Hempel Coating Management

Introduction

As part of Hempel’s newly formed service organisation, a number of development projects of new services have been planned coupled with several operational upgrades. A foundational service offering is “coating advisory”. This service includes sending expert coating advisors to oversee surface preparation and coating application of the products. Initially Hempel acquired two levels of coating advisory, Standard coating advisory and Premium coating advisory. After collaborating with key customers, a third level was developed for the marine segment where the company took over the responsibility of planning the dry docking projects. Dry docking projects are referring to fixed duration re-coatings of vessels, which takes place every five years according to regulatory requirements. In marine, this new service was called “Project Management”. Therefore, the scope of this project was to develop a similar third tier service for the protective segments. By doing so, they offer more than premium coating advisory and they could provide more value and earn more per hour.

Tools

Iron Triangle

Iron triangle illustrates the relationship between cost, time and quality (TCQ). When planning a project, the project managers are highly advised to take into consideration these three parameters. TCQ model is considered to be an useful management tool to show management focus and measure any management success. The project manager has to have the proper knowledge regarding the relations between the constraints of TCQ and the right ones get prioritized in their project.

Application of tool

On the hempen project, time and quality was the two constraints that were prioritized. Such prioritisation helps project team to make quick decisions and focus effort on what is most relevant. Quality is very significant parameter since delivering trusted services and premium coating advisory are mainly implemented in this project. Time is also a highly influential factor in this case, as this specific concept had been attempted and failed in the past. Therefore, the Hempel case can be located at the middle of time and quality constraints.

Value Proposition Canvas - Romina

SWOT Analysis - Ian

Identification is the first step in uncertainty analysis. It is necessary to identify all possible risks and develop risk management by focusing attention where needed. It is also important to specify the objective of the project and identify the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective. SWOT tool is appropriate to implement the strengths and weaknesses that arise from within the company, as well as the opportunities and threats from external sources [6].

Figure 11: SWOT analysis Based on the information from the interviews a SWOt analysis was carried out. It seems that the main threat of the case is the competition that Hempel will have to face in the future, by expanding their portfolio into advanced coating management. As the project manager mentioned himself, there are several companies in this area that offer the service of coating management in other large companies and clients for free, and this occasion appears to be a threat. However, through this project Hempel develops more premium coating advisory, including maintenance training and advanced services offered by charge. By another point of view, this differentiation can be identified as an opportunity to increase their profits and strengthen their customer relationships.

Risk Assessment - Dimitra