The company attributed increased costs to a combination of high inflation in Argentina and Chile, lower-than-expected contractor productivity, schedule extension and engineering, and planning gaps.

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Absenteeism is down and productivity is up at the two plants where the new work schedule has gone into effect. (A third plant will be converted early next year.) The economy benefits, too: With its more intensive use of machinery, IEC has added 950 workers, and product is being shipped out the door faster.

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Recognizing this helped me set a better schedule: Now, I work late instead of coming in early, and I can usually pack much more productivity into my day.

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