Dane Ross Notes on Engineering Creativity
Vol. 1 · No. 1November 2026

Data · The Return on Time

The Ledger

Every claim in these essays is tested the same way: real teams, real projects, the same clock before and after.

1The measure

ROT = hours returned ÷ hours invested

Above one, the change paid for itself. Below one, it didn't, and that result is published too.

Illustration of two laps of the same task: the second, after the change, is shorter. Not measured data. LAP 1 · old way LAP 2 · after the change Δt · time returned
Fig. 2 Lap time. An illustration of the method, not a result. Results appear in Table 1 only after sign-off.

2The protocol

  1. Pick the work that repeats. A task the team does every week, the same way, by hand.
  2. Time it the old way. Real projects, real clock, logged by the people doing the work.
  3. Change the system. Automate the repetition. Leave the judgment with the engineers.
  4. Time it again. The same kind of project, measured the same way.
  5. Let the team sign it. The team's manager confirms the numbers. Then they are published, good or bad.

3Results

Table 1 Return on time studies. Teams are named only with written permission.
StudyTeamWork measuredBeforeAfterROTStatus
01Manufacturing engineeringDrawing release; part data entry———Starting

4In their words

Each signed study adds the team's own account here, confirming the specific numbers in Table 1. Not praise; confirmation. The first study is starting.

To put your department on the ledger, write through Correspondence.