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The mistake so many people make when installing solutions in their business is not to consider whether the environment is ordered versus complex. In ordered environments, cause and effect can be understood with varying levels of skill. If the environment is complex, the ordered or simple solutions that often seek to “control” will never scale…

Plans are only as good as your ability to execute them. Equipment plans or budgets are more than lists of equipment, they help fulfill intentions in a larger plan to bring products to market faster and increase margins, profitability, and growth. When plans are not designed and executed with these intentions in mind they can’t…

One of the big keys to moving products to market with velocity is swift and effective decision making. It is the key to winning any race. In a rapidly changing competitive landscape, we must be agile and effective in our planning, decision-making, and execution processes. Our practices described below help our customers improve their competitive…

An ongoing critical concern of asset-intensive operations is ensuring the equipment is operational and available to produce output. A company’s revenue depends on it. Profitability is reduced if not managed effectively and the reputation of the maintenance/support teams can suffer. In a world where we have to learn to go faster and cut costs, old…

In today’s fast-changing environment, business teams need to be able to anticipate resource constraints and plan contingencies quickly to avoid costly delays and frustrations. Failure to perform to new competitive requirements could mean the difference between winning and losing new business.  Teams are being asked to… Cut time-to-market by 50%… and cut cost 50%. Hoarding…

Most people understand the importance of calibrated equipment to quality measurements and most people think it costs too much. It actually does, probably by 25% or more, which is why so many companies have projects to reduce calibration costs.  Those costs aren’t high because your calibration supplier’s cost per calibration is too high or quality…

The competitive landscape is changing fast.  It is an exciting and dangerous time.  New competitive requirements for speed and efficiency – doubling speed and reducing costs in half – cannot be achieved with historical approaches focused only on myopic views of asset performance, e.g. asset downtime, MTBF, OEE. While still important, rather than ends in…

According to the dictionary, when you grind something you use force to wear down, crush, or pulverize it. When we use “grind” to describe our work the characterization is stark. The “grind” produces moods of resignation, distrust, cynicism, and fatigue that are as unrelenting as the forces producing them. We don’t have to work in…

Winning requires a full team effort, all seats filled with skilled players, everyone pulling in the same direction, and focused on the same outcome: winning. Winning teams are fun to be a part of and can be deeply meaningful to our business and career success. Today’s challenge is what constitutes a win is changing rapidly…