In the COVID world that we live in, we have transitioned to a world that can have a Zoom or Teams meeting at any time. No more do we need to reserve a conference room. Instead, we can all log into any virtual meeting in any attire and location. Consider that Microsoft Teams went from 19 million daily active users in July 2019, to 145 million in April 2021. That is almost an 8X increase in just under 24 months. But is this making us more effective? Examples are everywhere of t

TIMWOODS was recently seen at a Dunkin’Ⓡ , ordering the option of 10 MunchkinsⓇ. Like previous times, TIMWOODS did not get ten when 10 were ordered or received 25 in the box when 25 were ordered. Instead, there was always more. At this most recent purchase, TIMWOODS got 16 instead of 10! TIMWOODS is the only consumer that doesn’t get excited because they saw this as one of the eight-deadly waste; overproduction. This is a winning scenario for every other consumer, yet TIMWOOD

I have measured and trained Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) for decades, routinely using different concepts to construct its components; Availability, Performance, and Quality. One strategy used is connecting OEE with metaphors. Working with a group recently on the magnitude of several small losses that impact Availability, I elected to apply a CrossFit™ metaphor. There is a CrossFit™ WOD (workout of the day) called Isabel. For those of you that have not done the Isabel

In manufacturing, we reference things like “Murphy will get you” or “Murphy’s Law” when describing unpredictable results and scenarios after they occur. Well, who is this infamous Murphy person that we have all met on occasion, collectively despise, but humbly reference with a degree of respect? Can we avoid meeting him? If Wikipedia has it right, this Murphy person was Edward Aloysius Murphy Jr. “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." I think the nostalgia and reputatio

Everyone is talking about inflation right now, yet they're all kinds of examples out there about organizations and companies choosing not to raise prices. These examples show that there is an internal thought process when to not pass internal cost increases into the price. When this decision is made correctly, these leaders and companies build a service within the price disciplines, enticing people to keep coming back. Two examples that come to mind are Costco's decision not

In a recent article on AL.com, The University of Alabama’s head football coach, Nick Saban, was interviewed talking about bowl preparation leading up to his team’s Cotton Bowl game against The University of Cincinnati. When questioned about his strategies going into the game, he made a relevant connection to ensuring he is putting his players in the right position to succeed in a world of COVID by doing something he and his staff implemented in 2020 leading up to their eighte

Academic references exist for inventory optimization to reflect current reliability and current market conditions. Within manufacturing, managing spares with algorithms is a strategic step to manage cash while ensuring you have the right amount of spares. The two classic calculations for Reorder Point (ROP) and Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) bring in common inventory inputs like issues and lead time. Introducing more control constants like purchasing cost, the cost to process