{"id":3527,"date":"2024-02-14T01:39:15","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T01:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/?page_id=3527"},"modified":"2024-02-14T20:11:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T20:11:41","slug":"smoothing-the-flow-application","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/?page_id=3527","title":{"rendered":"Smoothing the Flow Application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David was bouncing his leg up and down as he sat on John\u2019s chair in the dark, waiting for the man of the hour to finally show up. He had been at John\u2019s legal firm for 30 minutes already, and while he really needed his older brother\u2019s counsel, he couldn\u2019t shake the sense that he was needed back at work to clear the hold-ups that were occurring. David couldn\u2019t help glancing at his watch repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every minute I spend here is another minute I\u2019m not expediting\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

David smiled and took a deep breath in as footsteps approached the office door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCor blimey!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John\u2019s hand flew to his heart in surprise as he found a man occupying his chair and watching him from behind his desk. Then he switched his lights on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello, brother,\u201d David replied, a small smile playing on his lips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeriously, David!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John was having quite the Monday with back-to-back meetings and clients to appease, and it was almost the end of the workday by the time he had made it back to his office. Many of his employees were already leaving, and it seemed time to lock up and go home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been so long since he had last received a surprise visit from his brother, and John had forgotten all that entailed, mainly David\u2019s dramatic entries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow long have you been here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust half an hour,\u201d David smiled, holding his hands up and leaving the chair to give John a quick hug. John shook his head while returning the hug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, at least you didn\u2019t paint my desk blue this time\u2026\u201d John trailed off as he looked at his desk and then did a full sweep of his room, making sure nothing was repainted or\u2026 repurposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David has always been a craftsman, which explained why he started a small furniture-making company, one that John knew was no longer \u2018small.\u2019 David\u2019s business had grown, and he had his own corner office now, though he hated using it and preferred to be amongst the workers guiding and encouraging them to work hard. Since a lot of his work now consisted of meeting with clients, David was finding that the flow of his teams\u2019 build completions was slowing down, delivery lead times were extending, and this was putting pressure on him to work more hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI swear, I didn\u2019t mess with anything\u2026 this time.\u201d David knew John was teasing him, and he would\u2019ve entertained his brother with more relish any other day, but he was swamped with work. When he wasn\u2019t out on the shop floor, work seemed to slow down. He needed to get back soon. He sighed, knowing that his workday was not going to finish anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John looked at David, ready to ask for a raincheck when he noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He took a proper look at David who, now that he thought about it, he hadn\u2019t seen for the past couple of months, and immediately felt guilty. Though they texted regularly, David was the type to prefer face-to-face meetings and he would usually visit John at his showroom since John was there more than at his own home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou all right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John wasn\u2019t expecting an abrupt and honest answer as it usually took some small talk before his brother broached whatever uncomfortable subject that plagued his mind at any given time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John nodded and moved to the small couch in his office, sitting down and relaxing, knowing whatever this was would take some time and it was better to get comfortable. He needed the break anyway. David followed his lead and took the sofa opposite John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I know you\u2019re a bigshot lawyer and this won\u2019t really be something you\u2019re having trouble with, but since you have such a wide array of clients, I was hoping you could maybe help me with it anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John nodded, having worked for some clients in the furniture industry. Though that didn\u2019t make him an expert, he was willing to listen to his brother\u2019s troubles at the very least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been run ragged these past few months, so I\u2019ll just lay it all down, yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course, want anything to drink?\u201d John\u2019s suddenly forgotten manners awakened as he looked around, deciding on a bottle of water. He always had a spare bottle or two hidden in his drawers. David took the offered bottle gratefully and drank large gulps of water before focusing on John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been getting behind on orders lately. My people have been making\u2026 independent decisions and it’s resulting in my lead time predictions being wrong. Our scheduling had worked great, but now we are finding that jobs are stalling due to missing parts. We have the materials, but the parts just aren\u2019t ready when they are needed which means I am finding many of my predictions are being missed and we are failing to fulfil clients\u2019 orders on time. I thought I could figure it out on my own, but I\u2019ve lost a client already, a huge order that I couldn\u2019t afford to lose. So, I need some advice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure, tell me more.\u201d John\u2019s eyes were wide as he listened to his brother, rarely seeing David worked up or looking as exhausted as he appeared now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you know how I have a schedule of jobs made for our constraint, the sanding team, to follow. Well, I am finding they are running the jobs out of sequence, due to missing inputs. Often, I find they have set up for a job not due next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John nodded as he listened attentively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I should have, are jobs being completed in the sequence I scheduled them, but this is not the case. And, when I go investigating, I find parts are stuck in queues, the components to be sanded are not at the table sander ready to be started on time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, it is out of control?\u201d John hedged a guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David grimaced. \u201cI am worried the system has completely collapsed, and I am on borrowed time. Soon, I fear, I won\u2019t be able to save it. I thought it was foolproof! After all, it had been working for us for the past year! So, I decided to take a proper look into it after we were late last week on multiple orders. I found that the tasks in some of our work queues kept piling up where they sat wasting time. The most distressing part? Everyone seems busy, yet there are people I know who are underutilised. It\u2019s like they are dragging their heels and going slow. Why can\u2019t people just focus and follow the schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst of all, David, your system has not completely collapsed, you\u2019re always the dramatic one! If it had, you\u2019d be out of business.\u201d John rolled his eyes at his brother\u2019s theatrics. \u201cHowever, it is an unfortunate and quite serious situation you\u2019ve landed in. What was causing the delays in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTurns out, when the boys don\u2019t get the parts they when they expect them, they start the next job in the queue. Failing that, they start some other job, claiming they are being productive. However, they are making bad decisions, and it gets worse whenever I am not there to catch them. I thought these were good blokes, but now I am unsure, my trust is falling fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI might not be an industry expert when it comes to your business David, but it is a surprise that you\u2019ve brought this issue up. I\u2019m actually going through something similar. We have a lot of active family law cases we are working on, and I usually assign a few interns with the paralegals to do the research for each separate case. This reduces our lawyers\u2019 workloads and also ensures each case receives the appropriate amount of attention it deserves. Unfortunately, this means that some of the paralegals have gaps in their days, idle time, in between assigned jobs. So, they talk to each other and offer to help research each other\u2019s cases. This is all well and good, but suddenly their plates are full, and when I assign a case to them, it sits neglected for too long. I\u2019ve, of course, done my own preparation, but the paralegals are meant to be accompanying me to my meetings and actively coming up with potential arguments in favour of the client. I\u2019ve had to push back several meetings, and even today I have had to attend several meetings alone to appease client expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musing over what John was confiding in him David had an \u2018aha\u2019 moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJohn, why is it that when it\u2019s your own struggle, the problems seem insurmountable, yet when you hear someone else\u2019s problems, the answer seems obvious? What is that called again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDavid, it\u2019s the psychological distance which means you can view the problems more objectively. Please do share your pearls of wisdom!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David smiled, before continuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThough we\u2019re in different industries, I think the same principles can help. My suggestion is to limit the release of research tasks, materials in my case, to those tasks needed to complete today\u2019s jobs. Don\u2019t release anything else. Let\u2019s not allow tomorrow\u2019s jobs to be worked on when today\u2019s jobs need to be done. Nothing more, nothing less. This makes sure your employees have small queues and, thus, what you need on time. Your people cannot then be derailed by focusing on other jobs, for whatever reason.\u201d David paused while he considered. \u201cJohn, you know, I think this will work for me as well, to make absolutely sure the table sanding boys have the materials they need to follow the schedule means having more people idle, or almost idle. It lands for me that people have too much choice. I have noticed a behaviour that, when the next job\/task seems easy or quick one to complete, some people look for other, more interesting, more exciting, often times larger, with the belief that they can finish the small one within the time available. Do your people do that? It is a problem for me. They may be able to finish the quick fast, but I find that when I need it at the table sander quickly, the number of people who have to do touch the job means it too late when it does arrive. Choices are messing up the flow. Yes, that\u2019s it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David seemed quite pleased to be able to help his brother, considering his brother was a big-shot educated lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, his small smile quickly faded at the serious look in John\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m facing the exact same issue. My employees think the smaller-scale builds close to their due dates, and also jobs nearly complete, will be quick and easy to finish and so they focus on other larger tasks. It led me to the same conclusion as you, and David, I\u2019ve tried it. Six months ago, we got so behind that I couldn\u2019t help but assign tasks individually and completely control people\u2019s choices. My mantra was \u2018here\u2019s a job, start and finish this before you move on to the next job in the queue. If that means sitting idle, then so be it. Get the inputs you need to finish.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, you\u2019re on the right track in terms of how you\u2019re thinking about this. Might I suggest something else?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah man, give me all you\u2019ve got!\u201d David demanded. \u201cI need the help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, you\u2019re behind on your orders, yes?\u201d John asked, understanding why his brother looked so ragged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, pretty much.\u201d David sighed, a grim set to his mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re scheduled the table sanders to ensure your constraint\u2019s work priorities match your completion commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, that\u2019s right.\u201d John took a sip from his water bottle, adding a fun pause before continuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReal talk, brother, you can assign the tasks to your employees, but they will become reactive rather than proactive, and you want proactive people. So, stop releasing materials for jobs not on your constraint schedule, remove the choice, and make sure you release the materials for jobs on your constraint schedule far enough in advance that they should reach the table sander in time for the schedule to run. Don\u2019t leave it to chance. Now, this is important. Watch out for time lost in queues, especially when that time is increasing. Ask yourself how long will each queue take to clear and move resources to attack the fastest-rising queue. This will flush your jobs. If you don\u2019t, then you will just end up with surging piles workloads moving through your business, and long lead times. You will focus on the wrong things and be making the same mistakes as your employees. Understand?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David hummed; his eyebrows scrunched as he waited for John to go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTime the release of materials. Focus on resourcing the fastest-rising queue. Keep people working at full speed when their in-queues get low; they don\u2019t stop until the queue is empty. David, I found this smoothed the flow and dealt with the random missing of deadlines. So, brother, your company is not about to collapse. When you fix this, you are going to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David nodded. John could practically hear his brother\u2019s brain working as he watched David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, the queues that threaten to rise will not, because your materials are now in sync with the jobs scheduled, and the smaller queues mean there are more available resources to go to war on queues that start to rise. Is that about it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d nodded John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will obviously still be a backlog of jobs to complete but at least I\u2019ll be getting predictable output again. This will free up my people and clear out the work that still clogs the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David trailed off before he exclaimed excitedly, a bit of his usual temperament peeking through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt least I don\u2019t have to worry about some people not having things to do. Jobs are going to fly through the factory. This is far better than my original plan, for sure!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, but remember, make sure that the ones who are free are<\/em>, in fact, helping clear your rising queues of work instead of turning to unscheduled tasks in a bid to be ahead of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s what started this in the first place\u2026 though I suppose I played into it by instructing them to work on the bigger queue first even though those jobs weren\u2019t immediately due.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYup, I did that too, don\u2019t beat yourself up. You were in a tough spot and made the calls you thought would help the most at the time. Keep in mind, the suggestions I gave you will bring their own sets of issues. I had a paralegal quit thinking we were going out of business. David, keep your direction and end goal clear. Your business is going to do really well once you master this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, man!\u201d David pulled John up and into a tight hug. \u201cThis has been putting me through the wringer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, you<\/em> look like it has been putting you through the wringer\u2026\u201d John admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat bad, huh?\u201d David pulled away to ask, making John smirk slightly and shrug ambiguously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll right, fine!\u201d David chuckled. He was about to say something when John\u2019s face turned serious again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust don\u2019t wait till all looks lost before reaching out for some help, will you?\u201d John asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David felt guilty, knowing his brother was also probably tired from his long day at work and now having to add worrying about David on top of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI promise!\u201d David nodded. \u201cNow how about some fried chicken for dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat sounds like heaven. Come on then, my treat.\u201d John gathered his keys and other belongings as David cheered in the background.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David was bouncing his leg up and down as he sat on John\u2019s chair in the dark, waiting for the man of the hour to finally show up. He had been at John\u2019s legal firm for 30 minutes already, and while he really needed his older brother\u2019s counsel, he couldn\u2019t shake the sense that he …<\/p>\n

Smoothing the Flow Application<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3527","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3527"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3547,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3527\/revisions\/3547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}