A while ago, we conducted a survey and asked a simple question :

If you could change one thing on your shop floor what would it be?

The answers ranged across changes in management, procedures and people; however, the most frequently stated answer was "go paperless. The many reasons for the "paperless answer" boiled down to the fact that it was perceived that a paperless operation would be more efficient and solve many of the crisis problems that occur. That is, it would keep things under control and provide a proactive view of operations rather than a reactive view after a problem occurs. If many of the crisis situations could be avoided, there would be much less need for overtime, or staying late and missing a family event.

It's time to ask a variation of that question.

If you could change one thing on your shop floor to directly benefit YOU personally, what would it be? In other words what do you wish for?

• Shorter hours?
• Fewer problems?
• Fewer late nights away from the family?
• Fewer "fires" at work?
• A sense of accomplishment?
• A chance to be the hero?
• A promotion?
• Anything else?

If your company improved shop floor operations through paperless manufacturing, would that help you, in any way, achieve all or part of your personal goals?

If it would, then you can choose one of two paths.

First, become a champion for paperless manufacturing. We can work with you to put a business plan and an ROI analysis in place to have a run at your management.

 

Second, identify a person in your company who would be a good champion for such a project and have them contact us to work toward a business plan.

In either case, if it works out, you will start to achieve your goals and may even go far beyond what you think is achievable now.

What's the risk? Enough companies have already converted to paperless operation that the benefits are well known. There are established solutions with such a large payoff (ROI) and quick implementation, that success is virtually assured. Risks in paperless manufacturing projects are a thing of the past.

Next issue we will explore how to get the best value in paperless manufacturing.

We will talk about the question: Do you really get what you need when you buy a software solution for your shop floor? In many cases we have seen companies pay a lot of money for a system that really did not meet their need.