Lean from scratch

It has been a while since my last post due to having moved to Houston a couple of weeks ago.  An opportunity presented itself to initiate process improvement efforts in the oil and gas industry.  I will likely modify to content of the blog to share learnings, especially from my first project to build a facility from scratch.  How fun will that be to design lean principles into a process that doesn't exist yet!

Change the current state to create a better future

What I love about SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies) is the simplicity of the concept and the transformative power it contains. True, the proper execution of this changeover improvement technique can be excruciatingly detailed, but what a difference it can make!
One aspect of the process involves the tools required to changeover a machine. Often the design of a machine would require the operator to use a handful of tools to exchange parts and adjust settings. We frequently made modifications to the equipment to reduce the number of tools needed or to eliminate them all together. I view this as creating the right solution for a better process to deliver an improved performance in changeovers.

I recently applied this principle to an individual's employment situation. She came to me seeking assistance in finding a new job. I learned she was under-employed: she had two part-time minimum wage jobs to support her family. She recently lost one of those jobs and she needed another immediately. During our review of her skills and background, I learned she once worked as a certified nursing assistant and she loved that type of work, but her licence had expired. We worked out a solution that removed her immediate need to find a second job which created the time she needed to get her licence renewed and to focus on a job search she could have more enthusiasm for.  We created the right solution to provide a better process for finding one job that will improve performance in terms of providing for her family.

How to keep the average duration of employment down

On Day 57 of unemployment, I accepted an job offering a higher salary than my previous job. With the average duration of unemployment at 40.4 days, my experience "beat the odds" at 8 weeks. I landed my first interview on Day 7 which preceded an average of two interviews per week in June. By the end of the job search, I was positioned to choose where to live and which company to work for.

In my opinion, based on my exposure to the job market, not enough is getting done to match the jobs available to the skill sets of the job seekers. As of the time I'd this post, one job board I have used posted 40 new jobs that match my profile in the last 7 days. I also receive daily notifications of new job postings matching my experience from the popular job hunting websites. Employers are actively seeking to hire and job hunters are actively looking for unemployment, but they are not finding each other.

For my fellow unemployed (I haven't started working yet) do not get discouraged! You can find a great job with great pay regardless of the current state of the economy. I have 3 tips for you:

1) Be willing to relocate. The jobs are out there; you may have to go to it.
2) Get a lot of feedback on your resume. Share it with family, friends, employment center counselors and professional recruiters.
3) Network. Once you have prepared yourself and your family to be willing to move and you have improved resume, share it with everyone you know and follow through on every lead, even if the lead does not seem interesting to you.

Post a comment if you would like me to look at your resume or help you make your online profiles more effective. I have turned on comment moderation so I can keep your contact information private or email me at tblackhurst@gmail.com.