An off the wall implementation plan

Getting support for your reliability initiatives is one of the harder things to do. Not only that but there are persistent myths in this area that have hindered many companies in this area.

Developing your projects implemenation plan is not about following everyone else... it is about momentum!!

As a consultant, I recognize this - in fact, my career is based on being able to generate momentum in many companies at once. So here are a few things I regularly try to do. 

1) Don't start with the critical assets.

The main problem with critical assets is... they're critical! Everyone knows they are critical, and when something goes wrong money pours out of the walls to fix them. 

Critical assets are almost always working fine. (In terms of productive performance) IN fact, their most useful purpose is as a tool for consultants to use to separate clients and their money. 

Instead start with the bad actors. Assets with proven history of poor performance that is costing the company money in terms of lost production. (Or direct costs if you really don't have production bad actors)

2) Don't do it alone. Easy one. You are never going to build momentum as a team of 1. projects don't need champions, they need a movement. And movements are started by very brave people, then joined by others. 

3) It is not enough to do a good job. People will not notice. Not because they are selfish or self interested, but because they are busy. They don't have the time to stick their head up and notice that you and your team have just done an excellent job on your (say) RCM analysis. 

You have to tell them that you are doing a good job!!! 

Many people really shy away from this sort of thing. And I can understand it. It can be uncomfortable putting yourself out there and making the case for how wonderful you and the team are. 

But if you don't, no one is going to get that message. If you do not blow your own horn...then sadly there is no music. 

4) Quantify benefits from the very first day on the project. At all times your mind needs to be working on "how much value is this going to add, and how can I calculate that?"

Use the value quadrant approach. Revenue Increases | Direct Cost Reduction | Knowledge Increases | Risk Reduction. There are no other areas where maintenance and reliability adds value - so work through these, determine the cashable benefits on the table, and list the non-cashable ones also.

5) Be brave with listing of benefits. (Related to 4) it is easy to wimp out of this. But if you are standing in front of (say) a senior VP telling him that you are 70% sure to have saved $2 million over the next 18 months - what do you think his reaction will be?

"Come and see me when you are 100% sure"

Meaning? You just got another slice of the most valuable asset in the corporation. The time of your decision making leadership. Winner...

6) Get the lowest ranking person on the team to present to the highest ranking person you have access to. Nothing speaks louder about how to make change than this. 

7) Measure and record the benefits. Publicize the results in short documents, notes and email links. Estimated benefits are great, real benefits are momentum builders. 

There are lots more of these of course, but these are the key elements of successful initiatives. More than anything else - if you want to get the support of the senior leadership, then you need to talk about he things that keep them awake. 

Profits, earnings per share, net present value and so on. Spend some time reading the Wall Street Journal for the terminology. 

Remember, in times of great change companies will value people who can not only think of the ideas, but implement them. Be one of those people. 

Good luck with your implementation plan!