Management Blind Spot 4 – False Starts: Parts Shortages, Rework, and Late Deliveries

At some point, everyone has started a project only to realize later they don’t have everything they need to finish. Drywall anchors, picture hangers, spackle – no matter the project, it’s the little things that get you hung up. So you either have to stop and run back to the store to finish, or set the project aside until you can swing by the store “later.” Either way, it’s extra work and takes longer than it should.

Many engineering projects suffer from the same problem. In a hurry to start, we begin the work as soon as it appears on our desk. But too often, the task takes longer because we don’t have everything we need to finish it. Worse, we don’t realize we can’t finish (who knew we were out of drywall anchors?) because we didn’t check or fully unpack the task before we started.

False starts are worth addressing because of their impact on workflow. Multiply the start-and-stop effect by the number of your engineers, designers, drafters, buyers, etc., and you’ll see delays and rework cascade across all of your projects.

It’s such an obvious thing, isn’t it? But what’s obvious and sensible isn’t what we find in the workplace. The reason – especially in knowledge work – is that it’s difficult to incorporate obvious and sensible into a coherent system of project management.

Most people don’t see it as a problem, just a fact of life. From a project systems point of view, it’s hard to see that false starts are the cause of many of your project problems:

Loss of Momentum: Too much work in process is already a problem. False starts exacerbate the problem – they inflate WIP even further, and it can’t move!

Rework: Without the full kit of information needed to complete tasks, work is often done incorrectly. Going back to redo the work takes time and consumes additional resources, putting other work behind schedule and affecting not only that project but also other projects that rely on those resources.

Extra Costs: Doing it twice or three times. Using resources more and for longer than planned. This time and those resources have to be purchased. Working overtime to catch up. Temporary workers. Tiger teams. Not free. Not planned.

False starts are more than a nuisance; they are a systemic problem that affects your entire project management process.

What to do about it? First, make a decision. Don't start a task unless you can finish it. This shifts the organization's emphasis from keeping busy to preparing to succeed.

Next, resource the preparation activity. Someone must be accountable for the full kit and a clean start, and someone must check that the work is ready to begin.

Then, focus on identifying what is needed to finish a task. That, in itself, will shift your team’s thinking. Consider establishing handoff criteria and deciding when it is good enough to say “done.”

In my work with project teams, I often see false starts: in projects and in manufacturing. For example, at one manufacturer, shortages to final assembly were high, and the receiving department didn’t want to stop the line. Crews were constantly deployed out of position, working overtime, crowding stations, and creating rework and scrap.

By eliminating shortages and starting clean, the line accelerated, and overtime declined substantially.

Although the example is from a manufacturer, the concept applies to any workflow. The practice of a clean start with a full kit is so important to overall project performance that it has become central to our project and workflow transformation engagements. It moves teams from merely being busy to being effective. It changes the way they look at their work.

It’s a simple step you can take that will transform your portfolio performance. Decide.

False starts are one of five invisible project threats in my eBook, Blindsided! Five Invisible Project Threats Successful Managers Must See.