Up Time Magazine - February/March 2009 - (Page 47) hierarchy. Moreover, to the extent that they perceive a threat to their own power and influence, they will find ways to undermine and destroy the source of that threat. In the case of self-directed work teams, supervisors who fear losing their influence, or worse, their jobs, may quickly transform into wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. While openly espousing the principles of empowerment and participation, they covertly do everything in their power to torpedo all attempts at actual implementation. Successful transformation of work culture is not a tactical exercise and the master plan must consider and include specific activities and tasks that prepare the workforce for change, and guides them through the transformation process. Culture change takes time and the worst, most often made, mistakes is impatience. We are truly a society seeking instant gratification and, as a result, try to force the pace of change. Your plan should include a timeline of eighteen months to twenty-four months to ensure sustainable culture change. excellence transformation, providing quick response to rumors, as well as both negative and positive feedback from the workforce. The absolute need for effective communications cannot be overstated. Failures to communicate, including listening and hearing feedback from the workforce, is not optional—if you fail at this task, the transformation will fail. All communications must be open, honest and full disclosure. The workforce is preconditioned to mistrust information from management, so it is imperative that communications come from leadership and the workforce that is directly involved in the analysis and design process that will determine the plant’s future. Peer-to-peer communication has much more credibility and impact than the epistles coming from senior management or the leadership team. Tough boots to fill. Short-Term Wins One should always remember that this is not the first time “change” has been introduced to the workforce. Over the past few decades, there has been an almost constant stream of “revolutionary” new programs that are guaranteed to improve performance and assure survivability of the company. Most of these “silver bullets” have fizzled after a few months or years, and status quo has returned with a passion. As a result, the workforce is jaded and will not embrace reliability excellence or any other initiative without clear, measurable proof that this initiative will actually make their world better. Instead, they will resist or ignore your initial efforts to introduce Reliability Excellence—not because they believe change isn’t needed, but because they do not believe that your plan will work. Short-term wins can take many forms. They can be improvements in housekeeping; elimination of unnecessary restrictions or regulations; reductions in forced overtime or an almost unlimited list of changes that cost little but are clear evidence that change can be good. The best wins are those that eliminate chronic problems or irritations, such as poor start-ups, labor intensive changeovers and unnecessary maintenance tasks. These are issues that have a real, deep impact on the workforce, and their removal will send a strong, positive message. It certainly helps that the side benefit will be a measurable improvement in profitability. Education A critical part of culture change and sustainable continuous improvement is knowledge and understanding. Everyone in the organization must understand the logic behind the transformation process and his or her role within the process. A unique and wonderful part of the human psyche is the absolute need to understand “why”. Your master plan must include an education process that includes everyone – at all levels – in a comprehensive education process that provides a clear, complete understanding of the transformation process, the roles, responsibilities and expectations from each individual within the organization and why change is needed. The education process should also include targeted training for those actively involved in the transformation process. The heart of a reliability excellence transformation relies on cross-functional teams created from all levels of the workforce. These teams will have the responsibility for creating the future for the company, and will need the skills required to perform these tasks. As maintenance and reliability professionals retire, they often take the knowledge they possess with them. This loss comes at a cost to companies. That’s where Trico comes in. We can capture that knowledge. Trico can help you integrate proactive practices into your lubrication management program. Our approach–including assessments, audits, consulting, and training–will enable you to benchmark current practices, train employees and improve overall operations. If you have tough boots to fill, give us a call. We’ve got the answers today, for today’s problems. Communications All plants have a very effective rumor mill that can destroy attempts to change. Therefore, it is imperative that your plan includes a communication process that will keep everyone informed about all aspects of the reliability www.uptimemagazine.com Process Change The Master Plan must also include a thorough evaluation of the processes and practices that www.tricocorp.com 800-558-7008 47 http://www.tricocorp.com http://www.uptimemagazine.com
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