Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1424540
94 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2021 Patty continued, "We brought binoculars to Ascutney, but you suggested a telescope in- stead if it's one that you don't have to lug up a mountain. I was hoping to get one for our sons. Could you recommend one?" "I think a scope like mine is ideal. It has a six- inch mirror which allows serious viewing yet is small enough to handle. Also, the cost is less than $1,000," Maggie explained. Maggie sent Patty a link to a similar telescope as hers (Figure 1) and to some astrophotos that a scope like this could take. Three days later… Maggie, John, Frank Emor y, and Chuck Tower sat in Patty Coleman's spacious univer- sity office with plans to review their progress in keeping the lines running during lunch hour. "So, what's the scoop?" Patty asked. "Well, it was a resounding success," Maggie stated. "John and Chuck will explain." Chuck, feeling a little uncertain and aer a short awkward silence, let John begin. "We had an all-hands meeting and an- nounced that everyone would get a $3 per hour raise if the company could keep the lines running during the lunch half-hour," John said. "Frank explained how we lost much more than a half-hour of production time during lunch. It was actually closer to an hour and 15 minutes." "How was it accepted?" Patty asked. "At first, we received a lot of skepticism, but as people offered suggestions, the meeting be- came more and more positive," John continued. "Let me guess. e first complaint was that the workers wanted to eat lunch together?" Patty asked. John whispered into Chuck's ear to answer a "yes" to Patty's question. "As the meeting went on, more suggestions were offered as to how to keep the line running during lunch with the fewest people. One big breakthrough happened when staff who do not work on the line offered to pitch in and help during the lunch hour," Chuck began, hesitat- ingly. "What I think is really great is that you let the workers offer suggestions, instead of tell- ing them what to do," Patty said in a compli- mentary tone. "It gets better; let Chuck continue," Maggie suggested. "At the meeting, we organized a group of people to set up a plan, and within a week it was implemented," Chuck said. "And the results were?" Patty asked. "We set up a skeleton crew for each line to keep it running during lunch hour. With the staff who don't normally run the line volunteer- ing now, each worker only misses lunch with their friends about once every other week. In addition to the focus on uptime, many people offered helpful suggestions on how to improve uptime in general," Chuck elaborated. "So how is it working?" Patty asked. "Let me take this one," Frank said. "Uptime skyrocketed to just over 45%. e financials are mind-blowing. As a reminder, with uptime at 30%, we were at a little less than $2.8 mil- Figure 1: Maggie recommends a lightweight, inexpensive telescope such as these. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)