I was talking to a friend lately about the melancholy moments in a professional career that became influential turns when looking back. Logically, turns are alterations from a path that takes us towards another heading. If we are driving down a road, we know we are turning as we adjust the steering wheel and feel the gravitational pull. If we are running a 5k, we can see the turn ahead and mentally prepare for it as we get closer. If we are taking off on an airplane and begin

Recently I have been researching for examples of problem-solving that have gone wrong. I wanted to understand specific examples, some of which were epic disasters, where the data used to problem solve went one way while other data points were obviously missed. From these examples, a pattern emerged of problematic habits set forth at the beginning of an investigation. Routinely, the investigations that went array were from experienced problem solvers that allowed their previou

Many simulation tools and references exist to find the bottleneck within the production process to find ways to increase capacity and reduce waste. In most academic cases, we are trained to look for the stagnant inventory around a facility, and you will likely find the bottleneck. As a bit of caution in the training, we are taught that inventory might not always be in clear sight on the inlet or outlet side of a production unit. Instead, it might be stored as work-in-progress

Malcolm Gladwell in Season 3, Episode 7 of Revisionist History, talked about his 12 Rules For Life. I was so moved by this podcast, that I elected to write my own rules. As I was compiling a personal prioritization of gifted wisdom by my mentors and experiences, I got to rule #5. It states, “If you start your own manufacturing company today, the first thing you shall build is your asset hierarchy standardization.” The asset hierarchy is the layout and the format of your asset