role manager

[ehigo]

Bye to all,
I am a young engineer, I am 31 years old and 4 years of experience behind me in mechanical calculation and about 3 years in committed management regarding industrial plants, but in this last role I am not finding myself very well and for this I wanted to ask for an opinion/ opinion to more experienced people of me.

my role as project manager is to participate in meetings with the customer, to be the main point of reference for my colleagues and the customer for any subject inherent to the project, to program the issue of documents related to engineering and quality, to check the purchase of materials and to verify that everything goes according to the times doing expediting if it serves.

little instead of seeing with the economic part, I only find myself communicating the extra costs that tells me the commercial, I do not control the budget of the contract.

the thing that puts me more in difficulty is the part of the construction of the plants, as I do not plan these activities and I have no power in the management of this last, which is done entirely by the production manager.

for this when things go wrong, it often happens unfortunately, I find myself having to justify delays in manufacturing and giving explanations to the customer, inventing a lot of excuses, on a topic where I have no power, as the only thing I can do is to report the delay in management.

basically wind labeled by the customer as bad project manager, but I actually have no power over the management of the staff in the workshop.

What do you think? is it normal for the role of project manager such a situation?

 

[PIETRO2002]

I understand very well what you feel, simplifying you're between the nightmare and the hammer! in companies that make plants and machinery on orders is very normal that there are delays, price increases and various cases.
logically you can't do everything, from production management to accounting, but being the final filter before you get to the customer, you should always be informed in detail about progress work.
here depends on how the company is structured, but above all on the climate in the company, if for example the production manager is a character who doesn't want or can't work in team.. starts to be a big problem.
I'm sorry if I didn't answer your question, or I said something.

 

[meccanicamg]

changes company. who is giving you the salary has not properly structured the roles and responsibilities. It is not easy, but they learn to let employees handle or they continue to do so in a usually messed up way. as long as there are useful works....poi puf.

 

[TETRASTORE]

I hope you know well what are the tasks of a project manager and possibly read this document and go if you identify yourself in the profile described.
you have to understand what your real skills and skills are in aggregating people, interacting with them to get the most of the collaboration (this cannot impose the company but you have to do it).
if you are not active in the commit budget is not important, but it is essential that you have control over the containment of costs with continuous monitoring and also here you must communicate and interact with those who follow this activity.
if the production follows the others, you must demand to be informed constantly and intervene if they need corrective interventions, gathering people and possibly informing the direction if you see that the collaboration is missing.
I have the feeling that in your company, as in others, you work in stagnant compartments trying to download any failures on others.you have to evaluate your leadership skills by acquiring authority also towards the direction by exposing your ideas about it and clarifying your role.

only after trying, if you see that you remain a simple performer, you can change company, but remember that wherever you go you will always be the smith of your destiny; It is difficult for the dish to be served warm ready to consume.

 

[PIETRO2002]

I hope you know well what are the tasks of a project manager and possibly read this document and go if you identify yourself in the profile described.
you have to understand what your real skills and skills are in aggregating people, interacting with them to get the most of the collaboration (this cannot impose the company but you have to do it).
if you are not active in the commit budget is not important, but it is essential that you have control over the containment of costs with continuous monitoring and also here you must communicate and interact with those who follow this activity.
if the production follows the others, you must demand to be informed constantly and intervene if they need corrective interventions, gathering people and possibly informing the direction if you see that the collaboration is missing.
I have the feeling that in your company, as in others, you work in stagnant compartments trying to download any failures on others.you have to evaluate your leadership skills by acquiring authority also towards the direction by exposing your ideas about it and clarifying your role.

only after trying, if you see that you remain a simple performer, you can change company, but remember that wherever you go you will always be the smith of your destiny; It is difficult for the dish to be served warm ready to consume.

"healthy" word!

 

[ehigo]

thanks to all for advice! I am not going to change the company at the moment, I just wanted an opinion because I am finding myself in a moment of difficulty!

 

[PIETRO2002]

It's understandable that your "disease," therapist told you a lot... don't feel guilty about things that don't just depend on you, try to do the most, even live negative situations, if you look with the right perspective they teach a lot! Then if things don't change, you're still young and you can find other opportunities!

 

[TETRASTORE]

I just wanted an opinion because I'm finding myself in a difficult time!

The project manager is a leading team that has an operational role, defines the scope and objectives of the project, so as to meet the general strategic needs that have been indicated to him, plans and directs the execution of the project.
It also provides to integrate in a unitary whole the contributions of all individuals and all participating units, planning, organizing, managing, guiding and controlling activities to the end.
I press that it is not an easy position.
I hope my previous comment did not emphasize your difficulties; My intent was just to spur you to react.one of the essential requirements is to have good stress resistance.I don't know your preparation in this matter, but I suggest you document with the extensive documentation (example with a case study) and bibliography available online in addition to the numerous videos like this (at base level).
If you want to succeed and manage the various situations it is necessary that you documents, form proposals, expose ideas and you must keep you constantly updated.

 

[ehigo]

thanks for the advice and all the useful information, I will study well documents to improve.
the problem I see most is that I do not plan production activities, as the plan does the production and at the same time it is difficult to control them many times, because besides the project manager I make mechanical sizing of the plants. so sometimes I have to decide whether to prioritize the design or management committed, because doing both things full-service is impossible

 

[TETRASTORE]

so sometimes I have to decide whether to prioritize the design or management committed, because doing both things full-service is impossible

In this case then I assume that the problem that afflicts you is more attributable to the excessive workload.
I suggest that you detail all the activities that have assigned you as a project manager and as a design, attributing to each one an estimated indicative time, then present your report to the management pointing out that with time and resources at your disposal you cannot fulfill all the tasks assigned without incurring in disservices that create discomfort to customers and lend the image of the company.
also prepares a list of what you could do best by choosing, at your discretion, between project manager and design activities, advancing and arguing your request for support or job reduction.
if you also have some idea how to better organize the work expose it without fear.If you want to have the possibility that your requests are taken seriously, it is important that they be detailed, documented and argued.

 

[gianni55]

in the company where I worked, the project manager also participated in the drafting of the quote sharing with the various agencies and controlled the budget during the activity. the production manager fully managed the internal resources (can not manage the project) but had to respond to the management of the planned timing. in case of criticality the project required corrective actions (foreigners, external suppliers etc.) and each decision was collegial and approved by the management. significant delays or extra costs should be justified and agreed with the customer in meetings where the parties involved (project, commercial etc.) and possibly in the most severe cases, the direction that is the authoritative figure that gives importance to the customer and that can put the right pressure on the actors of the scene.
the project should not stammer excuses, but predict criticalities, report them in time, propose solutions and demand the application in the limit of possible. it gets ugly especially if you are incapable, while if sometimes you get dirty to defend your team this is part of the role, the important thing is that there is a team...

 

[Mario SJPD]

the project should not stammer excuses, but predict criticalities, report them in time, propose solutions and demand the application in the limit of possible. it gets ugly especially if you are incapable, while if sometimes you get dirty to defend your team this is part of the role, the important thing is that there is a team...

Sante parole.

 

[IronMike87]

the raw reality is that in Italy the role of project manager is seen by most companies like that of the useful idiot.
a lightning bolt that shields against customer complaints (they are these lecites or not), and that draws a nice gantt to show during meetings, preferably in excel so that you can change it at will ... never be that then you go to use a suitable tool that allows to monitor also the load of resources (because so you would realize that much of these are overloaded: ops!)

if we had to look at what the pmi says, the project manager should be the only manager of the project, flanked in case by a team of junior pm and by all the technical figures of reference, supervised perhaps by a senior pm or directly by the program manager.
the pm should then participate in all phases of the project, from the management of the budget (of which it is responsible) to that of quality, from the monitoring of resources to the communications with the stakeholders.
the pm then is not for necessity a technical figure, another great misunderstanding all Italian that should be clearly clarified.

If yours is a small medium reality, it may be that there are serious misunderstandings because culture in this regard is very poorly diffused. However, it is not an attenuator for the big work equivocal that is perpetrating. or you can fix it internally, or it's better to change.

If we're talking about a structured company, then I'd really recommend running away beforehand, since it's possible that he put you in that role with that depotential function, he did it foolishly.