 Attitude
and technology
These are the most effective catalysts for change
Pat Gehl, JB Systems, Woodland Hills, California
 Before
the 1970s there was little if any attention given to maintenance practices
other than that found in Nuclear Navy. The Navy, particularly the submarine
fleet, installed and practiced rigid preventive maintenance procedures
for obvious reasons. Industry, on the other hand, took the position that
most preventive maintenance did not result in enough savings or product
improvement to warrant the cost.
Chapter I: The awakening
During the 70s and 80s, two events forever changed this closed minded
attitude and approach of management towards maintenance practices. First
was the arrival of Japanese automobiles that were priced affordably and
made to quality standards. Meanwhile, the Big Three ignored quality and
produced inferior products. As a result of inefficient manufacturing practices
and overstaffed plants, Detroit was forced to price domestic cars much
higher than those of the Japanese. The outcome was devastating to the domestic
automobile industry and became one of the initial catalysts for change--that
of an attitude towards product quality as it relates to maintenance of
plant and equipment.
Early in 1983 a second catalyst for change came in the form of technology--the
microcomputer with a hard disk. With the availability of a relatively low-cost
computer, several entrepreneurial companies began developing maintenance
management software for these PCs. This catalyst had a significant impact.
For the first time the maintenance staff had a tool at their disposal that
enabled them to quantify the cost and effect of poor maintenance practices.
In order to validate this theory, I put the question
to the users of current maintenance management technology.
It became commonplace to hear of companies using this hardware and software
combination to reduce the cost work performed by outside contractor by
as much as 80 percent, reduce maintenance inventory cost by as much as
30 to 40 percent, and reduce the downtime on critical equipment by as much
as 20 to 30 percent. What made these improvements possible was producing
and tracking preventive maintenance procedures using the maintenance software.
Thus began the technical catalyst for the shift in maintenance practices
and attitudes towards their value.
Chapter II: The growing
The simple work order module of the early software and standalone PC
soon evolved to include materials and purchasing modules now operating
on large networked systems. Some of the Novell networks, for example, accommodated
upwards of 100 terminals. The 5 megabyte hard drive was replaced by drives
capable of storing thousands of equipment items, tens of thousands of spare
parts, and a year's worth of work orders and purchase orders.
The technology catalyst was now in full swing. The maintenance software
now connected to software for predictive maintenance; CAD; bar code; and
had shop floor and dispatch capabilities. The systems grew in size and
began to produce genuine operational data that management at every level
could use. The availability of reliable operational information enabled
maintenance management to measure the results of maintenance practices
and apply appropriate changes where needed. This distilled information
began to find its way into the company's management reports and was used
to improve manufacturing scheduling, spare parts purchasing, product pricing,
and materials handling practices.
The maintenance department was beginning to establish processes that
focused on managing maintenance as a business unit. One of the more sophisticated
examples of this new movement was the collaboration between the maintenance
and marketing departments for pricing multiple products produced from the
same production line. For example, if a line can produce both ice cream
and yogurt, then the question of whether one product costs substantially
more in terms of maintenance could be answered. If one product does, in
fact, cost substantially more, then it could have a significant impact
on product pricing. Again, both the attitude of management and the availability
of state-of-the-art technology served as the catalyst for change.
Additional examples of using information from maintenance packages abound.
Just think in terms of retaining OSHA and EPA type work orders to establish
compliance, retaining work orders with printed lockout/tagout procedures
to demonstrate adherence to safety regulations, and retaining general preventive
work orders to support ISO 9000 certification. Reports showing the cost
of repair work for equipment under warranty justify backcharging the manufacturer.
Thus the information age reached the maintenance department and the department
responded positively. Although the use of current technology and management's
attitude towards maintenance practices provided beneficial results for
everyone, but the best was yet to come.
 Chapter
III: The maturing
The 90s saw the introduction of another major change in both management
attitudes and current technology that propelled the maintenance Department
into becoming a major part of the enterprise-wide system. The technology
catalyst came courtesy of Mr. Gates and Mr. Grove while the shift in attitude
came largely from accepting Deming's teachings of the 80s.
Gates brought Windows, Grove brought powerful PCs, and Deming brought
the concept of self-empowerment as stated in his 8th point--"No one can
put on his best performance unless that person feels secure."
The technology shift in software and hardware resulted in Windows-based,
client/server configurations such as that shown in Figure 1. The significance
of this capability is two-fold. First, it became straightforward to include
the maintenance software as part of the enterprise-wide system. Second,
it placed PCs throughout the plant floor that were readily accessible by
both the crafts and the operators. This capability enabled management embracing
the Deming doctrine or a derivation thereof to empower craft employees
to schedule their own work, operators to enter work requests, and those
responsible for spare materials to manage inventory levels and reordering
practices using a PC displayed work queue. A typical craft work queue is
shown in Figure 2.
These work queues display the status of every work order in the plant.
A checkmark indicates the task is currently assigned to an employee while
those without a checkmark are available for the taking. The queues can
be sorted by any combination of priority, craft, and work area. Major organizations
using such work queues for employee empowerment--Gillette, General Motors,
United Biscuits, Solar Turbines, and MD Anderson--each realize significant
benefits.
The results of this management attitude change manifest themselves as
improved preventive practices, reduced inventory levels and losses, reduction
in staff levels, and the drastic reduction of critical equipment failure.
When fully practiced, employee empowerment repeatedly demonstrates that
employees do want to help to make their companies become successful and
competitive.
What made these improvements possible was producing
and tracking preventive maintenance procedures using the maintenance software.
C. Paul Oberg of the Copley Consulting Group, Inc. commented on the current
management attitude change in his p 
aper, "Self-Directed Empowerment." There he wrote that employee empowerment
presents companies with an opportunity to
manage indirect cost while minimizing the cost of managing.
He noted that the self-directed work force will:
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focus on deferred, demand, and preventive maintenance activites;
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be thorough in the analyzing and planning of work;
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assume responsibility for identifying maintenance work;
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be accountable for the proper repair and maintenance of assigned equipment;
and
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conduct their duties in an efficient and professional fashion.
These points indicate that the changes in technology and management's attitude
have, in turn, manifested themselves into another catalyst for change--that
of the employee attitude. In order to validate this theory, I put the question
to the users of current maintenance management technology. The intent was
to ascertain the extent that the empowerment change had grown and what
results, if any, they observed. In the faxback questionnaire, 95 percent
indicated that employee empowerment was being practiced in their companies
and felt the practice was increasing throughout the U.S. When asked about
the results of this attitude shift:
-
15 percent felt employee empowerment resulted in the employees
having a better understanding of their company's business procedures
and goals.
-
40 percent felt employee empowerment resulted in employees becoming more
responsible and becoming happier with their jobs.
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10 percent felt employee empowerment was not a good idea.
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5 percent felt employee empowerment resulted in a
shift in many responsibilities from maintenance
to production.
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5 percent felt employee empowerment resulted in employees getting better
tools for their trade.
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5 percent were not sure of the results.
Epilog
It appears that technology advances in terms of PCs and asset management
software combined with the nation's demand for improvement in product quality
and productivity have indeed provided a catalyst for change in maintenance
practices. The changes resulted in a restoration of worker attitudes towards
taking ownership and pride of their jobs. On the production side, this
means higher quality products while on the maintenance side it results
in better production environments.
The maintenance employees seem to be affected the most by these changes.
As a class, they feel better about themselves and their work. They accept
the responsibility to keep facilities and equipment in its best possible
operating condition and they do it without mandate.
Results of embracing the change towards employee empowerment is typified
by the experiences of Gillette Facilities Manager, John Miller and his
maintenance staff who have been practicing employee empowerment since 1992.
John reports that his results include:
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Development of an equipment purchasing procedure that requires those responsible
for using and servicing the equipment to sign off on a checklist.
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Development of an ongoing training curriculum for mechanics.
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The elimination of recalls when unfinished repair work extends from one
shift to another.
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Significant improvement in the cleanliness of the restrooms.
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Corrective action teams now determine whether machine downtime was excessive
and set standards.
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The development of clear and concise safety guidelines and procedures.
"It's the employee doing a job who is the expert in that job." John adds,
"and the employee is the one most able to make recommendations about how
to improve processes and procedures."
It has been stated that change is the only constant. It's nice
to have this recent attiude and technology shift be the catalyst for a
constant change for improvement.
The 1998 CMMS, PM/PdM Handbook
(C) Plant Services on the Web
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