subject: Fixing The Most Expensive Problem First [print this page] When you finally decide to fix a problem, fix something that has been costing you money in time and materials, its not a wise idea to just change it all at once. That's, you do not want to make a change without doing some advance work on the problem. You want to look at what isnt working and then you can begin to work out the new way to do, the new way to make it run smoother and more efficient.
If you just start pulling things apart, moving them around without knowing exactly how you are going to do it and what you are going to change, you are likely to run into more problems. In fact, you may even end up with more of a mess than you started with. All of the time that you took to make the changes could have all been wasted and you will have to start over. The best way to do these sorts of things is to have everything planned out ahead of time and to map out what you should expect.
The truth is, you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect before you make the first changes. You should have measurements and have worked out the calculations so that you are going to know what to expect. If you do not do the math, dont figure out the equations, then how do you know what you're changing to will be any better? You are going to only know what to expect if you take the time to do it the right way, and that means doing a lot of work up front.
Say you're going to make a change to be more efficient and the investment to do so will cost you a certain amount of money. How are you going to know if that money is a good investment if you do not know how much more productive you are going to be and how much money it really is saving you?
It has to make sense not only in the present, but for the future of the company and you dont want to spend so much money that you are going to never be able to recoup the initial investment. These are all things to take into consideration when beginning a new project or making major changes in any process. Without knowing these things ahead of time, you are likely to create more waste and inefficiency than you started with.
