Troubleshooting Common Issues

As an agriculture consultant, it's difficult to limit myself to just one area like permaculture, agroforestry, or market linkages, because the real issues farmers face is often not what they believe them to be. What they describe is usually a symptom, not the root cause. To truly help, I need to look at the entire system—soil, water, inputs, behavior, markets, and climate—as a whole. - A farmer may say, "These fertilizers are not working" but the real issue might be poor soil biology due to years of chemical overuse. - Or they say, "My profits are shrinking," when the underlying problem is market mismatch, post-harvest losses, or a lack of diversification and also high input costs - Sometimes, what looks like a pest issue may be a deeper agroecological imbalance or poor crop planning. Not just this farmers approach for waterlogging, energy efficiency etc as well. They are farmers they don't think of it as separate entities. This exactly why the government schemes fail trying to implement one type of solution to all. Everyone grows same and market collapses. Diversity boom..!!! It's important to have a 360-degree view rather they try to replace traditional ways with software and technology and call it innovation Most so-called "innovations" are often surface-level solutions—apps, dashboards, sensors, platforms—without addressing the deeper, systemic issues that farmers face on the ground. I have seen professional work in the same way, Pest problem? this pesticide. No water? we will develop drought resistant crops in lab. Tech and science are only support system not the final solutions Real Innovation = Ground + Tech + People #AgriConsultant #HolisticFarming #FarmSystemsThinking #RootCauseAnalysis #SustainableFarming #Agroecology #PermacultureIndia #FarmToMarket #SoilHealth #SmartFarmingIndia

Four wearables. One clinical sleep lab. Every single device got deep sleep wrong by more than double. A The Wall Street Journal columnist did what most reviewers never bother to do. She wore an Oura Ring 5, a Fitbit Air, a Whoop MG, and an Apple Watch Series 11 at the same time, then validated all four against an overnight polysomnogram at Stanford. The polysomnogram measured 28 minutes of deep sleep. Every device reported over an hour. This is the part the wellness market does not want to discuss. Heart rate held up well. All four landed within one beat per minute of the lab. Oura hit resting heart rate exactly. Sleep duration and REM detection were reasonable. The devices are genuinely good at what optical sensors and accelerometers can actually measure. Deep sleep is not one of those things. You cannot infer slow-wave sleep from heart rate and movement. It requires reading brain waves. So the algorithms estimate, and the estimate is off by a factor of two against ground truth. The Stanford clinician framed it correctly. A sleep tracker is a bathroom scale. The absolute number is not the point. The trend over time is. Here is the translation problem, and it is the same one we face in preclinical research. A measurement that looks precise is not the same as a measurement that is valid. Four decimal places of confidence on a number the sensor cannot physically access is not data. It is a guess wearing a lab coat. The fix is not abandoning the devices. It is knowing which endpoints they can defend and which they cannot. Use the heart rate. Watch the trends. Ignore the deep-sleep minute count. The wearables are not lying to you. They are answering a question their sensors were never built to answer. We do the same thing in drug development more often than anyone wants to admit. Credit picture: WSJ

Is “Operator Error” the Real Root Cause in Manufacturing? When a defect, breakdown, or safety incident happens on the shop floor, many investigations quickly settle on one conclusion: “operator error.” It’s simple, fast, and seems to explain everything. But in modern manufacturing, this label is often a symptom of deeper issues, not the real cause. Behind every so-called “human error” there is usually a chain of factors: 1.Inadequate or unclear work instructions 2.Poor workstation ergonomics or excessive fatigue 3.Gaps in training or skill development 4.Lack of mistake-proofing (Poka-Yoke) in process design 5.Equipment not calibrated, or preventive maintenance overdue 6.Material inconsistency, environment fluctuations, or unrealistic production targets Blaming people may give temporary closure but blocks true continuous improvement. A blame culture discourages operators from reporting near misses or improvement ideas — leading to recurring failures, higher costs, and low morale. The best manufacturing organizations take a systemic approach: • Use structured root-cause tools (5 Why, Fishbone/Ishikawa, FMEA) • Build strong SOPs and visual standards • Error-proof high-risk activities wherever possible • Create an open environment where operators, engineers, and leaders solve problems together When teams stop asking “Who messed up?” and start asking “What in our process allowed this to happen?”, quality, safety, and productivity all improve. #ManufacturingExcellence #RootCauseAnalysis #LeanManufacturing #Qualitycircle

What if workplaces were designed by working parents? Every Wednesday, I have to down tools at 3.05pm. Not 3pm. Not "around 3-ish." Exactly 3.05pm. School pick up is at 3.30pm, it takes 9 minutes to drive there, and if I don't arrive before 3.15pm, it's impossible to get a car park within 20km (or at least it feels that way). If I am in a meeting that is running over time, I have to apologise and say I need to rush off to school pick up. But then I think to myself: Gah - why am I apologising?? Pick-up is a normal life activity. Sadly, whoever designed the M-F, 9am-5pm work lifestyle was not a working parent who had drop off and pick up duties. In a workplace designed by working parents: - Meetings would be illegal between 3-4pm. That's school pickup hour. Sacred time. - Core hours would be 10am-2pm. Not 9-5. Because mornings are chaos and afternoons are taxi service. - There'd be a "life happens" policy. Kid sick? No questions asked. School sports day? Of course you're going. But these would be some of the bigger changes: - Results would matter more than hours. We judge productivity by output, not time spent looking busy. - Flexibility would be the default, not a "perk". Everyone would have it. - Meeting culture would die. If it can be an email, it's an email. - The promotion track wouldn't penalise part-time work. Because working 4 days doesn't make you 20% less valuable. Often, it makes you 50% more focused. These aren't just parent-friendly policies. They're human-friendly policies. The childfree colleague training for a marathon? They need flexibility too. The team member caring for aging parents? Same challenges, different generation. The person doing their MBA at night? They're juggling things in a major way. I've been a working parent for 11 years. At Inventium, we've been doing the Four Day Week for five years. We've been remote-first for nearly six. We work to our Chronotype - and have done so for longer than I can remember. Image: My daughter Frankie - who thankfully doesn't know what it's like to have a mum work at a parent-unfriendly workplace. What would you add to a parent-designed (or even just a human-designed) workplace? #WorkingParents #FutureOfWork #FlexibleWorking #WorkplaceDesign #ParentingAndWork

The biggest businesses can get major programmes horribly wrong. Here are 4 famous examples, the fundamental reasons for failure and how that might have been avoided. Hershey: Sought to replace its legacy IT systems with a more powerful ERP system. However, due to a rushed timeline and inadequate testing, the implementation encountered severe issues. Orders worth over $100 million were not fulfilled. Quarterly revenues fell by 19% and the share price by 8% Key Failures: ❌ Rushed implementation without sufficient testing ❌ Lack of clear goals for the transition ❌ Inadequate attention and resource allocation Hewlett Packard: Wanted to consolidate its IT systems into one ERP. They planned to migrate to SAP, expecting any issues to be resolved within 3 weeks. However, due to the lack of configuration between the new ERP and the old systems, 20% of customer orders were not fulfilled. Insufficient investment in change management and the absence of manual workarounds added to the problems. This entire project cost HP an estimated $160 million in lost revenue and delayed orders. Key Failures: ❌ Failure to address potential migration complications. ❌ Lack of interim solutions and supply chain management strategies. ❌ Inadequate change management planning. Miller Coors: Spent almost $100 million on an ERP implementation to streamline procurement, accounting, and supply chain operations. There were significant delays, leading to the termination of the implementation partner and subsequent legal action. Mistakes included insufficient research on ERP options, choosing an inexperienced implementation partner, and the absence of capable in-house advisers overseeing the project. Key Failures: ❌ Inadequate research and evaluation of ERP options. ❌ Selection of an inexperienced implementation partner. ❌ Lack of in-house expertise and oversight. Revlon: Another ERP implementation disaster. Inadequate planning and testing disrupted production and caused delays in fulfilling customer orders across 22 countries. The consequences included a loss of over $64 million in unshipped orders, a 6.9% drop in share price, and investor lawsuits for financial damages. Key Failures: ❌ Insufficient planning and testing of the ERP system. ❌ Lack of robust backup solutions. ❌ Absence of a comprehensive change management strategy. Lessons to be learned: ✅ Thoroughly test and evaluate new software before deployment. ✅ Establish robust backup solutions to address unforeseen challenges. ✅ Design and implement a comprehensive change management strategy during the transition to new tools and solutions. ✅ Ensure sufficient in-house expertise is available; consider capacity of those people as well as their expertise ✅ Plan as much as is practical and sensible ✅ Don’t try to do too much too quickly with too few people ✅ Don’t expect ERP implementation to be straightforward; it rarely is

I tracked sleep for 30 days. Almost tanked my sleep in the process. There’s a term for it now. Orthosomnia: the obsession with perfect sleep scores that ironically ruins your sleep. Three brutal truths: 1. Data ≠ Biology. Trackers get time asleep mostly right. But REM, deep sleep, latency? They’re guessing. Yet we chase those numbers as if they were gospel. 2. Stress transfers. I found myself lying awake, anxious because my tracker said I’d slept badly. Self-fulfilling insomnia. 3. We’re human, not robots. Normal sleep fluctuates. 3–6 nightly wake-ups? Normal. But one “poor” score and your brain hits panic mode. So I ran the experiment in reverse. Ditched the Oura. Went pen-and-paper. Logged one thing: how I felt at 7 a.m. Result? Better sleep. Less rumination. And a painful realization: Sleep isn’t a performance metric. It’s biology. The relentless pursuit of 8 hours, 25% deep, no wake-ups? It’s a fantasy. Precision kills. It introduces anxiety where calm is needed. Track if it helps. But if your sleep stack is stressing you out? The most powerful optimization might be letting go. #Recover #UpwardARC

Everyone is monitoring their sleep these days, right? But what might be the problems and pitfalls with this? 🛌 While sleep trackers offer precise categorisation of sleep and wake, they (currently) can fall short in detecting different sleep stages as research comparing data to gold standard, lab-based polysomnography (PSG) has demonstrated: https://lnkd.in/eXyWdn9Q 😪 The social phenomenon "ORTHOSOMNIA" has been described as the obsessive pursuit of optimal sleep metrics. The constant pursuit of an "optimal" sleep duration can create undue stress and anxiety, ultimately counteracting performance gains. 👀 Athletes and practitioners alike should be aware of which metrics they can (and cannot) rely on - simplifying complex constructs like recovery and readiness into one number is appealing yet scientifically flawed. 🛫 The very nature of sport with its unrelating schedule, travel and high levels of stress is seldom conducive to optimal sleep. Athletes (and practitioners) often find themselves battling unfamiliar sleeping environments, making it a challenging task to achieve perfect sleep routines. 📊 Increasing personal wearable devices means data privacy and security have come to the forefront. Measures must be in place to ensure athletes' data rights are protected, maintaining trust and ethical practices. But let's be clear: I advocate for sleep tracking! However, it's worth being mindful of potential drawbacks and approaching this data with a balanced perspective. As with many things in (sports) science, context and individual variations play a vital role. Interested to read more? Check out the full post on the Global Performance Insights blog to read my 8 key strategies to optimise sleep tracking in sports science 👇 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e_CizEE4 #Sleep #Technology #SportsScience

#AflatoxinB1 (AFB1) is one of the most potent #hepatotoxic and #hepatocarcinogenic mycotoxins encountered in animal production systems. It is produced mainly by #Aspergillusflavus under conditions of high moisture and temperature in feed raw materials. After ingestion, AFB1 is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and biotransformed in the liver by #cytochromeP450 enzymes into reactive metabolites, particularly Aflatoxin B1-8,9-epoxide. This epoxide forms covalent adducts with DNA, RNA, and proteins, resulting in hepatocellular necrosis, impaired protein synthesis, and mutagenesis. In #poultry, AFB1 causes: Impact of Mycotoxins on Poultry Health and Production: Physiological and Immunological Disturbances • Severe hepatic degeneration and fatty liver • Suppression of humoral and cell-mediated immunity Consequences on Growth and Egg Production • Reduced feed intake, poor FCR, stunted growth • Decreased egg production, poor shell quality, and increased embryo mortality In ruminants, although partial ruminal degradation occurs, AFB1 is converted to Aflatoxin #M1 and excreted in milk, posing a major public health and regulatory risk. Chronic exposure leads to: Adverse Effects of AFB1 Exposure Impact on Livestock Health and Productivity • Reduced milk yield and altered milk composition • Hepatic dysfunction and reduced metabolic efficiency • Reproductive disorders and increased susceptibility to diseases Biochemical and Cellular Damage Mechanisms: • AFB1 also disrupts antioxidant defense systems, increases lipid peroxidation, and alters liver enzyme activity (ALT, AST, ALP), leading to long-term subclinical losses even at low contamination levels. #Conclusion: Aflatoxin B1 is not just a feed contaminant—it is a metabolic toxin, immunosuppressant, and food safety hazard. Effective control requires stringent feed quality management, mycotoxin binders, and targeted liver protection strategies to safeguard animal performance and consumer health.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀! ⏰ Most organizations are built on a fundamentally flawed assumption: that every single brain operates on the exact same clock. 🔥 Whether it is the standard 9-to-5 in the US or the 9-to-6 in France, our corporate schedules assume that everyone is ready to perform at their absolute best at the exact same time. But science tells a completely different story... 🚩 Evolutionary biology shows that variations in our "chronotypes" (whether you are a morning lark or a night owl) actually evolved to keep human groups safe, ensuring someone was always awake to stand watch at night. Today, ignoring that biology is costing us dearly. ☝️ This isn't just an office worker problem. Over 16% of the workforce operates on non-standard schedules, making the understanding of natural rhythms a universal necessity, not just a corporate perk. 💡Creative output is significantly stronger when a task aligns with a person's chronobiological peak. Aligning work with our natural rhythms isn’t just about making people comfortable; it’s about understanding the reality of how human beings actually work, according to a new interesting research published by Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and Slalom using data 📊 from a panel of US workers. ☝️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬: I really love the findings because it exposes a fundamental truth about human performance: the brain is not uniformly optimized across the day, the season, the month, or under varying stress conditions.Yet, most corporate schedules completely ignore this biological reality. We can't just rely on self-reporting or let employees "guess" when they work best. This is a massive opportunity for organizations! If we want individuals and teams to generate more and better ideas, we need to rely on validated scientific measures to support truly personalized ways of working. By referring to a task-by-chronotype matrix as shown in this research , we can determine exactly when different types of work should ideally happen. As the researchers noted, even a simple change, like shifting a meeting by a single hour, can lead to drastically more meaningful participation and breakthrough thinking. High-performing organizations recognize that timing is a cognitive variable. Aligning work with neural readiness isn’t a wellness perk; it is a hard-hitting performance strategy. 🙏 Thank you Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and Slalom researchers team for these insightful findings: Elizabeth Johnson, PhD Elizabeth Beard, Ph.D. Natalie Richardson Rene Putz Ryan McCreedy, PsyD Kevin Nunley Michael Platt 🔑Are we building workplaces that manage the clock, or workplaces that maximize human potential? #ReturnToOffice #FutureOfWork

The traditional office excluded millions. Here's how the world has evolved: The 9-5 office model was designed by men, for men, in the 1950s when one person went to work and the other stayed at home. In 2025, it's time we admit: this system was never built for most of us. Flexible work isn't just a perk. For many, it's the difference between thriving and surviving - here are some data backed examples: 👶 For the new parent who shouldn't have to choose between career advancement and being present for bedtime stories (women still spend 60% more time on childcare than men - ONS Time Use Survey) ♿️ For the disabled worker navigating a world where 1 in 4 report difficulties getting reasonable adjustments at work (Equality and Human Rights Commission) 🩸 For anyone who's ever had to pretend they weren't in physical pain from menstrual cramps while sitting in the office (57% of women say period pain has affected their ability to work - YouGov survey) 🏳️🌈 For LGBTQ+ individuals navigating workplaces where more than a third have hidden their identity for fear of discrimination (Stonewall's LGBT in Britain - Work Report) 🧓 For the caregiver balancing professional responsibilities with supporting aging parents (1 in 7 UK workers now juggle work with caring - Carers UK) What would genuine flexibility mean for YOUR life? Share below 👇 #FlexibleFuture #InclusiveWorkplaces #DEI