Over the HORIZON Thinking

Over the Horizon. That phrase conjures up many different images and thoughts.

I’m thinking about it in the context of creating brand-new manufacturing processes.

When we are building brand-new manufacturing processes we are venturing into the unknown. We could also call it a voyage towards “process incognito", because we do not know what the actual manufacturing process will look like, or if it will even work at scale.

Over the Horizon there can be either good things or bad things, we cannot be sure, we cannot see them until we get closer to them. Let’s ignore the good things for this discussion; they have a way of taking care of themselves.

The bad things that occur are generally unresolvable manufacturability issues. These are unresolvable because of insufficient process capability, inherent physics/chemistry limitations, excessive added cost, practicality concerns, safety concerns, etc.

So, Over the Horizon Thinking in this context is:

A mindset (and associated relevant actions) designed to surface unresolvable manufacturability issues as early and cheaply as possible, before they are clearly visible, so they can be most effectively dealt with.

Early detection of important manufacturability issues is absolutely vital because it provides time and space to resolve/understand them in a systematic manner.

Over The Horizon thinking and actions include, in no particular order:

• Discussions with operators are used to truly understand how thigs are going “where the rubber meets the road”. The operators will understand these issues and want to resolve them before full-scale production.

• Ideal Final Result analysis tool to create a “stake in the ground” for what a “perfect” process would look like.

• Partnership of process and equipment efforts. The process needs to be formally iterated on much like the equipment is iterated on.

• Pilot Scale Process Turn-Up: criteria for successful transition to full-scale production.

• Pre-Mortems done on possible manufacturability issues. These structured thought experiments can be invaluable.

• Process Fundamentals Overview, describing why this specific process works and what its weak spots are.

• “Process Window” defined, quantifying how much margin the process has.

• Regular and routine “state of the process” presentations and check-ins…to define identified issues and potential upcoming concerns.

• Systematic approach using checklists and templates to minimize errors and enable continuous improvement.

• The current state of the process is known, visible, and based on fresh data.

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My main learning from this line of thinking is the power of Over the Horizon thinking. It can also be thought of as “false start insurance”. Seasoned process (and equipment) builders know how expensive false starts can be, and they gladly put in the effort beforehand to avoid them whenever possible.

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CHALLENGE TO READERS

Think about your efforts building bold and new processes over the past 5-10 years…

• When have manufacturability issues surfaced on these projects? Have significant issues arisen later than you would like to see?

• Does the above Over the Horizon list spur any productive ideas about current or past projects? Should some of these ideas be followed up on to improve your future hit-rate?

I’d like to hear your thoughts about the Over the Horizon approach, and how it fits with your real-world experiences. Call me (508-410-8081) and let’s discuss doing great process work.

If you send us an email, we will get back to you promptly, thanks.

All the Best,

Marty

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