With increased technology and automation, innovation comes with new ideas which leads to new projects and initiatives being created. Who can handle the job? One of the most important roles in any organization: the project manager role. Project managers possess a variety of set skills and oftentimes wear many hats to oversee a specific project from start to finish. We sat down with Erik Weber, Senior Project Manager at Calvary Robotics, to learn more about the world of project management.

Companies are embracing ever-evolving technology almost as quickly as it is becoming available. With increased technology and automation, innovation comes with new ideas which leads to new projects and initiatives being created. Who can handle the job? One of the most important roles in any organization: the project manager role. Project managers possess a variety of set skills and oftentimes wear many hats to oversee a specific project from start to finish.

Growing up in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Erik Weber, Senior Project Manager at Calvary Robotics, has spent more than 20 years in project management. His background is in Machine Design, has taken on leadership roles over the years, PMP certified and manages small to large scale projects. Weber explained how he has always had an interest in building, assembling, and understanding how systems worked so being at Calvary has been an exciting journey. He addressed that being a project manager wasn’t his ideal career path from the start. He explains that though sometimes people wind up on different career paths, project management is overall rewarding because you can see all aspects coming together like a finished puzzle. The key to being successful is being flexible in where the career takes you and with that, you gain many skills.

For those that are wanting to posses into project management, Weber shares that, “you need to be willing to learn all the aspects of the process and you must truly know the industry you are in.” Being a project manager allows you to be the expert and to speak up when necessary. Since project managers have to keep things moving along, they have to be expert problem solvers and communicate clearly so that all understand.

To keep current on the advancement of technology, Weber shares that he learns the most from their own customers since they are the ones innovating with prototypes and pilots. There is a constant exposure to what’s new and upcoming in the industry.

What does the future of project management look like? Weber explains that quality Standards will continue to become important, embracing technology advancement like Machine vision, machine learning, and AI. The overall goal will still be to bring project management costs down. A strong emphasis for tech-skilled project managers will be the most ideal.