Adam Grabowski Dorset, UK [email protected]

You had an email from me

I am asking a question, not selling anything

I want to build something useful for small manufacturers. Before I write a line of it, I am trying to find out which routine job actually eats the time.

The honest reason for asking rather than guessing: from the outside you cannot tell the difference between a task that is annoying and a task that is genuinely costing someone half a day a week. Only the person doing it knows.

What this is, plainly

  • There is no product. Nothing exists to buy, so there is nothing on this page to buy it with.
  • I am not asking for a meeting or a call. A reply by email is the whole thing.
  • One word ends it. Reply “no” and I will not write to you again.
  • Your answer is not passed to anyone. No list, no newsletter, nothing sold on.

The question

Which of these four takes the most time?

These are the four in the email. A reply of just a number is a complete answer. One sentence saying why is a bonus, not a requirement.

  1. 01

    Shift handover What the outgoing shift has to pass to the incoming one.

  2. 02

    Planning machine servicing Who, when, and what is missing when the time comes.

  3. 03

    Writing readings down on the floor And typing them into a spreadsheet afterwards.

  4. 04

    Requests for parts and materials How a request travels from the floor to whoever orders it.

If the real answer is a fifth thing I have not listed, that is more useful to me than picking the closest of the four.

Who is asking

Who I am

I am Adam Grabowski. I have spent my working life as a technician and supervisor in manufacturing, which is why the four things above are specific jobs rather than management language. I am doing this on my own, in my own time, and this stage costs nothing but the asking.

  • Why it is a cold emailI do not know anyone at your firm to ask, and this question has no honest answer online.
  • Why the four are specific“How could we improve efficiency” gets a polite answer that means nothing. A named job gets a real one.
  • Why no callI work shifts. Email suits me and it costs you less time than a meeting would.
  • What happens to answersThey tell me where to look next. If a pattern shows up across several firms, that is what I will try to build for.

Replying

A number, or the word no

Either is a good outcome for me. A number tells me where to dig; a “no” takes you off the list for good and stops me wasting your time twice.

If you want to know more about what I am doing before answering, ask. I will tell you honestly, including that I do not yet know what the thing will be.

EMAIL

[email protected]

Replying to the original email works just as well.

Adam Grabowski
Office 168637, PO Box 7169
Poole, BH15 9EL, United Kingdom