Taking the helicopter view [engineering management methods]

In trying to deal with a management problem, after investigations, acquisition of information and advice, it may still look insoluble. One way of overcoming such a problem, in `management-speak', is to `take the helicopter view'. This is a metaphor for rising above the detail of the situation so that you can see it as a whole, and in its wider context. It means taking the overview; seeing the essentials rather than the details. This article aims to give some practical advice about taking the helicopter view. The author looks at five approaches, each illustrated with some practical examples, tips and advice     

Soft is hard [engineering management]

Many engineering managers prioritise task and project management at the expense of people management. A manager under pressure to produce outcomes may avoid dealing with a people or performance issue until it is too late, or spend time trying to manage it at a personal `output cost' to themselves. This paper examines how long a technical manager should spend on soft skill interventions     

Leadership the Sven-Goran Eriksson way [engineering management]

In this article, the author examines whether the England football manager has shown a leadership style which defies conventional stereotypes and exemplifies an approach from which today's business leaders can learn some useful lessons. Swedish leadership is about consensus, harmony, a dislike of conflict; and whether running a business or coaching a soccer team, it seems to work     

The beginning of our end [engineering management]

So far in this series we have taken characters from `Julius Caesar' and from `The Tempest' to see how, first, a sound management philosophy and, second, training of the workforce are essential steps in the `Systems Approach to Management'. Then, `Much Ado About Nothing' provided the background to the next step, how to understand processes using flowcharts. But that article (`I am an Ass') left out the most important attribute of any process-its customers. The author details how customers are so important that they need an article all to themselves     

Negligent? Who? Me? [engineering management legislation]

In a recession, engineers are often tempted to undertake contracts that contain difficult clauses. Here, the author warns the engineer to be wary; if they agree to a term that they probably can't satisfy then the threat of a negligence action will immediately loom over them     

Staff development [management]

People are essential to the achievement of any human endeavour and management is the art of getting things done through people. Here, the author argues that a company's greatest asset is its personnel, and no effort should be considered too great to encourage their maximum potential     

Agile manufacturing [management]

For many companies, `lean' production during the recession has meant a relentless drive to reduce cost, as opposed to its original concept of adopting best `lean' practice and seeing costs fall. The result has been that the companies are more starved than `lean' and are poorly placed to take advantage of the recovery due to reductions in skilled staff in general and design and development capability in particular. Here, the author argues that in order to become agile, companies have to concentrate on the other, forgotten, aspects of `lean' production, aim for flexibility and speed of response, and also ensure they are adaptable to future changes in the market     

Managing the matrix [management structure]

A matrix management structure at GCHQ (UK) resulted in a considerable planning and scheduling challenge. An improvement programme currently underway aims to re-engineer the way all technical work is defined and managed, thus enabling a significant improvement in project management performance     

Setting the trend [management consultants]

In today's aggressively competitive environment, business in general and manufacturing engineering industries in particular have been forced to become better equipped to meet the challenges for survival and growth. Often advised by today's growing army of consultants, an increasing number have addressed the problem through a variety of programmes under a variety of guises, all aimed at improving efficiency, productivity and competitiveness to varying degrees. One specialist consultancy has attempted to shed new light on how and where companies are succeeding-or failing-to meet the challenge     

Living the brand [brand management]

If a branded product or service is an excellent choice for a prospective customer, is it possible to build on the resulting goodwill to ensure that the supplying company, especially customer-facing staff, `lives' the brand and conveys its essence in all its activities? Here, the author examines whether all the work done in building and positioning the brand can set the style, tone and conduct of the business, to motivate staff, customers, suppliers and local communities alike     

Mind the gap [interim management]

Most organisations are aware of interim management as a concept, but many are unclear as to exactly what interim management is, what it can do for their business, and how to find a good interim manager. This article outlines the basic principles of interim management, and answers some frequently-asked questions.     

Sharpening our axes [systems engineering application]

To improve a company's 'chopping' power it is necessary to apply systems engineering principles to 'project systems' and take the time to plan effectively, to reflect upon what it is that is being done and thereby improve the way things are done. This article takes a systems view of the project and applies systems engineering principles to project management. Projects (complex systems) are needed to create deliverables (which are also complex systems) and investing in the former will be more than paid back in the latter. It is our aim here to clear up some misunderstandings about systems engineering and its role within a complex project and to highlight the need for businesses to take time to improve their processes in the context of good systems engineering practice.     

Skin deep? [quality product engineering]

This paper examines whether glitzy designs and strong marketing campaigns can compensate for poor engineering in consumer products. To a certain extent, these factors can compensate, in that a trendy design can be pushed by clever marketing and sales can be produced. However, the chances of repeat business are reduced by poor reliability. Costs involved in product fixes late in the design cycle rise exponentially as the product nears production deadlines. In addition, manufactured costs of the product are usually significantly lower from a well engineered solution. All these reasons add up to a missed opportunity to maximize the potential profits of the device if high quality engineering solutions are used.     

Surviving the information explosion [knowledge management]

This paper presents the emerging discipline of enterprise content management and explains why a capability to manage document based information is increasingly in demand. The ability to manage explicit information in the form of documents, reports, drawings and graphics is a key knowledge management capability and this capability to manage information has increasingly been recognised as a core organisational need. Knowledge management is concerned with providing people with current and accurate information within the context of their roles. the effective management of document based knowledge relies on technology infrastructures enabling people to create, store and access documentation in a timely manner.     

Vision culture [business management]

Many businesses and institutions are facing unprecedented demand and supply pressures. In this paper, the author argues that organisations need to develop a culture which is well matched to these pressures     

The commissioning [project management]

The installation, in a noisy, dusty, poorly lit underground experimental hall, was hard going. Then the technicians went home, leaving three engineers to commission it, and that was worse. I found that a helpful therapy was to sit down in the evening and send an E-mail back to base, trying to convey a little of the day's work. I should explain that this was a few years ago, when E-mail was more of a novelty than it is now. I had a terminal in my hostel room, but back at base there was just a shared dial-up connection, so my messages were printed and put on a notice board. As a reminder to managers of what life can be like in the field, here are the E-mails of the final two weeks. I hope enough time has passed that they will not cause embarrassment, and of course I have changed the names, but the story really is true. The project was a large superconducting magnet, supplied to APPL (American Particle Physics Laboratory)     

Control amidst the uncontrollable [change management]

There has been a plethora of books and articles describing how to manage businesses through turbulent times, most of which have been theoretical, philosophical or both. This article puts concept into practice and demonstrates real performance improvements from 'managing change'. The article presents the lessons learnt by J&S Marine, a company which designs, develops, manufactures and supports equipments for naval defence and commercial offshore markets. Its change programme has affected all aspects of the company's operations from winning new business to contract award and execution. The lessons learnt provide a pragmatic view on how companies can truly 'manage' the change process whilst recognising that forecasting market trends continues to be difficult. The strategy for success is based on control amidst the uncontrollable.     

Environment innovation [innovation management]

This paper discusses how the right environment contributed to the success of CMR Fuel Cells, a UK developer of fuel cell stacks for portable and small stationary power generation applications. Because of the company's potential, CMR Fuel Cells was recently floated on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).     

Finance is simple [management]

In any game it is imperative to understand how to score in order to win. The author argues that finance is the scoring system of business so understanding the terminology is essential. Although many people have an irrational fear of the subject, he states that finance is, in fact, simple     

Groups that work [management]

Groups form a basic unit of work activity throughout engineering and yet the underlying process is poorly managed. The author examines the group process and how it can best be utilised. The key is that the group should be viewed as an important resource whose maintenance must be managed just like any other resource