03
The Cascade
How an exception becomes a missed promise.
A 6:00 AM exception and the bill at 6:00 PM Friday.
One missing kit. One spec change emailed at 4:47 PM. One scale out of service nobody logged. By the time the cost shows up it has already been routed through four people, three handoffs, and one heroic Friday. Here is how the bill gets written, and where it cascades.
06:00 AM
Trigger
01
Kit for Job A is short two parts. The ERP shows it as staged.
07:30 AM
Workaround
02
Operator pulls from another job to keep the line moving.
11:00 AM
Hidden cost
03
Job B now short. Scrap from spec mismatch. Nobody logs it.
02:00 PM
Detection
04
Supervisor sees the WIP at end of shift. Calls the planner.
06:00 PM
Promise broken
05
Friday ship slips. Air freight or apology. The customer remembers.
The friction travels. One shift's exception, five departments' problem.
ProductionUnstable output, downtime
PlanningSchedule churn, expedites
MaterialsShortages, stockouts
QualityScrap, rework
CustomerDelayed promise, margin hit
The bottom line
The cost compounds because no system catches the exception at stage 01, the place it is cheapest to fix.