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The Hidden Cost of 100% Utilization: Bad Service and Long Waits

Mark Graban - August 2, 2010 29

tl;dr: The blog post criticizes the focus on 100% utilization of resources in businesses like American Airlines and Verizon FIOS, arguing that it leads...

Kevin McMullan on Lean Without Layoffs: The Commitment That Makes Continuous Improvement WorkNovember 5, 2025
Good points Mark, Really relevant. There are many areas where any extra folks can be applied when improvements are made…
Kodo on Profitable at Any Price: Lessons from Toyota, Daily Kaizen, and Safer Workplaces with Gregg StockerOctober 31, 2025
Lean was never about efficiency. It’s about awareness. Deming didn’t teach process control — he taught seeing systems as living…
Anonymous on Ghosts, Zombies, and Frankenstein Processes: A Lean Halloween ReflectionOctober 31, 2025
I can’t tell you how timely this is as I reflect on my performance this past year. It’s helped me…
Joe Swartz on How a Pharmacist-Led Kaizen Improved Cardiac Care and Reduced Costs by $90,000 a YearOctober 20, 2025
Hi Mark, You write so well. I think you captured the essence of the improvement concisely. It reminds me of…
Stacey on The Plimsoll Line: Mistake Proofing the Overloading of ShipsOctober 19, 2025
My sentiments (thoughts), such as yours, were exactly my thoughts too; learning about the 'how & why's' of things, at…

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The Hidden Cost of 100% Utilization: Bad Service and Long Waits

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