By Lee Robertson
Lead Project Engineer
How many project engineers are currently at Blackwood?
Currently we have 5 PE’s and a Project Engineering intern, we have a range of experience and knowledge within the team.
How many projects /customers does each engineer have?
We’re currently tracking 201 projects, based on our tracker. Number of customers per Project Engineer varies as we have some customers that we only have a small number of projects with and then other customers which we have a lot. Customer requirements and expectations are all different, so we tend to base our project workload on estimated complexity of project and therefore, the workload required. As an estimate, we manage around 3-4 customer accounts each. We also have different types of projects such as the new product introduction as well as a lot of dual source projects currently. We endeavor to dual source from either India or China where possible to reduce supply risks and to give us more options to provide to our customer base. Each projects bring their own unique challenges, and no project is ever the same! It’s a learning experience every time, that is what keeps it interesting.
What tools or software do you use to manage projects and track progress?
Most of our focus when running a project is understanding the foundry capability and processes and working to meet or exceed the customer requirements for that project with the foundry we are working with. We also work closely during the early stages of a project (what we refer to as ‘sampling’) with our teams in the UK and Belgium if the part requires paint and finishing. In order to check progress of projects and ensure we are ready to proceed to the next stage of a project, we have various points in the project to assess the ongoing work. These are often referred to as ‘gates’. We have gates at quote stage, project handover/kick off, pre-shipment and project handover for ramp up.
One of our main processes for managing a project is our APQP process. APQP stands for ‘advanced product quality planning’ and is a well-known process in the Automotive sector. The APQP is an instrumental tool in identifying project risks at a very early stage, whether these be product related, timing related or something else. It’s main aim is both to understand the risks but it also works very well as a communication tool between us and foundry. We have two phases of our APQP.
Phase 1 is prior to pouring in which we use the APQP to assess if we are ready to produce samples based on simulation, material specification, part marking and initial jig concepts whereas phase two is prior to parts shipping where we focus on the PFMEA, control plan. The objective with phase two is to validate the process and check for both the process stability and quality controls in place at the foundry so that when we go into production, we have a really good understanding of the processes, and we are confident that all of the risks are mitigated.
The project teams use a project tracker day to day in which we monitor project timings vs the provided foundry plan and we use this tool to identify potential problems. We use this tool as a team to review the status of projects and work together to solve each other’s problems in weekly team project reviews.
How do you prioritise projects or tasks when resources are limited?
We try to make sure that we assign the correct amount of resource to a project based on its level of risk that we identify at the quotation stage of a project, areas such as complexity, timing, foundry, and customer all influence the overall amount of risk in a project. If we identify these risks then we will manage them by involving the relevant team as part of the project to lower the risk (for example technical for complex parts, logistics for delivery etc…).
We have our APQP structure that we use to manage our projects and they, for the most part, follow a similar format. We have regular calls and team discussions to understand what the team are dealing with day to day and to offer advice and support.
Primarily, we rely on the gates and regular monitoring of projects to manage and prioritise workloads.
Can you walk me through a typical project lifecycle at Blackwood—from initiation to closure?
Generally, all of our projects are ‘handed over’ by our commercials team. This handover is initiated after receiving a purchase order from the customer. The PE team are often aware of the project because we would have been involved at the early stages with both feasibility (which is also supported by the technical team) but PE’s are involved. We are also at the quote review phase in which we, as a team, review and compare the available costs from our foundries and make a decision based on various factors which quote we would present to the customer.
A standard project for a PE would entail the handover from commercials, requesting the PO to be raised for patterns and samples to the chosen foundry, managing the initial timings and communicating with the customer regarding outstanding requirements as well as working through the APQP with the foundry to further understand the product itself. On top of this, the PE is actively managing the project itself to make sure parts are delivered on time and that, when they do, the other teams that will be responsible for processing the parts are aware of its arrival and requirements so there is a lot of discussion with these teams, particularly as the project progresses. Once samples are shipped, the PE will work to gather all the required elements of the PPAP (production part approval process). This documentation forms the approval for the customer and the PE will work hard to gather all of the information and review it to both understand the process, but also ensure all risks are mitigated so we can go into production efficiently after approval is given.
Once the parts are provided and the customer has completed a fit up and approved the PPAP then the PE would look to close this project and handover to the purchasing team and production for ramp up.
Obviously, all these milestones require a huge amount of work in between. Day to day the PEs are managing lots of challenges and moving parts, collaborating closely with the wider team at both foundry, customer, and our production site to facilitate the resolving of them to keep a project running on time. Even with the APQP process, managing the project itself still requires a lot of forward thinking. A PE’s main task day to day is keeping all projects progressing whilst still meeting the drawing and specification requirements of the customer. No small task!
How do different departments collaborate on projects?
Throughout a project lifecycle there is points in which most teams’ involvement and input will be required whether that be purchasing at the start to process the parts through our ERP system and raising the PO’s or production and quality during pre-ship checklists or project handovers. We’ve worked hard over the last 3 years to really improve the opportunities for teams to collaborate at project phase and I believe we are seeing benefits to this approach. Again, the various gate reviews during the project phase from the initial technical feedback to quote review right through to pre ship checklist and project handover give an opportunity for all teams to get updates on the project itself which in turn helps to aid a smooth handover when the time comes to ramp up.
What are some common challenges you face in managing projects here, and how do you address them?
I’ve always said the PE’s role is to match the customer requirements to the foundry capability and the PE fills the gap, this is where the team adds value. Some of the common challenges we face are how to communicate our own and the customer requirements to the foundries, this is particularly prevalent in a time in which we are increasing our product portfolio and working with new foundries and suppliers in order to achieve this. We have a lot of support within the business to mitigate this risk through our China and India team but communicating our requirements and ensuring they are met is one of our biggest challenges.
I think the other key one is the customer requirements and the ever-changing industry in which we operate. Customer requirements around quality and delivery continue to increase with higher quality parts with accompanying PPAPs required on a shortened timeline as our customers continue to develop new machines. We must ensure that we are meeting these requirements and adapting. Our customers also work all very differently which is often an interesting element of how we manage our workloads and projects – no two projects are ever the same and each one has its own risks that need to be controlled.
How does Blackwood handle changes in project scope or unexpected delays?
I think we must be realistic at this point and highlight that these two things do happen whether it be with the customer, internally or at the foundry. In order to get a high-quality part out of a foundry on a short timeline requires a lot of correct decisions to made in the correct order at the correct time and every so often, this does not happen.
I believe our business is better than most in terms of how we can respond to these sorts of issues. We pride ourselves on our agility to meet our customer requirements and we are seeing more and more projects in which our customers need late design changes, prototype parts or parts reworked in the UK/Europe. Some of these can be mitigated through the project management process but when it cannot, we have a range of options including prototyping in China, the use of airfreight and reworking parts with our suppliers in Europe.
How do you manage stakeholders’ expectations, both internally and externally?
Communication – Communication is the key to almost all aspects of managing our projects. We try to complete the majority of the project work at the beginning of a project. Sometimes we deal with different customer contacts between the project being handed over from customer buyer to customer quality/engineering and sometimes we find that customer requirements have not been shared entirely. We find during occasions such as this, that ensuring open lines of communication between customer departments is key, ensuring everyone is working from the same page. There are very few benefits in waiting for something to change and an upfront approach with the customer is always the best way to find a solution in my experience. Building that relationship of trust between the PE and the customer is critical.
The same is also the case when working with internal stakeholders. One of the main challenges of managing a project is managing the people within the team. Everyone will have a different priority from the project and a different level of interest. Trying to steer a project through the various stakeholder requirements requires regular communication and an element of diplomacy. Everyone’s requirement is important to consider. However, we have to prioritise the ones that will ultimately lead to a successfully launched project with good quality, consistent parts that move smoothly through the supply chain. As long as all stakeholders are aware that this will be the priority of the PE during the project, any discussions around expectations are often clear from the outset. I firmly believe this is one of the key skills of a successful PE, being able to balance team expectations with keeping the project on track and within scope.
Can you share an example of a particularly challenging project and how you overcame obstacles?
We worked on a very challenging project at the end of 2024/beginning of 2025 which in my opinion perfectly summed up our strengths as a business and team. The project was for a well-established customer that we have a good, longstanding relationship with. However, the product that the customer required exhibited all the ‘high risk’ challenges that we would normally look to mitigate that the early phases of a project during quotation but due to the urgent nature, this just wasn’t feasible. The parts were a ductile iron part for a forklift that required welding to another assembly at the customer. The product line was new to us, we were working with a new foundry and the customer required samples quickly within (6 weeks) and we had a very aggressive ramp up to manage. To add additional issues, the project scope from the outset was not clear. There were remaining unanswered questions around the packaging requirements and some further questions around the fit up and some of the technical aspects of the part. We had very little communication from the customer in this area which adds to the challenge. We also had late changes on the project packaging once parts were on the sea which required significant process changes at our site in Dilsen to manage.
However, the team took on the challenge and really worked hard on this project. It was a project in which it felt like we showed our strengths in terms of being able to adapt, The PE took the role of managing this very high-profile project and managed the expectations of the stakeholders with customer and internally very well. It was a project that required significant buy in and support from all aspects of the team to meet the ambitious requirements and in my opinion, we really showed what we can do on a project like this. We identified the areas in which we needed to focus early on such as the jigs and part feasibility and we worked well with our teams in China to ensure the foundry delivered the parts correctly and that we were confident on the parts going into production. It really tested our processes and I’m pleased to say that thanks to the team involved, that project was delivered on time and to specification.
Is there any other information you would like to share?
Nothing really, I feel like I have talked a lot about our day to day and our processes!
My final comment is just to thank all our Blackwood Engineering colleagues throughout the business. The PE team could not deliver projects such as the one discussed previously without the individual team members expertise in their particular area. We rely heavily on the knowledge and willing of everyone in the business to get these over the line and for this, I am extremely grateful. We’re very lucky in our company that everyone is willing to work closely together to deliver a goal, regardless of who it benefits. In my experience, this strength is a rarity in manufacturing in an era in which it’s easy for teams within companies to become silo’d on ‘their process’ and I firmly believe this continued approach to working will help the business continue to grow.
