For plant and operations managers

If you run a plant, you already know where it hurts. The morning meeting that starts with an argument about whose numbers are right. The experienced operator who's retiring next year. The customer complaint that took three days to trace.

What's harder is turning that into a plan that gets funded, and then making it stick. That's what this page is for.

Where to start

Be honest about where you are. Ask how long your plant takes to know what happened when a line stops. Most factories answer "eventually" or "after the fact", and that's fine. Ask a couple of colleagues from different departments the same question and compare answers.

Then follow one order through the factory. Map what actually happens, not the procedure. It's the best requirements document you'll ever write. See Map your processes.

My first 90 days guide goes through it step by step.

Getting it funded

Speak business, not features. Work out what 1% of OEE is worth to your site. Put a number on the paper. Then reframe the risk. The quality escape, the failed audit, the lost customer and the knowledge walking out of the door are all bigger risks than the investment.

Make it a company-wide decision rather than a series of site experiments, then phase the delivery. The business case article gives you the structure.

Making it stick

People need as much attention as the technology in every programme, and they're the part most often underfunded. Bring operators in early and free up super users properly. Then be visible on the floor at go-live. Expect the first weeks to be messy. Every go-live has a learning curve.

Read resistance to change is guaranteed and go-live is the starting line before you plan the project, not after.