The executive branch provides the vision, mission, and focus for an organization. They define upper level goals and objectives. But it is up to lower level staff to sub-divide higher level goals into relevant tasks which are aligned with the company mission. And even before that, they must have a clear understanding of objectives which explain what is expected, how this impacts their role, and how this benefits the company. In turn there is a trust in management that the path set forward is the optimum path to ensure profitability and competitiveness.
Reactive, Planned, and Proactive Modes
Reactive: Let’s assume the CMMS is operational, the organization could still be in “reactive mode.” The lower level may have already “given up” on leadership if:
The goals are unclear
The staff lacks precision maintenance skills
There is no planning/scheduling
There are no reliability leaders in place
There is no ability to leverage failure data in the CMMS to identify bad actors
Planned: The organization could be in a “planned state.” This means work orders have been planned, schedules have been created, but unplanned breakdowns are still occurring. In other words, the root cause of failure was never eliminated.Proactive: In a “proactive mode,” goals are aligned, the staff feels empowered, feedback is routine, defects are being removed, and reliability leaders are able to identify bad actors and manage by exception.
Best-in-Class Organizations
The “best of the best” organizations are in “proactive mode.” They are able to sustain excellence using a variety of techniques, including autonomous maintenance, Kaizen sessions, work order feedback, chronic failure analysis, root cause analysis, ongoing benchmarking activities, and adherence to a long-range plan.
