Jack Greene Articles

Workload, not too low or too high but just right - Click To Read Article
Workload is a term that we use a lot, usually because it is too high or too low. It doesn't have to be that way you know. Balance workloads, otherwise you will spend more than you should, or not have the resources to meet sales opportunity, or both.

Who's court is that ball in? Or, that ain't my job, man. - Click To Read Article
You want to be recognized for your contribution. You may not even mind a critique when you don't live to your aims. But you don't want to be blamed for someone else's shortcomings. The people who work with you feel the same way. This article points out how to manage, to keep the responsibility lines straight.

Value added explained - Click To Read Article
We will cut to the heart of what value added means, but you will have to judge how it suits your operation for yourself.

Time Study and Work Measurement - Click To Read Article
A successful business will set expectations for its employees, and balance workload, manage constraints, calculate staffing levels and crew size, schedule; pull waste and non-value-added activity out. Objective work measurement is the place to start, for any organization where people or machines contribute to output, customer service, or cost.

Twice as smart. Really? - Click To Read Article
Dilbert says, “I look forward to spontaneously developing an IQ of 400.” But even Dilbert may not actually know everything. In real life, to work smarter, we can obtain better information and use better decision making as we apply it.

Set expectations measure and communicate Results Count - Click To Read Article
You, and I, and the people in your company want to know what is expected of them (and their work group and the company) and how well they do against expectations. Measure and communicate the elements of productivity. In this economy, people are more apprehensive than usual, so expectations and measurement and communication are even more important.

Relocate for cost reasons or to access qualified employees or support - Click To Read Article
It is certainly possible for a business to cost justify another facility, instead of or in addition to, in order to gain access to qualified employees, specialized vendors, or support; to optimize location-sensitive costs, community incentive / tax combination, and regulatory climate.

Plant Layout Facility Layout Factory Design Floor Plan - Click To Read Article
Layout, or the physical organization of people, materials and machines within a workplace, is at the very heart of productivity. Yes, layout requires fitting workstations into a building floor plan but that is the last step. First define the operating characteristics of your process, and a new layout will be much easier to plan, and more effective when implemented.

Productivity Management 555 for Today - Click To Read Article
I wrote this advice for my son as he entered his first management job, as a managing editor of an e-zine. Shortly it went under in the dot com bust, but the content is still sound.

Practical Productivity Improvement and Cost Reduction - Click To Read Article
Inexpensive and quick actions to raise output and / or lower input in your organization, whatever your line of business. Act to raise profits or output, to ease bottlenecks, to refine operations that have lost their sharp focus over time or start effective new ones.

Policy - Click To Read Article
Productivity can be improved anywhere, including the board room. Basic policies set in place the mechanisms that control costs up and down the P&L and balance sheet. Be sure those policies serve the organization, and not vice versa.

Priority, Pareto, and the Gorilla List - Click To Read Article
Someone has to set the priority for actions, and if management doesn't do it the guy with the wrench in his hand, or the gal with the Blackberry, will.

Offshoring and the tough questions to answer - Click To Read Article
Are you thinking of taking your manufacturing offshore? Can you spell Melamine? Lead paint? SARS? Tough questions that will probably lead you to realize that Asia is not for your U. S. company.

Office relocation, expansion, merger, a special case - Click To Read Article
Office moves are often less complicated, but offer some peculiarities of their own which this article identifies, along with suggestions to deal with them.

Motivation - Click To Read Article
There are employee engagement and motivation programs from ABC Analysis to Zero Defects, and many work well at least for a time. But employee motivation is pretty complex. This article outlines classic ideas to motivate employees, and insights into 2008.

Merger or consolidation; facility actions help it succeed - Click To Read Article
Merge or consolidate to concentrate resources for successful operation; use economies of scale to minimize cost. But don’t overlook facilities and operation, where all the plans and expectations must come together or the new entity won’t function. In any economy, especially this one, consolidation or merger can make economic and strategic sense. First plan, and later integrate, equipment, processes and facilities properly because they affect not only the balance sheet but also future P&L results of the entity.

Manufacturing productivity tool belt - Click To Read Article
To improve manufacturing productivity, to cut cost and add output, many tools and practices are useful for specific applications. Use this checklist to review your own manufacturing operations; follow them to the more significant opportunities

Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System Success and Failure - Click To Read Article
The Toyota Production System has been a roaring success at Toyota, but much less effective in other locations. Several qualified sources explain this disconnect.

Just the facts, ma'am - Click To Read Article
Whether or not Joe Friday ever said "Just the facts, ma'am", the facts are necessary for your operation to judge what is not right, and what to change. Objective, open eyed facts, undistorted by opinions nor politics; nor by "it's always been done that way" nor by the dreaded Not Invented Here syndrome.

Just In Time, or Just In Case - Click To Read Article
The modern system of inventory control is Just in Time, from the Toyota Production System. The vendor ships just in time for the operation to process and assemble components. It is generally agreed that JIT demands the utmost in close scheduling, reliable vendors and supply chain cooperation; and results in best floor space utilization, lowest capital tied up in inventory, least spoilage and product damage, and best quality because any errors are caught more quickly. The alternative is Just In Case; inventory is ordered in advance to allow for eventualities. Your organization probably depends on some of each.

Industrial Engineering, a continuing productivity influence - Click To Read Article
Industrial Engineering contributes to productivity in many ways because it can improve performance throughout the P&L, the balance sheet, and customer service. Industrial Engineering tools can quantify and lower costs in administration, government, health care, labs, installation, maintenance, energy, the service industry, quality, materials, facility management as well as the production floor.

Give the supervisor what he needs - Click To Read Article
Or what she needs, to be productive. But what the supervisor needs may not be what your system stresses, what it spews out. Here are points to consider.

Facility Layout and Work Flow - Click To Read Article
Facility layout is not the first step, but the last action to take to position equipment, processes and people in a building. First create the right work flow, then the layout easily follows. Your organization is different from others; products, equipment, processes, building shape, routing, inventory practice. Your work flow and subsequent layout will also be different.

Does your international company consider an expansion into the US - Click To Read Article
Perhaps your company will not invest $4.1 billion in a new plant in Alabama as ThyssenKrupp AG will, nor negotiate an incentive package worth $811 million. But if your company considers an expansion into the US, read on. It is possible to quantify in advance what your operating costs are likely to be, and find which facility location will optimize costs, access to qualified labor, customer service, and shipping. Even in this economy.

Crystal Ball - Click To Read Article
Today’s economic situation is new to all of us, and the size and complexity of the modern problem may seem to diminish what we have learned and practiced for years. Let’s apply what we know, perform the basics, and at the same time pay attention to current events, trends and indicators. Read your own crystal ball, establish what you believe will occur, and act accordingly.

Do you want results, or a process? Differentiate the tools and the objectives. - Click To Read Article
Remember the old adage, a person whose only tool is a hammer tends to see all problems as a nail. Yet for most of us, results are more important than a shiny bright smooth process, yes? If you don’t think so, skip this article.

Cost Control in this Economy - Click To Read Article
Cost control is not just a checklist, but a way of thinking that cost effectiveness is the primary objective. Focus on results, not the process. And please, don’t just look at direct hourly people for improvement. That is probably not where your big costs are. Show me the money.

Consolidate or merge a checklist - Click To Read Article
Merge or consolidate to concentrate resources for successful operation; use economies of scale to minimize cost. In any economy, especially this one, consolidation or merger can make economic and strategic sense. First plan, and later integrate, equipment, processes and facilities properly because they affect not only the balance sheet but also future P&L results of the entity.

Can a productivity consultant add enough value to justify the fee - Click To Read Article
Maybe so, maybe not depending on the project scope and your own resources. This article is a guide to determine how to predict in advance if a consultant will pay for himself / herself, much less create a return in this economy. The key; what resources can you apply, considering your circumstances In this article, you will observe that I suggest that management must commit itself to receive a payback from a productivity consultant. The more management opens up, to investigation, to consideration of new ideas, to judgment of sacred cows, to re-prioritization, the more useful any consultant can be. If you are willing to commit, let’s talk

Capacity Utilization and Constraints - Click To Read Article
Capacity and constraints are linked; as constraints are reduced then capacity will rise. Read of some basic and some more sophisticated ways to relieve the constraints that limit the capacity of your operation.

Administer your staff to meet highly variable demand - Click To Read Article
Staffing for highly variable demand beyond your control is a difficult issue, and believe me this article will not resolve all of the questions. But it suggests some simple and more sophisticated actions for you to apply.


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