Pay $3k to keep out of trouble, or more…

2020-07-212021-05-04

Pay $3k now to keep out of trouble or more to get out of jail later. Your plant asset performance is down and you know it. It’s only a matter of time before there is an accident. You need to improve but funds are limited.

The expert consultants will want to begin with some sort of an assessment. They will identify problems and offer solutions, for a price (likely $50k or more). You can’t afford it. Some consultants might even be former employees. Ask yourself, “if they worked here before, then why didn’t she/he fix what was wrong when they were here?” Consider getting a different consultant but you will still struggle with a big inconvenient truth! Read more “Pay $3k to keep out of trouble, or more to get out of jail” →

Asset Management

Asset Prioritization and Criticality

2020-06-022021-05-04

Asset Prioritization and criticality are used to provide a structured approach to determining the relative organizational risks and failure consequences associated with assets. This provides a means for the organization to focus on critical risks to the business.

Do you understand where your asset risks are, and their potential consequence?

Risks are categorized by the nature of the risk that the organization needs to manage. Risk categories can include: Read more “Asset Prioritization and Criticality” →

Change Management

Uptime Insights – 10 – Process optimization

2020-05-042021-05-04

Business processes are often talked about, yet not well understood. The big problem with them is that too few people know what the whole process actually should be. Whenever you are following a set of steps to achieve some goal you are following a process. Sometimes various people follow different steps to achieve the same goal. You rely on processes in order to deliver results. If they are ill-conceived or inefficient, then things move slowly and results are more expensive to obtain than they need to be. Well designed, efficient, and consistent processes that integrate with other related business processes keep things running smoothly, costs down, and help to keep people motivated.

Asset Management

Why do you let your budgets hold you back?

2019-11-112021-05-04

The “no brainer” opportunity

Let’s say that you run your own business. You have an opportunity to invest some money and get a payback that is more than your total investment within the first year (payback is more than 100% in the first year). Moreover, that payback will continue for many years. Would you invest? Read more “Why do you let your budgets hold you back?” →

Asset Management

Corporate counter-dependency

2019-07-292021-05-04

Organizations and Culture

Some organizations are poor or marginal performers, some high, and some truly great. Jim Collins, in “Good to Great” (2001) describes the differences among the latter two. Much of the difference boils down to people and the culture that is fostered within the organization. They foster learning in all forms, including learning from mistakes. They are typically “humble” and accept helpful input from outside, admitting when and where they need to improve. Read more “Corporate counter-dependency” →

Asset Management

Myth Busting 2: We can do it ourselves

2018-03-152021-05-04

I am convinced that our egos often get the better of us. We suffer as a result and so too do those around us. Believing that we have the answers to all of our problems reflects just how much we fool ourselves. Maintenance managers burn out because of it. Read more “Myth Busting 2: We can do it ourselves” →

Asset Management

What is Conscious Reliability

2017-05-252021-05-04

In 2015, Jesus Sifonte invited me to be a speaker at a client and business partner congress that he was holding in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We did not know each other, nor did we even know much about each other. I was recommended to Jesus by a mutual friend, Dr. Andrew Jardine at the University of Toronto. At the San Juan congress we presented our respective topics and in the evenings we shared a few drinks while speaking about maintenance, reliability and asset management. We realized that we both had a shared passion for excellence and we learned about each-others’ experience. Read more “What is Conscious Reliability” →

Asset Management

Beyond Maintenance Management

2017-01-162021-05-04

Uptime now goes Beyond Maintenance Management.

Maintenance, is already a big enough challenge for many of us, yet beyond lies the realm of Asset Management. Back in 2004, As the second edition of Uptime was being written, the UK was introducing a specification for Asset Management and requiring network utilities to implement it. Drivers included the justification of rates charged to customers by these natural monopolies, the need to convince regulators that good asset management was indeed being practiced and to avoid failures that were increasingly becoming more serious and more publicized. The UK’s Publicly Available Specifications, PAS 55-1 and -2, were the first in this field. Read more “Beyond Maintenance Management” →

Asset Management

Asset Management Podcast 2

2016-11-222021-05-04

This is part 2 of our discussion with James Kovacevic (formerly of Accendo Reliability) on Asset Management and the role of ISO 55000 in it. You can listen to part 1 here. Read more “Asset Management Podcast 2” →

Asset Management

Asset Management Podcast 1

2016-11-172021-05-04

We recently had a podcast discussion with James Kovacevic (formerly of Accendo Reliability) covering Asset Management and the role of ISO 55000 in it. Here is part 1 of the podcast; part 2 will be available on this blog next week. Read more “Asset Management Podcast 1” →

Do you understand where your asset risks are, and their potential consequence?

The “no brainer” opportunity

Organizations and Culture

Experience, Insight, Honest Advice