Budget, timeline, register and forecast
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing runs every customer order as a project. As the Project Management Institute defines it: A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of a project indicates that a project has a definite beginning and end.
This definition leads to the following basics:
Follow the happy trail from Budget to planning lines on the Timeline to registration of Actual numbers. With this information accurate Forecasts can be made to provide visibility on the progress towards the project Deliverable.
Budget
A project is temporary and creates a unique product: not a routine. For that reason, having a plan is essential: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
In Industrial Equipment Manufacturing, a budget is the baseline that ensures the project is calculated accurately. It supports the right quote, correct material planning in the right quantities, and availability of people.
Timeline
Projects have a definite beginning and end. Within that time frame, you must realize what you planned in the budget. Based on customer demand or availability of material and people, you can plan forward As Soon As Possible (ASAP) from a starting date, or backward from an ending date to deliver Just in Time (JIT).
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing supports both planning directions by calculating the critical path. The calculation is based on estimated working days per project task, the sequence of project tasks, and non-working days as specified in the project calendar.
Register
Once the budget is laid out along the timeline, correct registration maintains visibility on your project. It provides answers to questions such as: "Is the project progressing to plan?", "What is the earned value to date?", and "How much do we estimate to complete this project?"
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing binds supply orders to the project and shows inventory as pegged for the project. This makes costs related to the project visible as soon as possible. For the same reason, resource tasks are automatically created from project tasks so that resources can start and stop tasks to record time directly on the correct project task.
Forecast
A wise man once said: "The ideal project does not exist, each time there is the opportunity to realize an approximation." This means that the more up to date your visibility on the progress of the project is, the more opportunity you have to take corrective actions in time.
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing offers a flexible forecasting feature. The project manager can compare budget to actual numbers at any time and calculate an estimate to completion on both values and quantities. The project manager can also set the progress % for each project task to further refine the forecast.
See also
Budgeting Timeline Register Forecasting
Welcome to Industrial Equipment Manufacturing