Interview: Production challenges in COVID-19 era

Corona poses unique challenges for companies, especially those that are part of the fight against the virus. For new corona test systems, we combined our patented drive technology with polyamide feeder bowls that can quietly and precisely feed bulk goods. The schedule was very tight. It took less than three weeks from the order to the delivery of the feeding solution.

Helmut Niederer, managing director of Afag Automation North America and Peter Vollmer, head of the Engineering project of Afag GmbH talk about what we have learned. An interview on production challenges in the COVID era.

What times do we live in and what are the resulting consequences?

Interviewer:
We talked a bit already about how you, with very little advance notice, had to help Lanco Inc. and its end customers get corona test strip kits into circulation very quickly. That is obviously a hot-button topic. In general, how have you managed to do your job in the past few months? In these times, especially in a project management situation, how do you manage to only be able to look a few days ahead at a time – if at all?

Helmut Niederer:
This is definitely a challenging time. We have to rethink a lot of things that we used to do differently in the past. We have to act much more quickly. However, we also found out that we have the proper tools at our disposal because we were forced to use them for the first time. Suddenly, we are working with our tools. Suddenly, it doesn't matter that we are a company that is operating both in the USA and in Europe. In fact, suddenly, we are really tapping into our potential for the first time.

Peter Vollmer:
I have experienced the past few months as a time characterized by having to act very quickly. We constantly have to react and make decisions. I view this as a chance to expand our horizon for the time after corona. Suddenly, online meetings are the order of the day, and a quality of communication is developing in this area that will be very useful later on.

Interviewer:
So it's somewhat as though "virtual campfires," which is a tool that had been available for decades, allow you to manage projects well – and perhaps even better – in spite of this difficult situation?

Peter Vollmer:
It may seem a bit trivial, but that's really the case. We have always had a good project management but corona, and especially the project that we will discuss in a moment, have forced us to be particularly effective and efficient. And very simple tools can help us in this regard. I'm especially fascinated by the professionalism and discipline in meetings – regardless of whether they are internal or with customers.

Helmut Niederer:
I agree. In a tough project environment, it is important to avoid the so-called "dead times." And we are currently doing a really good job with that. In this area, I can also tell that we communicate more effectively and efficiently, which makes it much easier to coordinate things.

Interviewer:
Would it be correct to say that, in times of chaos, projects that can only be planned insufficiently have to be managed much better?

Peter Vollmer:
Absolutely. And, most of all, they have to be controlled more pragmatically and this is where personal communication is crucial. In the past, you may have sent an email and then possibly waited days to get a response. Now, we are discussing things in a group of decision-makers and can act right away. This example shows that working from home does not just have disadvantages. We are getting used to making decisions more quickly and, most importantly, together. That creates a very solid basis for our work, even in the case of projects in uncertain times.

Let's talk about the Lanco project

Interviewer:
Maybe we should take a closer look at the project we came here to discuss. It seems to be a project which illustrates well that extraordinary project successes are possible because of the current crisis. What set the so-called "Lanco project" apart?

Peter Vollmer:
Maybe I should briefly explain what our task was. An end customer needed COVID-19 equipment very quickly in order to be able to react to the massive expansion of COVID testing capacities in the US. Our direct customer had to very quickly supply assembled disposable products for diagnostics. Afag's job was to supply automated feeding systems for the assembly facilities, which allowed this diagnostics equipment to be produced. I felt that the tight deadline, which also increased the complexity further, was the main challenge in this case. For example, in order to develop, configure and test our feeding systems, we urgently need samples of the parts that will later be used in the production or in the processes of our end customers. In this case, being pressed for time meant that important input parameters were either not available or they only became available very late in the process. As a result, a lot of assumptions had to be made that had to be flexibly verified or corrected in the course of the project. 

Helmut Niederer:
I think the project was characterized by three risk factors at the same time: The timetable was extremely tight, we had done similar things before but not with this group. And we worked for a new end customer. In addition, the end customer initially viewed us with skepticism. They worried that a local US feeding system manufacturer/component supplier might have been better positioned to support them in light of the extreme lack of time.

Interviewer:
Let's get back to the tight timetable.

Helmut Niederer:
Well, with this kind of job, you can certainly assume that the project will take 12 weeks, or even 24 weeks in the worst case. We delivered in three weeks. By the way, we committed to finishing in six weeks, which was still extremely ambitious.

Peter Vollmer:
You can now see the direction in which things were going. In these conditions, you have to get the most out of the project management. It has to be centralized to ensure that nothing is left by the wayside. That is especially important because you are obviously not immune to difficulties arising in the middle of the project that jeopardize its success simply because you want to go particularly fast. That is why it's important to always stay on the ball.

Interviewer:
How does that work?

Peter Vollmer:
This takes us back to the issue of communication. In this project, we really focused on sharing partial results with all participants every day in the form of shared layouts, videos, and images via a live conference and then got feedback right away. This fosters a shared understanding, minimizes misunderstandings and allows us to jointly make viable decisions. That allowed us to often clear the first hurdles together in situations that otherwise would have led to extensive coordination loops. It was also important that we always discussed solutions and alternatives when coordinating things. Otherwise, this type of effective management would not have been possible.

What are the keys to success in this type of project?

Interviewer:
I am beginning to understand what the keys to the success of this project were.

Helmut Niederer:
Right, the first one is crucial. We had clean and constructive discussions even though we did not know each other all that well. We consistently prioritized personal communication on a regular basis ...

Peter Vollmer:
... and always kept the eye on the ball. And because we always – as I just mentioned – had discussions based on specific solution scenarios, it was particularly easy for us to focus in a way that was pragmatic. The specifications were good, but in the course of the design phase, we had to make judgment decisions that we had to discuss with the customer: "What is most important here? A simple implementation or a precise implementation of what was originally demanded?" And that decision can turn out to be different in different scenarios. In this case, we had a customer who quickly figured out together with us what the true priorities were.

More than anything, that was made possible because we were particularly transparent. We consistently took the customer on this journey with us and provided them with snapshots all the time. Ultimately, that did not just improve our efficiency but it was also the key measure that established trust. In this situation, it became clear that the leap of faith the customer had taken with us was justified and it led to a very positive outcome.

Helmut Niederer:
Right, together we wanted to consistently work toward ensuring that the plant would work down the road while meeting the required quality standards and that it would be completed as quickly as possible. And in that area, we jointly jettisoned a lot of the less important and decisive elements.

Peter Vollmer:
We keep talking about communication. I think in this project in particular, it was especially helpful that the right people were on board in each situation when decisions had to be made. This means that we were able to make decisions at any time.

Helmut Niederer:
There is another aspect that I am proud of. In the past, we always had the feeling that the fact that our facilities were separated by an ocean held us back a bit. In this case, we took full advantage of it. When our European colleagues went to bed, we kept on working here in the US and vice versa. And that obviously also helps to avoid dead times. By the way, I assume that this is a lesson we can apply to other projects. It's even possible that this will turn out to be an invisible competitive edge that we were able to take advantage of for the first time.

Interviewer:
We are talking about factors here that can be applied to other projects relatively easily since they are less about the content of the project and more about clean and clear management and a way of working well together, right?

Both:
Absolutely!

Helmut Niederer:
Obviously, there are some specific success factors that can't easily be duplicated. For example, there was a lot of political pressure. Everybody – all the way up to the US president – thought that we needed these testing devices ... right now. And that is obviously a special situation. This means that people at board level are talking on the phone to ensure that this project gets the attention it deserves.

Peter Vollmer:
Correct. But, most of all, it was the seriousness of the situation that motivated us internally. We read in the news every day that more and more people were getting sick and dying. Obviously, all of us wanted to help and that is a great motivating factor. During this project, across the entire supply chain, there was a sense that "we are all in this together." And that obviously creates a very special dynamic.

Helmut Niederer:
True, it was the main topic in the press and on every media platform. And, on an emotional level, you identify with the project in a way none of us had experienced before.

What can you learn from it?

Interviewer:
We just looked at some factors that can possibly be applied to other projects. On the other hand, this COVID project posed a very special challenge. So what are the central lessons that you think can be applied elsewhere? Is there maybe something that you would like to share with your colleagues?

Helmut Niederer:
First of all, it is interesting that there are no classic lessons learned in spite of the significant challenges. There is hardly anything we would do differently the next time. One major issue – and it is one Mr. Vollmer has mentioned repeatedly – is that it is all about the quality of communication. And that is something people can always pay attention to. I think that we have been able to turn this dynamic into something positive because we were always open and transparent – and because there were regular exchanges. I mentioned the issue of dead time earlier. I view this as a key to cleanly and efficiently managing projects.

Peter Vollmer:
I totally agree. The digital tools to carry out this type of communication have been available for a long time. Maybe there were some mental blocks prior to corona. Now that we have reached this level of exchange, we will certainly not go back and it is also something we will use when dealing with other customers.

Interviewer:
Are there other success factors that can be applied?

Peter Vollmer:
Absolutely. If I can offer my colleagues one lesson then it is the fact that the project management has to be taken very seriously in a highly dynamic environment. The more issues have to be controlled, the more of a full-time job it becomes. But a project management that is taken seriously and ensures a good project communication results in the kind of flexibility that you often only hear spoken about.

Helmut Niederer:
Before we wrap things up, allow me to get philosophical: Good communication obviously also means listening well. It creates – and this is something we really noticed during the corona project – a basis for a common understanding and therefore a solid foundation for the project. And that is something which can be applied to everything we do.

Interviewer:
Thank you for this very interesting conversation.

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"Suddenly, we are really tapping into our potential for the first time." Helmut Niederer, managing director of Afag Automation North America "We are all in this together."