Program Management

What is Program Management?

Program Management is the successful coordination of many activities over a given span of time to achieve a specific set of goals within the manufacturing environment. 

Within the Automotive industry there are different vehicles being produced by each OEM (GM, Honda, Chrysler, Nissan, Ford, etc).  Each vehicle platform is considered a different Program.  Within each Program at the OEM level there are literally thousands of parts and requirements that must all be coordinated and fulfilled to successfully manufacture and achieve vehicle production.

As a Program Manager there are many different tools that we use to help guide the process along and enable success.  Here are a few:  Open Issues, Project Timelines, Regular communication with members of the product team, Bill of Materials, Bill of Tooling, Supplier contacts, Customer contacts, CAD math design data, Blue prints, PPAP, GR&R, Engineering Change Control, Lean manufacturing concepts & experience, Purchasing concepts & experience, Inventory, AAR, GD&T, Software tools (email, ms project, ms word, ms excel, ms power point, ms access),etc.  Out of all of the different tools that can be used to aid a Program Manager, I value the Managers level of experience, knowledge, repeat-ability, and ability to use common sense - the most.

Program Managers while going through vehicle development and program launch often run into many obstacles that need to be overcome in order to enable success.  They need to be able to have high visibility into each of the activities that they have control and responsibility over.  They need to track and monitor progress and creatively solve problems as they come up in a way that is not high risk or damaging to the organization as a whole.

At the OEM level a Program Manager typically has responsibility over a group of assemblies for a set of suppliers that are going to produce parts for a given Program/vehicle.  They need to keep in constant contact with their internal and external team members and help keep them focused on meeting the Program requirements and timeline. 

At the supplier level a Program Manger has responsibility over several assemblies for several Programs and/or the same Program.  Each program could be for a different customer or all for the same customer.  These program managers also need to keep their team, consisting of both internal and external team members, focused on meeting the proper Program requirements and timeline.

 At each level they all deal with the cycle of Program life. 

• Cradle (design, development, prototype, pre-builds, PPAP, PSO)
• Life (product safe launch, production)
• Grave (service and ultimately discontinuation and/or aftermarket)

During the Cradle phase (4 - 5 Years) everyone is focused on working out the design and improving it to enable a successful vehicle build.  Manufacturing processes are setup and optimized in preparation for daily production.  Contingency plans are put in place and the work force begins to learn how to perform their task in the assembly of the component they are responsible for.

During the Life phase (4 – 8 Years) everyone is focused on meeting the daily requirements and ensuring that the manufacturing process is stable.  Paying attention to producing a high quality product is a priority while using continuous improvement techniques to further optimize each process.  Corrective action procedures are followed when needed to correct process instability.

During the Grave phase (7 Years) the program volume is down and the focus is to fulfill service part requirements for vehicle maintenance.  Ultimately production stops.  At this point if the parts are popular, aftermarket companies may start to produce the parts again for the after market.  This often happens with popular vehicles such as Corvettes, Vipers, Camaros, Firebirds, etc..

As this cycle occurs, Program Managers rotate through each phase of the cycle with each of their Programs.  Some organizations have different levels of Program Managers and there are hand offs when moving from one phase of the cycle to another.  For instance there may be a Program Manager that deals only with programs in development and launch phases.  Once they have completed these phases the Launch Manager hands the program off to a Program Manager that specializes in the daily production phase.  This is then handed off to a Program Manager that specializes in service parts and ultimately the discontinuation of the program.  This format depends on the size and layout of the organization they work for.

Program Managers MUST successfully coordinate many activities in a timely manor.  They MUST achieve the goals set forth by their customers and organization.  They MUST help to create a high quality vehicle/product that is widely accepted by the market in which the product is being sold.