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Larry Coté is president of Lean Advisors Inc., an Ottawa,
Ont.-based lean consulting firm and a frequent contributor. You can
reach Larry by email at:
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Every
so often, you read in the newspaper that our manufacturing industries
are doomed unless the government gives them more tax cuts or other
financial breaks. Business owners want more cash to invest in new
equipment and new technologies. I don’t think any of us disagree that
businesses need the right resources to leverage innovation and growth.
Most governments hear this and hand out tax cuts or other incentives.
Business conversations tend to focus on how often and how much the
government should help.
Investing in our companies
is, of course, essential to keep up with both new technologies and the
maintenance of current equipment. Tax relief by itself, however, is not
the answer. In fact, in some cases it is only a bandage on problems
that need more than dollars to fix. Look at the quick fixes that these
dollars represent more carefully. Are you really solving the problems
that led to lower competitiveness and static technology? Your
competition will be getting similar government dollars and doing
exactly the same thing. Their competitive edge has not changed and
neither has your position in the food chain. The costs of maintenance
for both the old and new equipment will continue to rise putting even
more pressure on companies to survive in an intensely competitive,
global market place. Let’s try a different
approach — one that helps us focus better on which of our needs will
truly leverage increased global market share and success. Why don’t we
have companies remove the waste in their current system to qualify for
more government rebates, grants or tax relief? Removing waste through
the right lean practices makes real needs (equipment, labour
investment) leap off the page. It also shows us that some of the needs
we thought we had are unnecessary or even counter productive to our
business goals. Read the rest of this column on cutting waste by clicking on the link below:
http://www.advancedmanufacturing.com/JulyAugust05/newswire.htm#Anchor-lea-7566
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