The Just Don't Get It!

We used to call this elephant hunting . These are the big, slow-moving problems that everyone notices but no one can measure without data. The Big 3: 1. Waiting: For materials, approvals, or quality checks. One plant we worked with knew they had problems in a particular department, but they could never quantify the impact. The data—showing just how much time was lost to "waiting for materials"—gave them the ammo they needed to justify a major overhaul. The project wasn't cheap, but the ROI was substantial. 2. Shift transitions: the ramp-down and ramp-up during shift changes. Shift transition losses are nearly universal, and most sites are shocked when they see the data. It's classic low-hanging fruit. A universal expectation for any operation should be simple: hand off a running machine. If one crew ramps down early and the next ramps up slowly, the chart will show a visible dip in

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