Making the Unpredictable Predictable

The Foundation of Continuous Improvement

As an experienced manager, you are skilled at managing the day-to-day processes within your organization. You know all the Standard Operating Procedures that dictate how to deal with events as they arise. And you rely on systems that are perfectly tuned to manage predictable events that make your organization run.

Within the context of manufacturing, your systems help you manage the production process, acquire raw materials, distribute finished goods, pay invoices, send invoices and manage budgets, and even detect predictable defects that are a usual outcome of your manufacturing process.

ERP and MES systems are great at keeping your organization running smoothly by managing predictable events.

ERP and Supply Chain products are mostly financial platforms that manage production processes from raw materials acquisition, inventory, and production to distribution and invoicing. MES (Manufacturing Execution) / SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) software automatically captures data from the production process using sensors, including defects, machine heat and other data points.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a relatively new addition to manufacturing systems that offers a ton of value if deployed correctly. Integrated with your manufacturing systems, AI can take on mundane, repeatable tasks that previously required human intelligence to complete. AI uses algorithms to crunch big sets of data, analyze trends and provide insights to managers.

Through a process called “machine learning”, AI can also be set up to automatically make changes to systems based on desired outcomes. For example, if the desired outcome is to reduce raw material costs, an AI system can be granted permission to distribute vendor orders appropriately based on price. Or perhaps production timelines are the priority, so the AI system will automatically order from vendors that have the materials available and can meet delivery timelines.

Artificial Intelligence offers numerous applications that enhance productivity, efficiency, save costs, etc. The major limitation of an overreliance on machines is that they only work when variables and outcomes are known entities. Most of your core production process is governed by known entities and defined successful outcomes.

But what happens when unknown, unpredictable events occur?

At its core, Continuous Improvement (CI) is about encountering unknown issues and transforming them into known issues with a standard process to circumvent them. Essentially, it is about transforming the unpredictable (the unknown unknowns) into the predictable (the known).

The CI process involves a systematic way to:

Detect issues, non-conformance and/or process abnormalities
Identify root causes
Brainstorm and discover creative solutions
Plan, coordinate, and collaborate to make the solution a reality
Test, confirm and update Standard Opeating Procedures (SOPs)

Detecting abnormalities and rolling their prevention into your day-to-day processes is at the heart of CI and the path to creating robust, sustainable organizational growth using Operational Excellence as the foundation.

Unpredictable events like Incidents, near misses, machine breakdowns, non-conformance process abnormalities, and inspection/audit failures happen, and when they do AI is no match for Human Intelligence (HI).

Weever empowers your Human Intelligence (HI) to transform the unpredictable into predictable.

Human Intelligence is optimized when staff are engaged and motivated, they are enabled to find successful outcomes, and they have the time to focus on what yields real results. Weever is a cloud-based workflow management platform that automates and engages the Human Intelligence Engine across your entire organization.

Learn more about HI

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