Jim Timpe wrote:
>In the current climate of 'streamlining', JIT manufacturing, and other cost
>cutting 'buzz-word' philosophies, the thought of keeping inventory on
>hand/available to support product for an indefinite lifespan is anathema to
>management. Where I work it's becoming difficult to convince them to leave
>me the current inventory of tools/parts/test equipment to service what
>they're spitting out the door just a few blocks away (I work in customer
>service). I sense my blood pressure rising... assume the position and chant
>with me....
Boeing has gone that route, Jim. It's nuts. It's gone so far as to wheel
out "kits" of parts to the assemblers. Kits that contain EXACTLY the correct
numbers of nuts, washers, etc. "Just in time", of course. Drop one washer,
you're dead in the water. The "flavor of the week" management philosophy, as
one Boeing machinist put it.
The only way to combat this stupidity is to just work the way they want you
to, then shut down when you hit that inevitable brick wall, and when the
supervisor comes screaming, calmly explain that "They took away the jobberdo
I need at the moment six weeks ago in the name of efficiency, remember?", or
"This KIT is one washer short."
Last machine shop I worked at the supervisors were talking the same way
(guess who they got it from? We did mostly Boeing work...). All the
machinists were going to give up their toolboxes, and work off a common tool
"board", stocked with only the tools needed. ("But we are a JOB SHOP!!!")
We all had too many tools in our toolboxes, most of which we rarely used,
blah, blah. Inefficient. Yeah, right. You may use that one tool only once
every six months, but when you need it, you NEED it! There is no reasoning
with these types. You have to put every common sense idea in a pie chart or
something they can take to their interminable management meetings.
It's Dilbert. 100 0ilbert. Somebody's friend is going around putting on
seminars about efficiency, so they think they have to adopt the "new" ideas
to justify what they just spent on the friend's seminar. If you pay somebody
$10,000 for their advice, they must be right, right? Never mind the "expert"
never spent 10 minutes on the shop floor to see that NONE of his ideas apply
in THIS situation. The workers' are just resistant to change, blah, blah. I
wasted hours attenting these things, listening to CRAP.
I can't tell you how many times we moved the "furniture" (in this case, heavy
machines), and threw away perfectly good tools and materials. Like a
geographical "cure". I quit counting after the 3rd or 4th time. They're
STILL moving furniture, I hear.
It all goes back to Total Quality Management. If one link in the chain is
less than 100%, you have problems. Management always wants to cut a corner
somewhere, whether it's a government agency, a factory, or a public school.
Never works. They'll nickle and dime the little guy actually doing the work,
when they could be saving THOUSANDS by just eliminating one idiot middle
manager who does nothing productive but try to make himself look good with
phony numbers, pie charts, and total b.s.
I sympathize. Yeah, OM, ... OM...
Suggestion: squirrel stuff away in every nook and cranny of your workspace,
the attic, your toolbox, etc. That's what we did. :-) Use those old Air
Force "midnight requisition" skills. They'll get focused on some other
management philosophy soon. You can count on it. It's the only way to
justify their existance. Dilberts. FUBAR.
Yep, inventory takes up real estate. I'm sure Olympus is infected with this
disease, too.
Rich (whew, what a rant... and I thought Ag Schnozz could throw bombs!)
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|