Integration Of The Hr Systems At Riordan

Riordan Manufacturing Overview

Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics manufacturer employing 550 people with projected annual earnings of $46 million. The company is wholly owned by Riordan Industries, a Fortune 1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of $1 billion.

The company was founded by Dr. Riordan, a professor of chemistry, who had obtained several patents relative to processing polymers into high tensile strength plastic substrates. Sensing the commercial applications for his patents, Dr. Riordan started Riordan Plastics, Inc. in 1991.

Riordan Manufacturing's products include plastic beverage containers produced at its plant in Albany, Georgia, custom plastic parts produced at its plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and plastic fan parts produced at its facilities in Hangzhou, China. The company's research and development is done at the corporate headquarters in San Jose. Riordan's major customers are automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers and bottlers, and appliance manufacturers.

The Mission, Goals, and Objectives of Riordan Manufacturing

Our Focus

Ð'* Six Sigma, leading edge R&D and exceeding ISO 9000 standards define the attitude and abilities of Riordan Manufacturing.

Ð'* We are industry leaders in using polymer materials to provide solutions to our customer's challenges.

Ð'* Our R&D is, and will remain, the industry leader in identifying industry trends.

Our Customer Relationships

Ð'* We will strive to be a solution provider for our customers and not be a part of our customers challenges.

Ð'* Long-term relationships will be sought by maintaining rigorous quality controls, innovative solutions, a responsive business attitude and reasonable pricing.

Our Employees

Ð'* We will maintain an innovative and team oriented working environment.

Ð'* By assuring that our employees are well informed and properly supported, we will provide a climate focused on the long term viability of our company.

Our Future

Ð'* We must be focused in achieving and maintaining reasonable profitability to assure that the financial and human capital is available for sustained growth.

Project Concept and Approach

The new HR system is to combine the existing variety of tools in use today into a single integrated application. This system will take advantage of a more sophisticated, state-of-the art, information systems technology in our Human Resources department. The project should be completed in approximately six months, so the new system can be utilized in the second quarter of next year.

When completed, the system should define the business requirements for the development of an HR system and create a detailed project plan that provides a list of all the tasks, resources, schedule and budget required to complete the project.

The project will be managed using a modified waterfall technique and a JAD management process. In this approach, the initial two phases of the project will be fully defined and approved before starting to work on the subsequent phases. Starting in the implementation phase, concurrent tasks occur. In this phase, documentation of the system will start and continue through the design, development, and installation of the system. The design and implementation phases follow a modified waterfall approach. The PM team will provide weekly status reports to the project sponsor so that real time corrections can be accomplished. Once the project sponsor has determined that each phase has met its purpose and provided the required approval, the next phase can begin.

The stakeholders of this project will include the project sponsor, project manager, and representatives from human resources, the IT department, and accounting. The Project Sponsor is Hugh McCauley who will review and approve the completion of each phase of the project. The project manager is a contractor, Bob Havens.

The following is a list of the phases, the tasks involved in, the estimated duration of, and brief description of each phase.

1.0 Define Problem

The business case and proposed solution are examined to verify that they are appropriately defined and address the organizational and need. A high-level schedule is developed for subsequent SDLC phases.

1.1 Define business problem and scope (4 days). The initial discussion with project sponsor and project manager to discuss overview of system occurs. Team members are identified and requested to attend orientation meeting. Team determines methods for communication, approval, and determining guidelines.

1.2 Form project management team (3 days). The team is gathered by the project manager. Additional members may be asked to join to represent Riordan's departments.

1.3 Perform feasibility study (7 days). A feasibility study is performed by project management (PM) team which will produce a report containing technical, operational, and financial assessments.

1.4 Produce project schedule (2 days). The proposed schedule is prepared by the PM team and provided to the project sponsor for approval.

1.5 Prepare budget (2 days). The proposed budget is prepared by the PM team and provided to the project sponsor for approval.

1.6 Project approval (3 days). The initial concept of the project is approved by the project sponsor. Three days are given for the approval process so that any adjustments to proposed schedule, budget, or scope can be re-evaluated and made.

1.7 Launch official announcement. Email is sent from Hugh McCauley to management team describing problem, team formed, summary of feasibility study, and estimated project completion date.

Deliverables Ð'- Problem definition report, feasibility report, team member role, and initial project scope, schedule, and budget.

2.0 Analyze Situation

In this phase, the requirements of the project are described in as much detail as possible.

2.1