Battery manufacturer appoints PRINCE2 specialist

Paul Heyes

~ Former Marconi executive will streamline project execution ~

Accutronics, the UK-based battery design, development and manufacturing company, has appointed Paul Heyes as project manager. Paul joined Accutronics in May from Marconi where he worked for 14 years, developing a wealth of experience.

Heyes’ background is in railways and highways infrastructure management. He was involved for two and a half years on the West Coast main line, a £90 million job, as a project manager reporting to the project director. Marconi based its project management on the PRINCE2 (PRojects PRINCE2 is a de facto standard developed and used extensively by the UK government and is widely recognised and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally. It embodies established and proven best practice in project management.

“My goal is to put processes in place based on PRINCE2 to improve project management within the design function at Accutronics,” explained Heyes. “Specifically I’m looking at issues like communications, cost control and project scheduling. Here design activity may last 12-18 months, but we design products that go into a ten year product life cycle, so sustainability is crucial.”

Heyes’ appointment is a key element of Accutronics’ growth plans because of the increasing number of projects being initiated by the company. The appointment will free up engineering staff from project management tasks, and allow them to focus on efficient management.

“It is all about planning, expediting, coordination and control,” Heyes adds. “Marconi was a huge organisation. This meant my project management role involved using subordinates to take action on my behalf. At Accutronics, I will be the only one doing that; it’s a much more hands-on approach. This is entirely appropriate for the size of the organisation.

“Accutronics is a good fit for me and has much more of a family feel to it than Marconi. People here tend to stay for a long time, which reflects the positive working environment. It’s a nice place to work,” concludes Heyes.

Accutronics delivers smart battery technology to OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) worldwide, in a range of industries, including military, medical, industrial and portable electronics applications, so Heyes’ experience will prove to be invaluable. Accutronics offers whole of life support for OEMs and design consultants who demand a high level of technical and commercial expertise. The company’s smart batteries offer advanced functionality and performance and features such as charge control, fuel gauging and device communication.

A father of two, Paul lives in Stafford and is a keen cyclist in training. He has plans to retrace a route he travelled with his brother in his youth, which runs from St Helens to Shrewsbury, covering a distance of about 60 miles.