http://qualityandinnovation.com/2009/06/30/quality-and-the-great-contraction/ exploring quality, productivity & innovation in socio-technical systems Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:38:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://qualityandinnovation.com/2009/06/30/quality-and-the-great-contraction/#comment-321 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:55:06 +0000 http://qualityandinnovation.com/?p=755#comment-321 [...] Nicole Radziwill approaches this subject from a different angle, but she makes a similar point about the importance of geography: Space does matter. We know this when we are designing facilities and plant layouts, for example, because one of our common considerations is to minimize traffic between areas and departments. More often than not, we do this to minimize the time spent moving people or equipment around a plant, so that time is not wasted. But the same concept could apply to our supply chains. Why aren’t we minimizing the time that components or goods spend traveling through the supply chain, when it could lead to reductions in energy costs? Furthermore, why aren’t we shortening our supply chains to strengthen local and regional businesses, and train the next generation of skilled workers (who can actually do something useful for the regional economy)? [...]

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