Prototyping is not an objective in itself. There needs to be a clear purpose for the prototyping efforts. How can you make that happen? This video provides you ideas on how that can work for you. [Read more…]
Prototyping with a Purpose
Articles
Find all articles across all article series listed in reverse chronological order.
Business Cases for Asset Management – Part 2
This is the second blog in a two-part series that explain how to present Capital Asset Management and Maintenance Improvement programs to the various decision groups who speak different “languages”. Your finance people speak in terms of revenue, costs, return on investments. They see things as figures and financial statements. Somehow they need to translate your operational or functional benefits into dollars in order to truly support your ideas. [Read more…]
Practical Path of Mitigating Global Warming Risk
Guest Post by John Ayers (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
The 2020 democratic presidential candidates are backing the New Green Deal, which calls for the elimination of fossil fuels within 10-40 years (depending on which candidate you are talking to). If America is serious about this goal, then nuclear fusion power is the only practical way to begin to achieve it. [Read more…]
Twas the Night Before Christmas a Visit from the CEO
(Inspired by the Poem by Clement Clarke Moore)
Twas the night before Christmas
When all through the facility
Not an engineer was stirring
Not even in reliability
The KPIs were hung by the lunchroom with care
In hopes that the plant manager soon would be there
When out on the plant floor there rose such a clatter
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter
Away to the plant I flew like a flash
Put my PPE on and slammed my door with a crash
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a man and eight junior engineers
With a white hard hat, suit and a shiny high vis vest
I knew in a moment it was the CEO, I guess
He spoke not a word but went straight to his desk
And walked right past the broken equipment that needs money to invest
And laying his finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, up the stairs he rose
But I heard him exclaim, ere he climbed out of sight
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night
Survivor – Product Development Edition – Breadth First Search
While watching a Survivor episode, a participant talked about his strategy for finding an idol. He said an approach used in optimization is called Breadth First Search. This video discusses the approach and how it applies to a Product Development process. [Read more…]
Business Cases for Asset Management – Part 1
Why are business cases so challenging? Improvement programs in Maintenance or Capital Asset Management can be incredibly difficult to “sell” to managers and executives. Even where there is a high level of dependency on physical assets and poor performance, making improvements is a tough sell. [Read more…]
That’s Not My Job: Denial, Reality, or Change Catalyst?
Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
“That’s not my job” …an inevitable response when a ‘somebody’ is asked to do something that requires their effort and which they believe they don’t have to do, don’t won’t do, or can’t do. This familiar cry is often said with such impunity that the requester may well feel that they are in the wrong…but who is wrong and who has been wronged?
Both parties are taken aback; the requester may wilt away and take the request somewhere else with umbrage and annoyance, or challenge the rebuttal. The requested, feeling threatened, reacts defensively be it right or wrong. Conflict results but the sad fact is that the disputed work in question is delayed. ‘ [Read more…]
CMMS User Training Maximizes Efficiency
After you’ve purchased computerized maintenance management software (CMMS), your work is done. Implementation will be a breeze, all users will quickly learn the system and your organization will begin reaping benefits immediately. Although this scenario is possible, it’s very unlikely. Companies that carve out ample time for CMMS training typically experience the most success with their software.
How Asset Management Impacts Your Happiness
Have you worked in a company that says they want to be world class in reliability but won’t make investments in training their people or their reliability initiatives?
Have you seen companies who say safety is a value, but you see people pressured to work in an unsafe manner?
These are examples of misalignment and violates a concept in asset management. In asset management, aligning decisions with the company’s purpose & objectives is how to get the most value out of your assets.
What does this have to do with my happiness?
I do agree that working for a company that says one thing but acts another way is frustrating and can impact your happiness (mostly through disengagement), but that’s not I want to talk about.
Can DOE Work in Software Development
Years ago someone told me that application of DOE into the software development world is the Holy Grail. After experiencing good applications in this space, we decided to share a perspective on how to apply it here. Listen and share your perspective with us. [Read more…]
The Conscious Asset Framework – 4
Putting the Framework to work – steps 3 and 4
By James Reyes-Picknell & Uri Wittenberg
3. Planning
It is vital to get Planning right, so it will take some time to execute. This is where some of the philosophies, concepts and tools, conveyed during the Awareness portion in concert with past knowledge and experiences, will help assemble the overall implementation project plan with all its pieces. It should consider cross-functional daily interaction between all areas in the organization vital to the successful operation of all business essentials. [Read more…]
Stealth Mentorship
Guest Post by Joseph Paris (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
I would find it hard to believe that any successful person achieved that success without having at least one mentor along their journey – someone who was instrumental and influential in the life journey of the person being mentored (the mentee). But what is mentorship? [Read more…]
How to Save Your Company Millions in 2020
As I’m writing this, it’s December of 2019 and you should be putting the final touches on your reliability plan for 2020 before the holidays.
What should you include in your reliability plan? [Read more…]
Switzerland Style Attention
I’m just back from a week long trip to Switzerland. I was there developing a new Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) course for the “R is 4 Reliability” education series. If you have ever been to Switzerland you found that there are several things that are striking about this place. The natural beauty is unparalleled. Just about every view from every angle is of a beautiful snow capped mountain that has a lake or stream connected at its base. It’s never got old to look up and be viewing a real life postcard.
Golden Rules for Becoming a Leader in Reliability
Forming an ideal system’s approach to designing new systems involves developing paradigms, standards, and design process models for developers to follow in their future design efforts. These paradigms are called “words of wisdom” or golden rules [1]. They become the guiding lights for your product management needs. [Read more…]
