{"id":294,"date":"2011-03-08T06:03:14","date_gmt":"2011-03-08T14:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.orangefroglogistics.com\/?p=294"},"modified":"2014-01-27T17:16:20","modified_gmt":"2014-01-28T01:16:20","slug":"5-the-essence-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orangefroglogistics.com\/blog\/item\/5-the-essence-of-time","title":{"rendered":"The essence of time"},"content":{"rendered":"
Welcome to the XXIst.\u00a0<\/sup>century, where almost everything needs to be measured, counted for and tracked, as meticulously as possible. Did Abraham Maslow do our era a favour? What he defined as fundamental in life moved to the business section, and\u00a0Time<\/i>\u00a0has fallen into one of the categories. Measuring and valuing the intangible can sound like a wishful thinking. Is it though?<\/p>\n Producing logistics project plans, I base my targets on a\u00a0time<\/i>line, making\u00a0milestones<\/i>\u00a0objectives associated to a hard\u00a0date<\/i>. Understanding what needs to be done and by\u00a0when<\/i>, I usually work backwards, from the finaldeadline<\/i>. I make every effort aiming for SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic, Time based). Logically, because a logistics road map involves people, I allow a\u00a0buffer<\/i>\u00a0(i.e.\u00a0extra time<\/i>) for the unexpected parameters. How much, you ask? How much\u00a0time<\/i>\u00a0is essential for the project to run as smoothly as possible and to be delivered\u00a0on time<\/i>, on budget and as promised? So many\u00a0time<\/i>\u00a0references, so much to do, and so little\u00a0time<\/i>\u00a0to manage it!<\/p>\n Intimidating question, indeed: getting a feel of how\u00a0Time<\/i>\u00a0is perceived, used, managed, and sometimes abused (it is a commodity to some, after all) within the project environment (location, equipment, tools, team, partners) is critical in order to grasp its magnitude. Keeping in mind that\u00a0Time<\/i>\u00a0remains one of the scarcest resources in our modern world, the pressure stays high when\u00a0Time<\/i>\u00a0becomes part of a contract clause which reads\u00a0\u201cTime is of the essence\u201d<\/i>\u00a0requesting proper performance and\u00a0punctual\u00a0<\/i>completion of the job\u00b7 agreed upon (the \u201cA\u201d of SMART). Failure to comply may represent a breach. I have sat in what felt like never-ending negotiations on that detail only: fairly ironic to spend so much\u00a0time<\/i>\u00a0on attempting to re-define both the extent and the idea of\u00a0Time<\/i>.<\/p>\n Time<\/i>\u00a0is running, yes. Now what is the best\u00a0pace<\/i>\u00a0to adopt? Seasons, sunrise and sunset used to be the cardinal points to schedule an event, and\u00a0time<\/i>\u00a0management was not different: it still is about how one gets prepared to the next deliverable s\/he has planned. To lay out a planning and operations phase, smart phones and computers are helpful. Yet, these are only tools: getting organised, outside of these artificial brains, is fundamental. The success of a logistics plan partly relies on that: being able to coordinate an emergency situation without having access to \u201cmodern\u201d instruments (think of the humanitarian field in remote locations as an example \u2013 Remember: \u201cR\u201d is for Realistic). Being on time is great, being prepared is essential.<\/p>\n Our little planet will keep rotating around the sun: having a sense of East\/West can be a good start to understand the concept of\u00a0time<\/i>(and, while we are at it, space too). Know where\/when you stand, forget anticipation, pay attention to your gut feeling (that might point out whether it is the right time or not) and start planning. In a\u00a0timely<\/i>\u00a0manner, of course.<\/p>\n