24/7 Software Blog

The same issue keeps happening.

Day 1: “Where’s the resolution for this incident?”

Day 2: “Where’s the resolution for this incident?”

…

Day 247: “Where’s the resolution for this incident?”

You’ve had the same issue pop up for the last 247 days – so far.

And, did you even notice before we just brought it up?

If you did, what do you think cause you to miss it?

Could it have been that it’s such a small concern you probably didn’t think to consider its long-term impact on your operation?

If you didn’t catch it – that’s fine.

But, this small problem might be causing (or amplifying) a big problem in your operation.

Day 248.

Oh, we’re not done yet.

Your problem won’t fix itself.

Day 248: “Where’s the…”

You stop mid-sentence.

You just realized – for the first time – you’ve been asking this question to Kim, your operations manager.

You’re not sure how long either (248 days), but you know it has been a while.

And, long enough that Kim’s response is now a habit.

“I’ve got it written on my notes. Here you go,” she replies as she hands you her notebook without looking.

You assert, “we’ve got to stop this.”

So, what is your next step? Do you know how to improve this part of your process?

Keep reading; we’re going to share how using the Kaizen methodology to remove ‘waste’ like this from your operation.

It’ll support your efforts to achieve Proactive Operations and maximize your performance every day.

Ready?

“Thank you all and be safe,” you tell your supervisors before they branch out to meet with their team.

You leave the meeting room.

You swing by your office next door to grab your radio.

You start the five-minute trek to the operations center upstairs.

“Welcome,” a passing staff member says to you, followed by a few others.

“We’re excited to have you,” Joe, the head of security tells you as he catches up.

Today is a day like any other for your property, except, for you.

It’s your first day on the job here.

Your experience in Proactive Operations landed you a higher-level job at this property.

You were hired to make improvements.

But, you’re not sure what to expect.

Calls begin coming in through the incident management system and radio.

You notice something unusual but wait a little longer to diagnose the issue.

More calls come in.

“Wow,” you say to yourself.

This property has many more incidents than your former property – but they use the same resources.

“We have a…,” you hear over the radio.

Everyone is moving around the channels attempting to get some clarity.

You listen to the radio but are struggling to collect needed information.

“That’s it,” you exclaim.

You look at your operations coordinator, Mike.

“This radio traffic is the problem,” you tell him.

“Radio is not adequate for calls we have on this property,” you say.

“We have too many incidents to communicate and manage,” you continue.

But, you know what to do.

“We’re getting mobile apps,” you assert.

“We need real-time communications, and we need it now!”

Is your incident management bogged down by the lack of proactive, real-time communications?

Then, it’s time to change your approach and reap the benefits of mobile incident management solutions.

“Tesla Motors started selling its stock to the public in 2010 — the first initial public offering of a U.S. automaker in more than a half-century. On Tuesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he's considering a reversal — taking the electric car company private,” writes Avie Schneider in their recent NPR article entitled “8 Years After Going Public, Elon Musk Wants To Take Tesla Private.”

“As he often does, the outspoken entrepreneur took to Twitter to deliver the news. ‘Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured,’ Musk tweeted in early afternoon, according to the article.

Schneider explains, “Tesla stock was trading at about $355 a share before Musk's tweet. It jumped about 5 percent after the tweet. But later in the afternoon, trading in the stock was halted pending an official company announcement.”

“That came shortly before 3:30 p.m. when Tesla published an email that Musk sent to company employees, saying that no final decision on taking the company private had been made and that it would ultimately be left to shareholders,” states the NPR piece.

"The reason for doing this is all about creating the environment for Tesla to operate best. As a public company, we are subject to wild swings in our stock price that can be a major distraction for everyone working at Tesla, all of whom are shareholders," Schneider’s article reveals that Muck wrote.

And there it is.

The reason why Musk wants to take Tesla private.

It’s quite noble if you ask us.

But, there’s also a lesson here.

You’ve got to do right by your team and take charge to cultivate an environment that allows everyone to “operate best.”

Now, ask yourself: “Am I leading the initiative to create the environment for our team to operate best?”

Keep reading; today we’re going to share one proven methodology to help you create the environment you need that’ll benefit you, your staff and boss, and your most treasured assets – your customers.

Ready?

“I’ll be right behind you guys,” you shout to your operations team as they make their way out of the office.

It’s 1 AM, and you’re finishing up the final report on tonight’s event.

There’s only one last item on your to-do list.

You’ll review the incident reports from tonight, tally everything on your spreadsheet, record the information on your Monday morning report, and be on your way home.

You take the final swig of your water and begin reviewing the numbers from tonight.

“Here we go,” you whisper to yourself.

“Only one record of vomit,” you continue.

“That's pretty good,” you think to yourself.

“One fight,” you read aloud.

You continue reviewing the reports.

But, after three more minutes of review, you stop in your tracks.

“Wait a minute,” you shout.

Something is not right here.

All personnel and departments record incident types differently.

You begin listing the variations.

• “1 vomit.”
• “1 puke.”
• “2 throw up.”

The list goes on and on.

Your report for Monday will be inaccurate if you don’t fix this error.

You must fix it.

It’s now 1:12 AM.

You call Jack from security and tell him that you’re going to be a little longer.

It looks like another night that you won’t get to say goodnight to your husband and children.

But, you must ensure your numbers are accurate, and not only for Monday but all future analysis of your property’s incidents.

You need standardization.

And, you need it now.

“Pilots with billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company climbed to 170,800 feet — about 32.3 miles — and reached 2.47 times the speed of sound Thursday in the third successful rocket-powered flight of the company's newest spacecraft,” writes James Doubek in their recent NPR article entitled “Virgin Galactic Space Plane Reaches New Heights In Test Flight.”

“The company says the test flight was the first time the plane, named VSS Unity, reached a layer of the atmosphere called the mesosphere, which lies about 31 to 53 miles above the Earth's surface,” explained Doubek.

According to Doubek’s article, “Virgin Galactic, which describes itself as the "world's first commercial spaceline" designed the VSS Unity to carry two pilots and six passengers into space to experience a few minutes of weightlessness.”

“The Unity works by first being carried by the larger VMS Eve aircraft. Both planes reached a height 46,500 feet Thursday before the Unity had a ‘clean release’ and the pilots ‘lit the spaceship's rocket motor, before pulling up into a near vertical climb and powering towards the black sky at 2.47 times the speed of sound,’ according to The Spaceship Co., a subsidiary of Virgin Galactic, writes Doubek.

The NPR piece shared, “After reaching its intended height, the company says the Unity glides down and lands without propulsion. It landed safely at a facility in Mojave, Calif., on Thursday.”

Talk about new heights, right?

Virgin Galactic blew the roof off innovation – and landed safely.

You can’t beat that, which is why we thought it was so critical to talk about in today’s article.

We want you to reach new heights.

And, this story boosts our motivation to do so even more.

“Forty of our volunteer staff for tomorrow’s event called out,” Samantha, your operations coordinator, tells you.

“We’ve got to get on the phones,” you respond anxiously. “We’ll be in a bad position if we’re short forty people tomorrow night.”

“I’m on it,” Samantha shouts. She rushes out of her cubicle and begins recruiting Brian, Ashley, and Kerry from guest services.

“I’ll see if we can get some of the security guys to help us too,” Brian tells the group. He walks out of the Administration office in a hurry.

15 minutes later, a few guys from the security team stroll in behind Brian to lend an extra hand.

“We need forty people,” you remind the group. “Let’s start calling,” you scream one more time before realizing something.

“Wait, who do we call,” you ask Samantha. She’s flush, and you already know what she’s going to say.

“Luke keeps the list of event staff in a folder that he always carries,” she stutters. “He always has it with him in case he needs to call for extra help or make arrangements with temp staff,” she continues.

Without delay, Samantha gasps as she puts what might be the final nail in your coffin. “Luke’s out sick.”

You have no choice. You call Luke and make the 90-minute trek to his house.

But, you have text communication!

So, why didn’t you use this system to communicate with employees from the beginning?