DWM Holdings: Texas Children's Hospital
This project shows DWM Holdings' successful collaboration with Cree Lighting. As a leading manufacturer of light poles, DWM Holdings prides itself on its reliable supply chain and diverse product range. This presentation will take you through the journey of managing a $5 million account for Cree Lighting, highlighting the challenges faced, solutions implemented, and the crucial role of project management in ensuring successful delivery.
Join me as we explore how I navigated complexities, overcame obstacles, and delivered high-quality light poles for a children's hospital in Texas, demonstrating our commitment to client satisfaction.
Project Overview

1

Project Initiation
Account valued at $5 million from Cree Lighting for round tapered steel and square straight steel light poles.

2

Design Phase
Collaborated with design team to meet specific requirements for the children's hospital light pole project.

3

Production
Coordinated manufacturing process to designers, developers and production to ensure quality and timely production.

4

Delivery
Managed logistics for shipment of completed light poles to the project site in Texas.
Project Challenges
Scope Creep
The project's requirements expanded beyond the initial agreement. The hospital wanted 50 additional lite poles for the south parking lot causing delays and necessitating resource reallocations. This challenge required careful management to maintain project timelines and budget constraints.
Unclear Objectives
Ambiguities in estimated start dates (ESD) led to inefficiencies and miscommunications among production team. This lack of clarity resulted in wasted time and effort as production team worked towards different interpretations of the project's aims.
Resource Allocation
The expanding scope and unclear objectives made it difficult to efficiently allocate resources (such as contractors and designers) across departments. This challenge required adjustments and strategic planning to make sure all aspects of the project were adequately supported.
Solution Process
1
Objective Refinement
I began a review of project goals with Cree Lighting. Through detailed discussions and documentation, I made sure all team members had a precise understanding of the requirements, eliminating ambiguities and setting clear expectations.
2
Scope Management
I implemented stricter change control processes to manage and mitigate scope creep. This included a formal change request system, impact assessments for proposed changes, and regular scope review meetings once a week to keep the project focused and aligned with its core objectives.
3
Cross-Department Coordination
Communication and collaboration between designers, developers, production, and logistics teams was enhanced by identifying each individuals prefeed method of communication. Regular cross-functional meetings were established, and a centralized project dashboard was created to keep all stakeholders informed and aligned on project progress and challenges.
Project Manager's Role
Project Leadership
As the Project Manager, I took charge of the entire project lifecycle, from initial planning to final delivery. This involved creating the project charter, getting buy in from our external stakeholders, defining milestones, and ensuring all activities aligned with the overall project goals and client expectations.
Communication Facilitation
I acted as the central point of communication, facilitating dialogue between all teams and stakeholders. This included organizing regular status weekly meetings, producing clear action plan, meeting minutes and agendas and ensuring that all parties were kept informed of progress, challenges, and changes.
Scope and Change Management
A key responsibility was managing and adapting to scope changes while maintaining project schedules and budget. This involved implementing a change control process, negotiating with stakeholders, and making critical decisions to keep the project on track.
Strategic Problem-Solving
I led the effort in identifying and resolving project issues, developing strategies to overcome challenges, and implementing solutions to keep the project moving forward efficiently.
Technology Utilized
Jira
I was able to leveraged Jira's project tracking capabilities to manage tasks, deadlines, and workflows. Its customizable boards and reporting features allowed me to maintain a clear overview of project progress and quickly identify any bottlenecks or delays.
  • Task assignment and tracking
  • Sprint planning and management
  • Custom workflows for different project phases
Asana
Asana served as my primary platform for team collaboration and communication. Its user interface and project views made information sharing and task management across departments simple.
  • Team-wide communication
  • File sharing and version control
  • Project timeline visualization
Trello
Trello's visual board system was instrumental in managing specific deliverables and stages of the production process. It provided a clear, at-a-glance view of progress and helped streamline our workflow.
  • Kanban-style task management
  • Production stage tracking
  • Quick updates and status changes