Continuity of useful action essentially means working at full capacity and eliminating downtime. This lens is generally applied in two ways:
1. Get on with work; make all parts of an object work at full load, all the time.
aie A flywheel or hydraulic system stores energy when a vehicle comes to a stop so the engine can continue to run at optimum power.
2. Eliminate all idle or intermittent actions or jobs.
aie Print during carriage return from printer
Busy bees
In some ways, the continuity of useful action is similar to multitasking. For example, if you listen to an audio book while driving, you are using that time efficiently and eliminating downtime.
A 24 hour mechanic is another great application for this lens. Instead of having the store empty for 12 hours a day, a 24-hour mechanic makes full use of all hours of the day and available resources. There is no free time; the mechanic continues his work continuously.
On a similar note, I’ve often wondered why restaurants offer different menus at different times. Why not offer all items at all times? The ingredients and resources are already available, so why not use them? Making the entire menu available at all times keeps the kitchen running at full capacity.
The military has Continuity of Helpful Action down to an exact science. Anyone who has been in the military knows that there is no free time. Every minute, every hour, every day, it takes advantage (or at least they tell you that it is good for you). The army keeps its units operating at full capacity at all times. If for some reason a soldier finds a spare moment when he has nothing to do, his commander will quickly find a task to fill the time.
Is your business operating at full capacity? How could you improve the continuity of useful action in your system?