Synergy Computer Solutions Develops Automated Change Management System (CMS)
for Fast-Growing Solar Panel Manufacturer

-New system manages production changes along with their associated costs and risks-

October 27, 2011 – (Bingham Farms, MI) -- Over the past decade, the solar energy/photovoltaic (PV) market has experienced unprecedented growth. During the past year, the PV market has reached a cumulative installed capacity of roughly 40 GW world-wide, with an annual added capacity of 16.6 GW. Photovoltaic power is well on the way to becoming a fully competitive part of the electricity system in the European Union (EU), with Germany and Spain leading the way. Consumption of PV power in Japan, the U.S., India and China is also growing rapidly, although not as fast as in Europe. Growth rates vary from country to country, due to several factors, the most important being different national regulations and incentive schemes as well as varying availability of financing. Still, with electricity consumption rising globally and a world-wide emphasis on the pursuit of greener alternatives, the future of alternative energies and especially for solar power looks bright.

One of the largest and fastest growing solar/PV manufacturer in the U.S. has been evolving and expanding its operations to keep up with demand. The company is diligent about analyzing its processes and costs, and taking action to keep manufacturing costs in line.

The company encourages its engineers and managers to continually look for ways to improve production techniques and lower costs in the areas of process, materials, equipment, suppliers, technology facilities, and manufacturing support systems.

The emphasis on production improvement and change has resulted in the company’s development of CMS (Change Management System), an automated system used to prioritize, track and manage projects. An early version of CMS utilized e-mails and spreadsheets to fulfill functions like communicating, tracking, analyzing, and oversight. As the process evolved and became more complex, the old system began to hinder effectiveness. At that point, the company looked to its long-time partner, Synergy Computer Solutions (“Synergy”), to develop the new automated process. Synergy provided an onsite Project Manager and Technical Architect, and a team of offsite development experts to support the creation of the new CMS.

WHY CMS?

The primary objectives of the new CMS system are to facilitate fast paced improvements, reduce risks, manage multiple changes in the least amount of time, and rigorously evaluate every change proposal.

The new system is based on a complex and thorough workflow process designed to manage the various stages of change from initial change proposals through review, qualification, rejection or approval, and finally, implementation of approved changes. Each phase of the process has steps to ensure that changes are properly managed and risk is minimized. The review process alone involves analysis by various specialists and committees, where each individual must follow specific procedures.

Business needs that were identified and built into the new CMS system include:

	automatic e-mail notifications to alert key stakeholders of key information
	search capabilities to ensure that new proposals are not duplicates presented by a different  team
	a standard calculation for prioritizing and scheduling projects and allocating the appropriate resources
	a risk mitigation process featuring automated assessment tasks which are assigned to the appropriate people
	checklists to ensure all steps are followed, all risks are mitigated, and all actions are  performed in a timely manner
	a detailed and comprehensive project tracking method

CMS was under development for over a year. According to Synergy’s Project Manager, “The timeline posed a challenge, initially. But, Synergy brought all the technical expertise needed to meet the client’s business requirements and tight timeline. The application is now fully functional and the client is happy with it. Soon the system will be expanded to integrate additional applications and processes.”

CMS was developed using Visual Studio.NET, SharePoint 2007, K2 Blackpearl, and SQL Server 2005. It currently serves over 300 stakeholders at the company, and is proving to be a vital asset for managing the company’s continual growth and change.