Theory of Constraints POOGI Part 64 Getting Jobs Through Engineering cont.

We are continuing our series based on The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt and the Theory of Constraints. {This series was co-written with Brad Stillahn.}


Brad: Aren’t customers the real problem? Supplying incomplete information to the engineers, late?
Dr. Lisa: Blaming customers won’t solve the problem, although what you say is often true and they are a large source of variability.

Brad: So what is the real problem, and what is the solution?
Dr. Lisa: The real problem is how engineers do what they do. (It’s typically NOT that we need more engineers.) But it isn’t just the engineers, it is all of us. It is how projects are managed. We allow some bad assumptions about the best way to manage projects significantly deteriorate our project performance. It is true everywhere around the world.

Brad: For example?
Dr. Lisa: For example, the idea that there is good multi-tasking. Multi-tasking has a terrible effect on engineering. Engineers must finish projects, and that means they need to 1) know which projects to focus on and 2) work on finishing those, rather than starting all of them. Projects need to flow quickly through engineering. But that is just one example. I have a white paper on the subject called Information Overload Destroyer that can be downloaded at http://www.informationoverloaddestroyer.com/ for additional examples.
Brad: So what is Project Velocity System, and how does it help?
Dr. Lisa: In Project Velocity System Coaching Program, I will take the people involved with managing and doing projects through 10 sessions followed by 10 coaching sessions aimed at getting immediate improvement in project delivery: On time, in scope, and within budget. In other words, we will focus on getting a job ready for manufacturing BEFORE they need it.
Brad: I thought that in project management, if you’re lucky, you only got to pick two of the three. Of course, with a lot of projects, you get one or none. It’s not unusual for projects to be late, with scope sacrificed, and way over budget.
Dr. Lisa: That’s reality without a process, but with the right process, you can ensure that engineering is not and will not starve manufacturing. And this can be accomplished by the end of the Project Velocity System Coaching Program and most often without hiring a single additional engineer.
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Want to improve your engineering and project management performance? Go to http://www.projectvelocitysystem.com/ to learn more and sign-up for the next available program. Want to talk about it? Just give us a call or send an email.

What are the challenges YOU face getting jobs through engineering? Tell me your 2 biggest challenges in the the comment box!

Here's to maximizing YOUR profits (and selling price of YOUR business)!

Dr Lisa

(c)Copyright 2010, Dr Lisa, Inc. All rights reserved.

Theory of Constraints POOGI Part 63 Getting Jobs Through Engineering

We are continuing our series based on The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt and the Theory of Constraints. {This series was co-written with Brad Stillahn.}


Brad: It’s been three years since we joined NTMA as National Associate Members. Shortly after we joined, after seeing the benefits Theory of Constraints (TOC) could have for NTMA members, you developed the “Velocity Scheduling System.” It is for scheduling machine shops (and job shops) to help them improve lead times, due date performance, and to reduce the ensuing chaos that results from the 9 Challenges of Scheduling A Machine Shop* they contend with daily. You’ve had 35 small, medium, and very large shops attend—online—with a 100% success rate. Why create a program for engineering?
*You can download that free report here: www.VelocitySchedulingSystem.com/ebook

Dr. Lisa: Many machine shops also cope with problems in engineering. A job comes in, and it goes into the queue. It can be feast or famine. When it is feast, engineers are multi-tasking between hot and red hot jobs, and put the shop under real time pressure when they are late with their designs and prints. They need a good solution, too, so I developed the Project Velocity System, and there is a software package to support it.

Brad: Engineering is like graphic design in printing. When new orders start coming, it is easy to have them pile up, starving the shop. It can be a real bottleneck. And when it is slow, that’s an expensive resource to have idled. Very few other people know how to do their job, and engineers don’t seem to do other jobs well, either.

Dr. Lisa: Yes, that’s exactly what happens. Engineering or design starves manufacturing. And, many of the companies that participated in Velocity Scheduling System went on to create a Mafia Offer with our on-line Mafia Offer Boot Camp. This put even more pressure on engineering because with an outstanding market offer shops started bringing in more NEW business which means more load on engineering.

In addition, even without a Mafia Offer, you typically do not want engineering to be your constraint. Engineering needs the capacity to feed the shop, so the company can meet its sales goals, and maintain short, responsive lead-times with 100% due date performance all of the time.


... to be continued.  Part 64 will continue with Getting Jobs Through Engineering
 
What are the challenges YOU face getting jobs through engineering?  Tell me your 2 biggest challenges in the the comment box!
 
Here's to maximizing YOUR profits (and selling price of YOUR business)!


Dr Lisa

(c)Copyright 2010, Dr Lisa, Inc. All rights reserved.