Day 28 – 11 February 2014 Ah well. I didn’t win. Newcastle and Bucks did so at least something came to the region. I got down to the last six out of fifty seven bids and I made a couple of useful contacts, one from the Department for Communities and Local Government and one form … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 28
A year of work in progress – day 20
Day 20 – 30 January 2014 A whole day in County Hall and so I decided to get the train in. I can only do this if I don’t have to be somewhere else and don’t have to be too early or late. It was a welcome break from the car park on the A1 … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 20
A year of work in progress – day 19
Day 19 – 29 January 2014 It is easier to get from where I live to Seaham through the Tyne Tunnel and I pretend to myself that this makes a welcome change from my normal daily commute. I just get stuck in different places. An accident at Moor Farm roundabout didn’t help. Our offices there … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 19
A year of work in progress – day 14
Day 14 – 21 January 2014 What is it about having a beard the makes people think they can poke fun at you? I’ve suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous beard insults already including: your photo must have been taken when you were much younger; any longer and it would look weird and; you … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 14
A year of work in progress – day 12
Day 12 – 17 January 2014 There are two main groups that I attend which represent ICT in the region, the Society of ICT Managers (SOCITM) and the North East ICT Managers (NEICT). My friend Roy chairs the first and I chair the latter. Today it is the turn of SOCITM. This group covers the … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 12
Doing Lean
I’ve been fascinated by the concept of Lean ever since I read the book ‘The Machine that Changed the World’. Its description of the Toyota Production System and the dramatic effect that this had had upon automotive production was, and still is incredible. This must be at least fifteen years now and ever since I … Continue reading Doing Lean
A leaky bucket
Imagine a bucket with a hole in the bottom. That’s how we manage the jobs that we get within the service, or calls as we refer to them, using a leaky bucket. It could be a shiny read bucket with a strong wire handle and comfortable wooden grip or an old galvanised bucket with a … Continue reading A leaky bucket
Incentive to come together
It has long been believed that larger organisations are more efficient than smaller ones, or at least have greater capacity for efficiency. This can certainly be proven in areas such as use of assets, retention of skills, reduction on overhead etc. but whether such efficiencies lead to greater effectiveness is another story, one for another … Continue reading Incentive to come together
Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Once again another hospital finds itself in the news because of its target driven culture. This time it is Colchester General Hospital and follows an inspection by the Care Quality Commission which found inaccuracies in recorded cancer waiting time data at the hospital. The manipulation of data to give the impression that targets were being … Continue reading Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Lean your kitchen
I saw an article the other day on whether you can apply lean principles to your kitchen. It was called Determining the Overall Productivity in Your (Wife's) Kitchen and came with an amusing video, sepia-tinted to make it look old. Now I know that lean is more of a way of thinking than a set … Continue reading Lean your kitchen
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 