[Westy]

When I think if billionaire fat cats the first thing that comes to mind is bike industry moguls

When demand outstrips supply prices should remain low and bikes should be distributed by favor and political connections.

 

[Pesqueeb]

My guess is they'll start by fucking up the supply chain and ensure needed materials aren't there when needed. But they'll have all the statistical proof how that couldn't possibly happen.

My employer took this route several years ago. It's proven frustrating, to say the least. I'm sure the costs of missing whole flights is cheaper than us having actual parts.

 

[Nick]

@stoney Porsche makes THE BEST auto in the world. What is optional in the GT3? A six speed manual, the way God intended.

2021 Porsche 911 GT3 Coming Soon with 4.0L Flat-Six, Six-Speed Manual

Porsche is listening to enthusiasts with the new GT3, which features notable improvements over the standard 992.

www.caranddriver.com

my lust car right now is a GT3 Touring; 500hp, 6-sp gearbox. That said, I KNOW that Porsche's PDK will shift faster and moar perfectly than I ever could.

 

[stoney]

@stoney Porsche makes THE BEST auto in the world. What is optional in the GT3? A six speed manual, the way God intended.

2021 Porsche 911 GT3 Coming Soon with 4.0L Flat-Six, Six-Speed Manual

Porsche is listening to enthusiasts with the new GT3, which features notable improvements over the standard 992.

www.caranddriver.com

No shit. And when they went to all PDK their sales fell substantially. when I get my GT3 after the girls are through college, it will be a 6-speed. Wifey has no business driving that car, so she will not need to be able to.

 

[Westy]

My guess is they'll start by fucking up the supply chain and ensure needed materials aren't there when needed. But they'll have all the statistical proof how that couldn't possibly happen.

When I worked at Merck we had a product issue that was a good 3 years old. A bunch of different engineers worked on the project and made little progress. The issue was becoming a regulatory problem and the project got assigned to me and corporate sent a 6 Sigma Black belt problem solving expert to help me. He set up daily meeting first thing each morning, expecting it to take months to solve. On day two I told him I had a likely root cause and solution. Day three I had a design and test plan ready. He went home on day 4.

Actually I didn't really solve anything. I went and talked to one of the maintenance guys who was super sharp. He knew exactly what the problem was and how to solve it. I questioned why he never mentioned it before, he said because no one ever bothered to ask him about it.

I did figure out how to get our environmental test chambers to operate above the required 90% hummidity to run the tests. They were normally only capable of 85%, but I could get theme to 95% by basically tossing in a few wet towels in with the test items.

 

[maxyedor]

My guess is they'll start by fucking up the supply chain and ensure needed materials aren't there when needed. But they'll have all the statistical proof how that couldn't possibly happen.

Surprisingly no, he started with telling us to get rid of half the machinists and sell a half dozen VF2s, that way our machine shop matches the output of the finishing department. Only probably is we currently have an 18 month backlog, and what we really need to do is figure out ways to increase output. Dude absolutely couldn't understand why we'd need to do that.

Fired.

The higher-ups are now leaning toward my plan, buy more tumblers, hire more guys, and get them trained up.

 

[eric strt6]

Ruth should be getting her second Moderna shot at Kaiser right about now

 

[Adventurous]

Surprisingly no, he started with telling us to get rid of half the machinists and sell a half dozen VF2s, that way our machine shop matches the output of the finishing department. Only probably is we currently have an 18 month backlog, and what we really need to do is figure out ways to increase output. Dude absolutely couldn't understand why we'd need to do that.

Fired.

The higher-ups are now leaning toward my plan, buy more tumblers, hire more guys, and get them trained up.

Sounds like he's got a backwards understanding of how line balancing works. You scale the line to meet the required output, not the other way around.

I worked as the primary Lean/Sustaining guy at a contract machine shop, and it's amazing how many people misunderstand how to properly apply it and when to compromise. We encountered the exact same issue, multiple cells of CNC machines making parts 24/7 processing through a single tumbling cell manned by 2 guys, and not even on a full time basis. I recommended increasing throughput, only the be ignored cause it "must be machining inefficiencies"1!1!! They backed off a but when I did inventory and found 8 weeks of backlog waiting to be tumbled that nobody knew we had.

Besides, you never tell management to get rid of people/machines. That's excess capacity and represents opportunity to make and sell more stuff. Figure out how to pivot that. Opportunity, not liability. Duh.

Kind of nerdy, but I recommend reading the book The Goal. It does a good job explaining how to maintain flexibility without hamstringing yourself in the process.

 

[jonKranked]

Surprisingly no, he started with telling us to get rid of half the machinists and sell a half dozen VF2s, that way our machine shop matches the output of the finishing department. Only probably is we currently have an 18 month backlog, and what we really need to do is figure out ways to increase output. Dude absolutely couldn't understand why we'd need to do that.

Fired.

The higher-ups are now leaning toward my plan, buy more tumblers, hire more guys, and get them trained up.

that's how he wanted to solve a bottleneck?

 

[Westy]

Sounds like he's got a backwards understanding of how line balancing works. You scale the line to meet the required output, not the other way around.

I worked as the primary Lean/Sustaining guy at a contract machine shop, and it's amazing how many people misunderstand how to properly apply it and when to compromise. We encountered the exact same issue, multiple cells of CNC machines making parts 24/7 processing through a single tumbling cell manned by 2 guys, and not even on a full time basis. I recommended increasing throughput, only the be ignored cause it "must be machining inefficiencies"1!1!! They backed off a but when I did inventory and found 8 weeks of backlog waiting to be tumbled that nobody knew we had.

Besides, you never tell management to get rid of people/machines. That's excess capacity and represents opportunity to make and sell more stuff. Figure out how to pivot that. Opportunity, not liability. Duh.

Kind of nerdy, but I recommend reading the book The Goal. It does a good job explaining how to maintain flexibility without hamstringing yourself in the process.

Corporate america sees lean manufacturing only as a means of cost cutting, not as a means of meeting manufacturing requirements and the people doing the cost cutting are only measured on the costs they cut and not the net results of their actions.

 

[jonKranked]

When I worked at Merck we had a product issue that was a good 3 years old. A bunch of different engineers worked on the project and made little progress. The issue was becoming a regulatory problem and the project got assigned to me and corporate sent a 6 Sigma Black belt problem solving expert to help me. He set up daily meeting first thing each morning, expecting it to take months to solve. On day two I told him I had a likely root cause and solution. Day three I had a design and test plan ready. He went home on day 4.

Actually I didn't really solve anything. I went and talked to one of the maintenance guys who was super sharp. He knew exactly what the problem was and how to solve it. I questioned why he never mentioned it before, he said because no one ever bothered to ask him about it.

I did figure out how to get our environmental test chambers to operate above the required 90% hummidity to run the tests. They were normally only capable of 85%, but I could get theme to 95% by basically tossing in a few wet towels in with the test items.

this is one thing that drives me insane - is how often the suits and bean counters just forget to go talk to the operators.

 

[SkaredShtles]

this is one thing that drives me insane - is how often the suits and bean counters just forget to go talk to the operators.

That's because the suits and bean-counters know FUCK ALL about the actual work.

 

[Westy]

this is one thing that drives me insane - is how often the suits and bean counters just forget to go talk to the operators.

The maintenance guys would talk shit and bust peoples balls and most of the engineers were afraid to talk to them. I've had my balls busted by various workers in 4 different countries and about 40 states, some dudes from the backwoods of Virginia posed little problems for me.

I helped one of the guys figure out the optimal header length for his dirt track car and I basically got an open checkbook of favors.

 

[Westy]

That's because the suits and bean-counters know FUCK ALL about the actual work.

I have found one of the best ways to build trust with someone in a professional environment is to know stuff, but also to openly admit when you don't.

 

[Pesqueeb]

That's because the suits and bean-counters know FUCK ALL about the actual work.

"Imagine how much money mainteneance could save if we got if we of we got rid of all the parts!" - some bean counter in accounting, probably.

 

[Adventurous]

Corporate america sees lean manufacturing only as a means of cost cutting, not as a means of meeting manufacturing requirements and the people doing the cost cutting are only measured on the costs they cut and not the net results of their actions.

That's a sad reality, and it's a big part of the reason I left that job, despite having made huge contributions. Being "lean" and investing in "six sigma" is more than just doing a monthly gemba walk and including the terms in your marketing material.

It's a way of reducing waste, of which cost is only one. Unfortunately, the business people have a pretty myopic view and do not see how their aggressive cost cutting will increase costs on the manufacturing side.

 

[Westy]

"Imagine how much money mainteneance could save if we got if we of we got rid of all the parts!" - some bean counter in accounting, probably.

On my last project my funding request for spare parts repeatedly got rejected. On day one we had a critical part failure and I was asked to come up with a work around plan to continue production for the 20 weeks it was going to take for that part to arrive.

Then people got mad at me because the work around plan took too much time.

 

[Westy]

That's a sad reality, and it's a big part of the reason I left that job, despite having made huge contributions. Being "lean" and investing in "six sigma" is more than just doing a monthly gemba walk and including the terms in your marketing material.

It's a way of reducing waste, of which cost is only one. Unfortunately, the business people have a pretty myopic view and do not see how their aggressive cost cutting will increase costs on the manufacturing side.

Deferred cost is an unknown concept in America

 

[Pesqueeb]

Deferred cost is an unknown concept in America

On the floor, we refer to it as "stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime".

 

[jonKranked]

The maintenance guys would talk shit and bust peoples balls and most of the engineers were afraid to talk to them. I've had my balls busted by various workers in 4 different countries and about 40 states, some dudes from the backwoods of Virginia posed little problems for me.

I helped one of the guys figure out the optimal header length for his dirt track car and I basically got an open checkbook of favors.

or take them out for drinks at the end of their shift

 

[Pesqueeb]

or take them out for drinks at the end of their shift

Only if he wants to go broke.

 

[jonKranked]

Only if he wants to go broke.

disclaimer: only buy the first round

 

[maxyedor]

Sounds like he's got a backwards understanding of how line balancing works. You scale the line to meet the required output, not the other way around.

I worked as the primary Lean/Sustaining guy at a contract machine shop, and it's amazing how many people misunderstand how to properly apply it and when to compromise. We encountered the exact same issue, multiple cells of CNC machines making parts 24/7 processing through a single tumbling cell manned by 2 guys, and not even on a full time basis. I recommended increasing throughput, only the be ignored cause it "must be machining inefficiencies"1!1!! They backed off a but when I did inventory and found 8 weeks of backlog waiting to be tumbled that nobody knew we had.

Besides, you never tell management to get rid of people/machines. That's excess capacity and represents opportunity to make and sell more stuff. Figure out how to pivot that. Opportunity, not liability. Duh.

Kind of nerdy, but I recommend reading the book The Goal. It does a good job explaining how to maintain flexibility without hamstringing yourself in the process.

May give that a read, this sorta isn't my department nor my problem really, but I do like doing things, and solving problems, so may as well get this shit sorted out, right?

We're in an interesting position in that we're highly profitable, but also stupid inefficient, and due to the nature of our business most of the local labor market is ineligible to work here. To me it's a scary place to be because this is the exact point where shit can go horribly wrong, a couple little hiccups, a slight dip in demand, really anything can send you into a death spiral from here because the foundation is weak. The up side is that we have the money to hire good guys when we can find them, pay them enough to keep them around

Getting rid of paid-off machines that make us a ton of money was what sent one of the owners over the top. The due's whole plan just seemed nuts, and somehow he had our machining efficiency at 96% which it's honestly nowhere near.

that's how he wanted to solve a bottleneck?

It was wild, he just could not wrap his head around there being any other way to solve it. We kept asking if his plan was a temporary slow down to clear the backlog and rebuild, but nope, that's when he started talking about selling machines.


This guys came highly recommended, has consulted for Toyota, Briggs & Stratton, Ford, Boeing, all kinds of serious factories. I can only assume he's so used to working in unprofitable environments that he's stuck in the mindset of reducing burn-rate at all costs. We reduced our burn-rate by getting rid of him, great success!

 

[Westy]

disclaimer: only buy the first round

I stopped doing this after a guy died driving home drunk. I only bought the first round and he was fine when I left, but never going through that again.

 

[jonKranked]

I stopped doing this after a guy died driving home drunk. I only bought the first round and he was fine when I left, but never going through that again.

when keepin' it real goes wrong.

 

[jimmydean]

I KNOW that Porsche's PDK will shift faster and moar perfectly than I ever could.

And yet that's not the point. I didn't learn to heel/toe to paddle shift!

 

[boostindoubles]

Our local non-profit trail crew has been working on getting a Velosolutions track put in my lovely home town for a decade. Found an acre of space the city owns and they gave the official nod over the winter. Just received a grant of 2k to help pay for the design. Need another 7k to design it and about a million to build it. No sweat. Haha

 

[Nick]

And yet that's not the point. I didn't learn to heel/toe to paddle shift!

don't get me wrong, I'd row through gears poorly all day long.

 

[jstuhlman]

Our local non-profit trail crew has been working on getting a Velosolutions track put in my lovely home town for a decade. Found an acre of space the city owns and they gave the official nod over the winter. Just received a grant of 2k to help pay for the design. Need another 7k to design it and about a million to build it. No sweat. Haha

damn-either that's a huge pumptrack or their prices have gone up...good luck!
i think the one they did here was $250k, although the county may have done all the site prep. they also just recently ponied up for lights too!

 

[maxyedor]

Our local non-profit trail crew has been working on getting a Velosolutions track put in my lovely home town for a decade. Found an acre of space the city owns and they gave the official nod over the winter. Just received a grant of 2k to help pay for the design. Need another 7k to design it and about a million to build it. No sweat. Haha

May be worth reaching out to these guys if you need thoughts/help on fundraising https://sapwibikepark.com/

They built a fucking awesome bike park in my hood, pump track, a bunch of really well groomed jump lines, and more in the works. Town bike parks are sweet!

 

[chuffer]

Wait a second! It sounds like every one of you guys works at the same place I do...

 

[boostindoubles]

damn-either that's a huge pumptrack or their prices have gone up...good luck!
i think the one they did here was $250k, although the county may have done all the site prep. they also just recently ponied up for lights too!

We have about an acre to fill up with track. Shooting for ADA compliant portion and big boy line plus kiddo line and whatever else fits!