Enginering Solution

Hoby

Member
A toothpaste factory had a problem. They sometimes shipped empty boxes without the tube inside. This challenged their perceived quality with the buyers and distributors. Understanding how important the relationship with them was, the CEO of the company assembled his top people. They decided to hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem. The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, and third-parties selected. Six months (and $8 million) later they had a fantastic solution - on time, on budget, and high quality. Everyone in the project was pleased.

They solved the problem by using a high-tech precision scale that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box weighed less than it should. The line would stop, someone would walk over, remove the defective box, and then press another button to re-start the line. As a result of the new package monitoring process, no empty boxes were being shipped out of the factory.

With no more customer complaints, the CEO felt the $8 million was well spent. He then reviewed the line statistics report and discovered the number of empty boxes picked up by the scale in the first week was consistent with projections, however, the next three weeks were zero! The estimated rate should have been at least a dozen boxes a day. He had the engineers check the equipment, they verified the report as accurate.

Puzzled, the CEO traveled down to the factory, viewed the part of the line where the precision scale was installed, and observed just ahead of the new $8 million dollar solution sat a $20 desk fan blowing the empty boxes off the belt and into a bin. He asked the line supervisor what that was about.

"Oh, that," the supervisor replied,” Bert, the kid from maintenance, put it there because he was tired of walking over, removing the box and re-starting the line every time the bell rang.”
 
reminds me of the old saying " Give the hardest job you have to the laziest man you know and he will find a better way"
 
I'm still trying to get my team to comprehend the concept of planning to succeed and avoid problems rather than planning to react to the expected problems. It's so hard to get people to accept the idea of planning and avoiding problems in the first place rather than the knee jerk reaction that is expensive and increases everyone's stress.

That's a good story. I think I'll use it with my team. :D
 
That's why teamwork and diversity are part of a lot of companies. IT works. Saw a magazine cover years ago and the title was "All the President's men". Had about a dozen men in line, like the reflections you see in 2 mirrors and each was exactly the same as the other.

Well just what kind of a solution can you expect with a deal like that? Think about it.

Problem with it and human nature is that the team has to have the mindset for the common good. Have to give and take and your answer isn't necessarily the best one. As an individual contributor I had to adjust to the team theory, but after you saw it work a few times you jumped in and made yourself part of it.

Great article.

Mark
 
I've always liked that story. It also makes me aware of the effects of inflation. First time I heard it, the engineering solution only cost one million. Thanks for posting it!
 
Reminds me of one i heard years ago....Seems NASA had spent millions developing a pen that could perform well in zero gravity, upside down, in extreme heat and sub zero temps and in all types of conditions their astronauts may experience in their space expeditions and deveoped a very complex pressure and temperature compensating device that would meet all expectations. The Russians???---they used a pencil...

Ben
 
We had a part where I work got screwed up when bent. It has a fitting on each end that have to be set a certain way to the bends. Management's idea bend a part without the fittings have some one (me) cut extra off the ends, then weld fittings to match part. The welders idea (the way the part was always made before): weld fittings on straight piece set accordingly, then bend. After they had the new piece bent(ready for me to cut) management decided it would be easier and cheaper just to do it the normal way. :roll:
 
I heard one that is nearly the opposite. If you need something done right away, give it to your busiest person.
SDE
 
Someone mentioned the pencil vs pen that the USA worked on. They didn't mention that the reason behind that was that the graphite from the pencils could cause serious damage upon the space station. So the US was actually on to something.
 

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