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Underappreciating and Misunderstanding the Reliability Engineer

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“In our organisation, Reliability Engineers are not utilized properly. Leadership do not understand what they should be doing, and they end up doing everything across the maintenance function, except what they should be doing – thinking about reliability and preventing failure”. HEAD OF MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION This is an excerpt from the annual MAINSTREAM State of Asset Management Report, with detailed input from 255 participants from Australia and New Zealand representing a range of regions, industries, asset management maturity, and organisation sizes. Because the cost of failure is not great enough, business owners of most companies that participated in the survey still place greater emphasis on using systems and sweating assets rather than perfecting system reliability and eliminating asset failure at any cost. This results in a culture that has a higher risk appetite and bias to action, which is not a supportive environment for the natural reliability engineer. Strategic vs Tactical Research suggests that the predominant Myers Briggs personality for a reliability engineer is ISTJ. If you’re not familiar with Myers Briggs, this definition can be simplified as someone who is analytical, practical, reserved, direct, dutiful, insensitive, and not naturally drawn to people. Reliability engineers are more process driven than results orientated. They are required to think, design and be strategic. Their skills are not utilised effectively when they are asked to be tactical. The value we get from our reliability engineers is misunderstood. During down cycles we often move reliability engineers elsewhere in the plant to … Continue reading →

How Practical Industrial Sustainability Can Lead to Increased Profits

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When we think of environmental sustainability, increased compliance often comes to mind. For manufacturing, mines, process plants, and other industrial sites, environmental sustainability is very much about controlling various inputs and outputs. A lot of focus is placed upon greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with energy use, especially carbon dioxide (CO2). For reliability, availability and maintenance (RAM) professionals, improving energy efficiency and reducing associated emissions can be a boon for profitability, production reliability, reduced lifecycle cost of asset ownership, and safety. Drew Troyer is an Asset Management and Reliability Educator. He presented at Mainstream OnAir 2021 on how practical industrial sustainability can lead to increased profits. Here’s a summary of his session. The Asset Management Economy Asset management is transitioning from a linear economy to one that is  focused on sustainability – what we call a circular economy. The Reliability and Maintenance professional (R&M) plays an important role in this transformation, by harnessing the opportunities presented to them by focusing on energy and managing fugitive emissions. These are harmful to people, the environment, and to the bottom line. “You can drive sustainable asset management from the plant floor. Some things you can put to work today, to improve the sustainability of your plant and your operation,” says Drew. SUSTAINABLE + PROFITABLE + SAFE = SUCCESS. These are not conflicting goals! Asset Management in the Linear vs. Circular Economy In the traditional linear economy that we are most familiar with, asset management follows a linear pattern. That is, the initial design, … Continue reading →

How AGL Exploited their Existing People, Process and Technology to Drive Transformation

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While machines are generating more data with increasing granularity, our most seasoned experts are leaving with all their accumulated experience. So why are we buried in data and starving for insight? Common sense says once every sensor, machine and system is integrated, we can start to reap the benefits. But what if we’re looking at the problem from the wrong end of the telescope? David Bartolo, Head of Asset Intelligence, AGL says too often we’re ignoring the very methods humans use to build their own expertise, and disruptive technologies allow us to harness that, and exploit what we already have to drive new levels of performance. He recently presented at Mainstream OnAir 2021 and shared how organisations can use what they already have to drive lasting transformation. Here’s a summary of his session. The Future of AGL – Using What You Have The energy industry in Australia is going through a massive transition, and AGL is right at the centre of it. AGL is in the process of splitting most of the assets into a new company which will be much more customer-centric. Having worked in the energy industry for a long time, David is aware of the need to concentrate on the now, while also planning for the future of the power generation side of the business and utilities. “We’re going to have to become a very low-cost provider of centralised energy for our customer base in this new business. And we’re going to have to use every trick … Continue reading →

Maximizing the Success of your Digital Transformation Journey

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Contrary to popular opinion, maintenance and reliability can be a highly profitable investment, and not just a cost. But it takes courage to bridge the gap between the needs of the business and the ability of the workforce to execute in a secure and resilient environment. That’s what John Schultz has spent the last two decades doing. Regarded as one of the world’s best reliability educators, John has helped over 300 manufacturing locations save millions in direct costs while increasing production, improving quality, and reducing inventories. John has personally benchmarked over 1,000 locations. In summary, John has spent his entire career helping organizations to bridge the gap between the needs of the business and the ability of the workforce to execute in a secure and resilient environment. Or, in straight-talking language: Make more, break less, and don’t spend. Schultz recently presented at Mainstream OnAir 2021, a two day event for asset, reliability and maintenance professionals. His focus was how to maximise the success of your digital transformation journey. Here’s a summary of his session, What is Bootleg Innovation? Engage the three key Centres of Intelligence To enact lasting, sustainable change, Schultz advocates engaging the three Centres of Intelligence. The Thinking Centre of Intelligence is about the brain and includes aspects of your business like subject matter experts, content and technology. The Emotional Centre of Intelligence is about engaging the heart, encompassing change management, leadership and workforce engagement. “If you have an enabled and engaged workforce, you can tackle any problem,” says … Continue reading →

Excited By the Potential Of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning? Read This First

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Technological advances mean that computers have the potential to understand our equipment better than we do. We increasingly rely on complex algorithms and artificial intelligence to control industrial equipment and predict and prevent its failure. But, leaving computers to run our plants is potentially dangerous. Melinda Hodkiewicz, Professor at the School of Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Western Australia, recently presented at Mainstream OnAir 2021. She outlined the limitations and risks associated with predictive analytics and laid out a path for effectively managing those risks. Here’s a summary of her session, The Ghost in the Machine – Are we heading for a predictive analytics driven disaster? What Is the Success Rates Of Maintenance Transformations? “The truth is that 70 percent of all maintenance transformation fail,” says Hodkiewicz in a blunt wake-up call based on 2020 data by McKinsey. She outlines the factors that commonly lead to failure: Organisations trapped in a cycle of endless, small scale piloting and experimentation Corporate systems not being ready for complex solutions capable of predicting solutions before they happen Doomed initiatives that leave battle scars on the leaders that nurtured them Many sectors are still not well able to implement more basic preventative maintenance. What AI Is – And Isn’t – Suited To “Artificial intelligence (AI) is best when applied to truly repetitive processes,” says Hodkiewicz. One example of this is fault detection in fleet management, where identical equipment operates in similar conditions and faults are likely to repeat themselves. Other ideal … Continue reading →

Why Failure is an Asset, Not a Liability

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For former fighter pilot and U.S. Marine, David Wilbur, failure is something that should be at odds with his very nature. But, David believes embracing failure can actually be an asset and a key tool for improving operational reliability. David will be presenting at Mainstream Conference 2021 on “admitting human error in the workplace – maximizing asset reliability with human factors”. Here he explains how failure is not exactly black and white, and why allowing for some types of failure is a critical element of building a high-thriving organisation. Time to Embrace Human Failure In most organisations there are three primary domains of asset integrity: Asset reliabilityProcess reliabilityHuman reliability Most leaders who want to create a high performing asset base believe if they focus on the first two aspects, then the human reliability piece will fall into place. It will simply do what it’s supposed to do and people will make good choices. The problem is we often have a reductionist view of our assets: if X happens then Y. But people aren’t necessarily bound by science. We’re human. And an integral part of the human condition is that we’re equally prone to failure as we are to innovation and discovery. There’s research showing organisations who allow for failure see far more economic benefits than those who don’t. We’ve done our own research that has yielded similar results. Our own body of research has proven environments where people feel connected to the purpose, feel well-led, are in a psychologically safe … Continue reading →

When Life Hands you a Pandemic: How to Turn Chaos into Change

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The economic and societal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. Yes, we’ve lived through traumatic events like 9-11 or the death of Robert of President Kennedy. These tend to be acute, horrific, and over quickly. We’ve also experienced chronic events that are extended of a period of time like economic downturns. These tend not to be as acute but still create a great deal of stress and loss. But COVID-19, and the resulting economic impact, has been both acute and chronic. It’s been a slow-motion train wreck that just won’t quit. We’ve seen thousands of companies shut down forever, tens of millions of people around the world laid off, and over 2 million people who have lost their lives because of this pandemic. Many of us couldn’t wait to see the backend of 2020. And while we’re starting to see things turning in a positive direction, there’s still no end in sight. But, there is an upside. Crises as a catalyst for change Sun Tzu said, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” And he was absolutely right. We all know on a personal level that the greatest challenge to change is breaking out of the status quo. Crises have the unique ability to jar us out of complacency and into action. And that’s what’s happening now in organisations around the world. They’re being forced out of their complacency and asked to pinpoint and confront the things that matter most to them. In 2020 we’ve seen … Continue reading →

4 Steps to Protect your Most Valuable Asset (No, it’s not your Machinery)

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Do you often hear people asking “how exactly is this done?” or “what’s the next step in this process?” Or maybe you’ve been on the receiving end, fielding a seemingly endless stream of questions about how work gets done in your organisation. If any of this sounds familiar, you may have a knowledge transfer problem, says Time Investment Expert and Best-Selling Author, Kate Christie. Kate’s speaking at the upcoming Mainstream Conference, a three-day event for Asset, Reliability and Maintenance professionals that celebrates the people, technology and ideas transforming asset management. Here she shares with us why documenting the accumulated knowledge in your organisation is crucial, how it can boost both productivity and efficiency, and four steps you can take to prevent critical information from walking out your company’s door. The true cost of IP loss Do you have a few key players within your company who are the gatekeepers of your knowledge? These “fonts of knowledge” know every step of the process inside out, it feels like they could do it in their sleep. Your intellectual property (IP) is one of your most valuable assets, and if you haven’t yet documented the knowledge that’s sitting in people’s heads, you’re exposing your organisation to risk. Risk of rework, risk of duplication of effort, and ultimately the risk of that knowledge one day walking out the door. Finding a way to get specialist ‘know how’, processes, ideas and information out of people’s heads and onto paper seems like a huge task. It … Continue reading →

The Greatest Challenges in Asset Management have this One Common Factor

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of Mainstream Conference. Cliff Williams dives into this year’s research report to provide his perspective on the main themes and shows how they all tie into one common factor. I’ve been involved in the Mainstream community for many years. Every year I enjoy reading their annual research report to find out the biggest challenges facing asset management professionals. There’s one theme I’ve noticed that links most of these challenges together – and that’s change. For every one of the concerns to be addressed, something needs to change. This may sound overly simple, but in my experience, change is always the biggest stumbling block in any improvement journey. Here’s my take on three of the key themes from the 2021 Mainstream Research Report and my thoughts on how they relate to change. Theme 1: Putting People at the Centre of Asset Management Since the introduction of ISO 55000 our focus has shifted from the physical asset to the one asset that is essential for deriving value for the organisation – people. Everybody has heard the cliches around “our people are our greatest asset” but very few manage their people as assets. It was mostly just a catchy phrase. If we look at the human aspect of asset management, when we try to put this in the centre of all things, we can see this is a huge change. So many organisations are challenged by this because ultimately it means culture change. A lot of organizations … Continue reading →