Please don't steal the sign (A simple lesson in operations management)

Traffic sign,, downtown Vancouver, BC (Photograph taken April 25, 2015)

These days the Vancouver roads seem to be in a permanent state of disruption. Between roadwork, new construction, building renovations, and television and movie filming, there are some roads partially or fully closed off all of the time.

The firms handling the traffic marshalling use both live flaggers and electronic signs to alerts drivers to the changing traffic patterns.

How can they prevent someone taking off with their expensive electronic signs? Easy, take one of the wheels off the trailer once your have installed the sign at the site. Simple and effective. (And probably the result of some rather expensive lessons.)

Often the simplest solutions to operational problems are the most effective ones.