At Piramal Pharma Solutions customer satisfaction is of utmost importance and we strive to meet our customers’ needs in every way we can. Our main goal is to deliver quality products within scope while still keeping budgets and timelines under control. One of the ways Piramal Pharma Solutions does this is by training project managers on best practices in the project management industry; an effective way to learn this methodology and keep current on best practices is to obtain a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

The PMP certification, offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) is regarded as “the most important industry-recognized certification for project managers.” PMI estimates that nearly 650,000 project managers worldwide hold this certification. This certification is awarded based on passing a comprehensive exam that covers content in PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) handbook. The PMBOK outlines the formal phases of project management (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing), as well as processes in each phase associated with the following knowledge areas:

• Integration
• Scope
• Time
• Cost
• Quality
• Human resources
• Communications
• Risk
• Procurement
• Stakeholder

In order to take the exam, one must meet either of the following sets of prerequisites:

• Option 1:
  • Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or the global equivalent)
  • 7500 hours leading and directing projects
  • 35 hours of project management education
• Option 2:
  • Four-year degree
  • 4500 hours leading and directing projects
  • 35 hours of project management education

To maintain certification, holders must earn 60 professional development units (PDUs) every three years. These can be earned by viewing topical webinars, attending conferences and chapter meetings, volunteering, giving topical presentations, and many other ways. These PDUs help certified project managers to stay up to date with evolving project management practices.

Holding a PMP certification indicates that the holder speaks and understands the universal language of project management, and also connects the holder to a worldwide network of experts, groups, and other resources. Having access to this extensive network allows PMP-holding project managers to exchange information and learn from other project managers, both in this industry and others. Additionally, it gives project managers a firm foundation of knowledge in the “gold standard” of project management practices, serving as a bar of measurement that they strive to meet. Having these additional resources provides project managers tools to increase project efficiency and productivity, which results in superior service for our customers.

Because of the benefits our customers reap, Piramal Pharma Solutions is highly committed to hiring project managers that hold a PMP, or supporting existing project managers to earn these credentials. For more information regarding the PMP certification, please check out the PMI website.