Knowledge: Biomass
Satisfaction guaranteed
Helen Timperley, director of Wood Boiler Supplies, urges installers to utilise
Project Management to guarantee satisfied customers and better end results
e all know that the key to a happy customer is excellent
service… regardless of how good our product is or how
new and exciting the technology; if we don’t deliver what
we say we will, when we said we would, then that’s when
the customer feels let down.
The recent domestic RHI announcement is going to generate
an upsurge in renewable heating installations, which is great for the
industry; but what many of us fear is potential backlash from the
general public based on stories of poor installations and poor service.
Project Management is a tool that you can use to help ensure that
you are able to deliver the service that is going to get you recognised
by your customers and ensure that word of mouth recommendations
become your main advertising method!
W
they don’t like is being kept in the dark until the last minute.
Planning: Every project follows a lifecycle: Concept -> Planning
-> Execution -> Handover.
For renewable heating installations, planning is really important
Planning is not just time scheduling (which is a major part –
biomass boilers unfortunately don’t grow on trees, they have to be
ordered, and there is often a lead-time!), but also includes looking at
costs, deciding on the resources needed (both people and equipment),
and evaluating contingencies. Don’t get caught in the trap of being
under pressure to deliver projects sooner and more cost-effectively
than is realistic!
There are a wealth of skills that you can use from Project
Management to help you deliver the best installations – choose a few
that you think will work for you and try them out!
What is Project Management?
“At its most fundamental, project management is about people getting
things done”
Dr Martin Barnes
The Association of Project Managements (APM) definition of a project
is“a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned
objectives, which could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or
benefits. A project is usually deemed to be a success if it achieves the
objectives according to their acceptance criteria, within an agreed
timescale and budget.” Sounds like every one of your jobs, right? So
Project Management is just a way of managing things to get the best
result.
It is a huge subject, with many tools and techniques that you can
pick to best suit the size and scale of project that you are working on.
But a few key tips are:
Scope Management: Always spend as much time as you can in
the early stages to work out the full scope of the project. What are the
customers’ reasons for wanting renewable heat, how are they going to
use it, what budget do they have, how quickly do they need it installed,
what is the best design, how does it need to be integrated, what are
the risks? The list goes on. If you can accurately define the scope of
the project early on, then you will be able to plan and deliver much
more accurately; hence avoiding the otherwise inevitable consequence
of going over time, over budget, or not delivering the quality expected.
Stakeholder Management: Communication and expectation
management are key. You need to make sure that the end client, the
architect, any planning officials, and potentially other affected parties
are all in agreement, and understand what is going to be happening
and when. If things change (which they often do), then make sure that
everyone knows as soon as possible, and be able to tell them what the
new plan is. People understand that unexpected things happen – what
28 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
Covering the bases: Widespread use of Project Management will mitigate
the risk of poor customer service from within the sector, according to Helen
Timperley, director of Wood Boiler Supplies