Captain - Evaluation of shared versus singular leadership
Growing up in Texas, I vividly remember finding a Lubber Grasshopper struggling in the middle of Pine Island Bayou on a hot and muggy...
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- Jul 30
- 2 min
Building an escalation policy - A guide for a first time manager in manufacturing
Need an escalation policy being a first time manager? Try this list that includes some of the basics for someone in manufacturing.
- Jun 30
- 3 min
High, low, flamingo - Commit to conversation starters when one doesn't exist
Creating a conversation is simple as three. Try something new, something different, something you read. Or try, high, low, flamingo.
- Jun 23
- 3 min
Error proofing - How referencing a Tom Hanks movie has taught me about error proofing in MRO
Error proofing data, especially when it is manually inputted, needs to be incorporated in manufacturing to improve cost and efficiencies.
- May 27
- 3 min
An MRO for the unrefurbished: How to build a spares strategy in manufacturing that includes unrefurbished parts
Many publications exist on spare strategies that enable the cliche that states to have the right part, in the right condition, and at the...
- Mar 23
- 3 min
A 9 3/4 mindset going into your shutdown
Imagine your production line is winding down after a productive month, and now it is time to allocate time for your monthly repair turn...
- Mar 10
- 3 min
How did the stop sign get there?
There are some days when I am just in a lousy rut. Some days, I find myself looking at an assignment, an action item, or a blank screen...
- Feb 18
- 3 min
The antithesis of Gemba
This morning was 14 degrees Fahrenheit, yet the sun showed off its superpower by making the recent 4 inches of snow sparkle in every...
- Jan 28
- 2 min
Some assembly is required. This is the way.
You may have recently completed a Lego set gifted to you for Christmas. In our case, The Mandalorian Helmet sits on a shelf with the...
- Jan 14
- 3 min
Ideas are not rare.
Imagine you are in a small house in the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston. Starring out the window, you see rows of red-brick houses,...
- Dec 10, 2023
- 3 min
Canceling a PM can impact your metrics differently.
Within practically all computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), there are mechanisms to do preventive maintenance (PMs). These...
- Nov 14, 2023
- 3 min
Leveraging a new hirer's superpower.
During onboarding activities of new employees, I remind each new hirer that they have a superpower. It is a superpower that the current...
- Sep 10, 2023
- 3 min
Remove the obstacles preventing creativity.
Have you ever been stuck in a good rut? Have you caught yourself in the middle of an incident investigation, and the root cause continues...
- Aug 26, 2023
- 3 min
Fremdschämen
Two weeks into a new job a decade ago, I was given the results of a third-party audit. Handed to me by the lead auditor in a nicely...
- Aug 13, 2023
- 3 min
When does improving OEE become a waste?
OEE, overall equipment effectiveness, remains one of my favorite key performance indicators and is commonly used throughout manufacturing...
- Aug 6, 2023
- 3 min
Entropy and the puzzle
What is your approach to solving a puzzle? I assume it starts with flipping over each cardboard-brown piece to make the patterns face up....
- Jul 23, 2023
- 3 min
Stagnation is the middle name.
Mastering a presentation takes time. Intensively interrogating each slide to enhance the message of the slide deck can take months and...
- Jun 11, 2023
- 3 min
Lead with safety by discussing yesterday's incidents second.
Think about a recent morning meeting that you have been part of. I will assume that most of us start with safety at the forefront of this...
- May 7, 2023
- 3 min
Follow-up investigations with binary classifications
Generally, there are three steps for an organization to be effective at problem-solving, but many groups may implement just two. The...
- Apr 30, 2023
- 4 min
Let's map the two lists of assets.
Have you stopped and read ISO 55000, particularly ISO 55002 7.5.3.g? Here is what it says: The alignment of information requirements for...
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