Beyond Technical Know-How - Mastering Soft Skills

Session Chair & Co-Chair:

• Kate Threefoot, DuPont
• Joe Cramer, AIChE

Session Description:

It is well known that developing and scaling up processes takes more than just technical knowledge and business know-how. To move a process from the bench to full scale production requires team work and involves numerous transitions between different teams along the way. However, with the ever increasing global nature of new projects and markets the importance of cultural differences between different countries and societies has grown even more important. A successful process development needs to address not only the differences in the way different personalities learn and work or the way different types of professionals function but must also understand the differences between people separated by half a globe. But while recognition of these many differences is essential, one must also have the tools in place to develop unique project specific solutions that maximize performance and results over a multitude of different situations. The speakers in this session will review the many types of differences, examine the various tools or methodologies available to ameliorate potential conflicts and  look at how these can be applied in real life situations.

Schedule: 

Multi-disciplinary Project Teams

Companies these days face challenges when using multi-disciplinary project teams to develop new products and to alleviate problems in the processing of existing products.  These challenges are exacerbated by company locations in different countries, in different time zones and staffed by people from different cultures.  Most teams are put together based on the skills and expertise needed to produce the desired end results.  To develop a successful team that reaches the appropriate conclusion, many other factors must be considered in addition to technical skill and expertise.  All teams are staffed and run by people and the needs and attitudes of those people must also be considered.

During this presentation, we will discuss the elements that are necessary to consider in order to have teams be as productive as possible and in order to prevent or avoid some potential problems.  These will include defining optimal performance, establishing expectations, specifying team structure, processes, ground rules, roles and responsibilities for team members, dealing with the challenges of long distance relationships and cross cultural communication and many other things.

Technology Transfer Documentation the Key to Success

Successful commercialization of new products is the life blood of business. Many industries institutionalize the preparation of Technology Transfer Documents. This is specifically true for Industries such as the Pharmaceutical, Flavor & Fragrance, and Medical Devices etc. which comply with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), and/or International Committee for Harmonization (ICH) regulations. For many businesses, including Small Business, Technology Transfer (TT) Documents are considered “Best Practice”. Technology Transfer documents are the common thread in each of these Industries or businesses. In all cases the overall success of the business is tied to the use and quality of the Chemical and Engineering information needed by the stake-holders. It is up to an organization’s leaders to create a culture that fosters collaboration.  It is these soft skills coupled with organizational leadership that create successful TT, successful products and successful businesses. For companies that depend upon the use of contract development and manufacturing services, the organizational issues and collaboration become even more challenging. This presentation will discuss the TT content and the soft skills needed to produce quality TT Documents. “Best Practice” requires company collaboration to ensure that the stake-holders’ needs are met and foster company success.

Communication barriers in long distances

At DuPont Crop Protection, we strive to design the next generation of tools to help growers around the world to achieve sustainable farming with improved quantity and quality. We combine global innovation with local collaboration to turn promising ideas into real answers for growers to protect crops such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, corn, soybeans, wheat, and canola. And we focus on ideas that will minimize environmental impact to help preserve our precious resources. In R&D pipeline development, one of the key challenges is moving technology from laboratory research into production facilities. DuPont Crop Protection has focused on building and expanding a network of contract research and manufacturing partners around the world. The alliance network offers high quality science at lower cost, which offers potential for business savings and efficient use manufacturing capacity worldwide. This presentation will highlight examples of our recent work with our external partners in China, India, and Europe. Topics will include: building of product knowledge and scientific competencies with alliance partners, acknowledging and adaption to regulatory challenges in different regions, and analytical support advancement for anti-counterfeit efforts.