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ROI

Peter Bigelow

Today’s builders have data analytics skills that match their manual dexterity.

Sometimes you see things a hundred times or more before it hits you the image presented does not match the message it intended to convey.

Case in point: A common television ad of late for a fairly high-tech product. The message was about the quality that goes into “making” these devices. So far, so good. But the ad fades to a man decked in a flannel shirt, blue jeans and the obligatory well-groomed beard, eyeing with pride some woodworking project. I get it: Pride in workmanship. The skilled craftsman produces a fine item. The message and imagery are ageless. One problem, though: That’s not how it goes!

It’s been decades since I purchased an item that is not the result of vigorous, data-driven engineering, followed by a slew of process, manufacturing, quality, and even finance folks obsessed with the analyses, measurement, inspection and costing of every piece of anything that gets even close to the product. While I’d like to think some flannel-shirted woodworker hand-built a device, the reality is data, and more data, and a little data on top of that, are what it takes to turn a concept into a successful product.

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Peter Bigelow

If ever employees deserved a big “Thank You,” now is it.

The world has been through the ringer over the past 18 months. Pandemics have a way of shaking things up in ways no one could possibly imagine. It’s sort of like being tossed into the wash cycle of a washing machine, being soaked from every possible direction, only to be rewarded by needing to survive the spin cycle! Covid-19 has brought nothing less. Regrettably, as summer turns to autumn, thanks to the Delta variant the end of this pandemic looks nowhere near.

For too many the disease itself has been devastating, from loss of life to the scores of friends, family and colleagues who fell seriously ill. No words can be said to ease the pain for those who have lost loved ones. For many others, the disease has cost them employment and caused dramatic changes in day-to-day lifestyles. For some, total despair. Indeed, the impact of Covid still can be seen and felt across the globe.

In some industries the impact of Covid has brought a complete change in the cadence of daily life. Rather than adults heading out the door each morning to go to an office to work, the work has moved into their home much like a loved (but unliked) distant relative. Ditto children: Rather than heading to school each day to learn in a classroom and play with friends, they have been confined to home. Parents, children, coworkers and teachers all inhabit limited space and fight for enough bandwidth to handle the seemingly never-ending virtual meetings and lessons. This new Covid paradigm, while enabling people to remain in a safe environment, has still caused displacement, inconvenience, and for many levied an emotional toll.

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Peter Bigelow

The trend toward keeping ideas under wraps may slow adoption.

Early in my career cutting-edge technology was personified in hardware, such as a wire EDM machine for cutting metal used in dies for wire-to-wire terminals: for instance, forks, rings and spades. No one in those days associated software with technology. It was simply some magic the IT department created to generate reports.

Decades later, most people immediately think of software, firmware and apps as technology, while the devices themselves, regardless of how advanced, are more or less just hosts for the apps. In our industry, there is far more recognition of the technology that goes into hardware and an appreciation that the two are codependent to provide the desired end-application. In fact, many in our industry may well believe the real magic is in hardware that can withstand a variety of operating environments, while providing a stable and robust platform for software to operate.

Today, in some ways, technology is wearing two faces: one that enables and one that confounds!

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Peter Bigelow

The cycle of higher unemployment and prices must be broken.

I am not an economist, but having been around the block more than a few times over the past decades, it sure looks like financial déja vu!

My career started in the mid-1970s. At that time, the economic arena was swirling from extraordinary events that, together, created the perfect storm for hyperinflation. The aftermath of the US political crisis Watergate, staggering gas lines and shortages caused by the rolling Middle East oil embargos, and questionable Federal Reserve tactics led us to double-digit inflation. At that time, I was pricing administrator for a division of a global electronic connector manufacturer. Among my responsibilities was keeping the multi-thousand-part price book up to date. This task historically was done once every one or two years. In the environment we were in, however, I was updating prices two to three times each year!

It’s with this perspective I find myself trying to read the proverbial economic tea leaves of where we are headed in 2021 and beyond.

The past couple years, like in the mid-70s, have been filled with extraordinary events. Washington has been in gridlock; tariffs are finally resulting in shifts in where product is produced and shipped; a pandemic has displaced millions of workers and sent more home to work. Manufacturing facilities are reducing onsite staff, resulting in lower output and product shortages. Governments are responding with economic stimuli in the form of direct cash to citizens, enhanced unemployment benefits for those out of work, and low-cost loans to business and industry.

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