TRIZ - Continuity of Useful Action
Continuity of Useful Action essentially means working at full capacity and eliminating idle time. This lens is usually applied in one of two ways:
1. Carry on work continuously; make all parts of an object work at full load, all the time.
a. i.e. A flywheel or hydraulic system stores energy when a vehicle stops so that the motor can continue running at optimum power
2. Eliminate all idle or intermittent actions or work.
a. i.e. Print during the printer carriage's return
Busy Bees
In some ways, Continuity of Useful Action is similar to multitasking. For instance, if you listen to an audio book while driving, you are using that time efficiently and eliminating idle time.
A 24-hour mechanic is another great application of this lens. Rather than having the shop sit empty for 12 hours a day, a 24-hour mechanic makes full use of all the hours in the day and available resources. There is no idle time; the mechanic is carrying on with their work continuously.
On a similar note, I've often wondered why restaurants offer different menus at different times. Why not just offer all of the items at all times? The ingredients and resources are already available, so why not use them? Making the entire menu available at all times keeps the kitchen working at full capacity.
The military has Continuity of Useful Action down to an exact science. Anyone who has been in the military knows that there is no idle time. Every minute, every hour, of every day, is put to good use (or at least they tell you it's good for you). The military keeps its units running at full capacity at all times. If for some reason a soldier finds a spare moment where they have nothing to do, their commander will quickly find a task to occupy the time.
Is your business running at full capacity? How could you improve the Continuity of Useful Action in your system?
A useful, misused tool; Stemming financial panic; A prisoner of ... - International Herald Tribune
Top 40 most useful and interesting Facebook applications - TECH.BLORGE.com
TECH.BLORGE.com Top 40 most useful and interesting Facebook applications TECH.BLORGE.com, Australia - Although some of these applications are pretty useful , some of them are not. Weve picked 40 of these applications that users will be glad to install on ...News Navigator: Is the Group of Seven useful? - Mainichi Daily News
AFP News Navigator: Is the Group of Seven useful ? Mainichi Daily News, Japan - The Mainichi answers some common questions readers may have about the Group of Seven (G7) industrially advanced nations. The G7 serves as a forum in which ... Video: Robert Zoellick on the financial crisis - 09 Oct 08