Blog
Notes from the plant floor.
Plain-spoken pieces on losses, money and decisions.
The six big losses in manufacturing, end to end
Where a plant's productive time really goes: breakdowns, changeovers, minor stops, slow running, scrap and start-up rejects, followed through one shift.
14 Nov 2026 · 3 min read
OEE above 100%? Why a reported OEE can't be right
An OEE over 100% means the inputs are wrong. Here are the common reasons a reported OEE fails the sniff test, from a plant manager's point of view.
26 Oct 2026 · 3 min read
Changeovers vs real losses: separating sanitation from capacity
In a dairy plant, much changeover time is mandatory sanitation, not waste. Learn to separate it from recoverable capacity before you chase the wrong time.
24 Oct 2026 · 3 min read
What a board pack should say about downtime savings
A template for finance and operations: how to report downtime savings to a board with labelled tiers, honest ranges and only confirmed money as ROI.
21 Oct 2026 · 3 min read
A worked example: one filler, one quarter, one signed-off saving
An illustrative walk through one filler's quarter: the loss, the price, the owner, the fix and the saving finance signs. Fictional plant, labelled numbers.
19 Oct 2026 · 3 min read
When the machine that stopped isn't the machine to fix
In a connected line, the machine that stops is often not the cause. Learn to read a stoppage so the right machine gets fixed and the loss stays fixed.
12 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
Three tiers of money: observed, estimated, confirmed
Downtime savings need three labels: observed, estimated and confirmed. Only finance-confirmed money counts for ROI. Here is why, and how to use each tier.
8 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
The Monday loss meeting: why one ranked loss beats twenty
A loss meeting works when it leaves with one ranked loss, one owner and one date. Here is how to run it, and what to do with the other nineteen.
6 Oct 2026 · 3 min read