As the saying goes, “you can’t manage what you don’t know”. This can be rephrased “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”. So, unless we measure something, we cannot know if it is getting better or worse. This is a follow up thought to my last blog where we looked at the F1 tyre changing team refitting four tyres in less than three seconds.

While the object of that exercise was to change the F1 car tyres, each individual task within the overall process is measurable. However, the final goal of the team is to get the car back on the track in the shortest time with a view to the bigger goal of the car winning the F1 race. Oh that age-old measurable “time”, we all measure that tick-tock… tick-tock.

The “time” question is one we get all the time from our prospective and existing customers. “How long does it take to make a knockout mouse?” “When will my knock-in mouse be ready?” As ever, time is of the essence. With “time” being a major measure of our success, let us not forget that the other measure is that the mouse must be made correctly.

We continue to measure, refine, execute and re-measure our individual processes at the component level. Not only does the individual time component decrease, but also the success rate of the overall process and ultimately, the overall project. An example of this has been demonstrated in our recently completed projects, which reached targeted ES cell derived mice in 36 weeks.

We understand the meaning of time. We really do. It is a major focus of ours to get timelines as short as possible without compromising quality. As you can see, we are constantly improving, and that is good news for all of us!

– Frank, CEO –