Where drift starts
Drift often starts with repeatable operational friction: slower production, more idle time, or above-plan material usage. Each day looks minor; the trend is costly.
What to watch
- Output per hour trending downward
- Cost per unit trending upward
- Idle equipment time increasing
- Recurring constraint notes in daily logs
How to respond
Use short review cycles, activity-level variance checks, and immediate operational adjustments. Delay in response is usually more expensive than the initial variance.