This process is more art than science. Oh, really?
Unless you’re an artist, your business should stick to science
“This process is really more art than science.”
I’ve heard this said about many processes over my career.
Many maintenance technicians seem to be fond of this belief. They feel there is one tech in the shop who can really dial in a piece of processing or packaging equipment. For some reason, no other techs can get the settings to behave the same way as the ‘chosen’ tech.
“More of an art than science” really indicates a lack of common understanding. Likely, the ‘chosen’ tech simply understands the behavior of the equipment better than the other techs. Therefore, this tech can make appropriate adjustments as necessary. This may be due to experience with the equipment, superior mechanical aptitude, or a string of good luck.
This is especially true for equipment or processes that rely on external variables such as ambient temperature, humidity, pressure, etc.
Real World Example
Bread making is a good example a process many believe to be more of an art than a science.
An experienced bread maker can quickly tell if dough has been overworked, if it needs more time to rise, or if it needs more flour. Just as importantly, the experienced bread maker can make corrections to end up with a great loaf of bread.
In a home kitchen, relying on experience and anecdotal evidence is likely good enough.
Manufacturing is Not a Home Kitchen
For a higher-volume process, such as in a manufacturing environment, it’s important to understand and document all relevant process variables, both internal and external. Referring to our bread making example, it might be helpful to know the moisture content of the dry ingredients (flour) and also the humidity in the manufacturing environment. This way, the formula can be modified in advance so corrections won’t be necessary.
A controlled environment (temperature, humidity, etc.) makes it much easier to have a consistent process. As the overall process becomes better understood fewer people will insist it is more art than science. The outcome will become more consistent and predictable.
How Does This Apply To Me?
If you consider any process in your business/plant/department/etc. to be more art than science, consider this an opportunity to correct that.
Some processes are on the complex side and can’t be demystified through documentation of existing knowledge. That’s OK! Lean Six Sigma has many tools that can help standardize ‘art-like’ processes.
If you’d like help documenting and/or standardizing processes within your business, please reach out to me for a no-obligation consult.