Is Your Business Too High Tech for Its Own Good?

Sometimes improving results means spending less money, not more. That was especially true at a manufacturing plant I recently visited on a productivity improvement gig.

Walking the shop floor I saw comprehensive data collection systems, sophisticated automation, and intuitive man-machine interfaces. The company clearly spared no expense on advanced technology.

But those huge investments had not impacted operations or the bottom line. Productivity was 45% lower than any achievable benchmarks. Waste and spoilage were even worse. Groups of employees stood idle much of the day.

Automation and technology had streamlined daily tasks, but nothing productive was done with that additional time.

My initial comments weren't well received. "Well," the plant manager huffed, "It should be obvious that we as an organization are committed to giving our employees all the tools they need to do their jobs."

One example: They spent $265,000 on new computers with faster processors, but since most employees only access spreadsheets and simple databases, processor speed is a non-issue. They chose to buy "new" because "new" is better and "old" means employees don't have every tool they need to do their jobs.

Providing the right tools is an admirable goal, but at what cost? If an investment saves half an hour a day but the time saved isn't productively re-purposed, what's the point? I've worked with plants using limited automation, old school (read: pen and paper) data collection systems, and buttons and knobs instead of touch screens, yet those plants are way more productive. They spend money where justified and let training, experience, and hard work take care of the rest.

Buying new technology will not automatically transform your company if you otherwise operate business as usual. Every investment should be directly tied to savings and quantifiable improvements -- savings and improvements you will actually realize -- otherwise why spend the money? New (and expensive) is almost never better unless you have completely exhausted every other opportunity for improvement.

Work hard first.

Then spend money when hard work has taken your business as far as it can go.

Photo courtesy flickr user Ms. Tharpe, CC 2.0