When Idle is Not Necessarily Bad

A chief executive officer (CEO) of a large corporation was touring a manufacturing facility.  As with all CEO’s touring a factory, he had an entourage of executives accompanying him as he walked and shook hands with workers on the production line. As he strolled through the facility’s main line where the most important manufacturing processesContinue reading “When Idle is Not Necessarily Bad”

Cultivating Passing Thoughts into Aha! Moments

The late Isaac Asimov was a famous author who wrote science fiction stories (e.g. the Foundation series) and essays.   In one such essay, The Eureka Phenomenon, Dr. Asimov writes how some scientists made great discoveries out of the blue.  He cites: Archimedes who, while taking a bath, solved the problem of determining the volumeContinue reading “Cultivating Passing Thoughts into Aha! Moments”

Non-Moving Inventories: The Supply Chain’s Elephant in the Room

The phrase, “elephant in the room,” is said to have originated from a fable by Ivan Krylov that tells about “a man who goes to a museum and notices all sorts of tiny things, but fails to notice an elephant.”  It has become a favourite expression for an obvious problem or issue that for someContinue reading “Non-Moving Inventories: The Supply Chain’s Elephant in the Room”