Category Archives: Mileage trakker

Lean Automation

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Mileage Trakker verses Fanuc ARC Mate 120iC/10L taken by Phasmatisnox

Mileage Trakker verses
Fanuc ARC Mate 120iC/10L taken by Phasmatisnox

I have to admit that many years of installing robots to reduce labor has blinded me into thinking of automation as robots to be installed. This matched the marketplace because the $200,000 robots morphed into $50,000 robots opening the door for new applications with each price drop. Shop floor manufacturing cost which was $.50 of every sales dollar in the 1950’s has steadily declined to $.20 of every sales dollar today. Since 80% of the current business costs are not on the manufacturing floor, it is not surprising that the best opportunities for reducing cost by automating are no longer on the shop floor.
It would be naive to claim that no automating activity has occurred off the shop floor. The PC, then smart phone revolutions, have brought the efficiency of software to our fingertips. We would not even consider typing and mailing a letter anymore. PC Office suite software is now available as “free” open source downloads. The more recent smartphone market is equally mature. Even as early as 2010, 90% of the smart phone apps sold less than 100,000 copies, which suggests that they failed to cover their development costs.
The 80% share of business cost off the shop floor shows that the current opportunities are still away from the shop floor. The developers agree and the latest excitement is centered around innovations that combine software and hardware. This is consistent with what I am seeing. Somewhere in the future your cars will have enough connectivity and spare computers or your cell phone will have enough battery capacity to handle extra tasks. In the short term dedicated devices such as the mileage trakker http://mileagetrakker.com that I market are good examples of the latest trend. Business people who travel are happy that a device plugged into the car handles most of the assembly of an IRS format mileage report so that they can receive their significant mileage deduction at income tax time

Embedded Lean

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Lean automation applies to all aspects of business. With the cost of computing declining as predicted by Moore’s law, we can now afford to multiply the talents
of a few excellent lean practitioners across a wider audience. This trend is matches the activity occurring in higher education where online courses are now becoming the norm. The modern computerized telecommunication miracle is leveraging the talents of the best educators across the world education system.
The secret is providing lean information at the time that it is needed. We could care less about the avalanche of medical knowledge but are extremely interested in the
specific tid bits that apply to our current malady. Blood pressure cuffs that know exactly how to automatically take a reading are a good example of embedding the skill of nurses
as an automated computerized embedded lean device.
Manufacturing has evolved from plants making a few million identical Chevy Caprices
to customized JIT manufacturing on demand. This mass customization would not be
possible without the computerized ERP, TMS and work instruction systems that provide the correct information as it is needed.
The simplest tasks sometimes have the biggest payback. It takes next to no effort to flip a light switch. Most of us have the skill to perform this task from the time we are two years old. A major cost saving is possible by implementing computerized sensors that simply turn off the light when the room is unoccupied.
Technology needs to be the servant and not the master. An “app” for your smart phone that routes you around unseen traffic tie ups saves major time in your life schedule and controls wasted fuel. Plugged into my car is a Mileage Trakker http://mileagetrakker.com that creates an IRS mileage report at tax time without me remembering to turn it on. On the opposite hand, I was talking with one of my truckers who indicated that he chose to move to another sector of the trucking industry because his former employer implemented a computerized ball and chain that rigidly enforced perfect compliance to inflexible rules.
Our lives will be better after we learn to apply the lean benefits of lower cost computing.

Wingman

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Who is watching your back?

Who is watching your back?

In this high tech world it is comforting to know that you have angels looking over your shoulder. For example you have a computer wingman driving with you every mile of the way.  You won’t believe me until you try to drive a Model T where the spark advance is controlled by the driver using a lever attached to the steering wheel.  It is very easy to stall the engine each and every shift by getting the spark advance wrong.  Technology done right, like computer controlled spark advance, is user invisible.

 

Ford Model T opened driving to the masses

Ford Model T opened driving to the masses

We all get frustrated with new technology that requires the skill of a rocket scientist to operate.  Robotic and CNC manufacturing machinery that was introduced in the 90’s fit in that category.  The computer processor in that equipment was barely able to keep up with running the equipment and did not have any leftover capacity to assist the user.  The good news is that we can now afford lots of computer capacity as Moore’s law predicted.   Multiple large capacity computers are embedded into just about everything we currently create.

The secret is in creating useful tasks for these computers to do.  A computerized “wingman”,  who bridges the gap between the bits and byte and the user is one of the most helpful tasks.  I work with Wesley an industrial vehicle builder who offers an autonomous tug vehicle.  This technology would not have the market interest or acceptance if it required a rocket scientist to purpose it for the task. The embedded “wingman” in the computer control enables a normal warehouse worker to program a delivery,  simply by driving the route it the first time.  Other good examples of invisible computerized “wingmen” include the Milage Trakker http://mileagetrakker.com plugged into my car that collects and tabulates the mileage that I drive without me having to think about it.  It also understands and interprets the engine error codes with information provided real time to my smart phone.

I am not sure that I pictured the angel looking over my shoulder as a R2-D2 robot.  As computers invade every aspect of our lives I am beginning to believe that this is exactly what I need.