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Are you a leader or are a manager? Do you know the difference?
Leaders who lead by example are mentors and role models, building business results through relationships and integrity. Before delving into the topic of Leadership Example, it is helpful to define leaders and leadership. Beginning with the root word of lead, Webster’s Dictionary defines lead as
Change is painful, difficult, a bother and (oh, by the way) a necessity
This blog article will cover the element of Change from the VOICE (Vision, Organization, Involvement, Change and Example) model. Great organizations are always changing. I don’t mean change for the sake of change; I mean planned, structured, progressive change that enables organizations to grow,
You need to take care of your customers, your operators and your techs!
The customer is the end reason that the plant exists. However, the people who interact with the customer are employees. Management’s focus must be on those interfaces. They cannot get to the customer otherwise. Therefore, I would direct management to focus on employee development, training, behavior,
Questions, comments and random thought triggers on maintenance
I evaluate maintenance operations on the existence of effective PM programs, a working and meaningful work order and information system, effectiveness of the stockroom, and the processes in place to support the technician. Are there contingent processes in place for handling emergencies? Are there seasonal
What our plants have failed to learn in 25 years
Twenty-five years ago, I left the U.S. Navy nuclear submarine program. As I gained experience in civilian industry, I began to appreciate the Navy’s aplomb for reliable engineering, exceptional training and consistent operations. Their penchant for comprehensive preventive maintenance programs
The rise of autonomous operator maintenance and work redesign
My blog entry on the “White Glove Story” got close to the idea of operator maintenance. My study on the coal gasification generating plant was about the ultimate vision of the one employee who has the skills and ability to do whatever is necessary to keep the process operating effectively. What
The ‘White Glove Story’ and dirty little TPM secrets
Several years ago, a group called the Maintenance Excellence Roundtable met on the West Coast to present what it had accomplished during the previous year and where it was headed for the coming year. We were privileged to have Robert Williamson in attendance, and he told us a story that stuck with me
Plant maintenance: Is it just like the tale of Sisyphus?
I stumbled across some music trivia lately, that the old rock band Chicago finally had its album “Stone of Sisyphus” released last year. One of the more famous “lost” albums, it was originally recorded in the early 1990s but had languished for years, available only in illegal
Important considerations for CMMS data entry
When implementing a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) into a facility, one of the largest tasks involved is entering the data into the system. This is a two-part task that first requires the one-time entry of the initial data that has been gathered. The second task is the entry of the
Can maintenance and operations coexist? A radical process change story
My previous blog described a plant with no supervisors and with self-directed work teams that handled maintenance and operations. Most of us come from traditional plant organizations with an operations group and a maintenance group with their own supervisors and specialized skilled crafts. One of the
