Everyone Was Busy

Everyone Was Busy


I remember a workshop manager who had a problem.

Or perhaps the problem found him.

One day, the COO commented that the workshop technicians didn’t seem busy enough.

He had noticed people standing around, talking, or apparently doing nothing.

The COO occasionally walked through the shop, but from what I witnessed, he rarely interacted with technicians. Not even to say hello.

He did the walking.

He just forgot the Gemba.

He hadn’t ordered anything. He had simply made an observation.

And observations from the COO have a way of becoming priorities.

The workshop manager decided to act.

Rental equipment returned with defects or damage. Some units required minor repairs; others needed more attention.

When a customer requested a rental unit, preparation could take two weeks.


The manager saw an opportunity.

Why not use the technicians’ available time to repair equipment in advance?

He reviewed historical rental demand and prioritized the most requested models.

It sounded reasonable.

Soon, technicians were busy repairing equipment. Units were becoming available. The workshop looked productive.

And the utilization KPI was turning a beautiful shade of green.

There was just one tiny detail.

Customers weren’t calling.

Rental demand was very low.

But repairs continued.

Spare parts were consumed. Equipment was moved around. Storage space filled up. Costs increased.

And those beautifully repaired units?

They waited.

And waited.

Some had been inspected when they returned from rental. They were evaluated again before repairs. And if a customer requested one, it still required a final inspection before shipment.

Apparently, getting equipment ready was not the same as getting it rented.

Meanwhile, the technicians were no longer sitting around.

Mission accomplished.

Well, almost.

The workshop’s utilization KPI was green.

Several other indicators, including some belonging to the workshop itself, were turning red.

The manager had reduced idle time, but the organization was paying for spare parts, inventory, transportation, movements, space, and work that demand hadn’t justified.

And here’s what makes this interesting.

The COO hadn’t asked anyone to repair equipment nobody needed.

The manager hadn’t set out to create waste.

The technicians were doing their assigned work.

Everyone had reasonable intentions.

But the COO had seen people who didn’t appear busy.

The manager had seen available capacity.

Neither observation meant that customers needed more equipment.

The workshop had available capacity.

The system had insufficient demand.

Somehow, the solution to one made the consequences of the other more expensive.

In the end, everyone was busy.

Even the people dealing with the additional inventory and costs.

The numbers said the technicians were working.

They just didn’t say whether that work was needed.

He saw people doing nothing, so the organization started doing things nobody needed.