Not invented here syndrome

Recently I holidayed in Bermuda and did what many typical tourists do - had an accident on a motorized scooter!  Fortunately Bermuda has a great health care system and the people at Pompano Beach Club take great care of their guests!

Coming back home though, I was less than impressed.  You see, I had an x-ray of my separated AC joint (collarbone and shoulder) at the hospital in Bermuda, then I had a series of others by my GP.  I was then sent to an orthopaedic surgeon (based at a local hospital) and told to bring my x-rays.  Did the ortho ever look at the x-rays (that I had to pay for to be put on a disc)?  No, they insisted on having new x-rays done by the hospital.

I was less than impressed for many reasons.  First, to do the x-ray properly I actually have to have a weight hanging from the injured arm - PAIN!  Second, having the 3rd set of x-rays (which showed nothing different from the first 2 sets) meant my appointment took an extra hour.  Third, an extra set of x-rays means waste and unnecessary expense for the hospital itself- technicians time, x-ray equipment, attendant to take me there, line up for other people who actually needed an original x-ray.

This smells to me of the not-invented here syndrome.  How often is someone else's work not accepted simply because they don't work for your company or your department?  Or in the case of larger companies, because it is not invented in that plant/office/country?  Sometime this is blamed on potential for viruses (in the case of files being transferred) or on differences in programming language used.  Often, it is simply political and egotistical.


Do you have spreadsheets in your department that has data that needs to be regenerated by each different person who uses it?  Do you insist on building your own equipment because you don't want to buy an off-the-shelf product?  Is cost really driving your decision to make it in house?

Consider the hidden costs: time, quality, long term maintenance, lack of flexibility, lack of a knowledge base.

I'm not suggesting you get someone else to do your work, but consider how reinventing the wheel fits in with your company's longer term outlook and direction.

Waste not want not! Your profit is in your waste!

The food industry has a unique position when it comes to reduce, reuse and recycle.  The industry focuses around the organic and deals with animate material.  When I first started in food, it was at a canning company in Australia.  As a student who had previously worked in the plastics industry, it amazed me how so much product could be eeked out of fruit.  AND, even more so, that any unused or wasted food, could go right back into the food chain.

The Shepparton Preserving Company (SPC, now SPC-Ardmona), used the parts of the apples and pears that did not go into the cans, as the basis for juice.  Through enzymes and separation technology, they were able to get an incredible product.  The peel, seeds, etc that weren't used, went to pig feed.

Last week, PepsiCo UK announced that it plans to make potato chip bags from ... potatoes!  How is that for redirecting a waste stream! (see foodproductiondaily.com news article)  The question will be does the customer find it more acceptable than the SunChip compostable bag.

Have you looked to see how your waste streams can be reduced, reused or recycled?  And I don't just mean plastic and metal!

Why vs What If

When children are growing up, they go through a stage when they believe adults have all the answers - unlike when they are a teen and believe parents know nothing!  For many children the favourite question is "why?"  Two of my children though were "What if..." children.

"Why?" is a fantastic question to get to the root cause of a problem.  It is also a great tool to understand how a process or machine works.  When it is answered by one word, "because", then it can also lead to the perfect place to start improvements.

"What if" is also an excellent tool for problem solving, but it excels when it comes time to implement solutions.  Success in implementation is often dependant on the ability to mistake-proof or contingency plan.  This is the ability to consider "what if" situations and determine the impact if the imagined scenario occurs and what the impact could be and what needs to be done to minimize the negative impact.

The "what if" scenarios my kids created often ended up with me saying either "we'd all be in big trouble" (aliens blowing up the Earth) or "we'd all be really happy" (instead of shooting bullets, all guns shot bubble gum).  Some "what ifs" are highly improbably but they are worth some discussion because they free up a team to think more creatively but realistically about what can happen.

Are you a "why" or a "what if" person?  Does your team have members of both camps?  What would you do if there were no restrictions on your business and why aren't you already trying to be like that?

Manufacturing, Process Optimization and Product Lifecycle Management

This week I took advantage of some free webinars being offered about the food industry.  I was really intrigued by the Product Lifecycle Management for the Food Industry given by Greg Nutter of Lascom Solutions, through the Prepared Foods webinars.

Why was I intrigued?  Well, some complaints you hear in manufacturing facilities are; you can never find the information you need (ie Sales won't give it to you) or that the other business departments don't understand.  Or you may discover that the same product is made a different way at another facility.  Or people are using different standards somewhere else!  Or, that no one kept track of the way the process was set up when R&D or Sales did a last minute trial run.

Imagine being able to have all this information available easily and set up so that changes in spot initiate notices wherever else it may have an impact.  Imagine being able to get your product to market faster because information is centralized.  Wouldn't it be great to be able to see why things are being done the way they are? To be able to identify ways to improve and cut costs.

Check out the presentation on Product Lifecycle Management.   The concept would fill many people's wishlists.

As this will only be archived for a limited time, send me an email if you would like a copy of the podcast: gemma@edgeofcontrol.ca