New books

[Twocubdad]

Okay, DS, now you're starting to scare me a little bit. You're supposed to be on vacation, right? What are you doing, just sitting home in your underwear reading bulletin boards? I realize there is probably still snow on the ground up there, but hey, get out and go watch the river break up or whatever you guys do up there.

 

Sorry for the flashback, kwc. Sure, stuff happens to schedules and budgets, but if it were automatic, we wouldn't need managers. I negotiate back-end schedules and budgets all the time. But I tell clients I'd rather take a whipping now while we're negotiating deadlines, than to take one later for having missed one.

 

As you said, you had to push back deadlines twice in 22 years. BSA is hitting us with late-summer changes for the second time in TWO years. I think it was after Aug. 15 that the new Tiger books came out. They are either doing a really lousy job managing the schedule or they think two weeks is enough time for units to accommodate the changes.

 

So, DS, seen any good movies lately?

[dsteele]

Thanks, TwocubDad for reminding me that I am on vacation. There's not much diferentiation betweeen work and play for a long-term professional. I see these forums as a way of playing.

 

However, your posts do bring me back to reality. If I caught one of my DE's spending his (actually I have as many her as I do him D.E.'s) taking time on their days off to answer Scouting questions, I'd knock their block off for running the chance of burning themselves out.

 

There's no snow on the ground here and the river broke up long ago. I think I'm going to knock off and go watch television. I'm in the midst of making a tin chess set -- pouring the pieces, filing them and then painting them. I'm at the stage now where the pieces are finished and the board is finished. All that's left is wrapping them in bubble-wrap for mailing to a professor I had in college. He has no idea that he's about to receive a hand-made chess set as a thank you gift from one of his students. It's just something I do.

 

I also have one now nearly completed for my old Scoutmaster. He has no idea it's coming either.

 

They take about 200 hours to complete and the materials aren't cheap.

 

However, I hate wrapping and boxing them -- which is why I'm on the boards during my vacation.

 

However, I know good advice when I get it.

 

I'll see ya'll tomorrow. The ya'll is something I've learned from afar. I'm a northerner.

 

Have a nice day! I am.

 

Dave

[dsteele]

One last word and then I'm off for a nap (there really wasn't anything of interest on television.)

 

I am dressed. I'm also in my underwear, but have the decency to wear clothing over it just in case I feel the need to salute or sing the Scout Vespers.

 

One never knows when the urge will come.

 

Back to Gilwell . . . (seriously, I'm not a die-hard, just didn't want to package a chess set.)

 

Have a pleasant day.

 

I'm outta here for now.

 

DS

[jbroganjr]

You can file this under useless information.

but my field and experience is in graphic design and publishing so here is the "stuff happens"

One, As with all book projects of this nature, there are many many people involved and no matter how stringent the deadline, there are always "ooops" missed that (insert here ) section, mispelling, oh boy they might be offended including and up to "wow, the finished project doesn't look anything like the stated goal, let's start over"

Two, this process will start all over again, once the "finished" graphic artwork is sent back.

Three, the lawyers now get a say...add more time

Four, the print industry isn't what it used to be. In the last 10 years, for example there has been a reduction in the Northern Hemishere of about 25-30% paper mill production. Add on top of that the Just in Time management style of the print facilities and trouble is brewing. How, Let's say, the finished the artwork is all ready, until someone finds a glaring error and the work has to be redone, well the print schedule went out the window. The companies that produce books on the volume mentioned here (The paper To print that many books would come close to filling about 500,000 sq ft, unprinted) run 24/7 so if you miss your production window, the presses aren't standing around waiting, so rescheduling takes place.

Mistakes still happen here and changes still occur after printing but before bindery, so an entire job can be held up a week or so, while a signature is reprinted for insertion in the bindery.

the logistics of packing and distributing are on the scale of moving a small army for the numbers involved.

And since this is a non profit, the factor of keeping the cost down will also add time, how, cheapest trucking is a sure way of adding days to delivery. Use this factor with all areas of production: Prep, Print, Bindery, packaging, distribution, etc. Plus other factors.

Why do they pick Julyfor shipping? Because it is a slow time for book publishers. In all likely hood the books goes into print production around this time of year, right after the Easter Holiday, Spring Sales rush and right before the telephone book Fall catalogue rush.

So low profit or non profit get the left overs, that explains July delivery.

A project this big invites all sorts of stuff to happen. Just in Time cuts it real close in getting the paper, etc. One spring snow storm will wreak havoc. One trucking disaster will prevent the entire country from having the books in place, nationwide, for total distribution.

Could they do a better job, sure, but, National would need (they might already have it) a full time knowledgeable print person(s).

In today's environment, An organization with the buying clout of BSA could also practice what many big companies practice...lowest bid only.... which you pay the price on with quality and service. But that makes BSA no different than other large corps. and it is done to save scouts and scouters money in the long run.

 

[dsteele]

Well put. It's easy for us to forget that the Boy Scouts of America is a very large organization and that logistics can be difficult. Thank you for pointing it out.

 

DS