Before getting into the definition of operational empathy as a continuation of Part 1, I want to describe a mindset that we realized we all have but individually we need to learn to control. Because if we don't control, it has an uncanny ability to impact an organization so quickly. Consider the definition the CDC has for the word staphylococcus. Staphylococcus aureus [staf I lō-kok is aw ree us] (staph), is a type of germ that about 30% of people carry in their noses. Most o

In some form or another, supply chains appear to be a challenge in every market. Combined with the disruptions in supply chains, inventory levels across all sectors have fallen to historical lows. With this in mind, there is an increasing emphasis on getting product quality right the first time. What does this have to do with the CrossFit Open? The Crossfit Open is soon. It is that time of year that all age groups can engage in an annual competition, to see where you stand ag

A decade ago, I was part of a team training Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) to a group of middle and upper management. The audience included executive leaders from all parts of the organization. Leading up to this training, my leadership encouraged me to pitch everyone in the company should have an OEE performance target in their annual performance metrics. “Everyone?” I asked. “Yes, everyone.” The operator in me said, “Let’s do this!” as I pumped my fist. During this t

I have been told multiple times over my career, “Don’t send me a notification to approve something on a weekend.” Or do not send an authorization notification on a Sunday, because it is destined to trigger a chime in the next authorizer's email while they are having breakfast with their family. Then when should we when still trying to realize the velocity needed within our organizations? While I understand the reasoning to not disrupt off-hours, it got me thinking. What is th

We all fall on both sides of the fence when solving problems. We are either on the receiving end of problems to solve or we are the requestor for others to solve. @AdamMGrant posted an image on his social media showing the decision-making process of an optimist and people pleaser. I enjoyed the post and have plans to reference it in a variety of applications in the future. One application that comes to mind is the decision-making process on when to do a thorough investigation

Are you interested in starting to measure effectiveness with Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) on a production unit? To start, I would recommend not getting initial alignment on the categorization of delays and which bucket they belong to. Many would think this is crazy. I have had team members argue with me the same thing that readers are thinking right now, That is just dumb. You have to build a team to look at current delays and allocate them to the right Availability

The new James Webb Space Telescope claims to have 344 single-points-of-failure (SPOF) or single components that could disrupt the intentions of the mission. 344-mechanisms, that if they fail individually, the mission is compromised. This amount of stress is not for the gentle. Their functions do not have redundancies within the system and instead either immediately compromise the mission or require the implementation of recovery scenarios. Within manufacturing, how do should