Problems We Help Solve

IT IS POSSIBLE TO MISS A "MILLION DOLLAR" PROBLEM:

Managers and employees fail to recognize some problems as opportunities because they become accepted as "part of the process".  As a result, millions of dollars remain missing from the bottom line each year. Here are some examples of "million dollar problems" that I have helped clients solve:

• PRODUCTION SUPERINTENDENT: “Shift change always takes 10 minutes longer it is supposed to. It’s been that way ever since I started working here.”

• OPERATIONS FOREMAN: “This chute plugs twice every shift, but it only takes 5 minutes to clear. There are so many other things that seem more important to fix. We have a man assigned to clear it ASAP.”

• MAINTENANCE SUPERINTENDENT: "Getting PMs started on time has always been a problem here because the right parts are almost always missing. We plan for this delay and schedule the equipment to be down 30 minutes longer, knowing that we will almost always have to go to the warehouse to correct the problem. That way operations is not expecting the equipment sooner than we can deliver it.”

• TRUCK DRIVER: “For the past 3 months, haul truck fueling has been taking 10 minutes longer because the pump on Station One broke and I have to drive to Station Two. I heard a rumor that we may not fix Station One to save money.”

• PRODUCTION ENGINEER: “When this bin gets full, the entire system shuts down for about 3 minutes several times per shift. This is a short delay and is part of the system design, so it has very low priority.”

• OPERATIONS FOREMAN: “We used to get water delivered to the drills faster until other things took priority. Now the drills sit for at least 30 minutes longer before the water truck comes.”

• THIRD SHIFT CREW MEMBER: “Third shift hand-off does not go well here. It takes at least 30 minutes every night to understand where 2nd shift left off and confirm our priorities.  It’s always been that way.”

• HOURLY EMPLOYEE: “Everyone knows that scoops are last priority here.  We never know where they are when we start our shift. We probably lose 3 hours per week looking for them. It’s just the way it is.”

• PRODUCTION SUPERINTENDENT: "Our shovel operators drive our buses at shift change.  Since they arrive at their equipment last, we lose 10-15 minutes of loading time every shift.  We budget for this loss, so it’s really not an issue.”

• PRODUCTION FOREMAN: "Engineering never communicates the daily plan. We plan the day based on our experience level and hope we meet our production goals."
  

To solve these problems, managers and employees "changed what they fixed, measured and talked about" - no additional equipment, software or people were required.

Managers and management teams...

• Often struggle when solving problems that involve more than one department. 
  
• May unknowingly develop unachievable budgets and request unneeded expansion capital. 
  
• May not know how to use key measures strategically to meet/exceed improvement goals.
  
• Are not aware of organizational and cultural barriers preventing improvement.
• Lack processes for removing barriers that only they can remove.
• May not consistently follow through on action items, a major cause of project delays/failures.

Contact me today about learning how to manage change like you manage operations and help your management teams become GREAT improvement leaders.

TM
OPPORTUNITY: An odorless invisible element defined as a favorable set of circumstances in business. The only element with an infinite atomic number and weight.