No One Wants a Lemon

Running a capital project without spending the time to do upfront planning is like going to a random car lot and choosing the first red car you see – chances are you may end up with a lemon on your hands!

It is generally accepted that success of a capital project is defined as:

1. Project stays within budget
2. Projects finishes within schedule
3. Final, installed, commissioned project meets performance objectives

These criteria have a tight interrelationship and when one goes out of balance, the others generally follow.  For example, the timeline is shortened, so costs likely will go up due to overtime and expediting costs, shortcuts may have to be made and inferior equipment chosen.

Upfront planning is one of the most critical pieces to improving the capital process and increasing the number of successful projects; more projects that come in on time, on budget and do what they are supposed to do.  If you look at your company’s capital project performance, how long was spent in the planning phase?  Can you relate this to the number of successful projects, how many actually closed versus the ones that were cancelled?  

Each project is different with a different level of complexity so measuring time may not necessarily be the best measure of upfront planning.  The better measure is evaluating the outputs of the planning stage.  Where project expectations and goals clear, understood, agreed upon by all and achievable?  In other words, were they SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound)?

Just like buying a car, if you don’t know what you want when you start shopping, you may just end up with a lemon and no one wants a lemon car!

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?