Previously, AlliedSignal employees would stockpile extra cutting inserts or throw them away before they were completely worn out. Drill bits that were supposed to last for 600 cuttings were being used for only 80. And workers on different shifts would use dissimilar drill bits for the same machine, which was both dangerous and inefficient. Now the ATDs scan each worker's identification card and dispense the proper cutting tip. If a particular shift uses more than its daily allotment of tips, the machine won't dispense more without a supervisor's approval.
Managers benefit from the real-time information the ATDs collect and broadcast across the network.
But if they don't invest in information and support systems to maximize that investment, they don't get the productivity rates and their investment isn't worth it. Nearly 50 percent of respondents expect their next annual raise to be larger than their last while 40 percent said their most recent raise was bigger than their previous raise. A whopping 88 percent said that even if they had asked, they would not have received a bigger raise. Only 39 percent felt they were being paid their true market value. Not that we encourage anyone to revel in the misfortune of others, but Dennis Grabow, founder and president of The Millennium Investment Corp. in Chicago, says that Y2K compliance gives companies a competitive advantage and is a source of shareholder value.