Many organizations rely on best practices—Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, digital tools—yet still struggle with long lead times, firefighting, and unpredictable performance.
The problem isn’t effort or commitment.
It’s a knowledge gap.
In this webinar, Ed Pound explains how Operations Science provides a shared, scientific understanding of how systems actually behave—especially when it comes to variability, utilization, flow, and cycle time.
Rather than asking teams to “believe” in another improvement program, Operations Science helps people understand why outcomes occur and how to improve them predictably.
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In this session, you’ll learn:
Why best practices alone often produce unintended consequences
The fundamental relationship between utilization, variability, and cycle time
Why striving for 100% utilization creates longer lead times
How Operations Science applies beyond factories—to healthcare, construction, and services
How shared understanding reduces chaos, stress, and firefighting
How leaders can design, implement, and control operations more effectively
These concepts are drawn from decades of real-world application and from Ed’s work on Factory Physics for Managers and the emerging field of Operations Science.
Operations Science is the study of how resources are transformed to deliver products and services—while managing variability in demand and processes.
It provides:
A common language for leaders and frontline teams
Scientific insight into flow, queues, buffers, and lead time
Practical guidance for making better operational decisions
When everyone understands how the system behaves, teams stop working at cross-purposes—and start improving together.
This webinar is especially valuable for:
Executives responsible for operational performance and strategy
Continuous improvement, Lean, and operational excellence leaders
Operations, manufacturing, and supply chain managers
Healthcare and service leaders struggling with flow and delays
Organizations experiencing constant firefighting or variability-driven stress
If you’re trying to improve results without burning people out, this session will challenge and clarify your thinking.
Operations Science doesn’t eliminate variability—but it helps leaders plan for it intentionally.
When organizations understand how variability, buffers, and utilization interact, they can:
Reduce lead times without pushing people harder
Improve reliability without excess inventory
Shift from reactive management to predictable performance
As Ed explains, sustainable improvement comes from understanding the system, not chasing symptoms.

Ed Pound is Managing Director of the Operations Science Institute and a recognized expert in applying scientific principles to real-world operations.
He is:
Lead author of Factory Physics for Managers
Co-author of the upcoming book Applied Operations Science
A former consultant with decades of experience across industries and countries
Ed has spent more than 35 years helping organizations replace intuition and firefighting with clarity, predictability, and results.
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