Peace, Love and, Yes, Printing

We often move so fast through our busy daily lives that we miss a lot of what is going on around us, including what is going on within our own printing plants. If you are part of production or creative, you could be missing a lot if you don’t stop and understand what is changing within your plant. To truly understand, you really need to "experience" your environment. I don’t mean to just take a walk around and observe, but to truly understand the "energy" that your facility gives off.

Upon entering your plant floor, stop and take a minute to breathe in the life which makes up your environment. Let your senses explode.

"Senses are a mechanism used to experience another’s reality."

The first thing you will notice should be the different aromas. Go ahead, take in a big whiff. You’ll notice different scents, which detect different printing technology. Separate these scents from the paper and identify the different aromas of the different inks and solvents.

Then focus on the aroma of the paper (oh, I love the smell of paper). Use the paper to visualize the machines running the paper.

Now, let your body feel the energy and vibration created from the equipment. The air movement and vibration can tell you a lot about your entire production plant.

Start identifying the sounds that the different equipment creates. Can you separate out printing equipment from finishing gear? Match up those sounds with the products that they produce. Refuse the noise, but enjoy the harmony that all the equipment makes as one.

I know—at this point you think I am a nut. But stopping and feeling the increased or decreased "energy" of the sounds, vibrations and scents can tell you if your plant has made a big change. It could be a change in print volumes or offerings; or, maybe, they replaced a piece of conventional equipment with inkjet, which, as you may or may not know, has been happening quite often. Whatever it may be, being conscience of these changes could indicate plant performance and how your job could be affected.

With no yoga required, you, as a manager, can sense changes in your facility and start a conversation with senior management, which they might have not otherwise shared with you. This dialog might create new opportunities for your talents. Being aware also creates clarity to better plan your future—creating and forming better relationships between you and fellow workers throughout the plant.

So go out and use your senses as a mechanism to experience the reality in which you work. Then, please come back and let me know what you have found...

Namaste