Articles by Jon Wetzel

To look forward we need to first look back.  From 2008-2012 we saw big pharma collide creating larger companies.  Genentech-Roche, Novartis-Alcon, Pfizer-Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline-Human Genome Sciences just to name a few.  During this same time frame the economies of the world have seen crashes and upheavals causing some of these same companies to “trim” their...Full Article »

What lean business knowledge can we learn from a fictitious doctor that travels through space and time in a shiny police box?  Let’s discuss. Doctor Who is a Time Lord but he doesn’t waste any time The good doctor is always on the go.  As someone who has all the time in the known universe he tries to always be working on something productive. This should be a wake up call...Full Article »

We’ve finished the future state map on how to fix the entire system but it’s going to take us at least a year, involve a ton of man hours and cost a lot of money.  It also involves every department and it’s going to triple our daily work load until we get all the bugs worked out.”  Have you heard this before?  Did the idea flash and then fizzle?  Next...Full Article »

When you shake hands with someone there’s a physical acknowledgement between both persons that they actually met each other.  A hand wave can be a random one way communication between one person or several.  Perhaps even no one if the person for whom the wave is intended isn’t looking.  How do you communicate? Didn’t you get my email? Working remotely, I use...Full Article »

By saying “Action Hero” you might be envisioning Angelina Jolie as “Laura Croft” or Jason Statham in just about anything he’s ever done but I’m talking about the lean action hero of the workplace. This important person makes sure that everyone knows the What, Who and When of a task but is unfortunately missing from most meetings. That was a long meeting. ...Full Article »

Now that you have Carl Douglas’s or Cee-Lo Green’s “Kung Fu Fighting” stuck in your head let’s talk about if you’ve been acting like a true Lab Kung Fu Master. My lab Kung Fu is much better than yours! As a fan of the 70’s Kung Fu movie era, I have realized how similar they are to the scientific lab environment. Lab techs often talk about the skills...Full Article »

As we move into the new year now is the time to look around your surroundings and examine where and how you can effect positive change in your own environment. Mahatma Gandhi said “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”  Let this resonate. Think about the place you want to work and then lead by example. Everything you do affects others and vice versa Ask...Full Article »

Inventory is one of the primary wastes in lean thinking and is also the hardest for people to change their mindset about.  I’ve compiled my list of the top 5 items you need to know in order to understand the downfall of having Inventory laying around. 1- Inventory is a liability      While the accounting department lists your inventory as an asset it is really just...Full Article »

The calendar is a global countermeasure. There are 365 days in a year except every 4 years there are 366 days.  The leap year was a countermeasure developed in 45 BC as part of the Julian calendar. It was created to help compensate for the reality that there are approximately 365 days + 6 hours in the rotation of the earth around the sun.  To be more specific, a solar year is 365 days,...Full Article »

If you don’t know where you are or where you’re going then why are you surprised when you get lost?  In today’s world we KNOW the benefits of Google Maps or having a GPS in our cars so why aren’t we using process maps to guide our business improvements? A dose of reality can cure or paralyse When I did lean consulting one of the first things I asked was “Do you...Full Article »

From a high level perspective a Quality Management System (QMS) is great but to the lab workers it’s more like a pile of “red tape” that stops them from doing or improving their work.  Here’s what you can do to put the “Quality” back into your QMS.  "Something is wrong if workers do not look around each day, find things that are tedious or...Full Article »