Real-Life Decision Making
It's lunchtime at the mill, but you don't even notice. You are
madly punching in computer code. You want to get a new program that you've
researched and developed into the production line as soon as possible.
If you aren't disturbed, you could get the program for the optimized
edger finished today. Then the phone rings and interrupts your work. A panicky
voice breathes into the phone.
"It's down. It's down," the voice says. She doesn't have
to say much more. You know instinctively what the problem is: the main processing
line at the mill has shut down.
This is a huge and urgent problem. "When that goes down you are losing
$600 per minute," says process control analyst David Nordvie.
But the program you are working on is also important. Once installed, the
edger will be able to trim boards at an optimum level and reduce the amount
of waste your company is producing.
"Fiber costs drive everything in this business," says Nordvie. "By reducing
1/50,000 of an inch on a board, you can save the company millions of dollars
over the year."
You could send an assistant to the mill and have her work on the problem.
That way, you'd be able to finish your project and the assistant could
get the mill up and running. Even though she has less experience, you have
confidence in your assistant.
What are you going to do?