Government should watch expenses
If the county executive can’t find 10 percent budget cuts, maybe I can help.
I am a consulting engineer specializing in industrial engineering. When profits and the bottom line are critical, corporate owners tend to want the most efficient operations and maximized time utilization. The worst downfall in business is to confuse activity for achievement. Yes, everyone looks busy, but what is getting done?
The first phase of a typical project is to establish the maximum possible output of the existing operations. Then the job efficiencies are determined to find out what is actually being done. When these factors are applied to the desired or required output, it can be determined if the resources being spent are excessive or not sufficient.
I understand government dances to a different tune than the private sector. I have been in companies where a call comes down from corporate informing the plant manager that there will be a 10 percent cut in the operation expenses in one week. Anyone who has ever been downsized knows the harsh reality of this situation. I have experienced it five times in my career. The workload does not decrease, yet the people still employed are expected to carry the load. Out of fear of being the next one to go, everyone gets busy and the work gets done. Sick days decline and coffee breaks get shorter.
When people are held to a bottom line, it is easy to control the situation. People who own stock demand a return and it is up to the companies to turn a profit. No one in government is under the gun to return a profit. They provide services to the citizens and try to stay within the budget. If they overspend, taxes are raised to meet the difference. So the taxpayers in reality are subsidizing all the inefficiencies of the current system.
There are many operations that don’t need to know the efficiency of their operations. If labor is only 10 percent of the total costs, it is not that important. If labor is your highest cost, say 80 percent of the total budget, I think a 12 percent reduction could be realized in labor cost. That would result in an overall 10 percent reduction.
Any task can improve productivity. Americans built cars for decades with their style of mass production. The Japanese showed up in the 1980s and showed us how “lean” manufacturing can get it done more efficiently. Today, most companies in America have adopted the lean manufacturing method. Most that did not are now out of business.
I could go into more detail, but I would be saying things that some people would not like to hear. There are some basic principles that could be applied to help the current budget crisis. If we go to war, the economic fallout would reduce the possibility of help from Washington. I think we have seen how much the state plans to help. I guess Warren County will be on its own, and it is hard to raise taxes when so may people are without jobs.
Marty Klasek
617 Sunburst Dr.
McMinnville