Maintenance Technology July 2017 - 15

VOICE FROM THE FIELD

Following the

North Star

Working in various locations around the globe, KRATON's Ron
Bitely keeps all focus pointed at a target that never moves.

Ron's
Credentials
■ Associate of Arts & Sciences,
Electrical and Electronics Engineering (ABET Accredited), State
Univ. of New York at Canton
■ Bachelor of Science, Business Management, Electrical
Engineering, Univ. of Phoenix
■ Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing,
Green Belt
■ Facilities Manager
■ Reliability/Maintenance Manager
■ Operations Excellence Specialist
■ Reliability Leader
■ Reliability Superintendent

Ron's Best Advice
For R&M
Professionals
"Be open. Be honest. If you don't
know something, ask questions.
Seek out someone who has the
knowledge who can help educate
you and help you to build your
skills and capabilities. The biggest
fault with people in technical fields
is that they are very proud. They
don't want others to know what
they don't know. My advice is don't
be bashful. Ask someone."

JULY 2017

Michelle Segrest
Contributing Editor

RON BITELY BELIEVES that everyone
needs to have a North Star.
"We should all have direction in whatever
we are doing," he said. "I don't like to use the
"People need direction
word 'vision' because many people consider this
so they can make
just another buzz word that has little meaning. But
decisions that will
people can relate to following a North Star that
create value for their
remains constant. Targets move. People need direccompany." Photos:
tion so they can make decisions that will create
courtesy Ron Bitely
value for their company."
For Bitely, the global electrical and instrumentation reliability manager for Houston-based KRATON (formerly Arizona
Chemical), having common direction is especially important. He is responsible
for reliability at the company's global sites, which includes five sites in the U.S.,
and international facilities in Brazil, France, Germany, Taiwan, Sweden, Japan,
and Finland. He generally stays at one site for about a week (unless working on a
project). Then he changes his focus on the next opportunity to create value for the
company.
"Reliability encompasses a lot of things," he said. "It's not just one thing. There is
a distinct difference between maintenance and reliability. A lot of people combine
the two, but these are very different disciplines. The biggest difference is that
reliability is just as much about people and culture as it is about technology. A good
reliability program combines these elements. It's about the people and the capabilities that you develop in that culture of understanding what 'good' looks like."
Keeping reliability a priority across the company's many facilities involves
careful consideration of various cultures, languages, different geography, and
individual company protocol.
"It's a challenging role because I'm always working through others in order to be
successful," he said. "People don't like to change, but this becomes easier when you
understand why change is necessary. I believe in communicating why we do what
we do so that people can align to it. Of course, they can also challenge it. This is
okay, too."
Like the actual North Star, Bitely's figurative North Star never moves. The target
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