Collecting and analyzing data
"Collecting and analyzing data doesn't make us money - I don't have time."
Survival is a big deal in this economy. But wouldn’t you want to stop money from invisibly hemorrhaging out of the company? Many small company owners have a hard time seeing the return on investment in data collection. But those who collect even simple information about how their company is doing, and find where they are losing time or money, can stop those invisible leaks in profitability and productivity.
Are your people busy all the time, but never really increasing production?
Do you know how much time you spend in rework?
Do you know if actual job costs match your estimate?
Do you know why you’re reworking product? – what if the cause could be eliminated?
How much do you spend on replacement costs (in material and labor)?
Do you know what your first-pass ratio is? - how much gets finished with NO rework?
Do you know where the bottlenecks are within the process and why?
Do you track your scrap rate?
Do you know which suppliers are costing you money in delays and errors?
Do you know how satisfied your customers are (no news is not necessarily good news!)
What would change for your company if it was easy to collect this information? Is it worth it to you to find out? If you're a small business, you don't need an MBA to do basic data analysis, just a willingness to record and evaluate meaningful information. Why not start today?
