PRAGMA TO OFFER CLIENTS CHANGE MANAGEMENT BUSINESS PROCESS
Over the years, change management has been identified as a key factor for the successful implementation of projects. Leading physical asset management company, Pragma, has recognised it as a key driver of value for customer engagements and has introduced its Change Management business process. This process was developed in conjunction with Change Systems, their change management partner.
Says Simone Theron, R&D Engineer at Pragma: “The purpose of the Change Management business process is to make the activities that constitute the change management process transparent and clear to those participating in the delivery of change management. Change can occur at the client as a result of the implementation of an Asset Care (AC) service or other asset management project or service intervention. Change can also occur as a result of internal projects, for example the implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.”
There are many benefits to using the Change Management business process. Theron continues: “Firstly, there is minimal disruption to daily operations during the implementation of the project. It also offers increased speed of adoption or how quickly the new system and process is used, as well as an increase in ultimate utilisation of a new system. Other benefits are increased proficiency i.e. how well a system and/or processes are used, as well as a facilitated transition and institutionalisation to the new way of working.”
The business process is designed to be delivered by Pragma project resources, supported by Change Systems. It is a project-based methodology well suited to the needs of Pragma. Adds Theron: “Apart from being integrated with the Asset Care Centre Foundations (ACCF) and Asset Maintenance Improvement Plan (AMIP) business processes, the Change Management business process is designed to be a standalone process that could be used in support of any large project such as a PAS 55 implementation, a large Asset Care Plan Developer (ACPD) project or a SAP PM implementation.”
The Change Management process runs in parallel with other key implementation activities. It determines how ready the client is for the change that a project or service will bring and also engages the client in the change process. Says Theron: “The asset management role players are sensitised in change management principles and the client leadership is aligned to ensure an effective transition process. An analysis is done to identify the parties who will be affected, and the resulting impact of the change. Based on the analyses a training plan is developed and executed. During and after the training, assessments are done to obtain feedback on the change process and to determine to what extent the change was successfully adopted. The Change Management process continues into the first part of the execution phase of the project.”
Theron continues: “The scope of the Change Management business process includes assessing the scope of the change during the Asset Care Centre sales process or any other large project implementation, to determine the type of change intervention required, as well as the change process through the implementation and execution of the AMIP and ACCF business processes or any other large project implementation. It runs in parallel with AMIP and ACCF for the duration of the implementation phase of a new ACC and roughly 4 months into the execution phase.”
Theron concludes: “It’s a new business process for Pragma. We began the planning process in September 2012 and started developing the details of the process in June 2013, completing initial development by the end of August. Change Management is in controlled release at the moment. We have to pilot the process, make the relevant updates and then it will be ready for commercial release.”
