After a major catastrophe like the bridge collapse or the mine disaster, people often look back and suggest points in the past where something should have been done, but it wasn't. It was not done because it did not seem important at that moment to fix something that did not appear to be broken. I have been unable to find where I read this but as I recall, over $125 million dollars was allocated to build a new ramp to the 35W bridge in Minnesota, but nothing much was given to upgrading the bridge itself. In fact, the bridge was given higher safety ratings in the past years. This lead to a reduction in the attention the bridge received.
Some businesses have no choice either; the weather changes...
Businesses that are very seasonal, like pest control, Christmas tree lots, or certain gift items have a benefit that few companies look for - down time. When I was just out of high school, I was tired of working in a fast food joint. I wanted a blue collar job here I would work hard and get better pay for it. I got a job on the loading dock at Knott's Berry Farm. This was where they shipped out all of the jams, jellies, and gift baskets. After a few weeks of loading trucks, if you didn't break too many things you were trained to drive a forklift. The trouble with this job was that they needed 1 to 15 people in the off-season and up to 40 people from August through November. After the season, all but a few people were let go. You knew this going in and for some people; it was the job they wanted.
During the off-season, the core staff would rearrange the warehouse layout, make repairs, and get things ready for the next season. During this time, management would have the luxury of reviewing procedures and customer feedback. Like wintertime on a farm, there are still things to do but the pace can be a bit slower. There are some important tasks that, if left undone, will mean big troubles in the coming season, but they are not as pressing in most cases.
If your business does not have a downtime forced upon it then it is imperative that routine stops are made to check the status of things. How many companies plan to have a backup system in place but don't get to it until the day after they needed it. How many vehicles go unchecked until they run out of oil, the tires are bald, or the engine freezes up. A business is a lot like a car. It needs routine and regular maintenance. When it is well maintained, it will actually run better and farther. Penny pinching on inspections may be one of the reasons that more and more "mistakes" are slipping into products.
Just a thought: What if each manager was assigned 2 weeks or a whole month each year to where they had to focus exclusively on inspections and repairs? Could you stop making money long enough to allow it? (Stephen Covey calls it, "Sharpening the Saw.")
How much money, or time, is "lost" when something bad happens, like a big recall, a disaster, or a major equipment failure? How much less does it cost to prevent that event?
It's important to never get too focused or carried away ony anyone thing for too long. Some projects and issues do require extreme focus and attention but you can't let it go on so long that a blind eye is turned to other necessities. "If aint broke don't fix it" isn't such a good policy because in the case of recent disasters it was too late once it was broke, literally. The same applies to leadership and management- good leaders and managers know how to focus on whats important and pressing without losing oversight over other responsibilities and needs.
Posted by: Richard Laurensen | August 22, 2007 1:32 PM | Permalink to Comment