End of September 1998

So I couldn't wait to do the photographs before writing again, as I have no control of that, for instance just today T. Daniel Murphy and I met up to "define" a statement describing, to

the general populace, the need for required testing. These results would be utilized to develop individual, and possibly group improvement courses whereby successful completion would lead towards building of the general capabilities. We went into a room that had a "white" board, one that you can write upon, change, and print a copy (a great invention). T. Daniel and I were Diversity Training partners and taught a section and as he's a gentleman of color I asked him if one time could we teach the section as Amos and Andy (holy mackerel there). T. Daniel thought that was a very funny idea, BUT presumed our delivery of such material would be met with disapproval.

We decided not to do that. The point is we have a relationship that we can talk to each other and everything is OK.

Today, the "Statement for the taking of the General Aptitude" pretty much came out of the end of my pen, with T. Daniel making some improvements as we went along. T. Daniel sent me a hard copy to review, which I did, and so tomorrow or so, out it goes. The point here is everything is flowing

again, at times it just flows out, it just flows out. That's how come I couldn't wait for the photographs.

Here's an update:

Since my trouncing at performance review time, I've gone on with the Quality Sponsor job (an impossible effort I'd hasten to add) through August, whence I was assigned Training Coach as a

part of a new Work Systems Redesign. Actually, I'd volunteered for the part as training is what we do worst, thinking I could somehow "make a difference" (per Tony Lewandowski who said it first, and best "I just wanna use my experience to help drive improvement").

I have assumed a new attitude, one where I just do what needs to be done without telling anyone because it seems to me their role, the ones I'd tell, is to tell me what I forgot, or what may be wrong with what I'm saying. Who needs that? Don't ask. The management pond is so lowered that rules are rules, no exceptions. They wouldn't want to rock the boat, don't you know.

As Quality Sponsor I took the responsibility to move all of our official documents from one media to another, to change, so to speak, the environment of our communications.

Two people I didn't know, Scott Vanvalkenberghe (great name) and Tray Williams, new "kid", assisted with great flare. We did it in record time, expanding scope beyond documents to include calibrations, forms and training. We used System 9000, OK in my book.

As of today, October 6th, 1998 almost half of our environment has been changed from one media to another without notice. Pretty good say's I.

I confess, I was not ready to like Lotus Notes, System 9000 nor, as a matter of fact, any "mini-computer" package. I was wrong and I stand corrected. This System 9000 is a relational database whose documents are connected together by patterns chosen by the users. It, System 9000, is a definition system but cannot direct. It, System 9000, is another piece of the puzzle and how it fits is another piece. That's plus two.

The "Howard" thing I'd mentioned a moment ago is using the technology instead of having the technology use you. Each document has an Author, a Manager and an Approver; three levels if you choose to use them. The "Howard" thing says, "Why not make them all the same person, isn't the Author responsible?" So be it, or so it was. September 28th, 1998 and October 8th, 1998 I'd moved half without a problem, say some of them were pending approval to an owner who was "out of the office".

The large scale, Worldwide "thing" has fallen into political intrigue. Resources must be gotten, which is a political battle of business cases and it's my understanding that Photochemicals

is matched up against North American Color Paper (an organization that makes you want to stand up and salute if your a Kodaker). Judy Carlson is also "over there" and so; it looks like a delay to me.

How about them retirement rumors, hey.

The big thing, the worldwide single manufacturing thing is of interest to me, to say the least. I tried playing, early on, sending an "how it could be" through the structure, getting back lower level comments at best. Worse, no takers.

The simple approach was not taken up because advancements are to be made from downtown. I said, "How do you know if we make the same things around the world, or if we make them the same way, or if they are the same thing?"

I asked the World-wide Project Manager from France, no reply. A week later I was fortunate to be able to address the World-wide Mix Excellence Team, thanks Jack Keller, and said the same story asking, "Don't you think we should have a standard way to do standard products? And if we don't, won't we end up with what we have today?" They agreed. No word from the French Plant Manager, Jean Francois Prechabrier.

Today word comes of a conference called by Chris Williams on October 15th and October 16th to define how the Rochester Photochemicals System on the shop floor of the future will function. This whole effort is called MES, what ever that means, and I need to get this guy to tell me what he means.

On Monday, October 4th at eight AM Chris Williams and I met up, so to speak, and I just had to tell him he was full of shit, with him, wondering just who the hell this guy was telling him what he didn't know. The battles have begun and I still appear to be invited.

They won't leave me alone.

One day last week a guy was saying on TV that the human spectrum for light perception was from infer-red to ultra-violet and that that spectrum of "light reality" defines what we as humans call reality. In fact, he went on to say, "From infer-red downward, there's an infinite number of additional forces, and there is an infinite number of upward forces from ultra-violet". His point was as humans we've defined a small space within which we define ourselves and perhaps, if we could broaden our perceptions, other worlds open up. That's a good thought.

The Chris Williams "thing" has continued on now for a few days. The basic argument, debate, is the age-old question, "Who owns the master data?” now confused with the idea of where the master data comes from. The corporate thought is that it is "input" at higher administrative levels by those of that ilk; the challenging thought is perhaps it be input by those who use it (the master data) and sent "up" for the administrators to use, defined by the users rather than the controllers. Guess what, the administrators are fighting back and taking a position against this idea. Surprised?

I find myself strangely on both sides, hoping the little guys win and have been invited to yet another workshop, October 15th -October 16th to define the answer to the question, who is in control and how much will it cost? Talk to you soon.

I heard this on television just the other day: "David Letterman's alleged stalker, Margrette Ray, today committed suicide by kneeling in front of a train. Her death was confirmed with members by members of her family."

T. Daniel Murphy has sent out "a statement for the taking of the general aptitude" as he said he would. I asked Rich Ceci to give me a call and let's talk about the need "to send the data up".

He said a week earlier he "didn't need to". The Chinese Plant Manager, an Englishman named John Hoggett said at a meeting on Friday, October 9th that, "That's exactly what I understand the proposal to be" and promised he wouldn't change the recommendations from his team based upon a two hour conversation with people who had political, not practical interests.

John Hoggett, General Manager, Kodak (WUXI) Company, Limited, and a good man. Chris Williams, the downtown protector of dogma asked me what I thought of the outcome?

Say's I "weird", which has become a standard comment for me.

Rich Ceci and I traded messages over the next four or so days and ended up at yet another "workshop" to resolve these issues. There was worldwide attendance and five or six guys from downtown. For those of you who do not know about computer systems and things like "sending the data up, or down", you can think of this debate for what it really is. It's about control.

Many folks in the workshop don't really know why they defend a position, especially when another position presented is a better idea. They stick to their ground as warriors of trenches fighting to save their territory.

The dogma says, "don't duplicate functions".

The Chinese plant must start up in April of 1999, and begin production in July of that same year. The Chinese counter-proposal says, "Build, as close to the site of actual operations, a process that defines operating instructions, electrical control signals where ever possible, and step by step procedures that operations will use to execute production. These process must be flexible as changes will occur, and must be coupled with inter-faces to higher levels for planning control."

This is a violation of the dogma, which defines this process as a bill of requirements explosion,

while the Chinese proposal is so much more.

Andy Stuer fired the first shot, "Who OK'ed the bill of material structures here, I didn't?”

The Chinese Plant Manager said, "What's this crap then?” and went on to explain to Andy that this particular subject was not in the scope of this conversation. Andy insisted it was for an hour

or two, and then left not to return for the afternoon session. There was considerable debate over the fact that a requirements explosion would have to be done in something other than the

confines (control) of the mainframe, and that these data structures would drive the upper levels, who would use the data sent up to do planning, order materials, pay the bills, etc.

The explosion function, and associated structures are a purchased function that, as the dogma says, "should not be duplicated".

I think this could go either way, but at the end of the day the Chinese Proposal, as Mr. Hoggett politely said, "Seems to be approved yet again, hopefully for the final time".

The debate now goes to a guy named Murphy Moore, and some other fellow whose name escapes me. These guys, the Foundations and Global Design Team Managers (I guess) will now make a ruling. The key input from this "workshop" will be a statement of agreement between four major plant sites to implement the Chinese Proposal worldwide while making the Chinese start up dates. I think it's safe to say that what goes up, must come down and perhaps, when Harvey Berson the Division Manager gets the estimate to do this at about three million, per plant, no amount of details will help.

I hope he realizes that it was his insistence to press on against the recommendations of NORTH AMERICAN COLOR PAPER that will cause him to make a fucking decision. The plants that are to be shut down, for instance, would not be funded for this effort. We shall see what we shall see.

Bye about now I guess I gotta say that I'm more than just a little mad with Pat Olson, Department Manager. It seems she's been here now for over a year and in that time managed to put us back to where I think Harvey wanted us to be anyways. You know, like how it was when he was here and everything was fun, and beautiful and everyone, everyone was happy (Harvey fantasy land, 1975).

I've been banished in staff support efforts and moved out of the daily communication loop, unless I want to make an appearance and cause a stir, from which nothing ever happens.

I ask you "would you bother?" Pat Olson came in with the same mission as Charles Champion, nothing here was good, it's bad, change it and change it soon, and make sure it's ok with Harvey.

Fortunately for me I have talents and have been able to do what impossible tasks were assigned me.

For instance, “change the media we talk in at work from one e-mail message process to another, and get the documents available in the new media and make sure you've trained all those folks you've been telling me about that can't read. Have it done by the end of the year. And bye the way, your help's going back on the floor to save money, so you'll have to do it your self. Let me know what I can do to help."

I did it anyway, while covering documenting "The year two thousand bug". Gee, I hope I did OK.

Recently, the new Work System Re-design has been put into place as the results of the approved implementation from Leadership. The structure took current responsibilities and made them,

for the most part, two hour per week vs. forty hours per week activities. People were added to the mix such that the senior operations personnel accounted for all coordinator positions. No training was done, and the process went into operations on September 1st.

I had spent seven years constructing the operational structures as they were when Pat Olson "upgraded", or so the theory goes. It's the middle of October and operations are much worse. However, she sees things as improved, no data necessary.

Last week she said, "When operators have problems, they need to shut their machines off and come over to a white board with their team-mates, and together the team should define what the problem is that their having, come up with some alternatives, find the best alternative and just do it. That will make the problems go away and the teams will have solved the problems. That's what this Work Systems Re-design is you know, you know don't you?"

I said, “Pat, do you know we run machines today even if there broken? To which she replied, "We shouldn't do that. "

My Goda (as Alex the installer would say).

Then, as if to top off all that, a Monday morning 8 AM emergency. We failed our Health, Safety and Environmental audit because we, basically, don't have a system we can demonstrate that

meets acceptable criteria (measures and compliance). What a surprise, two of four departments without even a Quality System and not a thing done on that for at least five years that I know of.

Ah, heads will roll says Harvey, "Fix everything and fix in now, no not now, ah, ten weeks, yea, that's the ticket, yea, ten weeks. Stop everything, focus on this, nothing else is as important than this, and bye the way, I'm going out of town for three weeks, no coincidence you know, been planned a long time now, but I won't be here while you get this mess fixed, so keep in touch with the Department Manager who will be sitting in for me, and let them know what you need and I'm sure they'll get you what you need, right?"

At the eight AM meeting I'd already freaked out and recommended a new team, the Systems Team, to be sure to address any motions to stop what I was doing, or re-route, or what ever, as I'd just spent four or five months finishing something no one else had even begun to start on. No way, Jose. It cost a whole day of listening to Health, Safety and Environmental professionals, a bunch much the same as the Quality Guys with a different focus, same problems, same solutions. Bottom line, my work continues on as is, so say thee, so say I.

What a fucked up place.

4PM Tuesday, October 20th. 1998.