Mildew on roses makes no wine.
I try to make time daily to walk up and down production lines. I learned early on to use all of my senses during these walks to indicate...
top of page
- Mar 12
- 4 min
History sometimes changes the chart.
Let's take a moment to interrogate a time-series plot in your next monthly review, shared PowerPoint slide deck, or performance boards...
- Feb 19
- 4 min
The PF Curve is limited due to the lack of a Y2 axis.
Take a moment and Google search PF Curves. You will find images of a positive Y-intercept curve with a negative slope that becomes more...
- Nov 27, 2022
- 5 min
Understanding the prerequisite to a failure
A quote I remember a mentor of mine said years ago was, if you find yourself bored, just wait 5 more minutes, something will blow up. Of...
- Nov 13, 2022
- 4 min
Empowerment sure sounds like the power formula
Within organizations, we routinely hear the notion that we want our organization empowered to make decisions. This could be identified in...
- Oct 16, 2022
- 4 min
We are problem solvers during investigations, not storytellers
Recently I have been researching for examples of problem-solving that have gone wrong. I wanted to understand specific examples, some of...
- Sep 18, 2022
- 4 min
One lonely cinnamon roll doesn't mean it is old
When conducting investigations, we often allow our assumptions to get in the way of our investigation. We see something that we perceive...
- Sep 11, 2022
- 4 min
Conforming to wrong is wrong
In the 1950s Solomon Asch conducted a social experiment referred to as the Solomon Asch - Conformity Experiment. It was an experiment to...
- Jun 6, 2022
- 4 min
Which revision are you referencing?
Revision versions are funny things. Revisions may exist in your engineered drawings, tracking incremental improvements, and enhancements....
- May 30, 2022
- 3 min
"Profit protection" has a good ring about it.
I have heard the argument for years, that connecting an EBIT improvement with overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) improvement is...
- May 1, 2022
- 3 min
Congratulations for what?
Saturdays and Sundays are my days to slow down and write. I dedicate roughly two hours to reading, writing, and reflecting on the...
- Apr 9, 2022
- 4 min
If the data says shoot right, then shoot right.
Using numbers and estimates to predict outcomes can either be a hobby or a profession. This data is the fingerprint of what has happened,...
- Apr 3, 2022
- 3 min
Using ALL CAPS does not make it more important.
To make a claim, I called the 800 number in the instruction manual of my coffee machine. A small fastener has broken, resulting in the...
- Mar 20, 2022
- 3 min
Shoveling snow does not require perfection.
Last week I heard the birds chirping in my yard indicating to me that spring was in the air. All of this season’s snow had melted...
- Mar 14, 2022
- 5 min
Dr. Lloyd S. Nelson didn't yell, he insisted.
There are plenty of tools to conduct investigations within manufacturing. Some can be solved with a 5-why or an Ishikawa diagram. Others...
- Mar 3, 2022
- 3 min
Did we get a good deal trading production time for scheduled maintenance?
Regardless of whether you have production units that are reliable or unreliable, I would like to propose a different type of performance...
- Dec 20, 2021
- 2 min
Streamline Your Decision Making for Business Management
How I Streamlined My Decision-Making for Business Management My wife agonizes over decisions big or small. Once she decides, she’s full...
bottom of page