{"id":5414,"date":"2017-04-03T18:49:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T17:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.improvementscience.net\/blog\/?p=5414"},"modified":"2017-04-03T18:49:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T17:49:00","slug":"the-chicken-coop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/?p=5414","title":{"rendered":"The Chicken Coop"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Chickens make interesting pets. They have personalities – no two are the same – and they produce something useful and valuable. Eggs. Yum yum!<\/p>\n

But chickens are yummy too … especially to foxes. So we have a problem. We need to keep our ‘chucks’ safe and that means a fox-proof coop.<\/p>\n

Here’s a picture of a chicken coop … looks great doesn’t it? You can just hear the happy clucks and taste the fresh eggs.<\/p>\n

Have you any idea how complicated, difficult and expensive this would be to build from scratch?<\/p>\n

Better not even try … just reach for the laptop and credit card and order a prefabricated one. \u00a0Just assembling the courier-delivered-flat-packed-made-in-China-from-renewable-forest-softwood coop will be enough of a DIY challenge!<\/p>\n

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We have had chickens for years and we have learned that they are very funny-feathered-characters-who-lay-eggs.<\/p>\n

And we started with an old Wendy house, some softwood battening, some rolls of weld-mesh, a bag of screws and staples and a big dollop of suck-it-and-see.<\/p>\n

The first attempt was Heath-Robinson but it worked OK. \u00a0The old Wendy house was transformed into a cosy coop and a safe-from-foxes chuck run.<\/p>\n

And the eggs were delicious and nutritious.<\/p>\n

\n

But the arrow of time is relentless, and as with all organic things, the “rot had set in”.<\/p>\n

The time had come for an update. Doing nothing was not an option.<\/p>\n

Q: Start from scratch with a blank piece of paper and design and build a new coop and run (i.e. scrap the old one)? Or re-purpose what we have (i.e. cut out the rot, keep the good stuff and re-fashion something that is fit-for-purpose for years to come?<\/p>\n

Oh, and we also need to keep-the-ship-afloat in the process – i.e. the keep the chucks safe-from-foxes and happily laying eggs. \u00a0That meant doing the project in one day.<\/p>\n

\n

What was interesting about this mini-transformation project was that I could apply exactly the same improvement framework as I would to a health care systems engineering one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I had a clear problem (unsafe, semi-rotten chicken coop) and a clear purpose (fit-for-purpose and affordable coop and run).<\/p>\n

Next I needed a diagnosis. \u00a0What was rotten and what was not? \u00a0And that required a bit of poking with a probe … and what I found was that most of the rot was hidden!<\/p>\n

First I needed to study<\/strong> the problem (symptoms) and the purpose (required outcome) and the problem again (disease).<\/p>\n

This was going to require some radical surgery!<\/p>\n

With a clear destination and diagnosis it was now time to plan<\/strong>. For this I needed a robust design framework for exploring “radical” options – particularly those that open new opportunities that the old design prevented! \u00a0This is called “future-proofing”.<\/p>\n

And the capital cost is always a factor – building a shiny, high-tech version of an old design that is no longer fit-for-purpose is a waste of capital investment and locks us into the past.<\/p>\n

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And remember, the innovative, fit-for-purpose, elegant, affordable design is just a dream when it is still only a plan. \u00a0Someone has to do<\/strong>\u00a0the building work. \u00a0And it has to be feasible with the time, tools and skills available. \u00a0And all that needs to be considered at the design stage too!<\/p>\n

With the benefit of hindsight, I have come to appreciate that the most valuable long-term investment is the new theory, new techniques, new tools and the new skills to use them. This is called “innovation”.<\/p>\n

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So with a diagnosis, a design, a sunny day, a sharpened-pencil-behind-the-ear, a just-in-time delivery of the bulkier building materials, a freshly charged power drill, and a hot cuppa … the work started.<\/p>\n

It was going to be like performing a major operation.<\/p>\n

The chucks were more than happy to be let out to scratch around in the garden; and groundwork always generates the opportunity for a creepy-crawly feast! \u00a0But safety comes first – foxes mainly hunt at night so in one daylight period I had to surgically excise the rot and then transform what was left into a safe space for the chucks to sleep.<\/p>\n

When the study<\/strong> and plan<\/strong> work has been done diligently – the do<\/strong> phase is enjoyable.<\/p>\n

If we skip the study phase and leap straight to plan with all the old assumptions (some rotten some not) still in place … the do phase is usually miserable! (No wonder many people have developed a high level of aversion to change!).<\/p>\n

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And the outcome?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Happy chucks, safely tucked up in their transformed, rot-free, safe-from-harm, coop and run.<\/p>\n

The work is not quite finished – a new roof is awaiting installation but that is a quality issue not a safety one.<\/p>\n

Safety always comes first.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And just look at how much rot had to be chopped out.<\/p>\n

Any surgeon will tell you … “for the fastest recovery you have to cut out all the rot first<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

And that requires careful planning, courage, skill, a sharp blade, focus and … team work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chickens make interesting pets. They have personalities – no two are the same – and they produce something useful and valuable. Eggs. Yum yum! But chickens are yummy too … especially to foxes. So we have a problem. We need to keep our ‘chucks’ safe and that means a fox-proof coop. Here’s a picture of … <\/p>\n

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