Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 16

24 what we are doing and can make immediate adjustments, analyze trends, and look for root causes to address for improvement. This has generated immediate, measurable, improvement. This is a basic issue, and we should have been doing it long ago. There are many more examples of using what we already have for continuous improvement. GENERATING NEW REVENUE STREAMS In addition to improving our in- house operations, this data can be the basis for an entirely new revenue stream for the company. HERE TO STAY As we have all become arm chair epidemiologists, it seems clear that Covid and the impact it has on our industry are here to stay. We have all found new ways to do things, and we continue to evolve in spite of the challenges we would not have envisioned a few short years ago. Maximizing the benefit resulting from available information and data is of great importance to all of our businesses. Like most things, it requires effort in the beginning, but then becomes second nature, supplying an ongoing return to the company in the form of flexibility and improved operational and financial performance. It seems clear that these opportunities will continue to expand as we increase the data generating and gathering power, and the potential positive impact they can have on everything we do. The capacity of systems and products can be used to gather valuable customer data, to potentially use in ways outside of the product we sell. In the SMART pump example above, we now have visibility and connectivity into our customer’s process and can use that to gather additional process data. This data can be used to improve the operation in ways beyond what we are analyzing relating to pump performance. This can be helpful and fosters a robust, valuable dialogue. With the right approach, we can address issues in connectivity, reliability, and security. Contact: JEFF KELLER jeff.keller@mmei-inc.com