at Latino
Engineering will be clearly defined and understood once the tools for CI are implemented.
Processes
Business processes have a huge effect on the performance of an organization; changing the
businesses processes will equally have a huge impact on the organizational performance of firms,
according to Š krinjar, Š temberger & Hernaus (2007). The processes at Latino Engineering will be
evaluated and old unwieldy processes replaced with new ones. The operating business models have
a direct effect on organizational output and performance and changing these operational models will
create a new vision for the organization (Sherman 2009). The operating business models to be
examined include the levels of performance and output, the way tasks are undertaken where old
ways will be phased out and new ones introduced while existing ways of working will also be
changed. The vision is that of a Latino Engineering where employee output and performance
increases and new ways of working that focus on the customer and on quality by harnessing
technology are used
Organization
According to Rick (2014), organizations doesn't really change, it is people that do change and if
people do not change, then the organization will not change. For every business, change is the only
constant; however, change must be managed well if the organization is to get it right and move
towards a desired direction. The project will require some people changes and includes
organizational change to personnel and the number of employees , along with their skills and
training needs. The skill set and new skill requirements of employees will be examined, along with
the existing culture and what cultural changes are needed. The training needs f the employees will
also be examined. The envisaged situation is that of a company with highly skilled and productive
employees that are well versed with the organizational strategy that promotes quality and
performance. The culture at the organization also needs to shift towards focus on the customer and
quality delivery (for products and service).
Technology
Technology is today a crucial area for any business, responsible fro driving innovation and
sustaining business growth, according to Holmlund (2014), with IT and computers taking the lead.
The company wide technology infrastructure as presently set will be examined and changes made
where the existing systems fall short. The existing systems and tools will be evaluated and
improvements made. The envisaged blue print is that of Latino Engineering whose operations are