Blog - Conscious Asset

Entropy Part 2 – Economics

January 20, 2020January 20, 2020

In part 1 I introduced a simple 3 legged stool model: design, maintenance and operations being it’s 3 legs. It can deliver high performance at low cost and risk – i.e.: high productivity. It is important to keep the legs balanced and indeed intact! Doing so requires a bit of investment. In thermodynamic terms we need to put some energy into the system to keep the entropy from growing. That energy is an investment in maintenance and the payoff comes in the form of steady, predictable revenues with a high margin for profit. Those words should be music to accountants’ ears. Read more “Entropy Part 2 – Economics” →

Asset Management

Entropy Part 1 – Fundamentals

January 17, 2020January 20, 2020

Engineers are familiar with the concept of “entropy” and the laws of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system always increases over time. It can remain constant in ideal cases where the system is at a steady-state or undergoing a reversible process. So what does that mean for us in the world of asset management and maintenance? Read more “Entropy Part 1 – Fundamentals” →

Asset Management

Asset Management in Public and Private Sectors

January 15, 2020January 16, 2020

Most of my firm’s clients are in the private sector but occasionally we do some public sector work. We usually notice a number of distinct differences in practices and in what motivates those practices. It would be nice to say that one can learn a lot from the other, but in truth, both can learn a lot from each other.

I thought it might be useful to compare and contrast the two sectors (based on personal observations) and then propose an idea for learning from each other. Read more “Asset Management in Public and Private Sectors” →

Reliability

Reliability Fundamentals Online

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

Conscious Asset provides a free introduction webinar to our reliability program entitled “Why Is Reliability Important?“. This webinar is a great way to learn the benefits of developing a reliability program and how it can help you.

This webinar goes over important aspects about reliability to help you create your own program. Topics covered in the webinar include: Read more “Reliability Fundamentals Online” →

Asset Management

I want it now and I want it cheap

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

When it comes to information, entertainment, finding your way around and communications we more or less have it all at our fingertips. It’s also available to us just about anywhere. We can even order and pay for coffee to pick up on our way from the commuter train to the office – no line ups for delays. We can book houses, rooms, hotels, airlines, vacations and rental cars at the touch of our fingers with apps that show us the cheapest options. Read more “I want it now and I want it cheap” →

Reliability

Right track? Right train?

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020

Your job is to improve reliability and you have a plan. It focuses on bad-actors, having the right data, cleaning up some parts data that is known to be causing delays in work execution, a bit of training in reliability methods and your adding engineers. You are certainly on the right track with your plan and the actions you will take should indeed make some improvement. But are you on the right track?

Why do you want reliability? It’s a key enabler to achieving high asset availability and that in turn helps reduce your overall operating and maintenance costs per unit of output. Your train is on the track and you have one car – reliability. Most trains have many cars – is your train complete? Read more “Right track? Right train?” →

Blog

Uptime: Choosing Excellence

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020

The original edition of Uptime had “process re-engineering” as a 4^th level at its pinnacle. It reflected what was then widely regarded as an approach to obtain beneficial change quickly. But, since the 1990’s that approach, was abused and used as a smoke-screen for downsizing or right-sizing as many would prefer to call it. That was never intended by the originators of “Business Process Re-engineering”, but it is what happened. It was lopped off the top of the pyramid in the 2^nd edition – process re-design belongs as a result of strategy, not as a panacea for poorly designed and executed process. Processes should be revisited BEFORE implementation of IT / IM and occasionally it should all be reviewed as part of good governance, just like audits. Read more “Uptime: Choosing Excellence” →

Blog

Uptime – Essentials: you need these

January 3, 2020January 3, 2020

In the first edition, the second tier of the pyramid was called “control”. Of course the harder we try to control something, the more complex we make things, and the more likely they will go awry. If you have teenage children you can see that very clearly! You want them to learn and mature, but if you try to control how they do it, you will have trouble. Less control, while providing guidelines and advice, and letting them make their choices will work far better. In “Uptime” the emphasis is on successful practice, not control. Read more “Uptime – Essentials: you need these” →

Blog

Leadership – Uptime, 3rd edition

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019

Leadership

This is the base of the pyramid – its foundation, comprising Strategy, People and Teams. It includes a few topics: Strategy and People and Teams.

Strategy:

Older editions of the book spoke to strategy development but lacked advice on how to deploy that strategy once it was created. Project management wasn’t enough. Change management was dealt with in the chapter on People, but even with that, strategy deployment needs more. Hoshin Kanri, a Japanese term for “strategy deployment”, known largely in the lean manufacturing circles is now included. Read more “Leadership – Uptime, 3rd edition” →

Asset Management

Show me the money!

November 11, 2019November 13, 2019

Benjamin Franklin’s axiom, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, has been used most commonly when referring to health care. It is also highly appropriate in reliability and maintenance circles.

Of course, we complicate it in business by wanting to know what the prevention will cost and what we save by avoiding the cost of the cure. Read more “Show me the money!” →

Leadership

Strategy:

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