One of my Dad’s outlooks on life goes like this; life is nothing more than a series of problems. If he did not have something to fix, negotiate, extinguish or solve he wouldn’t have much to do. The interesting part about his perspective is that problems are not a nuisance to him; they are simply part of the plan. He has relayed this message to me over the years in hopes of helping me react well to adversity; but sometimes it is hard to find a solution before the next problem arises. So when do you find the time to be proactive? 

For instance last week upon arriving home – I mean only moments after pulling in the driveway, my 6-year-old son wipes out while ramping his bike. Here is the result…

A badly smashed finger. OUCH! That was about a week ago, that fingernail is getting darker by the day and well on its way to falling off.

So what’s the problem? Sooth the boy and then the finger, check the ramp for integrity, check the bike for damage, find the damage and straighten the seat. Problem solved. 

Dad’s theory says if you don’t have an emergency or fire to put out, go work on the next problem (“The List”). So I took some time to check some other springtime equipment. I looked at the other kids’ bikes just in case. Then moved on to make sure swing set bolts are tight,  checked the trampoline springs (which really just means a good excuse for me to jump on it) and other springtime maintenance.

This, I know, is mirrored by our work lives as well. One fire after another must be put out. The normal workload piles up along the way. Many companies working with fewer people due to the economy. The projects on “The List” we get to in between putting out fires – or at least we should. In our work lives those emergencies bring to light other situations which also need attention. It takes focus and perspective not to get overwhelmed with putting out fires, but instead take advantage of time to fix other things on “The List” which also need attention.

We talk to customers on a daily basis who have an item on their list which says – Reduce Compressed Air Consumption. It is an item that falls down the priority list as the emergencies come up, as the product continues to roll out the door and as we get busier. Many times it is a large system approach to reduce compressed air consumption and that can be overwhelming.

Our EXAIR Efficiency Lab can help you in between putting out fires. We can tackle one little blow off area at a time and provide air savings feedback, including ROI for each little compressed air application. We can solve one of the problems on “your list” while you are called away for a different problem. The Lab’s Product Efficiency Survey is a tool used to provide EXAIR the information about your compressed air application, we can take it from there. The information we provide along the way can be tallied each time we optimize a small area of your system.

This tool will help you be proactive between putting out fires. It is after all, just another problem to get taken care of; And if you didn’t have any problems to solve what would you be doing anyway?

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com