September 28, 2010
What is ‘The Goal’ for Engineering?
Besides bringing back memories of years ago, I have to admit, this book got me thinking. In the case of the plant, the goal was to be profitable. The constraints were bottlenecks in production. Alex ends up tweaking and twisting those bottlenecks to up production as well as bring in more sales at lower margins but huge volumes. So what's the analogue in engineering?
September 7, 2010
The End of Engineering’s ‘Black Box’ Operations?
The issues around designing and engineering a product are often so complex, it can be difficult to relate that to other stakeholders in the development process, including those in the c-suite. That's why these other stakeholders have traditionally seen design and engineering activities as far more of an art and than science. To them, engineering has been like a black box. Market needs and requirements went in the front. Product designs popped out the back. And for the most part, engineering was left alone...
September 2, 2010
The CEO’s Recovery Directive to Engineering
The recession for most manufacturers caused a serious trainwreck in engineering organizations. You took your fair share of the layoffs when the CEO and CFO needed to get costs in line with revenues. But it went further than giving low performers the pink slip. It took away some of your mid-level performers too. Now might seem the most appropriate time to trot out the age-old adage do more with less...