Navigate Projects Safely with Buffer Traffic Lights

Many companies rely on Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) to ensure on-time delivery, short lead times, and capacity management—all of which are critical to success. This approach focuses not only on the tasks themselves but also on the dependencies and resources required to complete them. Through the use of buffers and focused management, CCPM ensures that projects are completed more reliably within their timeframes. If a company wants to actively implement the CCPM philosophy, specific CCPM functions and the visualization of information critical for managing and prioritizing projects not only provide clarity but also offer strategic benefits. The CCPM functions and visualization features of the CCPM method are not included in the standard scope of classic SAP modules, such as the SAP Project System. For this reason, the packaging machinery manufacturer Koch Pac-Systeme decided, as part of its transition to SAP, to implement add-ons that map CCPM within SAP.

Koch Pac-Systeme is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of packaging machines, specializing in blister packaging machines, carton packaging machines, and packaging lines. Thanks to their modular design, the packaging technologies developed by this specialty machine manufacturer enable customized solutions for consumer goods, healthcare products, and contact lenses. Today, this technology leader employs approximately 450 people at its production site in Pfalzgrafenweiler and at service branches worldwide. With more than fifty years of experience, the company became part of the Uhlmann Group.

Migration to S/4

This was accompanied by the transition to SAP S/4 HANA, which allows us to manage projects company-wide using consistent data. „In our old ERP solution, we had integrated features that enabled us to put the CCPM philosophy into practice. With the transition to SAP, the question arose of how we could implement CCPM in the new system as well,“ explains Hans-Martin Keppler, responsible for Business Processes and Applications at Koch Pac-Systeme, describing the situation that led the company to begin searching for a suitable add-on provider. This task was taken on by an external project manager who also oversaw the SAP migration. In particular, the goal was to integrate a graphical capacity utilization view per workstation, spread across the entire remaining project duration, in order to be able to assess any potential backlogs.

„The selection of suitable solutions wasn’t very large. With SAP Lean/Critical Project Management and the PS Capacity Analysis app, Milliarum’s complete package won us over,“ says Christoph Mogath, a key user at Koch Pac-Systeme, describing the selection process. A key factor was the opportunity to visit a reference customer and experience the integration of CCPM into SAP with the Milliarum add-ons firsthand on-site. „The applications accurately reflect the logic behind how we plan and execute projects, including the graphical display of work queues,“ adds Hans-Martin Keppler.

Traffic Light System Monitors Project Progress

With the PS Capacity Analysis and the Milliarum SAP Lean/Critical Project Management system, project and production managers always maintain control over their resources. Much like an intelligent traffic light that not only controls the current flow of traffic but also prevents delays, the project status is visually represented. Green indicates machines and employees operating at optimal capacity: everything is running smoothly here. Yellow signals an impending over- or underutilization, allowing for targeted corrective action. Red indicates impending bottlenecks or schedule delays. Through early identification of the critical chain, visual analyses based on SAP data, and integrated buffer management, it is possible not only to shorten lead times but also to significantly improve on-time delivery. The CCPM methodology is based on the Theory of Constraints, which assumes that every value chain is determined by at least one limiting element—the bottleneck. By specifically managing this bottleneck, the performance and efficiency of the entire chain can be optimized.

„Our solutions provide users with a management tool that enables them to manage their projects in a stable, efficient manner with maximum transparency,“ says Steffen Wester-Ebbinghaus, CEO of Milliarum. This enables project managers to quickly prioritize tasks, resolve bottlenecks, and make sound decisions before projects come to a standstill. „The work queue is the key element of CCPM: With Milliarum, we’ve implemented a traffic-light system there. Instead of managing deadlines, we manage the flow,“ says Hans-Martin Keppler. The team at Koch Pac-Systeme was particularly impressed by the dynamic capacity views, as they lacked corresponding graphical representations in the standard SAP system.

Bringing CCPM to Life in SAP

To implement the add-ons, it is necessary to prepare the projects in SAP so that Milliarum can process the data. The Milliarum CCPM solution is fully integrated with the SAP Project System (PS) and SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and utilizes existing SAP data without redundancy. As a result, data is available throughout the entire value chain, and extensions—such as those for service orders—can be flexibly implemented.

The Milliarum tools access the SAP database for all process steps. Milliarum provided close on-site support for this at Koch Pac-Systeme. The close collaboration between the internal project team, external SAP consultants, and Milliarum was crucial to the successful implementation. „It was a very effective collaboration that enabled us to continue using the CCPM methodology and capacity views without any setbacks even after the migration to S/4 HANA,“ summarizes Hans-Martin Keppler. For Koch Pac-Systeme, this offers the advantage in project management that planning incorporates buffers at the end of the process, thereby safeguarding delivery dates. This approach made it possible to reduce lead times.

Projects are managed based on buffer consumption rather than traditional schedule milestones, with the goal of making optimal use of the total buffer and ensuring the project is completed on time. This allows project managers to see at a glance where bottlenecks are occurring and where attention is needed. „This is a perfect fit for our project business in special-purpose machine manufacturing: there, you often have to adapt to new situations,“ says Christoph Mogath. This allows us to manage a wide variety of work streams simultaneously and respond dynamically to project progress.

About 80 users at KochPac-Systeme use the PS capacity analysis and the Milliarum SAP Lean/Critical Project Management. They particularly appreciate the capacity view, which they find flexible, clear, and scalable. Individual customization requests were also taken into account. For example, remaining capacities were allocated over the remaining duration, allowing for more reliable assessments of the project status.

Active projects are always running in the background. Those in charge have clear access to the entire project management toolkit: For example, they can change the date, extend tasks, or reschedule deadlines directly within the interface. KochPac Systems also initiated the color scheme for the buffer traffic light. Today, users particularly appreciate the appealing graphical display. „Milliarum has been very flexible in accommodating our customization requests. These have since paid off,“ says Hans-Martin Keppler. Users also appreciate the ability to make bulk data changes via the worklist, allowing multiple network activities to be confirmed at once. The SAP standard does not offer this feature: there, it is necessary to confirm status updates one activity at a time. This way, changes can be grouped by project or work center, which significantly reduces the manual effort required.

Overall Buffer: On Track for the Target Date

Before switching to SAP, Koch Pac-Systeme relied on flexible software designed for small and medium-sized businesses. The transition to the complex world of SAP was a major project. „With Milliarum, we’ve found a counterpart to our previous solution that meets our requirements for implementing the CCPM methodology in SAP,“ says Hans-Martin Keppler. With the new tools, CCPM is not only understood but also put into practice: Instead of getting lost in the fog of vague schedules, the traffic-light system clearly shows where the project stands. Green means: everything is running smoothly. Yellow signals: take a closer look now. And red means: take action together before the situation becomes critical. This way, project management isn’t based on gut feelings but on data-driven decisions: transparent, focused, and on a clear course toward the target date.
The focus here is not on strictly monitoring each individual task against its deadline, but rather on managing the overall buffer that ensures the project is completed on time. „We’re glad that we’ve stabilized our processes and successfully completed the transition to S/4. There’s no reason to change anything.“ Koch benefits from the continuous development of Milliarum’s solutions.
Plans are already underway to implement the SAP UI5 Overview Pages for CCPM and PS and to provide AI capabilities. (Source: Milliarum)

Koch Pac Systems

Koch Pac-Systeme has been active in the field of blister packaging technologies for over 50 years and employs approximately 400 people. The company develops and manufactures custom blister machines and packaging lines for applications in the consumer goods, healthcare, and contact lens industries. Customers worldwide use the modular systems for both new product developments and specific packaging requirements. In addition, Koch Pac-Systeme offers services throughout the entire lifecycle of the equipment to support stable and efficient operation. The company also develops custom blister packaging systems for specialized applications where standard solutions are not available.