IMC Presentation 42:05 Minutes

by Kevin Crum, I-care Reliability

In order for reliability programs to succeed and be sustainable, one must be patient. Many organizations try to achieve too much in a short period of time, overwhelming the workforce. There really is only one template that works consistently in the implementation of a successful program, the ability to be patient and move the organization through a “crawl, walk, run” methodology.

Most implementations try to do too much, too soon and end up tripping, causing damage to an already frail program, burning out before success or creating an organization that is adverse to change. Sure, some of this can be blamed on management trying to push the new flavor of the month, but it also has a lot to do with the ability of the reliability engineer to be patient in the transformation. In the transformation, one must look for culture change through consistent communication, top/down and bottom/up. Define the process for value-added to each level of the organization. Listen to the stakeholder, the voice of the customer, then execute the plan with superior project management. If any of these are missed, the program fails and it may be years before the organization recovers and is ready to try again. Leadership wants success more than failure - be patient.