Our division is slated to get layoffs sometime around the middle of December. This is getting to be pretty repetitive news around my employer. Whenever new management comes in, the first thing that they do is pull the flush lever and see who's left swimming in the bowl. Since management is changing faster than than the seasons, the net result is efficiency meltdown. The first round of layoffs really pared out some deadwood, and even the second round had some merit. Now it's gotten down to productive employees that do a great job but can't wear a dozen hats on a single day. You'd think that our division is losing money, but just the opposite - we're the most profitable division in the corporation. The claim is that the technology has matured and that there's not much upside in continued research and development. I'm not a cardiologist, so bear with my personal assertions, but my belief is that while patients continue to die from heart disease, there's a market for new and innovative products. OK, time to get off the soapbox now; this post is about layoffs.
The term that management finds least offensive these days is RIF, or reduction in force. The people that get laid off are now the "effected" people. Also, those of us that are not "effected" have been told to "respect" those that are "effected". No! Really? I was actually planning on bringing in some rotten fruit to throw and taunt them all the way to their cars. I've had the past pleasure of laying off good friends and it's not fun. Using some cute euphemism for laying someone off is personally offensive. I was very direct with the people that I "let go". They were told of what the overall need was and why they were the ones that would no longer be employed with the company. Sometimes it was an emotional time and I thought that was appropriate, especially when friendships were involved. There's no easy way to "kick someone to the curb".
I really haven't given too much thought to my own situation in the upcoming "right sizing", but I'm sure that it will enter my conscious more as the time gets closer. I have every belief that my day will come to be "culled from the herd" and actually some joy will be had in not needing to be judged in the beauty pageant any longer. Until that time, I'll show how innovative and efficient that I can be; a real example to the rest. Hmmm? I'm glad that I live in such a Rational Nation.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
He's not bright, but he espouses our values
Recent articles have given Republican candidates a failing grade by economics professors on their knowledge of basic economic principles. These same men and women are supposed to be the very people that lead us out of the deepest recession since the great depression. Similar, huge gaffs about the constitution, American and foreign history, military and nuclear capability, and foreign affairs are minor speed bumps in a candidate's pursuit of the highest office in the land. Our focus instead is on how well the candidate conforms to our own personal belief systems, leading us down such valuable paths as prior infidelities, personal associations, and the house that they worship in. It's as if we think we can actually judge the character of a person through the lens of the media and the candidate's handlers. If the candidate reminds us of Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies because he has a nice smile, then he must be the sort of honest man that we need in the White House. It's just amazing the amount of distrust there is for highly intelligent people leading the way. We'd rather have George W telling us about the "nucular" threat from "eye-rack" because it's some dark force, in some distant land that we can rally against. No mention that it's complete hogwash.
It's time that we become more of a Rational Nation and make both our leaders today and those that want to be leaders prove their worthiness. Don't tell us how bad the plans of another are until better plans can be brought to light. Don't just say that your plan is better, but have firm data, from actual experts in the field can back you up. 9-9-9 is not a plan, it's a prescription for 9-1-1 which will require economic defibrillation. We deserve better than the load of horse-manure that we're being force fed. It's a simple economic model; we spend far more than we take in. We can either take a page from Greece or learn to spend only what we take in. With the expenses of Social Security, medicare/medicaid, defense, and servicing the national debt eclipsing all other expenses, these seem to be issues to address. If there's a candidate that proposes a balanced economic plan for these items, he can surely resolve the rest of the budget. A Rational Nation wants to vote on a well-thought-out plan, not hear about your faith journey. We want our children to live in the land of opportunity, not to serve the masters of our debts, made by ignorant parents. If the plan requires personal sacrifice, then let us plan ahead for it.
Be bold and demand the best from our elected officials because a Rational Nation requires it.
It's time that we become more of a Rational Nation and make both our leaders today and those that want to be leaders prove their worthiness. Don't tell us how bad the plans of another are until better plans can be brought to light. Don't just say that your plan is better, but have firm data, from actual experts in the field can back you up. 9-9-9 is not a plan, it's a prescription for 9-1-1 which will require economic defibrillation. We deserve better than the load of horse-manure that we're being force fed. It's a simple economic model; we spend far more than we take in. We can either take a page from Greece or learn to spend only what we take in. With the expenses of Social Security, medicare/medicaid, defense, and servicing the national debt eclipsing all other expenses, these seem to be issues to address. If there's a candidate that proposes a balanced economic plan for these items, he can surely resolve the rest of the budget. A Rational Nation wants to vote on a well-thought-out plan, not hear about your faith journey. We want our children to live in the land of opportunity, not to serve the masters of our debts, made by ignorant parents. If the plan requires personal sacrifice, then let us plan ahead for it.
Be bold and demand the best from our elected officials because a Rational Nation requires it.
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
We don't have a law that says we can
Let's start this posting by saying that I work on implantable medical devices and the lives of people are indirectly affected by engineers like me. I understand that there must be rules and regulations regarding actions that are taken in regard to the quality and safety of the devices. People have been harmed due to poor judgement, poor product design, off-label usage, and even blatant stupidity. My issue is when our hands are tied from doing the obviously right things. The hallway comment of the day is "we don't have a law that says we can". To improve on the manufacturing process in such a way that improves quality is to admit to the FDA that there must have been a quality problem. Even if the improvement reduces the incidence of failure from 1 in 10000 to 1 in 500000, this is still a corporate shortcoming that must be dealt with harshly. How did we manage to drive Miss Daisy to the asylum? Medical innovation in our core products has come to a grinding halt because the FDA believes that (with enough rules and regs) that they can actually legislate quality. Actually, you can no more legislate quality than legislate morality. Quality comes from within the DNA of an organization, where there's absolute intolerance for defects.
Over the summer, I offered my services to one of our senators at possible risk to my job, because I think that this an issue that needs addressing if we're to continue to lead the world in medical innovation. I've received no reply whatsoever. Maybe ignorance of the problem (and possible solution space) is bliss. Since this is a senator that's from our state, someone that I've contributed to, and also on the Health and Human Services committee, I thought that I'd at least get a "thanks but no thanks", response ... nope. More likely it was her staff people that vetted me as some sort of crack pot, rather than an upper level engineer that develops strategies for product quality and reliability. In any case, if it's not me that helps in fixing the status quo, then there needs to be some forum for getting through this morass.
OK nation, this is today's request to become more rational.
P.S. Someone figure out how we don't move critical medical device manufacturing to China ... transparency on quality issues is not at all the Chinese corporate DNA.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Efficient vs Effective
We're a nation that's become enamored with efficiency and lost our way on being effective. Because head count at an organization is an all-important corporate metric, we come up with new and innovative ways to get by with fewer people. We assume that by buying the latest computer program, hardware gadget, or by honing some process that we can further reduce our reliance on others to get the job done. In so doing, we're hero's to the corporate politic and justify our own existences. I'd say we've made our bed and it's an ill place to sleep.
Our organization is largely made up of technical people, mainly engineers and technicians. It's always been that way, but there's an important difference between today and days from the past. In the past there were a larger number of technicians that helped with implementation details and there were support people that dealt with non-technical issues. Today there are many fewer technicians and no support people. In our zeal to become efficient, we've decided to outsource many of our past technician tasks and we now have much better computer systems that can help us with our non-technical support issues. Now, instead of engineers doing engineering, we're writing documents and dealing with vendors that are doing the technical work.
We've become so efficient that we can even sort our own incoming mail and order our own pencils. In fact, that's what engineers, managers, and even directors are doing. Since we still need to do budgets, still need to presentations, still get mail, and still need pencils, we do it all. Now there's a rational nation. We're so efficient that we can sort our own mail ... at the fully burdened rate of someone making $200,000 per year. Now there's a mail man to be proud of!
Since we still have to accomplish all of the burdensome tasks of the business and there's only a certain number of hours in the day, somethings gotta give. Usually, that's actual engineering work. Over the past months I've had innumerable conversations about important work that had to be delayed because we just didn't have anyone to put on it. Another sadly humorous conversation was about hiring someone in to do clerical work and paying for it out of our own salaries. It was pointed out that we can't do that because that would add a head count. The silliness is getting worse by declaring people as student interns, because this position isn't considered to be an added head count. Unfortunately, student interns can only be on staff for a maximum of 4 months per year.
Speaking of interns, I had one of those last year. He was very bright and a great help to our department. I had him working on new technologies that I wasn't sure would pan out. The cost was minimal and the results turned out better than expected. You'd think that the company would want to encourage this by having a year-round student intern program. No, we can only have the students for the allowable time and then we lose the expertise on whatever they developed. That's a rational nation.
So, where does this leave us? I'd love to tell you but I've got some documents to get out, a presentation to work on, and maybe I'll see if I can't get some office supplies that we're running low on ordered.
Our organization is largely made up of technical people, mainly engineers and technicians. It's always been that way, but there's an important difference between today and days from the past. In the past there were a larger number of technicians that helped with implementation details and there were support people that dealt with non-technical issues. Today there are many fewer technicians and no support people. In our zeal to become efficient, we've decided to outsource many of our past technician tasks and we now have much better computer systems that can help us with our non-technical support issues. Now, instead of engineers doing engineering, we're writing documents and dealing with vendors that are doing the technical work.
We've become so efficient that we can even sort our own incoming mail and order our own pencils. In fact, that's what engineers, managers, and even directors are doing. Since we still need to do budgets, still need to presentations, still get mail, and still need pencils, we do it all. Now there's a rational nation. We're so efficient that we can sort our own mail ... at the fully burdened rate of someone making $200,000 per year. Now there's a mail man to be proud of!
Since we still have to accomplish all of the burdensome tasks of the business and there's only a certain number of hours in the day, somethings gotta give. Usually, that's actual engineering work. Over the past months I've had innumerable conversations about important work that had to be delayed because we just didn't have anyone to put on it. Another sadly humorous conversation was about hiring someone in to do clerical work and paying for it out of our own salaries. It was pointed out that we can't do that because that would add a head count. The silliness is getting worse by declaring people as student interns, because this position isn't considered to be an added head count. Unfortunately, student interns can only be on staff for a maximum of 4 months per year.
Speaking of interns, I had one of those last year. He was very bright and a great help to our department. I had him working on new technologies that I wasn't sure would pan out. The cost was minimal and the results turned out better than expected. You'd think that the company would want to encourage this by having a year-round student intern program. No, we can only have the students for the allowable time and then we lose the expertise on whatever they developed. That's a rational nation.
So, where does this leave us? I'd love to tell you but I've got some documents to get out, a presentation to work on, and maybe I'll see if I can't get some office supplies that we're running low on ordered.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Refurbing Houses in Minneapolit
I've been looking into refurbing some foreclosed properties in Minneapolis. The city has a shortage of good, affordable housing but not a shortage houses. There are a large number of foreclosed properties that are quite inexpensive but need some TLC and they need the city to recognize that the current housing market isn't the same as years past. The TLC comes in the form of investment, which generally requires upgrades to roofs, windows, and furnaces. Even after this investment, there's financial gains that can be made from either resale of the homes or if investors want to rent the properties until market prices firm up.
Minneapolis has a couple of things working against it in getting properties back in use. The first one is the Truth in Lending process. This process is good in that it protects buyers from getting into a home that has some obvious structural flaws or code violations. This is accomplished by having inspections that detail the work that's required to get the house up to snuff. Those are all good. The problem is that it's supposed to be the seller can't sell the house that doesn't meet code. Now, take a look at a foreclose house that has a bank as an owner. They aren't going to make repairs and clearly state that the house is being sold "as-is". To get around this item, the city has a clause that states that the new owner recognizes the deficiencies in the property and will take to financial responsibility to do so. That's OK too except for they require that these repairs must be made within 90 days, after which the property must pass inspection. It also states what repairs must be made under permit, even though some of those home features may not be used. An example of this is the connection for hooking up a gas dryer in the basement is not up to code. It also applies new rules to existing structures. For instance, the house that I'm looking at has a certain size bedroom window and that window no longer meets the requirement of opening with >5 square feet of room to crawl out. I see the reason for requirement, but this is a 1920's house that had small windows and stucco exterior. Maybe a different style of window that opens fully can meet the requirement, but it would be prohibitively expensive to widen a stucco'd opening. In general, I'm not looking for a free pass to turn a quick buck, nor am I looking to become a deadbeat landlord. I'm just looking for a way to wisely invest in the real estate market.
I'd mentioned two drawbacks to refurbing foreclosed houses in Minneapolis. The other one is the tax assessment. I'm sorry, a house that I'm buying for $40K should not be taxed at $164K. That's rediculous. Until that house actually can be shown to sell for more money, it should be taxed at no more than 25% over the sale price. As it is, the house is deadbeat. It's vacant and a scourge on the neighborhood until it gets lived in. The city should recognize this and become an active participant in a Rational Nation.
So, if cities (like Minneapolis) are looking for regular people to come in and help with the housing crisis, they should figure out how to make only the necessary red tape and set taxes based on going forward, not looking back.
Minneapolis has a couple of things working against it in getting properties back in use. The first one is the Truth in Lending process. This process is good in that it protects buyers from getting into a home that has some obvious structural flaws or code violations. This is accomplished by having inspections that detail the work that's required to get the house up to snuff. Those are all good. The problem is that it's supposed to be the seller can't sell the house that doesn't meet code. Now, take a look at a foreclose house that has a bank as an owner. They aren't going to make repairs and clearly state that the house is being sold "as-is". To get around this item, the city has a clause that states that the new owner recognizes the deficiencies in the property and will take to financial responsibility to do so. That's OK too except for they require that these repairs must be made within 90 days, after which the property must pass inspection. It also states what repairs must be made under permit, even though some of those home features may not be used. An example of this is the connection for hooking up a gas dryer in the basement is not up to code. It also applies new rules to existing structures. For instance, the house that I'm looking at has a certain size bedroom window and that window no longer meets the requirement of opening with >5 square feet of room to crawl out. I see the reason for requirement, but this is a 1920's house that had small windows and stucco exterior. Maybe a different style of window that opens fully can meet the requirement, but it would be prohibitively expensive to widen a stucco'd opening. In general, I'm not looking for a free pass to turn a quick buck, nor am I looking to become a deadbeat landlord. I'm just looking for a way to wisely invest in the real estate market.
I'd mentioned two drawbacks to refurbing foreclosed houses in Minneapolis. The other one is the tax assessment. I'm sorry, a house that I'm buying for $40K should not be taxed at $164K. That's rediculous. Until that house actually can be shown to sell for more money, it should be taxed at no more than 25% over the sale price. As it is, the house is deadbeat. It's vacant and a scourge on the neighborhood until it gets lived in. The city should recognize this and become an active participant in a Rational Nation.
So, if cities (like Minneapolis) are looking for regular people to come in and help with the housing crisis, they should figure out how to make only the necessary red tape and set taxes based on going forward, not looking back.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Twittering
I've decided that twittering is a way to push my more random thoughts out to the world ... as if the world really cares. So, if you do care, look for OutlierTom. The unfortunate thing about both blogs and twitters is that I tend to say more than I should, meaning that there's content that may get me in trouble for writing it. Since my thoughts are dominated by work-related issues and I work on ensuring the highest quality/reliability of pacemakers and defibrillators, I tend to rant about these issues. Now, I see that there are a bunch of medical professionals following my twitters. Ugh!
This doesn't mean that I plan to stop pushing out important concepts on ensuring that cardiac patients get the best possible products and care. It does mean that I need to make the data appear more generic and the opinions reach beyond my own company. Besides, if I get in trouble for what I write with the net result still being better patient outcomes, then I'll just have to deal with that separately. I don't kill myself at work for the money or the job, I do it because I can ensure that the product is significantly better. Case in point, the year before the outlier program was started here, there were as many as 6 product recalls. Yep, in just that year. Since then, we haven't had one. Knock on wood, there may/will be future recalls. The thing is that we've found the future reliability problems in the factory and have fixed the root causes of the issues. We've also made a sea change in employee attitude about statistical signals in manufacturing .
That's the good thing about people here, they listen to reason and will make the changes that are required to improve quality. Don't get me wrong, we still have some employees that are effectively corporate speed bumps, but there are avenues around them so we can get the required results. Also, I like the CEO because he's willing to step in and make things right. I think that most upper management realize that each product that gets returned has a ~$50K price tag but we lose over $1M in customer good will. Since there are three main companies looking to grab the business, customer good will is paramount.
So, back to the twittering. I've decided to still throw random thoughts out there. If people want to know more than that, they'll just need to read it in this blog ... if I get around to updating it.
This doesn't mean that I plan to stop pushing out important concepts on ensuring that cardiac patients get the best possible products and care. It does mean that I need to make the data appear more generic and the opinions reach beyond my own company. Besides, if I get in trouble for what I write with the net result still being better patient outcomes, then I'll just have to deal with that separately. I don't kill myself at work for the money or the job, I do it because I can ensure that the product is significantly better. Case in point, the year before the outlier program was started here, there were as many as 6 product recalls. Yep, in just that year. Since then, we haven't had one. Knock on wood, there may/will be future recalls. The thing is that we've found the future reliability problems in the factory and have fixed the root causes of the issues. We've also made a sea change in employee attitude about statistical signals in manufacturing .
That's the good thing about people here, they listen to reason and will make the changes that are required to improve quality. Don't get me wrong, we still have some employees that are effectively corporate speed bumps, but there are avenues around them so we can get the required results. Also, I like the CEO because he's willing to step in and make things right. I think that most upper management realize that each product that gets returned has a ~$50K price tag but we lose over $1M in customer good will. Since there are three main companies looking to grab the business, customer good will is paramount.
So, back to the twittering. I've decided to still throw random thoughts out there. If people want to know more than that, they'll just need to read it in this blog ... if I get around to updating it.
Last night I watched some on-line vids of John Stuart lambasting CNBC and especially Cramer the so-called expert advice that they give on investing. Besides being quite humorous, it shows just how clueless people are when it comes to economic futures. It also shows how there's such a herd mentality in the economy.To join the members of the truely clueless, I'm going to give my interpretation of the economic future. It's simple, so it must be wrong. My claim is that the economic future will largely be based on what a large portion of the population thinks it is. The stock market has some real deals out there but continues to go down because people of lost their confidence in the stock market. If people had confidence in the markets, they'd go up because there would be demand for the stock. Now there's just the opposite. People not only don't want their stocks, but are willing to take large losses just to get rid of them. This same behavior has extended to the housing markets, banking, and businesses. There's a perception that things are only going to get worse, habits are changed, commerce reduces, so things get worse. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe that's why the government tracks consumer confidence so closely.Now that I've stuck my neck out, I'll go as far as to get it chopped; I'll propose a solution. It's called courage. Have courage to purchase stocks in companies that you admire, even though it's down 50% (or more) from its high. Have courage to say to your employer that there's a need to consider adding people, even though the ROI isn't as clear as it once was. Have courage to spend some money, even though you're afraid that a rainy day might be coming. Finally, have the courage to say that you're optimistic about the future, even outside polite company. Maybe some of this courage will rub off to others.
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