The Smartspeed Performance Improvement Blog

Have you experienced the last minute scramble? You are trying to complete a project, or get ready for an audit, and a large proportion of the tasks are completed just before the end. That's the scramble. All those days / weeks / months you originally had available to you didn't count for anything. This kind of experience is known as the hockey stick effect: The red line shows the hockey stick. Last minute productivity. There are good arguments for working this way, allowing the effort to be concentrated so you can do other things beforehand. However, mistakes, stress and delays are more likely in my experience. The green line is your planned activity. Regular activity and output throughout the life of your project / process management. This is easier to manage and takes away the problems listed above for last minute frenetic action. The orange line, however, is a proactive front loaded approach. If you have the capacity, why not pull ahead the activities and ensure decisions ar...

I've had a few conversations over the past weeks about rules. Not policies that cover a business, but rules around operations and scheduling. The core of the debates has been around 'will we hamstring ourselves if we implement rules to help guide the teams?'. My view is that rules will help iron out many problems and make your life easier in the long run. Pros and cons Some benefits that jump to mind: People know where they stand (including customers). Decision making becomes clearer. You stop having to re-invent the wheel! Performance improves . Some drawbacks that come to mind: You need to think through the scenarios where the rules don't help you and decide (in advance) if you want to cater for the 10% of situations (hopefully less!) that don't work perfectly with your rules. You need to be firm and enforce the rules. In real life A long time ago I worked with a manufacturing business that was having a nightmare with their on time delivery performance . A handful...

Over the last couple of months I have been working to update and improve my on time delivery system (you may have seen earlier incarnations - including the OTIF Improvement Course). The revised system has been expanded to include more templates, continuous improvement suggestions and ideas to expand the system and help you quickly realise the benefits of simpler and more efficient on time delivery performance. The system now comes with a 30 day email program to coach and guide you through the implementation of the system into your business. All of the original management structure and meeting formats are still in the system. This is the same system I share with my clients as they take the 'blood, sweat and tears' out of their own on time delivery improvement journey. The system is priced at $129.00 (USD), but to celebrate the launch I am offering you the system for only $50.00. To get your copy of The OTIF Improvement System at this reduced price please use the discoun...

When it comes to delivering on time, how much of your focus is on the early business process steps? I find that many businesses might fixate on on time delivery to their customers (rightly so, of course) but don't look at what is going on at the stages before the final step. Here are some ideas to whet your appetite when it comes to improving OTIF (On Time In Full) for your organisation. Recognising and discussing the domino effect Each step in your process feeds the next step. A failure to deliver on time at one of the upstream activities can snowball and really push out your deliveries. Being aware of this phenomenon and having an ongoing discussion about this in your business is a good first step. If your team aren't willing to discuss this issue then it is unlikely to get resolved. Make internal OTIF part of your normal conversation and change will be much easier later on. Develop KPIs that support on time delivery Most of us have KPIs (Key Performanc...

It's discount time again! If you would like to improve your OTIF (On Time In Full) delivery performance quickly then check out The OTIF Impro vement Course . Available as an immediate download, you will be able to review and implement my tried and tested management framework quickly. Templates, examples and step-by-step instructions are included with my course - all available immediately after purchase. The best bit is (apart from the results) is that the course can be completed and implemented quickly. Back to the discount... if you use the link below you will be able to purchase the course for $20, instead of the regular price of $47. To find out more about the course - click here . Remember to use discount code OTIF20 at the checkout, or use the link below to get your discount. 0,The OTIF Delivery Course Here's to your new level of delivery performance, Giles About the author Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping busin...

If you know me personally you will be aware that I am not a huge football fan... but I do love a World Cup. As with most things that I watch, or participate in, I like to learn something from the experience. Tonight, whilst watching the Uruguay vs Portugal match I was comparing the set pieces that the teams have prepared with the idea of scenario planning in business. For many businesses scenario planning is something that is in the domain of strategic work and is for executives only. This isn't accurate of course and applying the idea of scenario planning to your operational activities is a great way to drive up your operational performance when the going gets tough. In football their scenario plans (or, set pieces) are carefully considered. When a certain situation faces a team they can then choose to enact one of their set pieces, hopefully increasing their chances of success. The key point is that these set pieces have been thought about in advance. In business, mo...

Earlier today I was in a conversation with a Procurement Manager for a very busy national business. We were discussing the triggers that were missing within their business for identifying and communicating the long lead-time items on projects. You'll know the sort of things that I mean, the items that you can't pick up next day and typically cannot be replaced with a similar item. The manager was half complaining, half justifying the actions of the business. Whilst it is true that the world hasn't stopped to date because of this linkage being missed out in the business it is also true that they only achieve their mediocre on time delivery results through blood, sweat and tears. This is also the case for many businesses, and it can be different by changing just a couple of minor things within a business. Let me give you a few examples. Fixing the parameters of a capacity planning tool and enforcing the output of the capacity plan allowed one business to improve their ...