Daily production updates arrive too late
Define what should be captured during or at the end of each shift.
01 · What is usually happening?
The day's output is written on a sheet at the end of the shift, typed into Excel the next morning and discussed after lunch. By the time the owner knows a line fell behind, it is already tomorrow.
Decisions about overtime, a second shift or telling a customer are made on yesterday's picture.
The question people usually ask“How did yesterday go?”
The more useful question“Which jobs are behind plan right now, and what can still be done today?”
02 · Common causes
- 01Output is recorded on paper at the end of the shift
- 02Entry into the system depends on one person
- 03Updates are not tied to a time, so they float
- 04Nobody compares actual with plan until the next meeting
- 05Supervisors are measured on output, not on reporting
- 06Reports are made for the owner, not used by the floor
03 · What to check now0 of 6 checked
04 · What good looks like
- 01Output is reported at fixed points in the shift.
- 02Reporting takes under a minute for the supervisor.
- 03Plan and actual sit side by side per job.
- 04Anything behind plan is flagged the same hour.
- 05The owner reads a short summary before the day's first decision.
05 · Where this connects
This rarely stays in one department
What it can lead to: Slippage is found a day late, when the options are fewer.
Start from a problem
Work flows left to right, top to bottomKEYMost important for manufacturing
These support every part of the business
Problem
Daily production updates arrive too late
Usually connected to
How it spreads
- Production
What it can lead to: Slippage is found a day late, when the options are fewer.
lamplamp could take a supervisor's voice note or photo as the update.
06 · Related processesProduction plan to output
08 · lamp
lamp could keep this moving
lamp is not available yet. These are things it is being built to do.
- lamp could take a supervisor's voice note or photo as the update.
- lamp could compare actual output with plan each hour.
- lamp could flag the jobs that are falling behind.
- lamp could send the owner one morning summary.
Does your business handle this differently?Tell us what we have missed: a cause, a check, or a better way of handling it.
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