Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/124173
Special Report Me: What are the major causes of downtime in this operation? SM: We don't have any. Me: Excuse me? You mean to tell me that this facility has no downtime? SM: Correct. Me: I find that hard to believe. SM: It's true. Any time something breaks, we just shut the whole operation down and perform maintenance. No downtime. If you have been involved with continuous improvement efforts in your company, you may have had a similar encounter. The site manager I referred to above was a veteran employee with a strong work ethic and was as honest as they come. The issue was that no one ever introduced him to performance optimization or performance measurement (metrics). These ideologies would have enabled him to access his operation and make changes that would be beneficial and profitable. He had what I call, 'calibrated fingertips'. He used his gut and intuition to make decisions about his operation. That is a recipe for disaster. What is performance optimization? T hroughout my career in the aggregates industry, I've had the good fortune of constantly encountering new operational challenges. Over time, I have developed some techniques I use each time I assume responsibility for an underperforming process, site, or company. The very first step I take is to interview key staff. I ask very simple questions about performance, processes and personnel. An encounter I had with a site manager (SM) several years ago stands out because it precisely cut to the heart of the issues at this particular site. "An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises," Mae West, American actress Performance optimization is the process of optimizing a system based on its current operational limitations. This process also highlights bottlenecks in an operation that may limit its performance potential. Performance optimization enables operational teams and companies to maximize their profit and minimize their waste. Specifically, it will help organizations to: • Balance production, sales and inventory; • Improve yield of demand products; • Reduce waste; • Reduce surplus and by-product yield; • Reduce unit cost of production; • Increase production rate; and • Improve profit. Aggregates Manager May 2013 SpecialReport_AGRM0513.indd 25 25 4/18/13 10:58 AM