Ellery

It Always Takes Longer

The workout app said my morning exercise routine won’t take more than 60 minutes. It’s right; from when I start my first weightlifting set to my last, it’s about an hour. However, if I include the time to change to & from my gym attire, setting up & putting away my equipment, and the showering,Continue reading “It Always Takes Longer”

Supply Chains: IT’s Failed Frontier

I brought my family’s passenger van for repairs at the car dealership where we bought it from. The van had trouble accelerating especially going uphill. It would sometimes stall. The dealership’s engineer pulled out a portable device which he plugged into an electronic box under the van’s hood. When I asked what the device was,Continue reading “Supply Chains: IT’s Failed Frontier”

Losing Less Time with One Step

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” -Lao Tzu We lose a lot of time every day. When we fly from one place to another, we would spend time at the airport that would often last as long as the actual flight. Flight time from Manila to Hong Kong, for example, isContinue reading “Losing Less Time with One Step”

It’s 2024, and 1984 is Not Far Off

George Orwell wrote about a dystopian future in his book, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984). 1984 was Orwell’s last novel and it was published in the year 1949. Seventy-five (75) years later, in 2024, 1984 doesn’t seem far off. In the novel, an authoritarian government led by a character named Big Brother monitors its country’s people viaContinue reading “It’s 2024, and 1984 is Not Far Off”

Rationalising Workmanship

Executives of a dental laboratory asked a consultant fellow of mine to do time studies of their workers. The consultant and I, however, convinced the executives that we should first do an assessment of their operations. When we presented our report, we recommended that the executives change the layout of their laboratory and focus onContinue reading “Rationalising Workmanship”

The Key to Managing the Future is to Anticipate It

We do a lot to foretell the future. Organizations and individuals invest heavily in analytics and software to know what tomorrow will bring. Some offer great potential as in the case of Google’s investment in artificial intelligence for wind energy. But just as much as it may be worth it to foretell the future, itContinue reading “The Key to Managing the Future is to Anticipate It”

Making the Most of Ishikawa’s Fishbone Diagram

Kaoru Ishikawa was a Japanese professor who championed quality improvement. He is credited with the formation of quality circles, groups of workers & supervisors who work together to improve their operations. We remember Kaoru Ishikawa for his namesake Ishikawa Diagram, more popularly known as the fishbone diagram, a tool quality circles would use to identifyContinue reading “Making the Most of Ishikawa’s Fishbone Diagram”

Productivity is the Priority, Not Customer Service

My office air-conditioner broke down. I therefore ordered a new air-conditioner from a reputable dealer. It took two (2) weeks for the dealer to deliver and install the new air-conditioner. Then the new air-conditioner stopped working three (3) weeks later. It took the dealer another three (3) weeks to schedule an inspection and finally haveContinue reading “Productivity is the Priority, Not Customer Service”

Engineering Supply Chain Productivity

We are only as productive as that of our vendors and customers. If vendors don’t deliver the materials we need when we need it, we wouldn’t be able to make available products no matter how efficient our manufacturing & logistics operations are. And if customers habitually cancel or change their orders which they booked withContinue reading “Engineering Supply Chain Productivity”

Why We Need Policies and Why They Can Make or Break A Business

A young businessman had set up a wholesale business selling consumer goods in downtown Manila. His competitors, however, told him he won’t succeed. Competition was indeed fierce. There were several wholesalers already established and they sold at cut-throat prices at razor-thin profit margins. To get market share, the new wholesaler would have to offer betterContinue reading “Why We Need Policies and Why They Can Make or Break A Business”