Over the past couple of weeks I have been working on an article and case study focusing on Asset Condition Assessment for the utility and infrastructure industries.
ACA programs are part of the renewals planning for these industries, and therefore part of the Capital maintenance forecasts they develop.
When done well these programs can inform renewals spending with confidence for up to 5 years, when done poorly the organisation often finds itself at the mercy of current events with no confident view of replacements and refurbishments.
In work from 2005 to today it is my opinion that the majority of programs of this nature are misdirected, and often spend large sums of money on information that is misleading or totally useless.
Showing posts with label Predictive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Predictive. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 July 2013
Friday, 21 June 2013
Common Myths of P-F Intervals in Predictive Maintenance
Even 30 years after the Nowlan & Heap RCM report, there still remains a lot of confusion over the principles and applications of P-F intervals, and Predictive Maintenance (PTIVE) in general.
This post is aimed at highlighting some of these modern myths, but space will probably prevent me from providing a detailed response. Feel free to carry on the conversation in the comments.
This post is aimed at highlighting some of these modern myths, but space will probably prevent me from providing a detailed response. Feel free to carry on the conversation in the comments.
Sunday, 13 January 2013
5 myths about RCM
I recently found some old posts relating to regularly regurgitated myths about Reliability-centered Maintenance.
I thought I would repost them here if anybody is interested. They were first published around 2007 so some of the links no longer work, and some of the old webpages are now out of publication.
But the links below work fine.
So over the next ten days, starting from tomorrow, I will work to publish a detailed post every day on one of the common myths (of maintenance, not of RCM) I regularly come up against when we are facilitating or teaching people about RCM.
You can subscribe using the link on the tabs at the top of the page, or via the email box on the side page. We don't spam our readers and many people reading this blog have been doing so for over 5 years now.
Good luck, and let's hope I haven't been too ambitious in the 10 tips in 10 days theme.
I thought I would repost them here if anybody is interested. They were first published around 2007 so some of the links no longer work, and some of the old webpages are now out of publication.
But the links below work fine.
- Myth 1 is lost in time right now.. I will see if I can dig it up in the next couple of days
So over the next ten days, starting from tomorrow, I will work to publish a detailed post every day on one of the common myths (of maintenance, not of RCM) I regularly come up against when we are facilitating or teaching people about RCM.
You can subscribe using the link on the tabs at the top of the page, or via the email box on the side page. We don't spam our readers and many people reading this blog have been doing so for over 5 years now.
Good luck, and let's hope I haven't been too ambitious in the 10 tips in 10 days theme.
Sunday, 3 July 2011
A few tips for maintaining conveyors
Conveyor systems are one of my favorite areas when performing RCM analysis.
They are all different, and there is always a lot of scope for improvement.
I thought I would share a few of the changes that come about regularly with the readership in the hope that you may be able to make rapid and worthwhile changes to your conveyor maintenance regimes.
(Without getting too much into some of the great technologies out there for inline checking of conveyors)
They are all different, and there is always a lot of scope for improvement.
I thought I would share a few of the changes that come about regularly with the readership in the hope that you may be able to make rapid and worthwhile changes to your conveyor maintenance regimes.
(Without getting too much into some of the great technologies out there for inline checking of conveyors)
Monday, 22 June 2009
What does "Pattern F" really mean?
One of the more startling of these is some of the myths and legends out there surrounding pattern E, random or constant failure, and pattern F, infant mortality.
Myth 1: It still represents the vast majority of failures!
This was one of the ah-ha moments of the RCM study. The fact that 64% of failures were in teh early stages of life.Infant mortality is caused by a range of factors. And here we have to remember where this information actually comes from...
When it was produced it came from the airlines industry, and painted a picture of a time a long time ago (In a galaxy far, far away)
In that time it was customary to take stuff out, pull it to bits, put it all back together again and reinstall it.
Issues such as design failures or quality issues are a major part of why assets fail early, justifying the need for pre-service inspections and NDT, but so too were human errors.
Failures in replacement, rebuild, installation and so on. You know the type - suddenly you have a vast number of spares when you reassemble it.
Today, however, this is less commonplace. Today companies are just as likely to use some form of condition based approach, (to manage their assets in general) or a fix on fail approach where it is viable to do so.
In my experience the number of burn in failures, aside from a few electronic components, is markedly lower than the 64% quoted by Nowlan and Heap. This analysis of Submarine data actually supports that. Even though this was nowhere near as rigorous as the original N&H report - it is still a good indication.
And if it points to anything... it points to Human Error (a La HEART type techniques) and reductions in over maintenance.
Is it still significant? Yup! Is it still the majority of the failure types you would have? Probably... but the percentages would be different in your industry and company than those of Nowlan and Heap nearly thirty years ago.
Human Error is emerging more and more as the rock sticking out of the receding tides of failure.
Myth 2: CBM is the best way to manage Pattern F
This is a wonderful scam for those wanting to hawk condition monitoring services. The reality is unfortunately never as simple as catch phrases and easy correllations.
It is generally used in conjunction with the myth above. Meaning - a) the boogey man is still out there, and b) you need lots of CBM to manage it.
There are two holes in this argument...
CBM is only, (ONLY) useful for predicting the onset of failure if the following is present: (It also has proactive uses, but we have posted on that recently)
1) A potential failure condition
2) A P-F interval that is reasonably consistent. (Keep that one in mind, it often gets overlooked)
3) A P-F interval that is large enough to actually do something useful. (To reduce costs or risk etcetera)
4) It actually reduces the whole of life costs, or reduces the level of risk to a factor that can be considered to be tolerable.
That's it. Is it useful for random failures? Definitely. But it is not the only task type. Detective maintenance is also very (VERY) useful for random hidden failures.
This ties into the second problem with this argument...
If most of them are failing in the early stages, so much so that there is a high likelihood of early failure - how can we be sure that the remainder are really random? And how many of the items that do remain are there anyway? Is this a significant figure?
So if you could eliminate the early life failure, we do not know which failure type the failures would end up as. Most of them die early remember!
As pointed out by Resnikov in his great work on mathematics and RCM, this is the fundamental reason why bathtub curves are so highly unlikely to exist at all!!
In summary
The way to deal with pattern F is through elimination of the causes of early life failure, not through CBM. Period! This means attending to human error, design issues, quality issues and over maintenance. (The last probably being the most prevalent)
CBM is applicable to random failures to detect the onset of failure, but only when the 4 criteria outlined above have been met. As with any type of failure mode! (But your wisest bet is (of course) to eliminate the early life failure first. Then it becomes one of the other failure types)
Sadly, it is almost always the case that people making grand statements like this, without more than theory or guessing to back them up, are doing so to sell something else totally. And not for the intellectual rigor of the reliability of the plants they are working on.
Even more sadly, it is often the case that they don't fully understand the theme also...
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Successful Project Management in Reliabillity
Successful projects start with the value in mind. This is where we fail often. We use criticality as a means of defining value, when it really doesn’t do that at all.
If we do criticality properly, and that is doubtful often, then it will define our most important assets – not our greatest value.
Focus on the Value Quadrant. Most companies look for revenue first, then costs, then risk and then knowledge. Make sure to tie it to your own company’s views and what your management thinks.
I might agree that risk is most important, or that knowledge is truly the most important. I might, but I am not paying the bills in your company. So get an understanding of what your management wants.
As a guide you need to be shooting for at least 10x the cost of the work. (Preferably a lot more)
Achieving success is easy, under promise and over deliver. That doesn’t mean you promise nothing.
You won’t get very far like that.
No. You promise a lot, and deliver a lot more.
2. Only productive work, no waste!
Focus, focus, focus!
I have been waging my own personal war against waste now for several years. What do you want to get out of this project, as defined by your value statements, and what is the best way to achieve that.
If you are implementing RCM it makes no sense at all to train everybody to a facilitator level. That’s waste in execution.
Instead focus on spending more time doing technical training with senior management. Keep your eye on the ball, and if the work doesn’t contribute to the end goal then cut it or don’t start it.
Once you have a budget in the millions, or even the hundreds of thousands, it is easy to start meandering all over the place. “But what about this” or “If we just did this as well as could get a lot more value” and so on.
It all sounds great, but it isn’t what you started out to do. In consulting we call this scope creep and it can be fatal to the success of the project. If an idea comes up that warrants additional work, then define it as its own mini-project, get approval and funding, and set it free.
3. Be Inclusive
You’ve seen this before haven’t you? That group of industry experts who are sequestered off into a far away part of the company for months on end. And then all of a sudden they turn up with demands on how you need to change!
Don’t become those guys!
Every part of the company needs to understand what’s in it for them. Or the value of the work, this is not a directive it’s a conversation!
Don’t demand change. It won’t work, no matter how important your sponsor is.
You need to convince them, just as you did with the sponsor, that this project will deliver outstanding value, value that it is worth having.
Then, and only then, start talking to them about what you need from them. Not before! If you don’t take this step then your initiative will be resented, your efforts will be resisted, and you will need to roll out the project on a “do it or else” basis.
And that’s not sustainable.
4. Tie it to wider strategic goals
If you are in physical asset management, in any industry, then your goal is to achieve minimum cost for a given level of performance and risk. Period!
When you bill it down it is that simple.
So you need to be able to paint the picture, very clearly, of how your initiative fits into the wider whole-of-life management. How it will aid the company to increase net present value and how it complement other initiatives in this framework.
We do not want to be part of the “program of the month” crowd.
5. Calculate, quantify and record the value
The default approach to value by many of my clients seems to be to go for statements like “to improve the efficiency” or “to reduce the number of failures”.
Unfortunately the approach of their boss is generally along the lines of “What’s it worth?”
I train my RCM facilitators to be thinking of benefits even before they finish the analysis. I train them to speak confidently about big figures, even if they are only 60% sure.
What will the boss say if you tell him that you are 60% sure that he will be able to increase revenues by $5 million over the next two years?”
“Come back when you’re sure”
Great, thanks! You just received the scarcest commodity in your company, the time of the executive leadership.
You need to be continually thinking about what value this will provide, quantifying it and recording it.
In fact, you should plan your project to release regular short bursts of improvement, which you can track and record to help build momentum.
Does it match where you started out from? It had better.
If it doesn’t then you were very wrong, or you lied. Either way you’re not in good shape now and you can only blame yourself.
6. Telling tales
It is not enough to do a good job. People need to be made aware that you are doing a good job!
If you’re anything like me then this area can cause heartache. We often don’t like crowing about what we have achieved, we don’t think we should be boastful, and anyway shouldn’t they already know?
Unfortunately, my experience is that generally they won’t notice. “They” (your management and stakeholders) are busy. They have many, many things drawing on their attention and they don’t often have time to look into things that are not on their radar.
So put it firmly in front of them.
As you get near important milestones you need to make sure people are aware of the value that you have already created. For example, this should be done at the end of every RCM or RCA analysis.
So put it firmly in front of them.
As you get near important milestones you need to make sure people are aware of the value that you have already created. For example, this should be done at the end of every RCM or RCA analysis.
The temptation is to wait until the benefits are actually achieved. This is not the right way to do it. You need to be forecasting benefits, honestly, and telling everybody about them.
Some tips:
7. Prove it!
Analyses by themselves do nothing. Any form of study does nothing without the action required to implement.
Implementation is where we all fall down very regularly. We do splendid analyses, train high level facilitators, and don’t focus on what happens next.
In fact, in times of great change companies will put greater value on people who can execute; not just come up with the ideas. Everybody has good ideas, few people can make them a reality.
Work processes, authorization processes, escalation systems, data management, involvement, continuous improvement. You name it. You need to think the project out all the way through, not just to the end of the analytical stage. Or just to the end of installing the online condition monitoring equipment.
And once it goes in, record the results. Prove that what you are saying is true. And, if anything, you were actually understating the value of the work you did.
People will trust you without facts. They will be persuaded that your initiative is worthwhile and that they should support you.
But if real world facts do not materialize in quick order, then it won’t last long.
8. Be persistent, reliability does achieve results!
This is probably the hardest lesson to learn.
It all starts well. The easy benefits are found, resolved and banked. The management are behind the project, and everything is smooth sailing.
Then you hit the rocks.
Implementation is harder than you thought. Management is concerned about the drain on resources.
The sponsor has turned her attention to the next big idea. It’s hard to keep going; you feel you are on the losing side. Don’t panic, don’t over extend, and don’t stop.
If it is well implemented reliability will achieve incredible results. The jury is in on this now, and today we know this to be a fact!
The reason why there are not many companies out there who have successfully implemented a value adding reliability program is because this is exactly the point where they quit. So don’t quit. Check you approach, adjust, change, and continue.
Reliability will yield great results. Your company will be far better off because of it, and you will be among the small number of successful professionals globally who have been able to do this.
Some tips:
- Get trained in presentation skills, not PowerPoint® skills but how to tell a story
- Don’t just present facts. People are more receptive to stories. Put the facts in context. Wrap them up into an inspirational story. Stories get remembered, facts get questioned. Stories are entertaining, facts are often torture.
- Get the lowest ranking person on the team to present to the highest ranking person you have access to. This isn’t just about you. It’s not a chance for you to be grandstanding. It’s a chance for your initiative to get noticed. This is very, very powerful.
7. Prove it!
Analyses by themselves do nothing. Any form of study does nothing without the action required to implement.
Implementation is where we all fall down very regularly. We do splendid analyses, train high level facilitators, and don’t focus on what happens next.
In fact, in times of great change companies will put greater value on people who can execute; not just come up with the ideas. Everybody has good ideas, few people can make them a reality.
Work processes, authorization processes, escalation systems, data management, involvement, continuous improvement. You name it. You need to think the project out all the way through, not just to the end of the analytical stage. Or just to the end of installing the online condition monitoring equipment.
And once it goes in, record the results. Prove that what you are saying is true. And, if anything, you were actually understating the value of the work you did.
People will trust you without facts. They will be persuaded that your initiative is worthwhile and that they should support you.
But if real world facts do not materialize in quick order, then it won’t last long.
8. Be persistent, reliability does achieve results!
This is probably the hardest lesson to learn.
It all starts well. The easy benefits are found, resolved and banked. The management are behind the project, and everything is smooth sailing.
Then you hit the rocks.
Implementation is harder than you thought. Management is concerned about the drain on resources.
The sponsor has turned her attention to the next big idea. It’s hard to keep going; you feel you are on the losing side. Don’t panic, don’t over extend, and don’t stop.
If it is well implemented reliability will achieve incredible results. The jury is in on this now, and today we know this to be a fact!
The reason why there are not many companies out there who have successfully implemented a value adding reliability program is because this is exactly the point where they quit. So don’t quit. Check you approach, adjust, change, and continue.
Reliability will yield great results. Your company will be far better off because of it, and you will be among the small number of successful professionals globally who have been able to do this.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Guaranteeing Reliability Success - Get rid of the champions!!
For decades now I have been watching this "champions theory" unfold in company after company. It sounds like a great idea. A person to run around and evangelize, clear out any land mines, and keep the momentum driving forward.
The problem, is that is rarely works.
Mid level or senior level champions rarely have the power to clear mines and maintain momentum just on their say so. And when they do, they often (for whatever reason) do not have the courage to make it happen.
What is more, change cannot be ordered...it has to be voluntary. (In some form)
I often feel sorry for people who are assigned as champions. This generally means:
a) You're on your own now.
b) Good luck, if it all falls to pieces we will know where to look.
c) A recipe for months of frustration, and ultimately resignation to the inevitable on behalf of the champion.
It is not uncommon to see champions lose total drive to push an initiative forward after being met with continual resistance and opposition. Or worse, they leave...
And when they leave there is nobody else there to carry on the fight, and often nobody left who actually understands what needs to be done.
Not champions - Movements
What we need instead of champions, are movements. leaders who can inspire others to give of themselves in order to achieve something greater than what exists today.
Have a look at the video here from YouTube. This is a great example of how movements are formed. From one brave soul, to two, then three.
And finally, after drip drip drip for ever, the dam breaks and instead of a trickle it becomes an overwhelming flood. (This might even be what is happening in Iran right at this moment)
Enjoy the video, not standard Reliability Engineering stuff...
The problem, is that is rarely works.
Mid level or senior level champions rarely have the power to clear mines and maintain momentum just on their say so. And when they do, they often (for whatever reason) do not have the courage to make it happen.
What is more, change cannot be ordered...it has to be voluntary. (In some form)
I often feel sorry for people who are assigned as champions. This generally means:
a) You're on your own now.
b) Good luck, if it all falls to pieces we will know where to look.
c) A recipe for months of frustration, and ultimately resignation to the inevitable on behalf of the champion.
It is not uncommon to see champions lose total drive to push an initiative forward after being met with continual resistance and opposition. Or worse, they leave...
And when they leave there is nobody else there to carry on the fight, and often nobody left who actually understands what needs to be done.
Not champions - Movements
What we need instead of champions, are movements. leaders who can inspire others to give of themselves in order to achieve something greater than what exists today.
Have a look at the video here from YouTube. This is a great example of how movements are formed. From one brave soul, to two, then three.
And finally, after drip drip drip for ever, the dam breaks and instead of a trickle it becomes an overwhelming flood. (This might even be what is happening in Iran right at this moment)
Enjoy the video, not standard Reliability Engineering stuff...
Sunday, 14 June 2009
The error in predictive maintenance
Fair enough...
But there are a few fundamental issues that sometimes slip through when designing a predictive maintenance program.
1) Not just for predicting failure
I think this is the primary issue facing all of us, and it is one of culture. We are trained from the beginning to use predictive maintenance for detecting the onset of failure. Even RCM encapsulates this thinking.The problem is that there is still a lot of science that is needed in this area. Online CM systems, and advances in the technology for storing and querying this information have given some companies a helping hand - but most of us are still foraging in the dark.
The key to this, however, is that predictive maintenance is not only useful for predicting failure, but also for predicting the likelihood of failure. For example...
- Overloading a motor will run it to failure quicker, wasting a lot of its early life.
- Ambient vibration will cause early life bearing failures
- Ambient heat will cause early life failures of many components
- Using rams outside of their design cycle rates or pressures, and so on... you get the pitcure right?
Predictive maintenance is often best used as a predictor of behaviors leading to early life failure, I have personally seen some phenomenal results from focusing on this sort of thinking alone.
2) Masking the original equipment problem
You predict the failure, change the bearing, and voila! Unplanned large failure costs avoided. And then, 6 months later, you pick it up again.
I posted on this several months ago when I used to write for PlantServices.com - the error of predictive maintenance is that it can mask the causes of failure. In this case it could be misalignment (something I really think it underdone in asset maintenance) , or using mallets instead of presses for puching the bearing on, or the habit of putting too much heat into the bearing during installation...whatever the cause, predictive maintenance isn't going to find it.
Getting around this is pretty simple, 1st make sure your RCM analysis actually goes to the right level of detail. E.g. the level where we can do something about it. And second, make sure that you understand the real causes for each failure, not just "the bearing failed".
3) Misapplication
Ever heard someone tell you that "all assets are showing the signs of the onset of failure"?There are two causes for this. a) they have misunderstood the whole condition monitoring approach and are applying it to a time based failure where the signs of wear are evident from the early stages.
This goes all the way to a misunderstanding and misapplication of NDT technologies as a form of condition monitoring...something that most of the industry hasn't caught onto yet.
Or b) they are using a P-F interval that is too wide, and they are not using this information for any purpose other than indication.
Easy stuff, learn your RCM well and this problem goes away with practice.
I hope this is of some use to you...
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Relish adversity
Being successful is a double edged sword. You attract supporters, particularly if you have been able to make your projects or initiatives high profile ones. But you also draw in the detractors.
In fact, when you are the leader you tend to polarize the market space. John Moubray used to polarize the world relating to RCM (he still does) and SAP polarizes ERP markets where ever they enter.
When you are the leader people are either for you or against you. They are not for the opposition.
So if you are getting sniper shots from the sidelines do not panic! Not only is this normal but it is a sign that you are having an impact. A sign that your work is starting to cut into the worlds of others who feel they need voice their opinions on the matter.
Resistance and objections to your work is not a bad thing, so this is no time to lose heart or give up. To the contrary - now is the time to hit it harder than ever. Actions speak louder than words, and cashable benefits scream louder than a chorus of cynics ever will be able to.
In fact, when you are the leader you tend to polarize the market space. John Moubray used to polarize the world relating to RCM (he still does) and SAP polarizes ERP markets where ever they enter.
When you are the leader people are either for you or against you. They are not for the opposition.
So if you are getting sniper shots from the sidelines do not panic! Not only is this normal but it is a sign that you are having an impact. A sign that your work is starting to cut into the worlds of others who feel they need voice their opinions on the matter.
Resistance and objections to your work is not a bad thing, so this is no time to lose heart or give up. To the contrary - now is the time to hit it harder than ever. Actions speak louder than words, and cashable benefits scream louder than a chorus of cynics ever will be able to.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
What is the skill set of a reliability engineer?
We often get overwrought by trying to work out the skill set that Reliability Engineers should have. In particular people often- almost always- focus on the high end probabilistic functions. And every single time we focus on the technical capabilities - often missing out altogether the personal and professional skills these people should have.
I am working on a paper relating to this issue as I think it is a vital issue heading into the second decade of the 21st century. Particularly as enterprise seems to have suddenly woken up to the importance of what we do.
In brief, I think the following are basic technical skills:
- RCM (Must have)
- RCA (Must have)
- Maintenance work processes (Must have)
- Weibull and Growth Analysis (Nice to have)
- WoL modelling (Must have)
- Asset Economics (Critical)
A fair challenge for most of us. Particularly as most of us start out with just a focus on our own engineering disciplines.
This is where the challenge really starts. because even if you have a guy with all of these skills what you will end up with is a set of very expertly done analysis on the shelf. With no real hard results to speak of.
The team will be wondering what this guy is doing. The Reliability Engineer will be disheartened because he thinks that nobody is taking him seriously. And from the corporate point of view it is a waste of time and money generally speaking.
This is why they need a range of additional interpersonal skills. No, I am not talking about "effective communication" or other 1980's garbage. I mean real stuff. The sorts of things that takes a role like this from boffin to game changer.
- Can you present? Really present? Tell stories and craft presentations that will have people enthralled and leave them wanting to tell everyone about your work?
- Can you lead others? Not be a manager, but be a leader? Managers administer, leaders inspire. Managers get the job done, leaders paint a vision and charge off in front of the pack.
- Can you get things moving? Not get things done but get them moving. Are you able to get the senior management to be buzzing among themselves about the prospects of real valuable benefits from the work you are doing?
There are a range of other soft skills that I am going to cover in this paper. I think it is a subject whose time has really come.
I am working on a paper relating to this issue as I think it is a vital issue heading into the second decade of the 21st century. Particularly as enterprise seems to have suddenly woken up to the importance of what we do.
In brief, I think the following are basic technical skills:
- RCM (Must have)
- RCA (Must have)
- Maintenance work processes (Must have)
- Weibull and Growth Analysis (Nice to have)
- WoL modelling (Must have)
- Asset Economics (Critical)
A fair challenge for most of us. Particularly as most of us start out with just a focus on our own engineering disciplines.
This is where the challenge really starts. because even if you have a guy with all of these skills what you will end up with is a set of very expertly done analysis on the shelf. With no real hard results to speak of.
The team will be wondering what this guy is doing. The Reliability Engineer will be disheartened because he thinks that nobody is taking him seriously. And from the corporate point of view it is a waste of time and money generally speaking.
This is why they need a range of additional interpersonal skills. No, I am not talking about "effective communication" or other 1980's garbage. I mean real stuff. The sorts of things that takes a role like this from boffin to game changer.
- Can you present? Really present? Tell stories and craft presentations that will have people enthralled and leave them wanting to tell everyone about your work?
- Can you lead others? Not be a manager, but be a leader? Managers administer, leaders inspire. Managers get the job done, leaders paint a vision and charge off in front of the pack.
- Can you get things moving? Not get things done but get them moving. Are you able to get the senior management to be buzzing among themselves about the prospects of real valuable benefits from the work you are doing?
There are a range of other soft skills that I am going to cover in this paper. I think it is a subject whose time has really come.
The danger of "champions"
After several decades of promoting champions in companies as a part of cultural change, I have finally come to the conclusion that it is probably the worst way to implement anything.
Companies don't need champions - what they need is a movement ! By far the biggest reason for failure of reliability projects is that the champion leaves the company. Ask any consultancy, ask anyone who has done this more than four or five times, and ask anybody who tried to champion a project and was burned out by the experience.
So how do you generate a movement as separate from a champion? Well, you need to start with a revolutionary, an idea that spreads, stories and legends, and a noble and realistic outcome.
Conspiracy, underground pilot projects, targeting the right assets - with the right methods, and generating astounding results. That is how a movement is born.
Why? Because once you start to get astounding results, others ant to be a part of it. Senior execs line up to take credit for it, and everyone on the ground floor wants to get involved in the thing that works.
I am going to be writing a lot about this, in particular about some of the practical aspects of it. But have no doubt - if you can create a movement rather than just one or two champions then your initiative will become far larger than you - and you can safely leave it to start another revolution somewhere else.
Companies don't need champions - what they need is a movement ! By far the biggest reason for failure of reliability projects is that the champion leaves the company. Ask any consultancy, ask anyone who has done this more than four or five times, and ask anybody who tried to champion a project and was burned out by the experience.
So how do you generate a movement as separate from a champion? Well, you need to start with a revolutionary, an idea that spreads, stories and legends, and a noble and realistic outcome.
Conspiracy, underground pilot projects, targeting the right assets - with the right methods, and generating astounding results. That is how a movement is born.
Why? Because once you start to get astounding results, others ant to be a part of it. Senior execs line up to take credit for it, and everyone on the ground floor wants to get involved in the thing that works.
I am going to be writing a lot about this, in particular about some of the practical aspects of it. But have no doubt - if you can create a movement rather than just one or two champions then your initiative will become far larger than you - and you can safely leave it to start another revolution somewhere else.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
You wouldn't believe it's the twenty first century...
Some of the common issues that maintainers are struggling to deal with even as we close on the end of the first decade of the 21st century.
If this sounds like the place where you work then you have problems. And big ones. If they haven't done it already (these basic items) then they are not likely to.
It has to come from you. If you don't start driving these issues then things will stay as they are.
We tend to think that there is a big "Idea Approvals Department" in every company who looks at these things and decides how to get them done. The world doesn't work like that I'm sorry.
Start talking to colleagues. Get them interested. Get their support. Do some work guerrilla style. Prove the results. Do it again and prove the results again. Move to the next thing, repeat the process.
Keep driving under the radar until you get to the point where their are people lining up to take credit for your work. Never take it to the boss though. The boss is trained to stop things like this. He sees them as risky. Out of his areas of expertise.
You have to go underground if this is going to be a success I'm afraid.
- Many organizations still don't have an accurate equipment register..
- Many companies still do not have mobile working capabilities even though these are cheap today...
- Some organizations still do not perform RCA after every Lost production Event
- There are utilities industries in many countries who are still working without the safety net of an asset management framework of some kind.
- People are still dying in maintenance related accidents that are preventable and / or predictable.
- There is still no capacity planning in many organizations.
- CAPEX decisions are still made using criticality instead of robust methods like AHP.
- No RCM
- No CBM
- No whole of Life models
- And the list goes on.
If this sounds like the place where you work then you have problems. And big ones. If they haven't done it already (these basic items) then they are not likely to.
It has to come from you. If you don't start driving these issues then things will stay as they are.
We tend to think that there is a big "Idea Approvals Department" in every company who looks at these things and decides how to get them done. The world doesn't work like that I'm sorry.
Start talking to colleagues. Get them interested. Get their support. Do some work guerrilla style. Prove the results. Do it again and prove the results again. Move to the next thing, repeat the process.
Keep driving under the radar until you get to the point where their are people lining up to take credit for your work. Never take it to the boss though. The boss is trained to stop things like this. He sees them as risky. Out of his areas of expertise.
You have to go underground if this is going to be a success I'm afraid.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
8 Attributes of Successful Reliability Projects
1. Start with value in mind.
Successful projects start with the value in mind. This is where we fail often. We use criticality as a means of defining value, when it really doesn’t do that at all.
If we do criticality properly, and that is doubtful often, then it will define our most important assets – not our greatest value.
Focus on the Value Quadrant. Most companies look for revenue first, then costs, then risk and then knowledge. Make sure to tie it to your own company’s views and what your management thinks.
I might agree that risk is most important, or that knowledge is truly the most important. I might, but I am not paying the bills in your company. So get an understanding of what your management wants.
As a guide you need to be shooting for at least 10x the cost of the work. (Preferably a lot more)
Achieving success is easy, under promise and over deliver. That doesn’t mean you promise nothing.
You won’t get very far like that.
No. You promise a lot, and deliver a lot more.
2. Only productive work, no waste!
Focus, focus, focus!
I have been waging my own personal war against waste now for several years. What do you want to get out of this project, as defined by your value statements, and what is the best way to achieve that.
If you are implementing RCM it makes no sense at all to train everybody to a facilitator level. That’s waste in execution.
Instead focus on spending more time doing technical training with senior management. Keep your eye on the ball, and if the work doesn’t contribute to the end goal then cut it or don’t start it.
Once you have a budget in the millions, or even the hundreds of thousands, it is easy to start meandering all over the place. “But what about this” or “If we just did this as well as could get a lot more value” and so on.
It all sounds great, but it isn’t what you started out to do. In consulting we call this scope creep and it can be fatal to the success of the project. If an idea comes up that warrants additional work, then define it as its own mini-project, get approval and funding, and set it free.
3. Be Inclusive
You’ve seen this before haven’t you? That group of industry experts who are sequestered off into a far away part of the company for months on end. And then all of a sudden they turn up with demands on how you need to change!
Don’t become those guys!
Every part of the company needs to understand what’s in it for them. Or the value of the work, this is not a directive it’s a conversation!
Don’t demand change. It won’t work, no matter how important your sponsor is.
You need to convince them, just as you did with the sponsor, that this project will deliver outstanding value, value that it is worth having.
Then, and only then, start talking to them about what you need from them. Not before! If you don’t take this step then your initiative will be resented, your efforts will be resisted, and you will need to roll out the project on a “do it or else” basis.
And that’s not sustainable.
4. Tie it to wider strategic goals
If you are in physical asset management, in any industry, then your goal is to achieve minimum cost for a given level of performance and risk. Period!
When you boil it down it is that simple.
So you need to be able to paint the picture, very clearly, of how your initiative fits into the wider whole-of-life management. How it will aid the company to increase net present value and how it complement other initiatives in this framework.
We do not want to be part of the “program of the month” crowd.
5. Calculate, quantify and record the value
The default approach to value by many of my clients seems to be to go for statements like “to improve the efficiency” or “to reduce the number of failures”.
Unfortunately the approach of their boss is generally along the lines of “What’s it worth?”
I train my RCM facilitators to be thinking of benefits even before they finish the analysis. I train them to speak confidently about big figures, even if they are only 60% sure.
What will the boss say if you tell him that you are 60% sure that he will be able to increase revenues by $5 million over the next two years?”
“Come back when you’re sure”
Great, thanks! You just received the scarcest commodity in your company, the time of the executive leadership.
You need to be continually thinking about what value this will provide, quantifying it and recording it.
In fact, you should plan your project to release regular short bursts of improvement, which you can track and record to help build momentum.
Does it match where you started out from? It had better.
If it doesn’t then you were very wrong, or you lied. Either way you’re not in good shape now and you can only blame yourself.
6. Telling tales
It is not enough to do a good job. People need to be made aware that you are doing a good job!
If you’re anything like me then this area can cause heartache. We often don’t like crowing about what we have achieved, we don’t think we should be boastful, and anyway shouldn’t they already know?
Unfortunately, my experience is that generally they won’t notice. “They” (your management and stakeholders) are busy. They have many, many things drawing on their attention and they don’t often have time to look into things that are not on their radar.
So put it firmly in front of them.
As you get near important milestones you need to make sure people are aware of the value that you have already created. For example, this should be done at the end of every RCM or RCA analysis.
The temptation is to wait until the benefits are actually achieved. This is not the right way to do it. You need to be forecasting benefits, honestly, and telling everybody about them.
Some tips:
Analyses by themselves do nothing. Any form of study does nothing without the action required to implement.
Implementation is where we all fall down very regularly. We do splendid analyses, train high level facilitators, and don’t focus on what happens next.
In fact, in times of great change companies will put greater value on people who can execute; not just come up with the ideas. Everybody has good ideas, few people can make them a reality.
Work processes, authorization processes, escalation systems, data management, involvement, continuous improvement. You name it. You need to think the project out all the way through, not just to the end of the analytical stage. Or just to the end of installing the online condition monitoring equipment.
And once it goes in, record the results. Prove that what you are saying is true. And, if anything, you were actually understating the value of the work you did.
People will trust you without facts. They will be persuaded that your initiative is worthwhile and that they should support you.
But if real world facts do not materialize in quick order, then it won’t last long.
8. Be persistent, reliability does achieve results!
This is probably the hardest lesson to learn.
It all starts well. The easy benefits are found, resolved and banked. The management are behind the project, and everything is smooth sailing.
Then you hit the rocks.
Implementation is harder than you thought. Management is concerned about the drain on resources.
The sponsor has turned her attention to the next big idea. It’s hard to keep going; you feel you are on the losing side. Don’t panic, don’t over extend, and don’t stop.
If it is well implemented reliability will achieve incredible results. The jury is in on this now, and today we know this to be a fact!
The reason why there are not many companies out there who have successfully implemented a value adding reliability program is because this is exactly the point where they quit. So don’t quit. Check you approach, adjust, change, and continue.
Reliability will yield great results. Your company will be far better off because of it, and you will be among the small number of successful professionals globally who have been able to do this.
Successful projects start with the value in mind. This is where we fail often. We use criticality as a means of defining value, when it really doesn’t do that at all.
If we do criticality properly, and that is doubtful often, then it will define our most important assets – not our greatest value.
Focus on the Value Quadrant. Most companies look for revenue first, then costs, then risk and then knowledge. Make sure to tie it to your own company’s views and what your management thinks.
I might agree that risk is most important, or that knowledge is truly the most important. I might, but I am not paying the bills in your company. So get an understanding of what your management wants.
As a guide you need to be shooting for at least 10x the cost of the work. (Preferably a lot more)
Achieving success is easy, under promise and over deliver. That doesn’t mean you promise nothing.
You won’t get very far like that.
No. You promise a lot, and deliver a lot more.
2. Only productive work, no waste!
Focus, focus, focus!
I have been waging my own personal war against waste now for several years. What do you want to get out of this project, as defined by your value statements, and what is the best way to achieve that.
If you are implementing RCM it makes no sense at all to train everybody to a facilitator level. That’s waste in execution.
Instead focus on spending more time doing technical training with senior management. Keep your eye on the ball, and if the work doesn’t contribute to the end goal then cut it or don’t start it.
Once you have a budget in the millions, or even the hundreds of thousands, it is easy to start meandering all over the place. “But what about this” or “If we just did this as well as could get a lot more value” and so on.
It all sounds great, but it isn’t what you started out to do. In consulting we call this scope creep and it can be fatal to the success of the project. If an idea comes up that warrants additional work, then define it as its own mini-project, get approval and funding, and set it free.
3. Be Inclusive
You’ve seen this before haven’t you? That group of industry experts who are sequestered off into a far away part of the company for months on end. And then all of a sudden they turn up with demands on how you need to change!
Don’t become those guys!
Every part of the company needs to understand what’s in it for them. Or the value of the work, this is not a directive it’s a conversation!
Don’t demand change. It won’t work, no matter how important your sponsor is.
You need to convince them, just as you did with the sponsor, that this project will deliver outstanding value, value that it is worth having.
Then, and only then, start talking to them about what you need from them. Not before! If you don’t take this step then your initiative will be resented, your efforts will be resisted, and you will need to roll out the project on a “do it or else” basis.
And that’s not sustainable.
4. Tie it to wider strategic goals
If you are in physical asset management, in any industry, then your goal is to achieve minimum cost for a given level of performance and risk. Period!
When you boil it down it is that simple.
So you need to be able to paint the picture, very clearly, of how your initiative fits into the wider whole-of-life management. How it will aid the company to increase net present value and how it complement other initiatives in this framework.
We do not want to be part of the “program of the month” crowd.
5. Calculate, quantify and record the value
The default approach to value by many of my clients seems to be to go for statements like “to improve the efficiency” or “to reduce the number of failures”.
Unfortunately the approach of their boss is generally along the lines of “What’s it worth?”
I train my RCM facilitators to be thinking of benefits even before they finish the analysis. I train them to speak confidently about big figures, even if they are only 60% sure.
What will the boss say if you tell him that you are 60% sure that he will be able to increase revenues by $5 million over the next two years?”
“Come back when you’re sure”
Great, thanks! You just received the scarcest commodity in your company, the time of the executive leadership.
You need to be continually thinking about what value this will provide, quantifying it and recording it.
In fact, you should plan your project to release regular short bursts of improvement, which you can track and record to help build momentum.
Does it match where you started out from? It had better.
If it doesn’t then you were very wrong, or you lied. Either way you’re not in good shape now and you can only blame yourself.
6. Telling tales
It is not enough to do a good job. People need to be made aware that you are doing a good job!
If you’re anything like me then this area can cause heartache. We often don’t like crowing about what we have achieved, we don’t think we should be boastful, and anyway shouldn’t they already know?
Unfortunately, my experience is that generally they won’t notice. “They” (your management and stakeholders) are busy. They have many, many things drawing on their attention and they don’t often have time to look into things that are not on their radar.
So put it firmly in front of them.
As you get near important milestones you need to make sure people are aware of the value that you have already created. For example, this should be done at the end of every RCM or RCA analysis.
The temptation is to wait until the benefits are actually achieved. This is not the right way to do it. You need to be forecasting benefits, honestly, and telling everybody about them.
Some tips:
- Get trained in presentation skills, not PowerPoint® skills but how to tell a story
- Don’t just present facts. People are more receptive to stories. Put the facts in context. Wrap them up into an inspirational story. Stories get remembered, facts get questioned. Stories are entertaining, facts are often torture.
- Get the lowest ranking person on the team to present to the highest ranking person you have access to. This isn’t just about you. It’s not a chance for you to be grandstanding. It’s a chance for your initiative to get noticed. This is very, very powerful.
Analyses by themselves do nothing. Any form of study does nothing without the action required to implement.
Implementation is where we all fall down very regularly. We do splendid analyses, train high level facilitators, and don’t focus on what happens next.
In fact, in times of great change companies will put greater value on people who can execute; not just come up with the ideas. Everybody has good ideas, few people can make them a reality.
Work processes, authorization processes, escalation systems, data management, involvement, continuous improvement. You name it. You need to think the project out all the way through, not just to the end of the analytical stage. Or just to the end of installing the online condition monitoring equipment.
And once it goes in, record the results. Prove that what you are saying is true. And, if anything, you were actually understating the value of the work you did.
People will trust you without facts. They will be persuaded that your initiative is worthwhile and that they should support you.
But if real world facts do not materialize in quick order, then it won’t last long.
8. Be persistent, reliability does achieve results!
This is probably the hardest lesson to learn.
It all starts well. The easy benefits are found, resolved and banked. The management are behind the project, and everything is smooth sailing.
Then you hit the rocks.
Implementation is harder than you thought. Management is concerned about the drain on resources.
The sponsor has turned her attention to the next big idea. It’s hard to keep going; you feel you are on the losing side. Don’t panic, don’t over extend, and don’t stop.
If it is well implemented reliability will achieve incredible results. The jury is in on this now, and today we know this to be a fact!
The reason why there are not many companies out there who have successfully implemented a value adding reliability program is because this is exactly the point where they quit. So don’t quit. Check you approach, adjust, change, and continue.
Reliability will yield great results. Your company will be far better off because of it, and you will be among the small number of successful professionals globally who have been able to do this.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Maintenance maturity and common errors
By now there is probably not a maintenance or reliability practitioner in the world who doesn't know about the maintenance maturity approach.
Starting out in the late 1980's this approach was publicized widely by Terry Wireman in one of his early books, and it has been plagiarized mercilessly ever since unfortunately.
You know the one right - you start at reactive, work through planned to precision and then reliability or world class. (Or some variation of these)
The problem, and there are a few, is that most consultants and even practitioners tend to start offering services around the reliability or precision part of the scale. Yet there are often gigantic benefits to be had by focusing on the basic elements of maintenance.
Things like eliminating or reducing vibration, implementing good and useful condition monitoring, clean equipment, operators trained in basic maintenance and adjustments and so on.
Then there's the planning side of things. Capacity scheduling, delay elimination or minimization, recording and capturing data in an effective and useful manner.
The whole maintenance maturity thing is great - that's why it has been ripped off so many times - but lets not forget that the early steps are often the most beneficial and contain the most value. Particularly if things have been allowed to drift for a while.
Starting out in the late 1980's this approach was publicized widely by Terry Wireman in one of his early books, and it has been plagiarized mercilessly ever since unfortunately.
You know the one right - you start at reactive, work through planned to precision and then reliability or world class. (Or some variation of these)
The problem, and there are a few, is that most consultants and even practitioners tend to start offering services around the reliability or precision part of the scale. Yet there are often gigantic benefits to be had by focusing on the basic elements of maintenance.
Things like eliminating or reducing vibration, implementing good and useful condition monitoring, clean equipment, operators trained in basic maintenance and adjustments and so on.
Then there's the planning side of things. Capacity scheduling, delay elimination or minimization, recording and capturing data in an effective and useful manner.
The whole maintenance maturity thing is great - that's why it has been ripped off so many times - but lets not forget that the early steps are often the most beneficial and contain the most value. Particularly if things have been allowed to drift for a while.
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Getting beyond the pilot...
Imagine the scene if you will.
You have fought hard to get the project started. You have taken your US$150,000, done a comprehensive criticvality analysis, performed RCM analyses ont he top three asset systems and prepared the report back presentations.
Now it's time to take it back to Mr Very Important VP. The guy who backed this in the first place, the guy who has it within his power to stump up the rest of the caqsh you need to continue this rollout.
"Mr Very Important VP, you will be happy to know that your critical asset, the one that was working well, is going to continue working well."
And what do you think his response will be?
If you are lucky you will get a pat ont he head and sent on your way. He will probably not even remember your name. Why?
The problem is that most projects start with critical assets. Criticality is a cult that has encircled the world and does not help you to start reliability initiatives!! In fact, it works against you!
Whats the problem with critical assets? They're critical ! Get it ! That means they are normallyworking well. Everyone knows they're critical, and if anything ever goes wrong with them it's all hands on deck to get them moving again!
Now picture a different scenario:
"Mr very Important VP, we analyzed these asset systems and found that over the past three years they had cost us about US$5,000,000 in lost production opportunities.
We have carried out the analysis and we think that we can recover about $4,000,000 over the next three years in potential revenues"
Now what is he going to say? At the very least he will invite you back to tell him more when you are more certain. That means you have just been granted one of the scarcest resources your company has. The time of it's executive leadership.
Critical assets don't launch projects, bad actors launch projects.
I might agree with what you are thinking. I might agree that the critical assets are the ones we need to hit. I might also agree that critical assets are really what reliability is all about.
I might... but I'm not paying for your project. And the odds are good that your VP is not a reliability person!
You want their support, then speak their language.
If you enjoyed this post you can receive it in your email here. We don't like spam either and we won't send you any!
You have fought hard to get the project started. You have taken your US$150,000, done a comprehensive criticvality analysis, performed RCM analyses ont he top three asset systems and prepared the report back presentations.
Now it's time to take it back to Mr Very Important VP. The guy who backed this in the first place, the guy who has it within his power to stump up the rest of the caqsh you need to continue this rollout.
"Mr Very Important VP, you will be happy to know that your critical asset, the one that was working well, is going to continue working well."
And what do you think his response will be?
If you are lucky you will get a pat ont he head and sent on your way. He will probably not even remember your name. Why?
The problem is that most projects start with critical assets. Criticality is a cult that has encircled the world and does not help you to start reliability initiatives!! In fact, it works against you!
Whats the problem with critical assets? They're critical ! Get it ! That means they are normallyworking well. Everyone knows they're critical, and if anything ever goes wrong with them it's all hands on deck to get them moving again!
Now picture a different scenario:
"Mr very Important VP, we analyzed these asset systems and found that over the past three years they had cost us about US$5,000,000 in lost production opportunities.
We have carried out the analysis and we think that we can recover about $4,000,000 over the next three years in potential revenues"
Now what is he going to say? At the very least he will invite you back to tell him more when you are more certain. That means you have just been granted one of the scarcest resources your company has. The time of it's executive leadership.
Critical assets don't launch projects, bad actors launch projects.
I might agree with what you are thinking. I might agree that the critical assets are the ones we need to hit. I might also agree that critical assets are really what reliability is all about.
I might... but I'm not paying for your project. And the odds are good that your VP is not a reliability person!
You want their support, then speak their language.
If you enjoyed this post you can receive it in your email here. We don't like spam either and we won't send you any!
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Uses of MTBF
The goal of this article is to take a slightly different view of MTBF, and to look at it in an RCM context, as well as a proactive context. This book has been two years in the writing and has been a project that has traveled with me across several continents, a couple of roles, an operation and a range of projects. It has been one of the great learning journeys of my life.
Mean Time Between Failure or MTBF is one of the most widely used metrics in physical asset management. Generally, companies use it as a guide to the performance of their physical assets, helping them to identify assets or processes that are causing lost revenue or cost related issues.
Mean Time Between Failure or MTBF is one of the most widely used metrics in physical asset management. Generally, companies use it as a guide to the performance of their physical assets, helping them to identify assets or processes that are causing lost revenue or cost related issues.
However, although widely applied, MTBF is still the subject of some confusion. Moreover, MTBF is useful for a range of different purposes, giving organizations greater ability to increase the net present value of their physical asset base.
Sunday, 21 October 2007
The Strategic View by Ron Doucet P. Eng.
Transition From Breakdown to Reliability - Ron Doucet
It would be unrealistic to cover the entire process of transforming an area from a breakdown environment to a proactive Work Management Process (WMP) in one short article. Achieving this involves the proper implementation of hundreds of critical activities that all have to be done correctly for the effort to succeed.
Once one realizes how many activities have to come together to make this work, it could become overwhelming figuring out how and where to begin. This article will focus on the initial steps down the path to reliability.
Unfortunately there are no silver bullets. The details of how work is going to be identified, planned, scheduled, executed, analysed and improved will be different for each area. A one size fits all at the execution level does not exist. On the other hand what does fit all organizations, at a higher level, is the six block model.
There are various approaches to starting this initiative. There is the Top Down “tell you how to do it” mandated approach, the Bottom Up “tell us how to improve maintenance” approach or a hybrid with a mix of mandates in terms of direction and goals set by management and getting the required input from the people closest to the assets.
Both the Top Down and Bottom Up approaches usually end up failing. The Top Down approach usually fails due to a lack of buy-in to generic work management processes, and they are usually overly focused on the maintenance software. The Bottom Up approaches usually fail due to a lack of focus on improving work practices. Both the Top Down and Bottom Up approaches inadequately deal with the required changes, in the maintainers and operators work practices, that are required if there are to be changes in equipment performance.
In the hybrid approach, management and the people closest to the assets each have a role. Managements’ role is to define the direction, criteria and goals of the new WMP. Management can mandate the transition to a proactive WMP. The details of this mandate should be no lower than at the six block model along with the expected criteria of the proactive WMP. Examples of what could be detailed as expectations are;
- Work is scheduled for one week at a time.
- The schedule is issued in the previous week.
- Work will be scheduled daily and account for all schedulable resources.
- Preventive maintenance tasks and Pre Operational checks will target the identification of future plan-able work by looking for potential failures.
- All work will be planned and archived in the CMMS.
- All work plans will have Safe Operating Procedures.
The next step is to assemble a representative team of supervisors, planners, operators and trades people and educate them on the function of maintenance. In a proactive WMP the function of maintenance is to maintain equipment functionality and not just to fix it when it breaks.
Operators and maintainers need to understand their role in early work identification and the resulting benefits of planning and scheduling. Remembering what John Moubray once said, “First change the way people think and then apply the changed thinking to doing something different”. This is where the change in thinking occurs. This may be the first time that the maintainer is asked to look for future plan-able work instead of broken equipment. It may be the first time that the operator or attendant is asked to report symptoms instead of what is broken on his equipment.
Once everyone is clear what a proactive work management process is, it is now time, and now possible, to use the changed thinking to determine who does what and how, for each block of the six block model such that the WMP expectations are met. This should be done in a facilitated session with the trades and operational people who know the equipment best, along with the supervisors, planners and schedulers who will have to manage the process.
Now the real work starts.
To meet the criteria for Work Identification, current and new PM tasks and pre operational checklists will have to be improved to reflect the need to identify potential failures, and a means to get this information to a planer will have to be determined, etc. For Work Planning, job plans will have to be documented, parts lists updated, equipment hierarchy updated and created, etc. For Scheduling, there will be a need to develop coordination processes, staging areas, scheduling systems etc.
Implementation activities will be required for each block. These activities and processes will be specific to the area and reflect its unique operating context.
We will cover the details of each block in upcoming articles but suffice to say that a project of this size is not successfully managed in an ad hoc fashion. There should be resources made available to oversee the entire implementation and resources made available to participate in all the required improvements. Sound project management principles need to be used, as the amount of parallel activities required to implement this in a reasonable timeframe will become unmanageable very quickly.
Please email me your comments on this article, on asset management topics you would like to see in the future or any questions you may have.
Guest columnist Ron Doucet is a reliability professional with a long career of driving companies towards operational excellence. He is an Aladon trained RCM practitioner, frequent conference speaker, and currently holds a senior asset management position in the mining industry of North America.
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Tips to bring the project in on budget
Stretching the budget is nothing new for maintenance and reliability implementations. Particularly those where an implementation of technology is part of the game plan. But it needn't be this way, there are a few simple (very simple) techniques and approaches that can make sure that the original budget stays intact while getting all of what was originally envisioned.
However, this is an approach that will need to be adopted from the very beginning of a project. That is, before you start to look for notifications of interest or price submissions.
1. Don't oversell or you will have to spend extra money trying to deliver the benefits you claimed
2. Don't make too many changes! This is not an attempt to make all of your processes electronic, nor is it an attempt to try to redesign the entire program to suit your company. Use what is there to its full before trying to make unnecessary changes.
3. Look online. Heard of Software as a Service yet? Seen some of the incredible things that companies are starting to do online?
Well, if not then you need to! Even at this early stage of the trend to online programs and products there is already an impressive array of technology available for companies to implement at a fraction of the cost of the old Enterprise architecture models.
4. DO NOT go for lowest price! Everybody wants to get more for less, it is at the heart of the capitalist system we work in. BUT, if you get the lowest cost vendor, or drive your implementation partner to deliver more than they originally budgeted for, then you are in trouble.
Either there will be a lot left out in the first place, of your implementation partner will be operating on such tight margins that they will try to do everything possible as quickly and as cheaply as possible. So how to save money, pay the right price!
5. Start a structured knowledge transfer program from day one! Or continue to pay until year 10! Easy calculation to make. Either you take the hit and take some short term pain in terms of resource usage, or you continue to pay real money to an external resource forever.
6. Be innovative in implementation! Be smart about how you spend your money. If you don't need the people on site then don't blow the budget getting them to site, if one of the plants is already advanced then dploy the resources and time elsewhere, look for flexibility at every turn. (This doesn't mean screwing more out of your implementation partner either by the way)
For example, ten years after the publication of the RCM standard there are still naysayers claiming that a full implementation of RCM takes too many resources and is too labor intensive. These comments are spurred on by either flat-out ignorance or commercial interests.
What they either do not understand, or are deliberately misleading their readers about, is that the RCM standard does not mandate the process or the way that you implement RCM! So instead of being smart and adjusting the implementation process they take the easier and less ethical route of streamlining the rigorous nature of the process.
In fact, when I was in the UK with AMT-SYBEX we needed a way to make rigorous RCM available to companies who did not have the technical resources to dedicate to full time reviews as in a team facilitated approach.
So I pioneered the RCM Analyst approach, a method still delivered by that company to this day with a lot of success. So instead of being smart and adjusting the implementation process they take the easier and less ethical route of streamlining the rigorous nature of the process.
7. Get a trusted adviser! The job of a consultant is short and sweet, to improve the clients condition. Full stop. it is not about lightening his checkbook, nor about increasing profit margins. A managerial consultant should be focused on making sure that your company gets where it needs to be going, and then deal with the commercial aspects second.
Find this person and get them to advise you continually!
However, this is an approach that will need to be adopted from the very beginning of a project. That is, before you start to look for notifications of interest or price submissions.
1. Don't oversell or you will have to spend extra money trying to deliver the benefits you claimed
2. Don't make too many changes! This is not an attempt to make all of your processes electronic, nor is it an attempt to try to redesign the entire program to suit your company. Use what is there to its full before trying to make unnecessary changes.
3. Look online. Heard of Software as a Service yet? Seen some of the incredible things that companies are starting to do online?
Well, if not then you need to! Even at this early stage of the trend to online programs and products there is already an impressive array of technology available for companies to implement at a fraction of the cost of the old Enterprise architecture models.
4. DO NOT go for lowest price! Everybody wants to get more for less, it is at the heart of the capitalist system we work in. BUT, if you get the lowest cost vendor, or drive your implementation partner to deliver more than they originally budgeted for, then you are in trouble.
Either there will be a lot left out in the first place, of your implementation partner will be operating on such tight margins that they will try to do everything possible as quickly and as cheaply as possible. So how to save money, pay the right price!
5. Start a structured knowledge transfer program from day one! Or continue to pay until year 10! Easy calculation to make. Either you take the hit and take some short term pain in terms of resource usage, or you continue to pay real money to an external resource forever.
6. Be innovative in implementation! Be smart about how you spend your money. If you don't need the people on site then don't blow the budget getting them to site, if one of the plants is already advanced then dploy the resources and time elsewhere, look for flexibility at every turn. (This doesn't mean screwing more out of your implementation partner either by the way)
For example, ten years after the publication of the RCM standard there are still naysayers claiming that a full implementation of RCM takes too many resources and is too labor intensive. These comments are spurred on by either flat-out ignorance or commercial interests.
What they either do not understand, or are deliberately misleading their readers about, is that the RCM standard does not mandate the process or the way that you implement RCM! So instead of being smart and adjusting the implementation process they take the easier and less ethical route of streamlining the rigorous nature of the process.
In fact, when I was in the UK with AMT-SYBEX we needed a way to make rigorous RCM available to companies who did not have the technical resources to dedicate to full time reviews as in a team facilitated approach.
So I pioneered the RCM Analyst approach, a method still delivered by that company to this day with a lot of success. So instead of being smart and adjusting the implementation process they take the easier and less ethical route of streamlining the rigorous nature of the process.
7. Get a trusted adviser! The job of a consultant is short and sweet, to improve the clients condition. Full stop. it is not about lightening his checkbook, nor about increasing profit margins. A managerial consultant should be focused on making sure that your company gets where it needs to be going, and then deal with the commercial aspects second.
Find this person and get them to advise you continually!
A Guide to The First Hundred Days of a large scale project
So you have finally started the project. The money is approved, the products and consultants have been located, the contract has been let and you are already part way through your awareness program.
Failure in reliability and asset management programs is often traceable to key decisions that were made either during the sales cycle or within the first days of implementation. So here are some tips that may help you to avoid some of the common pitfalls during this period and ensure your project continues with the same level of corporate enthusiasm that it had when it was pitched at senior management.
1. Make sure that mobilization time frames are agreed and understood
Get this right! Whatever you do make sure you get this one right! Empty seats scream non-commitment by the consultant - regardless of the true intention. Misaligned expectations about who will be on site when and what they will be doing will put everyone on the wrong foot right from the beginning!
2. For technology projects - make sure that everyone understands the full capabilities and limitations of the product.
I have seen so many EAM projects where the client, led by a consultant organization, charges straight into the process of defining the solution requirements, work processes and data flows.
Sometimes the consultants leading this exercise do not even understand the functional capabilities of the system they are designing processes for!! In fact, this line of thinking was in vogue at the turn of the century!
And the result? Processes do not align with functions, clients are now determined to implement the processes they have worked so hard to define, the system will need to be changed, the budget gets blown and the business relationship gets off on the wrong foot.
The Solution? Take a representative group from within the key users, and train them rigorously in the functionalities of the product. Make sure they understand what it can and cannot do and then get them to participate in defining the work processes and data flows.
The benefits? 9 times out of 10 the system will introduce them to new and different ways of doing things that they were not considering earlier, ,they start to work down the path with a full knowledge of what can be done and what will require a change, and at the same time they get to start developing an appreciation for the technological solution.
3. Formally agree the solution requirements for technology projects.
Amazing isn't it? 20 years into the technology revolution and Enterprise level projects still try to carry out implementations without this step. Just for the record there are three steps to defining solutions: (After detailed awareness training)
4. DO NOT submit any change requests or contract variations
Unwritten rule of large projects: A change order or contract variation that is submitted within (X) days of start up means that either the guys buying the project made some significant mistakes, or it means that the consultants selling the project pulled the wool over somebodies eyes.
Whether this is true or not this is the way it will be seen by all. So if their are changes, get an agreement not to submit them within the first (whatever) days, and get an agreement on exactly how these will be managed to make sure everybody gets what they want. (E.g Clients gets solution, consultant retains their profit margin)
5. Never eat alone!
Again, no news here! Client companies buy people just as much as they buy products, sometimes more.
The project Director is actually the Chief Relationship Officer and it is his job during the initial period to establish a relationship with the clients operational management that will withstand some of the testing times that are to come on the project. If you think that there will not be any testing times then good luck to you, but conventional wisdom suggests there will be.
6. Promote Success!
The senior management always want results. regardless of time frames and regardless of what the original expectations were. Check out this article about the SAP implementation at fashion giant Burberry.
Give them something to work with. Make sure that the project has some elements to it that can be translated directly into quick wins, things that will get the positive attention of management and ensure they are still on board.
7. Manage risks and changes
Again, this is not news but it is so often done so wrong!
Get a risk register, get a record of all the changes, create a process for talking about these and dealing with them, and make sure that all risks are dealt with in a fashion that will ensure that the project and its outcomes are not damaged in any way.
Failure to do this will leave the client wondering why things are going wrong, why they weren't told that things were going wrong - and general doubts about your ability to set things right.
I hope these are of some use, definitely not the only issues to think of during the first one hundred days but a good and successful way to start.
Equipment, Maintenance and Technology is a leading business blog for asset-intensive industries.
Failure in reliability and asset management programs is often traceable to key decisions that were made either during the sales cycle or within the first days of implementation. So here are some tips that may help you to avoid some of the common pitfalls during this period and ensure your project continues with the same level of corporate enthusiasm that it had when it was pitched at senior management.
1. Make sure that mobilization time frames are agreed and understood
Get this right! Whatever you do make sure you get this one right! Empty seats scream non-commitment by the consultant - regardless of the true intention. Misaligned expectations about who will be on site when and what they will be doing will put everyone on the wrong foot right from the beginning!
2. For technology projects - make sure that everyone understands the full capabilities and limitations of the product.
I have seen so many EAM projects where the client, led by a consultant organization, charges straight into the process of defining the solution requirements, work processes and data flows.
Sometimes the consultants leading this exercise do not even understand the functional capabilities of the system they are designing processes for!! In fact, this line of thinking was in vogue at the turn of the century!
And the result? Processes do not align with functions, clients are now determined to implement the processes they have worked so hard to define, the system will need to be changed, the budget gets blown and the business relationship gets off on the wrong foot.The Solution? Take a representative group from within the key users, and train them rigorously in the functionalities of the product. Make sure they understand what it can and cannot do and then get them to participate in defining the work processes and data flows.
The benefits? 9 times out of 10 the system will introduce them to new and different ways of doing things that they were not considering earlier, ,they start to work down the path with a full knowledge of what can be done and what will require a change, and at the same time they get to start developing an appreciation for the technological solution.
3. Formally agree the solution requirements for technology projects.
Amazing isn't it? 20 years into the technology revolution and Enterprise level projects still try to carry out implementations without this step. Just for the record there are three steps to defining solutions: (After detailed awareness training)
- Define the Solution Requirements - determine what the business needs from the system and document this.
- Define the Business Solution Design - determine how the system will be configured and implemented in order to meet with the requirements.
- Define the User changes that are going to be needed in order to comply fully with the requirements.
4. DO NOT submit any change requests or contract variations
Unwritten rule of large projects: A change order or contract variation that is submitted within (X) days of start up means that either the guys buying the project made some significant mistakes, or it means that the consultants selling the project pulled the wool over somebodies eyes.
Whether this is true or not this is the way it will be seen by all. So if their are changes, get an agreement not to submit them within the first (whatever) days, and get an agreement on exactly how these will be managed to make sure everybody gets what they want. (E.g Clients gets solution, consultant retains their profit margin)
5. Never eat alone!
Again, no news here! Client companies buy people just as much as they buy products, sometimes more.
The project Director is actually the Chief Relationship Officer and it is his job during the initial period to establish a relationship with the clients operational management that will withstand some of the testing times that are to come on the project. If you think that there will not be any testing times then good luck to you, but conventional wisdom suggests there will be.
6. Promote Success!
The senior management always want results. regardless of time frames and regardless of what the original expectations were. Check out this article about the SAP implementation at fashion giant Burberry.
Give them something to work with. Make sure that the project has some elements to it that can be translated directly into quick wins, things that will get the positive attention of management and ensure they are still on board.
7. Manage risks and changes
Again, this is not news but it is so often done so wrong!
Get a risk register, get a record of all the changes, create a process for talking about these and dealing with them, and make sure that all risks are dealt with in a fashion that will ensure that the project and its outcomes are not damaged in any way.
Failure to do this will leave the client wondering why things are going wrong, why they weren't told that things were going wrong - and general doubts about your ability to set things right.
I hope these are of some use, definitely not the only issues to think of during the first one hundred days but a good and successful way to start.
Equipment, Maintenance and Technology is a leading business blog for asset-intensive industries.
Saturday, 29 September 2007
Top Ten Tips for Locating Hard-to-Find Reliability Resources!
During my career I have been fortunate enough to work in over 27 different countries. This teaches you a lot about many things, but above all it teaches you how to find work.
Where to look, who to talk to, what to say and where you are most likely to find the most challenging and interesting roles that are on offer are all part of the skill set I have developed to enable me to continue doing what I do.
Amazing how things change isn't it? When I started out doing this there was always work, but never an abundance of it. Today, there is more work than people. Almost all of my clients report that one of their key issues in implementing reliability is trying to find adequately experienced and competent resources to do this.
In fact, in our recent survey on Asset Performance Management the second most common problem when implementing reliability initiatives is finding competent reliability resources.
So, looking at things from the other side of the fence, here are the top ten techniques to help consultants and operational companies to track down hard-to-find reliability resources!
1. Use an agent. In fact use several!
This ones a no-brainer! You are not in the recruitment business - so why do you think you can do it any better?
Agents have ready made databases, they have a budget for advertising, they are experts at the filtering process and pre-selection and if you play the game correctly they will do so for low or no cost until you hire.
One agent will give you a lot of names you don't currently have, so imagine what two agents could do! Even better make it an open listing, set targets, time frames, requirements and profiles and see what they deliver to you.
This also gives you a better insight into the workers that you are attracting. If a resume appears in two or more searches it tells you that this person is very proactive about managing themselves in the job market - it may be worth trying to find out a little bit more about them!
2. Don't use "Dodgy Brothers Body Shop"! (We find 'em you fry em)
If you are going to scrimp on price them you will probably get what you deserve. The recruitment game is one of the most democratized sectors on earth. Everybody has had a go at it, a lot of people operate from their living rooms, and there is always somebody who will give you a better price.
But, you get what you pay for!
If you seriously want to get the most suitable candidates, then go with established and professional firms. Companies that have significant reach. Adecco for example is a company that I have worked with a lot over the years, and when I was working as a technician I used to use Skilled a lot, and there are many others.
Check them out, take the time to have a discussion with them to see if they can fit the bill, and then start to worry about the price.
3. The world is your oyster!
Some countries are still difficult for people to get work visas, but most have made it remarkably easy these days. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that your next brilliant hire has to be somebody from your own neighbourhood, city or even country.
Many young professionals are longing for a chance to travel overseas and to see the world through the lens of an international employee.
4. Use web based posting boards
If people are seriously looking for work then they use the Internet. Full stop.
In Australia you cannot go past http://www.seek.com.au/, in the USA you would be mad to not think of http://www.monster.com/ or http://www.hotjobs.com/, and in the UK my experience has been that http://www.jobsearch.co.uk/ is one of the real leaders.
But don't just post one and be happy about it. Post many, flood the place with your ads. And don't forget the specialized boards.
For example, our own board "Whos Hiring" receives between 3,000 and 5000 hits a week. And we drive them from this blog and from Google mainly. So if your target audience is in the field of reliability I hope you will consider advertising with us.
But there are still others; http://www.top-consultant.com/ runs a website where people pay to search the "Contractors Corner". These are self selected professionals who are so keen to earn good consulting or contracting rates that they will pay for the privilege of doing so. An ad here will get you to a select group of UK consultants. And there are, of course, many more.
Again, ,web based Internet job sites are now extremely common and extremely competitive.
5. Be realistic!
Face it, this is a sellers market. And if you can find a degree qualified expert with ten years experience in RCM, International experience and a knowledge of different cultures who will work for $50k then you have a problem.
They are either not what they say they are, or they will only be with your company until the next offer comes along.
6. Look for potential!
Some of the hardest working people I have ever come across are those who are trying to work their way into the game of asset management. So try to get past the pre-qualifying garbage and look for potential.
The people you hire, mentor and build up could well end up being some of your companies best ambassadors, or most innovative thinkers.
7. Consider an interim appointment, or s sub-contract resource.
"Subbies", or interim managers or professionals, often represent the best source of potential labor. Sure there are issues that will need to be overcome but think about it.
These are people who are so confident in their abilities that they are able to float themselves on the open market.
They may cost a little more initially, but they are generally more aware of the business end of employment. E.g. "You give me money, I give you great services. If I stop giving you great services you are going to stop giving me money!"
Some of my best roles have been as an interim manager.
8. Pay the price
If you want good people then you have to offer good money. Full stop. I don't care how many surveys out there tell you that people have a lot of non-financial motivators; the number one rule of hiring good people is paying them good money.
And here's one for free - Advertise how much you will pay! Today if the price is not advertised then why should you waste your time to apply, go through the hoops of pre-qualification and so on only to find out that the package is not what you were looking for.
Why bother? There are many other opportunities out there.
Paying the price has many faces including hiring bonuses, finders fees, recruitment programs, paying housing and relocation and many others.
9. Keep current
I have just checked out the Internet for two companies I know are looking for people. Both searches led me to a range of dead end advertisements on some regional out of touch boards, whose dates had expired. So people are no longer able to apply but it is still advertised. Wonderful!
10. Use headhunters
Agencies are one thing. But there are specialists out there who are experts in finding out who the guru's are within a company and approaching them.
Before you judge this as ethical or not, think about what we are doing here. You are in a battle with other companies of your size and scale for dwindling resources.
I hope these are of use to you, there are many more but I thought these would be of interest. So the next time your company, client, boss tells you that they are doing their level best to find resources. Hopefully you now have a few places to look to see if they really are or not.
Equipment, Maintenance and Technology is part of the Lassiter Group. (C) Lassiter 2007.
Where to look, who to talk to, what to say and where you are most likely to find the most challenging and interesting roles that are on offer are all part of the skill set I have developed to enable me to continue doing what I do.
Amazing how things change isn't it? When I started out doing this there was always work, but never an abundance of it. Today, there is more work than people. Almost all of my clients report that one of their key issues in implementing reliability is trying to find adequately experienced and competent resources to do this.
In fact, in our recent survey on Asset Performance Management the second most common problem when implementing reliability initiatives is finding competent reliability resources.
So, looking at things from the other side of the fence, here are the top ten techniques to help consultants and operational companies to track down hard-to-find reliability resources!
1. Use an agent. In fact use several!
This ones a no-brainer! You are not in the recruitment business - so why do you think you can do it any better?
Agents have ready made databases, they have a budget for advertising, they are experts at the filtering process and pre-selection and if you play the game correctly they will do so for low or no cost until you hire.
One agent will give you a lot of names you don't currently have, so imagine what two agents could do! Even better make it an open listing, set targets, time frames, requirements and profiles and see what they deliver to you.
This also gives you a better insight into the workers that you are attracting. If a resume appears in two or more searches it tells you that this person is very proactive about managing themselves in the job market - it may be worth trying to find out a little bit more about them!
2. Don't use "Dodgy Brothers Body Shop"! (We find 'em you fry em)
If you are going to scrimp on price them you will probably get what you deserve. The recruitment game is one of the most democratized sectors on earth. Everybody has had a go at it, a lot of people operate from their living rooms, and there is always somebody who will give you a better price.
But, you get what you pay for!
If you seriously want to get the most suitable candidates, then go with established and professional firms. Companies that have significant reach. Adecco for example is a company that I have worked with a lot over the years, and when I was working as a technician I used to use Skilled a lot, and there are many others.
Check them out, take the time to have a discussion with them to see if they can fit the bill, and then start to worry about the price.
3. The world is your oyster!
Some countries are still difficult for people to get work visas, but most have made it remarkably easy these days. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that your next brilliant hire has to be somebody from your own neighbourhood, city or even country.
Many young professionals are longing for a chance to travel overseas and to see the world through the lens of an international employee.
4. Use web based posting boards
If people are seriously looking for work then they use the Internet. Full stop.
In Australia you cannot go past http://www.seek.com.au/, in the USA you would be mad to not think of http://www.monster.com/ or http://www.hotjobs.com/, and in the UK my experience has been that http://www.jobsearch.co.uk/ is one of the real leaders.
But don't just post one and be happy about it. Post many, flood the place with your ads. And don't forget the specialized boards.
For example, our own board "Whos Hiring" receives between 3,000 and 5000 hits a week. And we drive them from this blog and from Google mainly. So if your target audience is in the field of reliability I hope you will consider advertising with us.
But there are still others; http://www.top-consultant.com/ runs a website where people pay to search the "Contractors Corner". These are self selected professionals who are so keen to earn good consulting or contracting rates that they will pay for the privilege of doing so. An ad here will get you to a select group of UK consultants. And there are, of course, many more.
Again, ,web based Internet job sites are now extremely common and extremely competitive.
5. Be realistic!
Face it, this is a sellers market. And if you can find a degree qualified expert with ten years experience in RCM, International experience and a knowledge of different cultures who will work for $50k then you have a problem.
They are either not what they say they are, or they will only be with your company until the next offer comes along.
6. Look for potential!
Some of the hardest working people I have ever come across are those who are trying to work their way into the game of asset management. So try to get past the pre-qualifying garbage and look for potential.
The people you hire, mentor and build up could well end up being some of your companies best ambassadors, or most innovative thinkers.
7. Consider an interim appointment, or s sub-contract resource.
"Subbies", or interim managers or professionals, often represent the best source of potential labor. Sure there are issues that will need to be overcome but think about it.
These are people who are so confident in their abilities that they are able to float themselves on the open market.
They may cost a little more initially, but they are generally more aware of the business end of employment. E.g. "You give me money, I give you great services. If I stop giving you great services you are going to stop giving me money!"
Some of my best roles have been as an interim manager.
8. Pay the price
If you want good people then you have to offer good money. Full stop. I don't care how many surveys out there tell you that people have a lot of non-financial motivators; the number one rule of hiring good people is paying them good money.
And here's one for free - Advertise how much you will pay! Today if the price is not advertised then why should you waste your time to apply, go through the hoops of pre-qualification and so on only to find out that the package is not what you were looking for.
Why bother? There are many other opportunities out there.
Paying the price has many faces including hiring bonuses, finders fees, recruitment programs, paying housing and relocation and many others.
9. Keep current
I have just checked out the Internet for two companies I know are looking for people. Both searches led me to a range of dead end advertisements on some regional out of touch boards, whose dates had expired. So people are no longer able to apply but it is still advertised. Wonderful!
10. Use headhunters
Agencies are one thing. But there are specialists out there who are experts in finding out who the guru's are within a company and approaching them.
Before you judge this as ethical or not, think about what we are doing here. You are in a battle with other companies of your size and scale for dwindling resources.
I hope these are of use to you, there are many more but I thought these would be of interest. So the next time your company, client, boss tells you that they are doing their level best to find resources. Hopefully you now have a few places to look to see if they really are or not.
Equipment, Maintenance and Technology is part of the Lassiter Group. (C) Lassiter 2007.
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