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A Few (Sometimes Rambling) Thoughts

2019: The Year of Simulation?

The following is a product development industry prediction I made for 2019. Since we’re about half way through the year (believe it or not) let’s see hos this is panning out.

(From MCAD Café – January 17, 2019) Throughout the coming year simulation will continue to take on an even greater role as companies search for ways to become more innovative, leverage resources, and keep pace with accelerated product development cycles.  Consequently, the expanded use of advanced simulation tools beyond expert CAE analysts (i.e. the democratization of simulation) will become an even greater industry-wide priority.

Democratizing Simulation allows product engineering, manufacturing, and support organizations to more fully leverage their CAE investments and resources by allowing expert analysis to focus their time and expertise on high-priority simulations while allowing non-experts to perform basic (and even some advanced) CAE analysis.  The result of simulation-driven design will compress product development cycles and accelerate innovation with a measurable increase in product quality.

2019 will see a surge in the number of manufacturing, design, and other product development organizations embracing the tools and resources allowing more thorough and widespread use of simulation technologies beyond experts. To support this growing need, software providers, large and small will continue to aggressively develop the enabling technologies to feed this growing demand.

What do you think? Am I on track, miss it by a mile, or some place in between?



Decisions, Decisions…

I was talking with a friend a few days ago. This person mentioned that her parents grew up in another state and moved to Ohio when she was three.  I asked if she ever considered the ramifications of such a decision – not only on her immediate family – but for generations to come.  She gave me a polite “Yes, that’s interesting” response; but she obviously wasn’t as enamored by the phenomenon as I.

Just think about it.  We are who and where we are today because of countless decisions made by our early and recent ancestors.  Its (to me at least) mind-blowing to ponder.  Where we choose to live, who we meet, what jobs we take, which way we drive to work, when and where we shop… any single one of these countless sometimes everyday decisions will set in motion the events for generations to come.

Don’t get me wrong, its not like I dwell on this sort of thing (not much anyway).  Just thought it was interesting.



If you’re not good – you had better be funny

Years ago I played on a very competitive softball team.  Tuesday night games, Thursday night doubleheaders, weekend-long tournaments, state qualifiers, and even a state championship. It was serious softball – you get the picture.

We had a guy on our team (I’ll call him “Donnie”) who was your prototypical “gloveman”.  Donnie was pretty good defensively but not a particularly gifted hitter; even for slow-pitch softball.  In a sport where offense is the name of the game teams rarely have the luxury of carrying players like that.

Late one game  I was sitting in the dugout waiting my turn to hit. Donnie was up and after hitting a weak popup to the infield he trotted back to the bench.  As he entered the dugout I noticed that he uttered something and three or four of the guys at the far end of the bench started to laugh.

Donnie made his way down and taking a seat next to me he said, “Bob, if you’re not good you had better be funny.”  I remembered that all of these years because to me it was Donnie’s way of saying that you have to find a way to contribute.  No matter if you’re on a softball team or a member of a company, you have to do more than just show up. You have to add value.

I’ve always liked that story; and I have to admit when I tell it people don’t always seem to appreciate it like I do.  Maybe I don’t tell it right, maybe you had to know Donnie, or maybe the message is too obvious.  Anyway, I try to always remind myself to look at jobs and even life that way.



Warehouse Employee Turnover

On any given day distribution managers hold their collective breaths wondering which of their warehouse associates is or isn’t going to show up. Study after study indicates that warehouses and distribution centers experience turnover at an alarmingly high proportions – up to 15% by some accounts (seasonal and other part-time laborers excluded). Additionally, it’s reported that nearly half of all new hourly employees leave the job within the first three months. Constantly on-boarding new warehouse staff not only negatively impacts productivity but is also very expensive.  Some report that direct costs to replace an employee can reach as high as 25% of an employee’s annual salary. But some experts calculate the real costs, when you factor in lost productivity and other indirect impacts, at a much higher number, up to 150% of salary. Needless to say, companies are scrambling for answers.

Most supply chain managers would agree that an ideal candidate profile for your distribution workforce is someone who can be dependable, can embrace technology, and could have the potential to advance themselves to new levels of responsibility. The answer seems simple enough, but most will attest it’s easier said than found. So, what is the best way to identify quality talent that would actually be inclined to make a career out of distribution; or at the very least stick around for more than three months? If you’re like most hiring managers, the frustrating answer is simply, “We don’t know”.

Considering all of the time, resources, and science poured into the attracting new talent, there simply isn’t a consistent profile yet or formula for predicting the success or long-term tenure of an hourly distribution center employee.

Since we can’t predict the likelihood of a candidate’s success, it’s only natural to try and identify the reasons for warehouse employee turnover or retention failures instead. To what can these disproportionately high attrition rates be attributed? More questions than answers often come to mind.

It’s hard to pinpoint one specific reason. Regardless of why, this ongoing migration presents some very real problems for supply chain management to overcome.



Democratizing Simulation: A Revolution in Simulation

Through the process of “democratization” organizations can safely put the power of engineering simulation into the hands of those who are not experts in using CAE software, including product designers, new engineers and even those in technical sales and customer support. This resulting Democratizing of Simulation accelerates design validation, which in turn shortens time to market with more innovative products. But what are the challenges, benefits, and enabling technologies of this democratization movement; and what results are companies actually seeing today?

Read my article in 3D CAD World Magazine.
More articles here.
Visit Rev-Sim.Org.



Its all about Relationships

Growing up my father constantly it seemed preached to me the importance of relationships.  Way back then I knew what he meant (for the most part) and got it (kind of) but today I have a real appreciation for the free lesson he was throwing my way.

In business as in life making contact with people and nurturing those interactions is key.  Nothing new here; and certainly nothing any of us hasn’t heard before.  But when I think about where I’ve been, where I am, and where I want to go personally, professionally (and yes even spiritually ) relationships are absolutely critical.

My career is the result of jobs I’ve held, places I’ve worked, people I’ve met and relationships I’ve forged – and yes a lot of help and a little luck along the way.   I think people sometimes complicate things. I don’t pretend to have unlocked any of life’s secrets.  After years of lessons learned and good and bad experiences I’ve learned to keep it simple, be upfront with people, keep learning and develop lasting relationships.

 



It’s the People

Since venturing out on my own in 2015 I’ve been asked a few times what I enjoy most about being an independent MarCom (choose one: consultant, freelancer, specialist, service provider, business owner, guy).   My knee-jerk reaction to expand on the wide variety of industries I’ve been introduced to; from manufacturing and engineering to warehousing/distribution, simulation, testing, industrial equipment, service and software providers alike. Heck I even do a little work with a foster care recruiter.

The experience is educational to say the least. What a great feeling when something really clicks and you have an a-ha moment and see things in a new light.   Still while I’ve learned so much in the past five years or so – I’m only scratching the surface.

But what I’ve enjoyed most is the people I’ve met.  I cannot separate these relationships from the learning aspect.  These professionals exude such levels of energy, confidence, and  expertise; that one cannot help but be impressed.  They radiate a passion that’s nothing short of contagious.  Perhaps the most inspiring thing about these people is their thirst for learning.  To a man/woman each has demonstrated a desire to advance their expertise even further.  Simply put they never stop learning.  I know, you hear that a lot – I heard that so many times that I became numb to it.  But when you witness this first hand it becomes obvious that learning the key.  Its a trait that successful people share.

I think I’ll take a page out of their playbook and try a little harder to do the same.



Product Validation

Far removed from the days of 2D drawings and countless physical prototypes, today’s product development environment is largely driven by intelligent 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models. In the 1970s the engineering community began to investigate ways to analyze product designs in order to better investigate failures in the field. By the 1980s, simulation was being used to validate designs more quickly during upstream design process. The intention was to enhance reliability while significantly reducing the number of physical prototypes that are built and tested. Moreover, validating a product early upstream in the product development process reduces or eliminates excessive warranty claims, lost contracts, and lost market share.

Sounds great in theory; and to be fair, the majority of larger organizations are achieving just this; and have been for some time. But some companies may struggle with the validation process because they may not have the experience base or formalized processes needed to reap the benefits others are achieving.

Read the entire article here.



Are we there yet?

I’m going a little off topic in today’s bolg.  When I was young (like 50 years ago) I used to like winter – I think.  I can even tolerate the cold and snow through February and early March. But when April arrives I’m ready for some warm, dry weather.  Time to play some golf, get the garden planted; and start mowing… which I’m sure I’ll regret in a few weeks.  When baseball season starts its time to break out the short pants and sun glasses right?

So I got to thinking about a few other ways that time has tainted me.  Not to sound too much like a cranky old man. Here are some other things that seemed like they were a lot bigger deal when I was growing up in small town, USA:

And a couple of things I would love to do just one more time:

I was feeling a little more nostalgic than usual today for some reason and got off topic a little.  (Maybe its because a Golden Buckeye Card materialized in today’s mail with my name on it.)  Anyway, thanks for allowing me this.



Subjectivity vs Objectivity

As humans we are are all about subjectivity. Its what keeps things interesting, fresh and innovative.  As a one-time co-worked of mine liked to say:  If we’re all thinking the same thing then somebody’s not thinking.  But when it comes to the subject of quality, there is no room for gut feel or personal opinion. Manufacturers and suppliers have to get it right.  Simply put, quality should not be left to human emotion. What’s unacceptable one day might be accepted the next; depending on any number of circumstances or how the individual feels on that particular day.  All reputable manufacturers implement some sort of quality assurance. But if quality is open to interpretation they are headed down a dangerous road.

I recently put the finishing touches on a story about this featuring the quality inspection solutions of Signalysis.  Check them out if you get a chance.