David Halm

David has been with PSI for 8 years, but more than 20 years in project management.  He came to PSI with extensive experience in manufacturing, managing capital projects, and managing process improvement projects and has continued to broaden his scope.

His body of knowledge in cross-industry project management includes hands-on experience in:

• facility modernization and expansion in USA – including design, construction, manufacturing layouts, and equipment sourcing;
• facility construction and start-up in Mexico- including design, construction, manufacturing layouts, and equipment sourcing;
• process improvement projects delivering improvements in quality and cost;
• New Product Introductions (NPI) – USA and international (mostly in China);
• New Product Development (NPD);
• vendor selection;
• marketing campaigns;
• purchasing and other cost reduction.

David’s biggest reward in working with clients is problem solving and helping people.  He explains, “We at PSI enter most situations where the team is uncertain about project scope and schedule requirements.  We often go in to the project with very little background knowledge of the specific requirements, but we are well-armed with an effective methodology.  When we finish, the team understands what they need to work on, how it fits into the big picture, and the road map that will take them through successful project delivery.”

David has a real passion for working one-on-one with project managers.  He is able to mentor them in behavioral subtleties that can help them improve from a leadership perspective.  while providing them with observations and suggestions regarding team dynamics.  It is an important aspect often overlooked and leading to:

1. Failure to properly establish expectations, roles, responsibilities and support structure.
2. Failure to understand that good project management is simply a matter of discussing project requirements and issues on a proactive basis as opposed to discussing them in a reactive manner when things fall apart.  As a colleague once said:  “project discussions are not discretionary; what is discretionary is the timing of when we have them”.
3. Failure to understand the more intangible benefits of a structured project management approach…communications, employee development, morale, etc.

“Organizations rarely offer any kind of formal mentoring.  People that have excelled in individual roles are often placed in positions where, for the first time, their success is dependent on leading others, but they are not given the tools or the guidance needed to thrive.

In the absence of natural leadership or personal experience, a structured process can “prop-up” an individual that is in a new role.  Similarly, in the absence of a structured process, an individual that possesses natural leadership or experience will probably take the steps necessary to succeed.  However, an individual that lacks natural leadership, does not have the benefit of experience, and is working without the support of an established process is almost certainly doomed to fail.”