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Articles: Human Asset Management
16 Question Survey
The Manufacturing Game has developed a short 16-question survey based on Joseph Campbell’s concept of a Hero’s Journey.The survey is designed to facilitate the story writing process, and it guides the writer through the writing process. They provide this survey to maintenance and reliability professionals for their own use. Clients may opt to use the written story internally or share their success with others by approving it for publication in external publications such as the our quarterly TMG newsletter or a monthly magazine like Uptime Magazine.
See the list below for the 16 questions in the survey, as it relates to writing about Action Team successes.
Book Review - LEVEL 5 Leadership At Work
Authors: Winston Ledet, Michelle Ledet Henley & Sherri Abshire
Reviewed by: George Mahoney
"George, you've done such a great job improving maintenance in Factory 12 that we want you to lead this effort across the rest of the site."
Breaking Through Glass Ceilings
Thoughts on Implementing Organizational Change
by R. Keith Mobley, MBB, CMRP
Have you ever been involved in an attempt to improve the performance of your department or one function, such as maintenance or quality, in your plant or corporation? Ever wonder why the attempt did not work at all or failed to reach its full potential? If you have, the reason was probably a list of deficiencies or omissions, or perhaps it was because cosmic forces preordained that improvement is not possible. Sound familiar?
Building Steam
A Story of Hard Work, Dedication, and, Ultimately, Transformation
by Judith Charlton and Steve Lipscombe
Sembcorp UK, one of the leading suppliers of utilities to UK industry, is transforming its operations. Steam and power operations are vital to the success of Sembcorp UK and its customers in the petrochemical, power and biofuels sectors. Just five years ago the business was struggling to manage an aging power station and all its associated problems with limited resources. The challenges seemed insurmountable.
CEO Compensation and Company Performance - An Open Letter to the CEO
By Ron Moore
This letter is fictitious, but it is based on data from over 20 different studies, as well as anecdotes from various companies and the experience of the author. Feel free to pass it along to your CEO.
Change Management for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals
When we think about creating a reliability focused organization we tend to initially think about what needs to be changed. This process invariably leads one to determine that there are components of the current process that do not exist and hence have to be created, or if they do exist they may not be functioning to the level we would desire. For example in order to create a reliability focused organization a work planning and execution component would be required.
Changing Your Organization for the Better Part 4: The Roadmap of Change
In Part 1 we discussed the concept of organizational change, the three linked elements necessary for success and details about dissatisfaction. In Part 2 we addressed ourselves to organizational vision. In Part 3 we discussed the Goal Achievement Model in detail and clearly showed how it links the vision, goals, initiatives and activities in a very focused manner. However there still is one other part to the puzzle. This is what is referred to as the Roadmap of Change. The Roadmap is the tool to align change efforts within the organization, to eliminate conflicting goals, and to keep the change process on track. It is the final part of a process that begins with establishing the vision, developing higher level details with the Goal Achievement Model, and maintaining focus and clarity with the Roadmap. A successful change effort can not succeed without all three of these pieces being properly put into place and correctly used.
Changing Your Organization for the Better Part 5: What Gets Measured Gets Done
Whatever gets measured by an organization receives the majority of its attention. Simply by virtue of obtaining and displaying data, you and your organization are focusing, at least on a minimal level, on those areas that you are measuring. If these measures are not tracking as expected, corrective actions usually follow close at hand. In reality, therefore, whatever you and your organization decide to measure sets up a sub-process that ensures more attention is given to these areas vs. those things which are not measured.
Changing Your Organization for the Better-Part 1: The Elements of the Change Process
"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies, all of those who have done well under the old conditions, and luke-warm defenders in those who will do well under the new."
Changing Your Organization for the Better: Part 2: The Vision of the Future
Part 2: The Vision of the Future or How Do We Know Where We Are Going So We Will Know When We Have Arrived
In Part 1, we discussed the concept of organizational change, and introduced the eight key elements of the change equation. The overriding component however is the concept of vision. It is fine to have a general level of dissatisfaction with the current or “as-is” state, but it is not enough. You need a vision of what the new or “to-be” state will look like so that the organization will know what they are trying to achieve and what it will look like when they do.
Changing Your Organization for the Better: Part 3: The Goal Achievement Model
In Part 1 we discussed the concept of organizational change, the three linked elements necessary for success and details about dissatisfaction. In Part 2 we addressed ourselves to organizational vision. Part 3 addressed the third element - next steps. The process of identifying and accomplishing the next steps uses the Goal Achievement Model.
Coaching Employees Through Change
By Jeff Nevenhoven
Spring is in the air and so are the welcome sounds of spring: the crack of the baseball bat as it hits the ball high into the sky, vendors shouting out their treats for sale, and cheers and jeers from the fans.
Confidence –The Magical Element of Cross Functional Teams
In the thirteen years we have offered The Manufacturing Game to over 32,000 participants, I have always marveled at the accomplishments of small cross functional teams and wondered what determines the great results they achieve. I have often sat with teams as they attempted to come up with a plan to eliminate a defect they identified as their target. From the rational point of view of an engineer, it appears that they will never arrive at a solution. Then someone comes up with an insight that immediately resolves the problem; the plan to eliminate that defect is then completed via some simple action or actions. Where did that come from? This is the phenomenon that we recognize as the magic in cross functional teams. But how does it come about?
Conversations of Maintenance
Can a conversation make a difference? Well sometimes a conversation can change the direction of your life. My father was a mechanical engineer. He had many interests but he ended up in engineering. He related a conversation he had when he started college in 1935. His first advisor cautioned him against engineering because he said there were no jobs for Jews in the engineering field. My father told him (politely) not to worry about his employment prospects but to just sign his forms so he could take the classes. My father always found employment and spent 50 years as a practicing engineer.
Creating a Culture Change – A Pathway to Improved Reliability
One of the major areas of focus in industry today is that of improving equipment reliability. Why? To insure that production is always available to meet the demand of the marketplace. One of the worst nightmares of any company and those who manage it is to have a demand for product but not be able to supply it because of equipment failure. Certainly this scenario will reduce company profitability and could ultimately put a company out of business.


- GPAllied Inspired Training: Hard-Hitting, Impactful Courses and Workshops.
- Transform SAP EAM From An Electronic Rolodex into a Performance Management System
- MRO Inventory and Purchasing Books
- Reliability Centered Maintenance for SAP Plant Maintenance
- Spending the right amount on maintenance?
- Noise and Vibration Measurement & Analysis Solutions
- Total Productive Maintenance Books
- Request Your Des-Case Complimentary Breather Now
- Motor Testing Books
- New eBook: “6 Steps beyond 5 Whys”
- Join The Association For Maintenance Professionals
- Reliability Engineering Services
- IR Windows: Compare and Save with Exiscan
- Integrating Your CBM Just Makes Sense
- R300S for When Good Enough – Isn’t Enough!
- The One-Stop Source for Lubricants & Reliability Solutions
- Job Postings for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals
- Commtest - Affordable Vibration Analysis
- New AT33IND Perfect for QC & Troubleshooting
- Become an Aladon Certified RCM2 Facilitator
- Belt/Sheave Alignment Laser, Custom Shim and Gaskets

- Alignment and Balancing
- Asset Management
- CMMS and EAM
- Green Reliability
- Human Asset Management
- Infrared Thermal Imaging
- KPIs - Reliability Performance Metrics
- Lean Maintenance
- Lubrication
- Maintenance Management
- Motor and Power System Testing
- MRO - Spares Management
- Oil and Fluid Analysis
- Planning and Scheduling
- PM Optimization
- Predictive Maintenance and Condition Monitoring Management
- Reliability-Centered Maintenance
- Reliability Engineering
- Reliability Leadership
- Root Cause Analysis
- Shutdowns and Turnarounds
- Total Productive Maintenance (Asset Care)
- Training
- Ultrasonics
- Vibration Analysis
