The Law of the Farm...

The esteemed author Stephen Covey in his seminal books "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "Principle Centered Leadership", and "First Things First" referenced the "Law of the Farm" or the "Law of the Harvest".  Basically, this means that one can not take short cuts or "cram" to achieve results.  The Law of the Farm must be obeyed.

Illustration.  If you are a farmer and are lazy or forgetful or are into taking short cuts, "cramming for farming", or not using the correct tools and don't to prepare your fields you won't have a harvest in the all.  If you don't prepare  the fields in the Winter by plowing and preparing the soil,, fail to plant the crop in the Spring, neglect to tend the fields during the Summer, and then walk into the "bountiful fields" in the Fall only to find nothing to harvest - you decide you had better get with the program and quickly. 

So, on Monday you prepare the fields, planting the seeds on Tuesday, tending and weeding and watering on Wednesday, and then when the farmer returns to the field on Thursday, nothing is there!  You can't cheat the "Law of the Farm.  There is no way around it. 

This same principal applies to "real world" problems.  I have a good friend who has always insisted on "cramming" for exams and trying to do things out of the natural order.  He would stay up and pull "all nighters" hoping to make up for six weeks of not studying and doing homework.  Even more, there are certain "foundations" that must be built upon before engaging in higher orders.  One can not take Calculus before having a firm grasp of Analytical Geometry which in turn requires a through understanding of Trigonometry which is formed by the foundation of Algebra.

Lim x --> 0- f((Sin 4x**2) / (Tan 3x +6 x * 9x)
(that is the limit of x as it approaches zero from negative infinity)

What brings this all up is that for the past many months I have off and on been struggling with a "simple" personal home project that had gotten  out of control with cost overruns, material costs out of sight, with labor approaching infinity.  We are taking about a project that had gotten so far out of control that the US Federal Government would be proud of!  I was putting up some metal stair banister railings outside and needed to drill through seventy year concrete to place the concrete bolts.  I only needed to drill sixteen 3" deep 5/8" holes.   Concrete, unlike many things, continues to harden for almost infinity.  Generally, the older it is the harder it is.  I was violating the law of the farm and I knew it - and I kept on keeping on.  Running into a brick wall, or concrete steps, over and over.  Someone told me, I don't know if it's true or not, that the concrete in the mammoth legendary Hoover Dam in Nevada is still hardening.   

I started out with just a simple plain ole drill with some concrete bits.  No bueno.  Not even a dent.  So, I borrowed a hammer drill, no bueno, not powerful enough and went through several expensive tungsten carbide bits.  Ok, throw money at the problem and the problem goes away.  I went and purchased a reasonable hammer drill and more bits.  Well, a Brazillian drill bits later and after researching on the net for suggestions such as using concrete nails to get through a hard spot, I was still pretty much at hole one.   

I'm not one to punt.  If I was a football coach 4th down and 98 it would still be a running or passing play - a hail Mary.  No quitters allowed.  So, I pulled out all the stops, threw more money at the problem and I'm pleased to report that "Mission Accomplished".  I purchased what I should have to start with, and I knew it to start with, was to get a massive concrete drill and the expensive bits that go with it, and get the job done.  I was trying to take a "short cut" to achieve results w/o paying the price.  At the end of the day, it cost me a lot more in time, money, and effort.  Let me tell you what, this 8amp specialized concrete hammer drill drilled through that concrete like it was Swiss cheese that had been on the kitchen counter for a week during the hot Texas summer.  Within thirty minutes the holes were drilled, the railing was up, the bolts tightened, and the project virtually completed.  "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED".  It was almost too easy! 

There is no telling how much I spent just in materials for drill bits, new drills, alternative methods, and my "free" labor.  The reason I am telling you this is because as I was drilling the holes yesterday I was reminded of the "Law of the Farm".  If I had of done it right to start with, I wouldn't be writing this!

So, with your ERP/MRP software at your metalcasting facility - are you violating the "Law of the Farm" by not using specific software for the metalcasting industry?  Are you  limping along with some generic software system or worse yet - no system - trying to manage your order entry, scheduling, production, etc. and hitting a concrete wall day in and day out?  If so, seriously consider the Synchro32 solution.  Don't use just a simple drill for your ERP/MRP needs, use the Cadillac concrete drill to get your "Mission Accomplished".

Till next time, see you on down the road...