Company /Sector Forestry Commission – Public Sector

Our Contact/Sponsor IS Director

Trainee Roles

Senior Managers and Project Managers

Details

The Forestry Commission’s always had a good reputation for delivering projects however, the project management techniques used in the past were not always consistent.

Matchett identified the solution: senior managers needed to have a greater understanding of what their role should be as project sponsors.

Following the workshops, the Commission, with the help of Matchett, has reorganised how it goes about implementing project management methods, new standards and documentation. They have introduced more rigour into project management, and delegates are now applying the skills they learned on the course, using the project methodology and planning tools.

Delegates transfer their learning into knowledge easily, by sharing, information about projects on the Commission’s intranet. Some take the (APMP) qualification, which further embeds the learning. It also acts as a motivator as experienced project managers receive formal recognition for their skills.

Project advisors Alison Field and Nicky Whitaker, were responsible for pulling together the project and feeding back this information to their senior management. Alison said: "The improvement in project governance has been the key, and we are already seeing the benefits."

Nicky agreed, saying: "the project management training is now making a difference to the way the Forestry Commission achieves its goals."

Company /Sector Borregaard LignoTech - Manufacturing

Our Contact/Sponsor Business Development Group Manager

Trainee Roles

Executive Management, Project Managers and varying personnel from different job functions

Details

Project management is vital when new products are being researched. The innovation process at Borregaard LignoTech was already established, the next step was project management training.

Norwegian company Borregaard LignoTech (a subsidiary of Borregaard Industries Ltd) is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of ligninbased products. The company has 11 production units globally and sales representation in all continents. The company’s customers and products are supported by major R&D centres in Europe and North America along with Technical Service personnel at numerous locations.

A company re-structuring had highlighted the focus on developing new products for the market. A business development group had been established with the responsibility for identifying new opportunities, and bringing those through via a project management process.

The projects at Borregaard LignoTech vary greatly. During the innovation process ideas are captured and then a team of personnel who represent all functions of the company, assess the ideas and decide if they will to run into a full project. Projects are classified into three levels with A-class projects being the most important. On average seven A-class projects run globally and all have high priority.

Helen Jones of the Business Development Group explains, "We wanted to introduce project management as a way of working because we already had a good innovation process established, and wanted to use the tools and techniques of project management to further enhance that process."

"Our first task was to identify a project management training provider, and we did this by researching who was using who in the industry. Our criterion as an international organisation was to find a company that had a good understanding of the manufacturing sector (particularly chemicals), and also had the experience of delivering training to diverse groups, particularly to those whose first language wasn’t English, which Matchett has done extremely well."

Choosing a course that was tailored to the needs of Borregaard LignoTech's personnel was also very important. As Helen explains: "One of the aspects of The Matchett Group course that appealed to us, was that it gave us a set of practical tools and techniques, as well as an insight as to how we could use Microsoft Project. We already had the software in-house, but it wasn’t being used consistently."

Borregaard LignoTech chose the Accredited Project Management course from The Matchett Group, because they felt it was important to have training that would be recognised not only in the UK, but also in the US. With the need to train key personnel as soon as possible, two pilot courses were run, followed by a short review period that gave those involved a chance to revisit certain aspects of the course, and make changes to further bespoke it. "The feedback from the pilot courses was excellent and gave us a clear idea of what we needed to focus on. During the training Matchett used Borregaard LignoTech specific case studies, which were very important because they ensured that the delegates could start applying the new knowledge and skills on the course, and had the opportunity to address any 'real world' issues before returning to work". Helen explains. Courses were been run in Norway and the USA with around 70 people trained, including 75% of the Executive Management.

Helen explains what she believes the immediate benefits are: "The implementation of a Project Management training programme will mean that we are a lot more focused on how we manage our projects. As Borregaard LignoTech develops new products and services many large industries, the business commitments demand a great deal from our resources. Because of this we need to ensure that we are doing the right projects as effectively as possible. It’s very easy to let a project run, but what this process has given us, is the clarity to be sure that what we develop is what the customer wants and not just what we think the customer wants."

Borregaard LignoTech is seeing better products, developed more quickly, and meeting the needs of the customer better. Every company has to grow and their targets are ever more stretching so project management is the key to their future. Without it they won't grow and won't be as successful. Helen finishes "We're the market leader and want to stay the market leader, so we believe this is the future way of working for Borregaard LignoTech."

Company /Sector Borregaard LignoTech - Manufacturing

Our Contact/Sponsor Business Development Group Manager

Trainee Roles

Executive Management, Project Managers and varying personnel from different job functions

Details

Project management is vital when new products are being researched. The innovation process at Borregaard LignoTech was already established, the next step was project management training.

Norwegian company Borregaard LignoTech (a subsidiary of Borregaard Industries Ltd) is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of ligninbased products. The company has 11 production units globally and sales representation in all continents. The company’s customers and products are supported by major R&D centres in Europe and North America along with Technical Service personnel at numerous locations.

A company re-structuring had highlighted the focus on developing new products for the market. A business development group had been established with the responsibility for identifying new opportunities, and bringing those through via a project management process.

The projects at Borregaard LignoTech vary greatly. During the innovation process ideas are captured and then a team of personnel who represent all functions of the company, assess the ideas and decide if they will to run into a full project. Projects are classified into three levels with A-class projects being the most important. On average seven A-class projects run globally and all have high priority.

Helen Jones of the Business Development Group explains, "We wanted to introduce project management as a way of working because we already had a good innovation process established, and wanted to use the tools and techniques of project management to further enhance that process."

"Our first task was to identify a project management training provider, and we did this by researching who was using who in the industry. Our criterion as an international organisation was to find a company that had a good understanding of the manufacturing sector (particularly chemicals), and also had the experience of delivering training to diverse groups, particularly to those whose first language wasn’t English, which Matchett has done extremely well."

Choosing a course that was tailored to the needs of Borregaard LignoTech's personnel was also very important. As Helen explains: "One of the aspects of The Matchett Group course that appealed to us, was that it gave us a set of practical tools and techniques, as well as an insight as to how we could use Microsoft Project. We already had the software in-house, but it wasn’t being used consistently."

Borregaard LignoTech chose the Accredited Project Management course from The Matchett Group, because they felt it was important to have training that would be recognised not only in the UK, but also in the US. With the need to train key personnel as soon as possible, two pilot courses were run, followed by a short review period that gave those involved a chance to revisit certain aspects of the course, and make changes to further bespoke it. "The feedback from the pilot courses was excellent and gave us a clear idea of what we needed to focus on. During the training Matchett used Borregaard LignoTech specific case studies, which were very important because they ensured that the delegates could start applying the new knowledge and skills on the course, and had the opportunity to address any 'real world' issues before returning to work". Helen explains. Courses were been run in Norway and the USA with around 70 people trained, including 75% of the Executive Management.

Helen explains what she believes the immediate benefits are: "The implementation of a Project Management training programme will mean that we are a lot more focused on how we manage our projects. As Borregaard LignoTech develops new products and services many large industries, the business commitments demand a great deal from our resources. Because of this we need to ensure that we are doing the right projects as effectively as possible. It’s very easy to let a project run, but what this process has given us, is the clarity to be sure that what we develop is what the customer wants and not just what we think the customer wants."

Borregaard LignoTech is seeing better products, developed more quickly, and meeting the needs of the customer better. Every company has to grow and their targets are ever more stretching so project management is the key to their future. Without it they won't grow and won't be as successful. Helen finishes "We're the market leader and want to stay the market leader, so we believe this is the future way of working for Borregaard LignoTech."

Company /Sector Full-service insurance company – Financial

Our Contact/Sponsor IS Director

Trainee Roles

Project Managers

Details

Our client’s organisation serves predominantly small businesses and individuals. To improve the productivity of their agents throughout the UK, it was determined that the agents have a dedicated agent website. This website would allow the agents access to company news, policy information, and regulatory changes.

The IS department responsible for this development project attended Matchett planning programme. Much like the hundreds of other project teams that Matchett works with annually, this team quickly developed the project plan for this initiative.

Recognising that agent acceptance of the website would be one of the primary obstacles to its effectiveness; the team developed an extensive campaign to ensure agent use. The team also determined the website’s content, maintenance budget, and technical approach. Ultimately, the team saved 18% off the initial lifecycle after attending Matchett course. The project was completed on-time and within budget, which was a first for this particular IS department.

Participants were benefited by:

• Planning, organising and controlling projects through to successful completion;
• Producing better estimates of resources needed, like time and cost;
• Analysing and reducing risks;
• Managing variable requirements, through clear change control;
• Understanding the key elements of successful project management.