Strength. Performance. Passion.

PMA – At a Glance
Learning Activities
Project Management Approach

HGRS Knowledge Management

Capability Development Programs

PMA - Project Management Approach at a Glance

Lessons learned Lessons learned

from other projects for new projects

The Five Phase model is the basis of the Holcim PMA. It is practical, simple, directly
Getting
applicable and is supported by tools, technics and guidelines
people to work
systematically, The cement industry is a capital intensive busi- The PMA divides the project life cycle in 5 phases
to use availa- ness. Executing projects within expected cost and with 25 underlying steps (see diagram). Whate-
time targets is crucial for the long term success of ver size and contents a project may have, it will
ble knowledge
Holcim. In the late 90s Holcim decided to intro- always go through the 5 phases. Only the level of
repeatedly duce a standard Project Management Approach detail when using the PMA differs as the comple-
and to impro- (PMA) for developing and executing all types of xity of projects varies.

ve with every projects within the business.

project
The Project Management Approach (PMA) is a
generic project management methodology to be
applied any type of projects managed by Holcim
employees. It provides a logical and practical
approach in the area of project management,
creating a common language within the Holcim
Group.
This methodology consists of 5 phases and 25
steps covering the whole Project Management
life cycle. It covers most of the 9 Knowledge areas
of PMI’s PMBoK, and it is supported by a series of
project templates. Special emphasis is made in
the definition and closing and evaluation phases,
to enable knowledge sharing within the Holcim
Group.

2 Holcim Knowledge Management

 Capability Development Programs
Larger and more complex pro-
jects are increasingly common
today. The Holcim PMA tackles
this fact and assists you in
completing projects on time,
within budget and to the
client expectations

Key Principles of PMA Roll-out

The PMA roll-out to ~80 countries was based on 3 key principles: In each country and company
where Holcim has operations,
• Active Management involvement:
there is a team of local trainers
Projects require a regular involvement of management throughout its life.
Project Clients (owners or sponsors) participate in workshops regularly to define, who provide support and training
steer and close the project. in the PMA to local employees.

• On the Job-Training:
Training happens through application of the methodology on actual projects,
with the support of internally trained facilitators. Training and coaching for the 5
phases lasts on average 3 days per team.

• Local Multiplication:
The involvement of local trainers provides continuous coaching and transfer of
know-how within the company and Group companies.

Holcim Knowledge Management 3

Capability Development Programs

Project Management Capability

Back in 1999, Holcim decided to introduce a standard project
management methodology across the whole Group:
The Project Management Approach (PMA).
The implementation of PMA in all Holcim Group Companies
contributed to get people to work systematically, using
available knowledge repeatedly, improving project results (time,
cost, quality, business impact).
Over the last few years, complementary training programs
and tools have been developed to continue improving project
and management performance, such as Project Portfolio
Management and Solve! (Systematic Problem Solving).
Key activities in this area are:
• Implementing the Holcim standard Project Management
Approach Group-wide including courses for Users and
Trainers.
• Further developing competencies of Project Managers via
Regional Project Manager Seminars
• Introducing Project Portfolio Management for prioritizing,
approving and monitoring all projects within a certain
function, Group Company and/or region
• Training and coaching in Solve! in order to eliminate
problems that affect performance.

4 Holcim Knowledge Management

 Capability Development Programs
Project Management Approach (PMA)
The Project Management Approach (PMA) is
the standard methodology to manage projects
in Holcim. It develops fundamental Project
Management skills to enable completion of
projects in time, on cost and according to
specifications in order to achieve expected
business objectives.

There are 2 main courses offered: PMA Users course

and PMA Train-the-Trainer

PMA Users Course

Learning Objectives:
Understand the key principles, concepts and terminology
behind the Holcim Project Management Approach (PMA)
for application in your own projects

Target Audience:
Employees who need to understand PMA in order to
manage or contribute to projects in their departments,
or who have little or no project management training.
PMA can be used in all kind of projects, such as plant
operations and support, marketing & sales, information
technology, business planning, human resources, etc.

Program Details:
Duration: 2 days
Location: Holderbank, Switzerland or
locally (on request)
Language: English, Spanish, French, German
Contact: Mariel.Walti@holcim.com

PMA Train-the-Trainer

Learning Objectives: Program Details:

Learn the Holcim Project Management Approach and develop the Duration: 8 days

skills required to train and coach others in using PMA for their own Location: Holderbank, Switzerland or locally (on request)

projects. Language: English, Spanish, French, German

Contact: Mariel.Walti@holcim.com
Target Audience:
Employees who will assume the role of PMA trainer within their area
of responsibility, department or company (see Profile Local Coach
and Local Trainer in the Holcim Portal under Project Management).
Trainers should be appointed for all areas such as plant operations
and support, marketing & sales, information technology, business
planning, human resources, etc.

Holcim Global Learning 5

Capability Development Programs

Project Manager Seminar

Target Audience
The PM Seminar focuses on advanced project management skills
as well as the necessary interpersonal competencies to initiate,
Current and future Project Managers from all areas (Cement
plan, execute, control and close projects successfully. Particular
Manufacturing, Marketing & Sales, Ready-Mixed Concrete,
attention is paid to the leadership, team building and influencing
Aggregates, IT, Human Resources, etc.)
competencies of a project manager.

Program Details:
Learning Objectives
Duration 5 days

•• Improve project manager capacity to handle projects by enhancing their Location Regional Asia

overall knowledge and skills in project management. Regional Europe

Regional Latin America
•• Understand links between globally-recognized project management prac- Language English and Spanish
tices and Holcim procedures and tools (i.e. PMA and ProMap). Contact: Mariel.Walti@holcim.com
•• Improve planning, execution and control of projects (time, cost and scope).

6 Holcim Knowledge Management

 Capability Development Programs
Project Portfolio Management (PPM)

Portfolio management is the process of prioritizing,

selecting, executing and controlling projects within an
organization, according to the business plan, to achieve
companies’ strategic objectives.

Why Project Portfolio Management?

All Holcim Group Companies start tens if not hundreds of

projects each year. In 2008 CAPEX projects added to 4.3 billion
CHF Holcim-wide.

Management is confronted with the following issues:

•• Too many active projects.
•• No formal processes for project prioritization.
•• Lack of planning and management of resources
•• Important budget and cash flows deviations
•• Project delays that jeopardize achievement of annual
business targets

What is a Project Portfolio Management?

Project Portfolio Management is the centralized management of

one or more portfolios which includes:
•• Identifying and prioritizing,
•• Planning and approving,
•• Managing and controlling,
•• and evaluating . . . projects, programs and other tasks

Which Project Portfolio Management systems are available?

Holcim Virtual Project Control (VPC); this tool is the first system
available in Holcim to support the application of the PPM process.
It was developed between 2002 and 2005, at a time when vendor
systems available in the market were rather immature and
expensive. The VPC is simple solution that supports the whole
PPM process.

SAP Project and Portfolio Management (PPM); this is one of the

latest developments of SAP in the area of Project and Portfolio
Management. SAP PPM brings under 1 solution different modules
previously available independently such as Project System
(PS), collaboration Projects (cProjects) and xRPM (Resource and
Portfolio Management)

Contact: Mariel.Walti@holcim.com

Holcim Knowledge Management 7

Capability Development Programs

Solve! (Systematic Problem Solving)

Solve! is the standard problem solving process of
Holcim. It develops critical thinking skills using
objective information to eradicate problems that
affect performance (e.g. OEE, MTBF, LTIFR, customer
satisfaction, etc.)

There are 2 main courses offered: Solve! for problem solvers

and Solve! Train-the-Trainer

Solve! for Problem Solvers

Learning Objectives:
Learn the principles and tools supporting each of the steps
of the Solve! process, to be able to apply them immediately
after this session: how to quantify and prioritize problems,
how to identify and determine root causes, how to select and
implement the most effective solutions.

Target Audience:
Group heads, consultants, managers, supervisors who lead
problem solving teams or support others in problem solving in
the following areas: production, quality, maintenance, safety,
customer support, management systems (ISO), AFR, IT, HR, etc.

Program Details:
Duration 2 days
Location Holderbank, Switzerland or locally (on request)
Language English, Spanish, French, German
Contact: Mariel.Walti@holcim.com

Solve! Train-the-Trainer

Learning Objectives: Program Details:

In addition to the learning objectives of the “Solve! for Problem Duration: 4 days
Solvers” course, participants learn the skills required to train and Location: Holderbank, Switzerland or locally (on request)
coach others in using Solve! on their own, real problems. Language: English, French, German, Spanish
Contact: Mariel.Walti@holcim.com
Target Audience:
Employees who will assume the role of internal Solve! trainers,
to not only train but also coach and support others in problem
solving, in the following areas: production, maintenance,
quality, safety, customer support, management systems (ISO),
AFR, IT, HR, etc.

8 Holcim Knowledge Management

 Capability Development Programs
PMA Security Check List
All relevant stakeholders are identified and
explicity involved The project progress is reviewed regularly to
ensure that schedule, budget and delivera-
bles meet the objectives

Project deliverables are precisely defined and

agreed by the project client

The approach focuses on teamwork and cross

functional communication

Relevant risks and opportunities are

considered

A common language on project management

is estaablished between Group companies

Tangible techniques support you to plant

at the proper level of detail

Project evaluation and knowledge transfer con-

tribute to exchange of knowledge

Holcim Knowledge Management 9

Holcim Group Support Ltd
Information Knowledge Management
Project Management
Im Schachen
CH-5113 Holderbank Switzerland
www.holcim.com
Phone +41 58 858 56 30
Fax +41 58 858 56 33