How to Create Employee Engagement

Article extract from Reliable Plant newsletter:
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29338/create-employee-engagement

Every organization has rude customers, operational and financial challenges, and employee turnover. However, the tough economy, the feeling that job stability is a thing of the past, the ever-decreasing benefits and bigger workloads have created an atmosphere of malcontent and distrust within the employee ranks.

Unfortunately, most company executives are too far removed from the front line to realize that conditions are ripe for a tsunami of turnover when the recession ends. Supervisors on the front line are busy scrambling to keep their own jobs and are just as frustrated, worried and exhausted as their employees, creating an environment of "every man and woman for themselves!"

A recent Harris Interactive survey uncovered the following statistics on American job satisfaction:

• Across America, 45 percent of workers say they are either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their jobs.
• Only 20 percent feel very passionate about their jobs.
• Thirty-three percent believe they have reached a dead end in their career.
• Twenty-one percent are eager to change careers.
• Older workers are the most satisfied and the most engaged in their work.
• Younger workers are the most distressed and feel the least amount of loyalty to their employers.
• Small-firm employees feel far more engaged in their work than their corporate counterparts.
• Job security, health-care coverage and professional development are valued above additional compensation.

What is most worrisome is the disconnect between how workers feel about their jobs and careers and how management perceives what they are feeling. This disconnect is evident in the results from the fourth annual survey of employee job satisfaction by Salary.com:

• Approximately 65 percent of respondents said they were “somewhat” satisfied, but less than 15 percent said they were “extremely” satisfied.
• Meanwhile, employers believe that 30 percent of their workers are “extremely” satisfied.
• Sixty-five percent of employed survey respondents said they are looking around (up more than 17 percent this year). Sixty percent said they plan to intensify their job search over the next three months despite the economy.
• Nearly 80 percent of responding managers do not believe that their employees will initiate a job search in the next three months.

One reason for this disparity in actual worker satisfaction and managers’ perception of worker satisfaction may be that employees are putting on a “happy face” to ensure that they do not lose their current job. The question then is, "What happens when the job market opens up and new opportunities become available?" I believe that many companies will experience a mass exodus of employees.

A recent survey of 5,000 U.S. workers found job satisfaction to be the lowest in two decades, with interest in their work down 18.9 percent, job security down 16.5 percent, interest in the people at work down 11.6 percent and satisfaction with their supervisors down 9.5 percent.

Take a few moments to really look at your employees. The telltale signs of disengaged employees are obvious. Disengaged people exist in all types of businesses, across all industries, and they have always been there, just not in the numbers often seen today. You can spot them by their indifferent, blasé attitudes. They don’t care about the company. They probably don’t like their jobs. And, they send negative signals everywhere they go.

Disengaged people are like poison. They don’t perform their own jobs well. They drive customers away. They have a bad influence on your other staff. Often, they are the cause of conflict and/or low morale within the ranks. Yet few people start off disengaged. It’s typically a process that happens over time, as employee and employer expectations grow further and further apart.

The challenge with the disengagement process is that it can happen slowly and subtly. Usually, there are no big red flags or loud alarm bells that announce the growing discontent of employees.

Conversely, engaged employees go above and beyond their job descriptions to get things done. They’re committed to the organization’s success, and they’re willing to take on additional responsibilities to ensure that the company is successful. They feel like part of the team and have the “all for one and one for all” attitude.

The benefits of creating an engaged workforce are clear. An engaged workforce drives customer loyalty, reduces conflict in the workplace, increases productivity and improves profitability.

At first blush, creating an engaged workforce may seem like an overwhelming task. The good news is that it is neither extremely costly nor complicated to do so.

Below are several ways to create employee engagement or re-engage your employees:

Define Engagement: You must first understand what employee engagement means to your company. There are many definitions, but each company’s culture is unique. Take some time to list the attributes, characteristics and behaviors of engaged employees within your culture. For example, employees should:

• Take pride in their work, delivering quality performance, product and productivity.
• Deliver exceptional service to customers, driving customer loyalty.
• Go above and beyond expectations on a daily basis.
• Perform as a team, working together toward the common goal.
• Intend to stay with the company.
• Support the company’s decisions during difficult as well as prosperous times.
• Display the attitude of “We’re all in this together.”

Clarify the Vision: It is impossible for employees to be engaged if they do not understand the vision for the future, the goals of the organization and their part in fulfilling the vision and reaching the goals.

Clear Expectations: Clearly state expectations for employee results and behaviors, holding them accountable for results and behaviors.

Communicate: Give them the good news and the bad news. Do not blindside employees with bad news that affects them. If you are trying to avoid layoffs and/or furloughs by cutting hours, let them know the reasoning behind your decision.

Reward and Recognize: Let employees know that their contributions are appreciated.

Involve the Employees: When you are facing tough decisions or experiencing operational challenges, ask for their ideas and input.

Understand the Leaders’ Role: There is a direct correlation between the leaders’ behaviors and the level of engagement within the company. Leaders must demonstrate the same traits and behaviors that are expected of employees. Leaders who are open and honest in communications, are focused on employee well-being, demonstrate positive support for the organization and serve as a role model for engagement provide a positive impact on the overall morale within the employee ranks.

"Improving employee engagement does not have to be overwhelming," says Mike Dolen, managing partner of Kenexa’s Global Survey Practice. "There are many ways to take small, incremental steps that lead to sustained improvement."

Whether you adopt all of the steps above to engage or re-engage your employees may depend on your assessed level of engagement within your organization. Whatever you do, do something. Your employees represent your brand, and they have a powerful impact on your bottom line.

About the Author

Debbie Zmorenski

Deborah K. Zmorenski, MBA, is the co-owner and senior partner of Leader’s Strategic Advantage Inc., an Orlando, Fla.-based consulting firm. During her 34-year career with the Walt Disney ... Read More

Reduce Costs with MRO Data Cleansing

Article extract from Reliable Plant newsletter;
http://reliableplant.com/Read/29360/mro-data-cleansing

As competition and technology continue to evolve in today’s industrial and manufacturing industries, companies are faced with the ever-increasing challenge of reducing costs and improving efficiency while maintaining production quality. These manufacturing companies often have multiple sites spread across large geographic regions, each with thousands of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) spare parts on hand to keep operations running. In such large organizations, several different employees enter items into various enterprise asset management (EAM) systems at each site, with little or no standard guidelines, and often in multiple languages. Over time, this lack of standardization causes materials data to become inconsistent and inaccurate, resulting in many negative effects that can be felt throughout all units of the business.

The most common effects caused by corrupt materials data include:

• Unidentifiable items
• Excess inventory
• Duplication
• False stock-outs
• Equipment downtime
• Inefficient part searches
• Increased maverick purchases (direct buys)
• Limited benefits from EAM systems

These inefficiencies can cost companies significant time and money, while preventing them from making critical data-driven decisions.

The Data-Cleansing Process

In order to transform corrupt data into consistent quality data, a data-cleansing process must be implemented to create one common corporate catalog that can be maintained throughout the entire organization.

While the data-cleansing process may appear very simple in nature, it requires a very unique and specialized set of software, people and procedures. Some data-cleansing companies pride themselves on efficiency and speed through the use of automated software, but in reality, there is no software application that can accurately cleanse mass data files without human intervention. The data-cleansing process is actually much more detailed, and for the most accurate results, requires the use of automated software applications combined with the involvement of cleansing specialists to ensure consistency, accuracy and efficiency.   

To illustrate the data-cleansing process from start to finish, it has been broken down into nine steps. While every project is different based on specific customer requirements, these nine steps cover the standard procedures involved in every data-cleansing project.  

Step 1 – Segregate and Standardize the Manufacturer Name and Part Number

Using automated software, the manufacturer name and part number are extracted and segregated from the unstructured free text description. Once segregated, the manufacturer name and part number are corrected and standardized, ensuring each unique manufacturer name and part number maintains one consistent structure throughout the entire database.

Step 2 – Assign Noun-Modifier and Required Attributes

Following the segregation and standardization of manufacturer names and part numbers, a noun-modifier dictionary is used to assign the correct identifier and descriptive properties for each item. As illustrated below, using the noun-modifier dictionary, each item is assigned a noun-modifier pair, where the noun is the primary identifier and the modifier is the secondary identifier. Each noun-modifier pair also contains on average five to seven associated attributes, which further describe the characteristics of that item.

Step 3 – Populate Attributes

After standardizing and populating information provided in the customer’s raw description, the remaining attributes are populated using internal and external tools such as the master parts library, which contains millions of pre-standardized items. An online research tool assists in the search and collection of additional part information. Using these powerful tools, item descriptions are accurately and efficiently enhanced with information retrieved directly from manufacturer catalogs.

Step 4 – Assign Classification Codes

Once all items have been correctly described by a noun, modifier and corresponding attributes, they can be assigned customer-specified classification codes. The classification codes are typically used for commodity segmentation, spend analysis and other custom reports, enabling companies to leverage purchases and gain insight for improved procurement-related efficiencies.

Step 5 – Identify Duplicate Items

After cleansing and classification is complete, duplicate items within the database are identified by direct duplicate (same manufacturer name and part number) or by form-fit-function (different manufacturer name and part number but identical according to type, size and material). Once duplicates have been identified, they are assigned one common corporate part number, descriptions are duplicated to appear identical throughout the database, and the items are flagged for customer review.

Step 6 – Quality-Control Review

Due to the emphasis on quality and consistency, the next step involves a final human review of all items, typically conducted by an assigned project leader or dedicated quality-control person. The quality-control process ensures that every item follows proper format and nomenclature according to pre-defined customer standards, while verifying that enhanced descriptions are correct, accurate and complete.

Step 7 – Send Review List to Customer

On average, 10 percent of the materials database is usually found to be review items, meaning items lacking critical information for accurate part identification such as manufacturer name or part number. During the data-cleansing process, these items are flagged and compiled into a customer review list. The review list is returned to the customer, who must then physically locate the item within the storeroom and record the necessary part information to be added into the material master.

Step 8 – Format Data to Customer ERP System

Once the missing information has been collected for all review items and the entire cleansed database has been approved by quality control, it is deemed complete and transferred to the IT department. At this stage, IT specialists format the data to the customer-specified enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and extract it into a return file. The formatting stage is critical to achieving the desired end result, as every ERP system has its own unique layout, headers and field limitations.

Step 9 – Return Cleansed File

Once the entire data file has been cleansed, standardized, enhanced, de-duplicated, reviewed and formatted to the customer’s ERP system, it is electronically delivered to the customer. At this time, the data can now be uploaded directly to the customer’s ERP system.

The Results

Esthetically, the results of data cleansing are obvious, as the data now clearly maintains one consistent format and nomenclature throughout the entire organization while containing enhanced information for improved part identification. However, the real benefits are those that may not be as visually obvious but present the greatest return on investment. The most valuable benefits are those that come from the ability to identify and remove excess, obsolete and duplicate items while improving the ability to quickly search and locate parts when time is of the essence and minimizing equipment downtime is crucial. Key benefits include:

1. Cost reduction

• Identification of excess-active and obsolete inventory
• Identification and elimination of duplicate items
• Reduction of equipment downtime
• Reduction of maverick purchases
• Reduction of expedited part orders

2. Improved maintenance efficiency

• Efficient part searches

3. Maximum ERP/EAM benefits

• Improved reporting capabilities  

From a long-term perspective, quality materials data is the key to maintaining operation costs and efficiencies. This process does not end once the data-cleansing project is complete. Maintaining ongoing data quality requires a strict set of catalog management procedures to ensure accuracy and consistency as new items are added and existing items are modified or suspended. Most data-cleansing companies offer some type of catalog management software or service for customers to maintain the quality of their cleansed catalog. However, unless the customer is able to dedicate an internal resource to manage the catalog, outsourcing this activity to the experts who originally cleansed the database will always deliver the best results.

About the Author

Jocelyn Facciotti is the marketing manager at I.M.A. Ltd., a company specializing in MRO data cleansing and related services. For more information, visit www.imaltd.com or contact info@imaltd.com.

Why Equipment Maintainability Should Not be an Afterthought

Article extract from ReliablePlant newsletter:
http://conference.reliableplant.com/equipment-maintainability/

Most organizations have a large installed base of equipment that is the target of their various initiatives such as six sigma, lean, equipment maintainability etc. In most cases these initiatives require training of personnel as well as retrofitting equipment to improve the probability of success in these endeavors. We are generally are not surprised by the need to make these changes as the equipment was often designed and procured before we determined that these types of changes would be beneficial. The purpose of this paper is to raise the awareness that these items should now be incorporated into the design, procurement and installations phases of new equipment. Equipment maintainability should no longer be an afterthought.

Awareness

The intent of this article is to raise the awareness and expectations of the entire organization so that we ultimately have equipment installed that gives our maintenance organization the best opportunity to meet or exceed our expectations for the operation of our assets. Our designs should incorporate maintainability concepts, our procurement specifications should detail maintainability requirements and our installation process should incorporate equipment maintainability guidelines and principals.

It’s not that our designers and procurement personnel don’t care, it is simply a function of not realizing the potential and often being somewhat disconnected form the environment in which the equipment will operate. Often the focus of these individuals is to ensure basic functionality, deliver equipment on time and within budgetary guidelines. As many of these very capability people have not worked in the maintenance environment, many of the concepts we will talk about, are not in their knowledge base. I was fortunate to have worked specifically in the design, procurement, installation, operation and maintenance functions for my employer of 38 years, Goodyear. In each of those functions I performed to the best of my ability, but honestly was amazed at how many equipment maintainability fundamentals I missed, until I had the opportunity to walk in the shoes of the maintenance organization. If I had my way, every designer would be assigned to maintain their design for a period of time after it is installed. I can say from personal certainty, that if designers had to maintain some of their work, their next effort would reflect a different respect for the maintainers.

Definition

Maintainability refers to the ease with which maintenance work can be done. It involves the process of ensuring that equipment can be easily and safely maintained, and the maintenance support required can be minimized.

Potential Benefits of Equipment Maintainability

We need to design maintenance into our systems. Great maintenance procedures and skilled craftsmen can be hampered by not following some basic concepts. Properly done we should expect:

• Reduced time to complete scheduled and unscheduled maintenance
• Reduced maintenance errors
• Reduced maintenance related injuries
• Minimize personnel training requirements
• Improve trouble shooting performance
• Lower Maintenance cost

Suggested Guidelines

• Design replacement tasks to be as modular as possible.
  • Especially for drive systems, this applies to ball screws, drive belts, conveyor belts, and gearboxes. All of these parts will fail during the machine life.


• All pressure and vacuum gauges should be marked with a green zone that represents the normal operating range of the system to which it is attached
• Inspection points (gauges, meters, sight glasses, chains, pulleys, belts…etc.) should be:
  • Clearly identified
  • Easily readable from location of inspector
  • Located such that no guards or obstructions need to be moved to do routine visual inspections.


• When considering the ergonomics of a repair or inspection activity, design for the 5th and 95th percentile people in accordance with EDGE (Ergonomic Design Guidelines for Engineers) principles.
• Clearly mark lifting points and weight of lift.
• Most machines should have an air fitting hook up.
• Most machines should have a 30 Amp – 120VAC outlet or equivalent to support maintenance power tools.
• If possible design connection points so that they can only fit together in the intended way
• Identify flow direction and type of all fluid lines. (including pneumatic, hydraulic, water, lubrication and steam lines)
• Provide properly designed access stairs, platforms etc to facilitate access to hard to reach maintenance and inspection areas.
  • If not, equipment may be damaged by using unintended devices as steps etc


• Coupling Guards shall allow Coupling Greasing to be performed without removal of the guard.
• Laminated sheet detailing Lock Out Tag Out procedure should be affixed to the machine.
• Special lock out devices required to complete lock out should be designed into the machine or installed on a cabinet near the lock out point for ready access.
• Machine guarding should be made of materials that adequately protect the hazard but still allow for visual and infrared inspection of the apparatus being guarded. If expanded metal or fencing is used paint the fencing black to facilitate visual inspection.
• All chain sizes shall be clearly labeled on equipment near point of use.
  • Tags should be grease resistant ie Plastic, brass tags/labels


• Daily and weekly running inspection routine/instructions should be posted on machine.
  • All inspection points should be clearly labeled


• Use common components, such as pumps, reservoirs, accumulators, motors, gearboxes, VF drives, sensors etc as much as possible.
  • This should be considered at the plant level as well as at the individual machine level


• Direction of rotation to be clearly noted for Motors, pumps, fans, blowers, conveyor drives, gearboxes etc.
• Indicate a place where an identification code could be marked on manufactured parts (or mark at manufacture).
  • This will aide in identifying replacement part. Identify method of identifying part (stamp, indelible ink)


• Any guards or covers on the machine should be attached by the fewest number of screws or other fasteners necessary. This will facilitate speed if these guards or covers must be removed or replaced. Same type screws.  (Codes may require at least one fastener that must be removed with a tool)
• Ability to clean the machine should be considered during design and installation. This would include a cleaning plan and how services are routed to the machine.
  • If plan calls for wash down, machine should have water fittings and floor sloped to drain.
  • Where possible all concrete surfaces and piers should be sloped to the nearest drain (environmental review needed)
  • Pipes, wires, tubing that are providing services to the machine should be routed so that they have enough ground clearance to allow for sweeping or mopping of the floor below


• All pressurized systems must include a method for reducing system pressure to 0 psig and a means to verify this.
• Avoid castings for moving parts, or parts that may be hit by other parts of the machine
  • Castings are very difficult to repair, particularly emergency breakdown


• Maintenance tasks on the machine must be considered with regard to how the maintenance techs will access the area of the machine to be maintained.
  • This should include assessment of clearances for access, height from floor, provisions made for access to machine areas elevated from floor (steps, platforms, ladder), and disassembly required to perform maintenance
  • Fall Protection tie offs shall be provided for access to components which if accessed would expose the technician to a fall hazard of greater than 6’.


• Do not locate inspections points more than 1 meter from the inspectors eyes
• Do not install inspection points behind components, under protection covers or other points that require work to reach them
• Design interfaces so that the connection can only go together correctly
• Design interfaces so you can only install the correct component, employing unique bolting patterns, guide pins etc.
• Make every routine maintenance point clearly visible
• Minimize disassembly and special tools needed to repair items that are wear parts, parts that are expected to fail frequently, or will need to be adjusted frequently
  • Access to wear or commonly adjusted parts should also be considered and steps/maintenance platforms added if necessary
  • If non-commercial special tools, jigs, or fixtures are needed they should be provided by the equipment manufacturer at installation. Also these special tools should be given manufacturer part numbers and those part numbers be clearly communicated and documented in the maintenance manual to the plant so that they can be included in the store room system
  • All tools for routine jobs should be integrated on the machine in a lockable shadow board.


• Drive belts should be removable without removing other machine parts (this does not include guards)
  • Other parts should not trap the belt
  • Drive Belt Guards shall use expanded metal to allow IR Inspection for misalignment.


• Vendor should align all coupled shafts to stated tolerances
  • Vendor shall supply as installed alignment measurements for all coupled shafts.
  • In cases where thermal expansion is significant and will affect the alignment “cold” alignment specifications and tolerances must be supplied by the manufacturer


• Alignment tolerance shall be clearly marked on a label near the coupling.
• Belt type and tension shall be labeled and affixed at or near the belt point of use.
• Provide jack screws with lock nuts for all axes to be aligned
  • Ensure that jack screws and lock nuts are accessible.
  • Ensure that if base bolts with nuts are used, that a full sized wrench can access the base bolt nuts and allows for tightening


• Where possible, electrical components should be arranged/segregated to permit access to low voltage controls without exposure to higher voltages (Reduce need for specialized PPE for arc flash protection)
• Test points, key pads etc should be made accessible without exposure to energized conductors
• Panels should be designed to be finger/palm safe (protect from shock hazard)
• Utilize proximity switches with indicator lights to determine if it is working
• 110v coils for solenoid valves should have indicator lights to determine if they are energized
• Control wiring must be separated from power wiring to avoid transient noise feeding in to the control system
• Active cooling devices on electrical panels should have a provision to visually be able to tell that the cooling devices are working.
• Label, and where possible color code, each wire in a harness or cable to facilitate tracking from origin to termination. Each wire, cable, and coax-to-connector interface should be provided with a source of identification to aiding trouble shooting, repair, or modification.
• Clearly labeled components make troubleshooting more effective.
• Do not manufacture or dress connectors containing more than 25 wires or cables as a single integrated harness. Group the wires or cables into runs of no more than 25 wires or cables each. In addition to making trouble shooting and repair easier, this approach helps avoid large bend radii, thereby simplifying routing, packaging, and stowage.
• Route cables so that 100 percent of a cable will be viewable for inspection without using any special tools such as a borescope.
• Use positive locking, quick disconnect electrical connectors and identify all pins on each connector to save man-hours, prevent foreign object damage (FOD) and decrease the chance of personal injury.
• Select connectors so that contacts on the “live” or “hot” side of the connection are socket type rather than pin type to minimize personnel hazard and to prevent accidental shorting of live circuits.
• Where multiple connectors are located in close proximity, ensure:
  • a minimum hand tool arc of 120 degrees can be maintained
  • stagger fittings to ensure firm coupling interface/hand tool interface can be accomplished without inducing damage to adjacent lines.


• If possible avoid fasteners smaller than ¼” in diameter. Fasteners smaller than this are easy to damage by hand. They shear, and the socket fails frequently.
• Avoid reliance on mechanical fasteners solely to facilitate manufacturing.
• Standardize fasteners where practical to avoid multiple tools and possibility of wrong grade usage
• When high strength fastener needed, label to avoid use of inadequate material
• Chemical thread lockers should be avoided on fasteners that must be adjusted often.
• Match marks shall be painted by the vendor on all fasteners at time of final acceptance, except for items requiring disassembly for transport.
• All fasteners shall be match marked at final acceptance.
• Fastener re-installation torque and socket size shall be labeled for all fastener’s that must be disassembled to perform manufacture recommended maintenance by a small label affixed near the fastener(s).
• All oil filters should have differential pressure gauges or sensors that indicate when replacement is necessary
• Oil filters should be in a duplex arrangement that allows changing a filter while the machine is running
• Replacement filter part number shall be labeled and affixed near the filter
• Evaluate each lubrication point to determine:
  • The proper fitting style
  • Ability to plumb grease ports out where necessary
  • Potential application of automatic lube systems.


• Grease points must be safely accessible. (Preferable that they are assessable with the machine running)
• All lube points should be easily identifiable on the machine and frequency, type and amount of lubricant information easily accessible.
• A laminated lube chart with diagram of lube points, frequency, quantity, and type of lubricant shall be posted on machine.
• Lubrication points on machine shall be labeled to match lube chart.
  • Type
  • frequency
  • Quantity


• All hydraulic units and gearboxes that hold greater than 10 gallons of oil should be equipped with proper sampling points
• Max and Min levels for all fluid reservoirs shall be clearly marked on all reservoirs. This should typically be done by including a sight glass on the reservoir with min/max levels marked.
  • Both running and shutdown levels should be indicated so that filling a machine while running does not result in an overflow when the system shuts down, and oil drains back to tank.


• All systems shall have provisions for the adding of oil through a filter such as a 3 micron, Beta>100  line filter

Conclusion

In an ideal world, the majority of the suggestions covered in this article will be addressed during design and installation. If not, there is still much to be gained in reviewing existing equipment and making modifications that improve the maintainability of our assets.

This article was previously published in the Reliable Plant 2013 Conference Proceedings.

By Jerry Putt, Noria Corporation

Develop Leadership Skills by Mentoring

Article extract from ReliablePlant newsletter:
http://reliableplant.com/Read/29332/mentoring-develops-leadership

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The receiver of mentorship was traditionally referred to as a protégé or apprentice. Today, the term "mentee" is gaining acceptance and becoming widely used.

There are several definitions of mentoring. Foremost, mentoring involves communication and is relationship based. In the organizational setting, mentoring can take many forms. The formal definition that best describes mentoring is as follows:

"Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé or mentee)." (Bozeman, Feeney, 2007)

Organizations have started to see the value of mentoring for enhancing work life, performance, commitment and job satisfaction. When mentoring is implemented successfully, there are measurable improvements in employee performance, retention, employee commitment to the organization, knowledge sharing, leadership growth and succession planning.

A mentor is a person who gives another person the benefit of his or her years of experience and/or education. This experience is shared in such a way that the mentor helps to develop a mentee's skills and abilities, benefiting the mentee and the organization.

A good mentoring relationship is identified by the willingness and capability of both parties to ask questions, challenge assumptions and disagree. It’s important to note that there's no one way to mentor. Every mentoring relationship is as unique as the individuals involved.

The mentor is far less likely to have a direct-line relationship with the mentee, and in a mentoring relationship this distance is desirable. Mentoring is rarely a critical part of an individual’s job role, but rather an extra element that rewards the mentor with fresh thinking as well as the opportunity to transfer knowledge and experience to a less experienced colleague, peer or employee.

The Difference between Mentoring and Coaching

Coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring is concerned with the development of the whole person and is driven by the person’s own work/life goals. It is usually unstructured and informal. Mentors focus on the person (the mentee), that person’s career, and support for individual growth and maturity.

Coaching is much more about achieving specific objectives in a particular way. Coaching also is more formal and more structured, usually around a coaching process or methodology. Typically, coaching is job focused and performance oriented.

The Mentoring Process is a Two-way Street with Mutual Responsibilities

For mentoring to be successful, the mentor and mentee must collaborate on the process. The first meeting should be a face-to-face meeting where the following criteria are determined:

• The goals for the mentee
• The scope of responsibilities each person is assuming
• Time commitments agreed to by both parties
• Logistics of the process (how, when and where meetings and communications will take place)
• Agreement on the definition of confidential information and how that information will be addressed throughout the process
• Topics or issues that are outside of the mentoring boundaries
• The process for dealing with conflicts and/or obstacles that may arise during the mentoring process
• How and when to end the relationship

Effective Mentoring

The following guidelines describe an effective mentoring relationship

• The mentee has no direct-line reporting to the mentor. This fosters trust, and the mentee feels more comfortable in sharing uncertainties about his or her abilities, creating free-flowing, open communication.
• The mentor/mentee relationship is mutually satisfying. The mentor gets the satisfaction of watching someone grow who values his or her insights. The mentee gains a feeling of being valued, receiving beneficial direction and attention from someone who he or she respects and admires.
• The intensity of the relationship is matched. It is taking up actual and mental time in proportions with which both people are comfortable. This time commitment is flexible as the mentee's needs change. Sometimes several meetings are necessary during a very challenging period, then none for months.
• At any time, either party can stop the relationship and the mentoring process. There is no obligation for continuance.
• An effective mentor gives wise counsel, and the mentee feels comfortable speaking on issues that may be sensitive. Once this trust is developed, the mentor can give advice or assist with tough recommendations.
• The mentor is not mentoring two people at the same time who have a close working relationship. Discretion and confidentiality are paramount. The rules of engagement are stated up front with an agreement between the mentor and the mentee on who should be aware of the mentoring relationship.
• The obligation for continuing is two-sided. When the mentor feels he or she has value to add and the mentee is getting something from the relationship, the mentoring may go on indefinitely, or either side can end it without justification.
• Mentoring programs are about guidance and facilitation rather than formal training.

How Mentoring Relationships Go Wrong

There are several reasons that a mentoring relationship may fail. Since a successful mentoring relationship is built on trust and the mutual commitment for both parties to hold up their end of the agreement, it is not surprising that the circumstances for failed mentoring are directly related to the failure in the relationship between the mentor and the mentee.

The following is an excerpt from a Wall Street Journal report in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management Review dated Monday, May 24, 2010.

• Conflict in values: This type of conflict creates a lack of trust or rapport between the two parties. If neither the mentor nor the mentee is able to bend or compromise, they may find themselves unable to work together effectively.
• Neglect of the mentee: If the mentor does not show an active interest in the mentee and act in positive ways to advance his or her career, this neglect can erode the mentee’s trust and faith in the mentor. Most mentors go into the relationship sincerely intending to give the mentee what he or she needs to succeed. It may be that the mentor’s schedule interferes with his or her availability, or the mentor may be experiencing excessive challenges with his or her own career, creating the feeling of neglect and frustration on the part of the mentee.
• Mentors who manipulate the mentee: Mentee manipulation is most common when the mentor is the mentee’s direct supervisor or an upper supervisor from the same department. Manipulation comes in three forms:
  • Tyranny – This form of management by intimidation is a complaint that is often heard from mentees. For example, a mentor may threaten to demote a mentee unless he or she pulls an all-nighter to fix a problem created by the mentor.
  • Inappropriate Delegation – This includes requiring the mentee to do work that the mentor should be doing or withholding assignments that are coveted by the mentee and that would promote the mentee’s growth and development.
  • Politicking – This involves malicious acts like sabotage and taking undue credit with the intention of harming the mentee’s reputation, usually with the intention of making the mentor look good.
• Mentees who manipulate the mentor: Although mentees have fewer resources at their disposal, mentor manipulation is not unusual. For example, the mentee may be attributing failures to the mentor and success to himself or herself in order to look good to senior management. This form of manipulation allows the mentee to use the mentor to forward his or her own advancement at the expense of the mentor.
• Sabotage against mentors: When a mentee attempts to damage the career of the mentor, it is often revenge motivated. The mentee may be trying to retaliate for being passed over for promotion, for example. The mentee may blame the mentor for failure to achieve his or her goals. At times, the sabotage may be unintentional, e.g., the mentor may have stepped up to recommend the mentee for a higher or more responsible position. If the mentee fails, this may reflect poorly on the mentor.
• Submissive mentees: This is usually a case where the mentee relies too heavily on the mentor, and the mentee’s abilities for independent thinking and growth are stifled. This situation also may cause the mentor to inadvertently take control in an effort to ensure the success of the mentee. In either case, the mentee’s ability to grow and prosper can be hindered.

So, how do you avoid the pitfalls of bad mentoring relationships?

1. Provide support and training for mentors and mentees: Whether the company has a formal or informal mentoring program, mentors should go through a training program prior to taking on mentoring responsibilities. Support must be provided where the mentor or mentee can seek advice or assistance if either party feels that the relationship is not progressing in a positive way.
2. Recruit right-fit mentors: People who volunteer to be a mentor are more likely to put in the time and effort and have the right skills for mentoring. Mandating that a person take on a mentoring role is a sure way to create failure.
3. Match the mentor with the mentee: Make sure that the mentor and the mentee have things in common and have shared values, creating mentoring relationships that are more likely to succeed.
4. Provide feedback: Mentors can share appraisals and progress with the mentee’s supervisor, who has a vested interest in the mentee’s progress and development. Someone from human resources also should be in the loop in the event that problems arise.
5. Prepare for the end: To avoid hurt feelings, everyone should be prepared to understand that mentoring eventually ends. When the mentor has shared all he or she can share and/or the mentee has learned all he or she can from this mentor, it is time to end the mentorship. Preparing in advance will help to avoid hurt feelings when the time comes.

If you are considering seeking out a mentor, here are seven tips for maximizing your mentoring experience:

• Know your goals.
• Choose the best mentor to meet your goals.
• Begin your mentoring relationship by discussing mutual goals and expectations.
• Practice the highest standards of professionalism.
• Learn to accept and give feedback.
• Practice good communication.
• Recognize that your success is your responsibility.

If you are considering becoming a mentor, below are some of the benefits of mentoring:

• Learning new things about yourself: The self-reflection that can result from a mentoring relationship can be a powerful growth experience, giving you new and revealing insights about yourself, your skills and your experience.
• Satisfaction of passing on knowledge
• Contributing to the success of your organization by developing others
• Acquiring new knowledge: Often, the mentor also learns new skills and ideas from his or her mentee.
• Expanding your networking contacts
• Building confidence
• Assists you in staying current with issues and developments in the next generation of professionals and within your company

In today’s business environment, everyone has more work to perform, more responsibilities and more stress. Given this, you may ask yourself, "Why would I want to create additional time commitments on my schedule to become a mentor?" The simple answer is that mentors, through the process of mentoring, learn to be stronger leaders by developing exceptional interpersonal skills. Through the mentoring relationship, mentors often discover new resources in the form of innovative and creative ideas that are presented during the mentoring learning process and improved human resources through the development of promising new talent.

About the Author

Debbie Zmorenski

Deborah K. Zmorenski, MBA, is the co-owner and senior partner of Leader’s Strategic Advantage Inc., an Orlando, Fla.-based consulting firm. During her 34-year career with the Walt Disney ... Read More

3 Important Benefits of CMMS

Article extract from ReliablePlant newsletter:
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29878/3-cmms-benefits

Companies need many things in order to run properly, including cash flow, a well-oiled marketing and sales staff, and a good production team. One element that businesses, especially manufacturing companies, often overlook is management and maintenance software. That's where computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and enterprise asset management (EAM) software comes in. These programs can help your organization run smoothly and save money. Following are some of the most important benefits of CMMS.

Increased Productivity

Good CMMS software not only will enable you to schedule preventive maintenance but also let you see instructions for a specific job, what is needed for the job and whether you have the parts on hand to complete the job. A CMMS should also be able to show other pertinent information including service histories, warranties, etc. In addition, some software packages offer extra features, such as the ability to configure and manage reports and key performance indicators for presentations. Most CMMS software on the market includes mobile data capability. This allows you to connect to the cloud for easy sharing and access from wherever you are for enhanced flexibility.

Longer Equipment Life

No matter what kind of equipment or assets you have, they will require some sort of maintenance. Performing routine and preventive maintenance will help your equipment last longer and save you money in the long run. Regularly scheduled maintenance not only will result in longer equipment life but also fewer equipment purchases and replacements. CMMS software can lead to a decrease in unplanned repair costs by enabling you to see the repairs made to a component during its lifetime so you can decide if it should be replaced.

Less Downtime

When a machine breaks down, downtime usually occurs while the machine is waiting to be fixed. This downtime can be even longer if all the parts required to fix the machine are not on hand. With CMMS software, you are alerted when parts need to be ordered before a machine breaks down so downtime is reduced. Being able to schedule and plan day-to-day maintenance also makes it easier on the maintenance team.

With the possibility of achieving less downtime, longer equipment life and increased productivity, CMMS can be a great investment for organizations looking to become more cost-effective and efficient. With all of these benefits, why wouldn't you want CMMS to help run your company? 

About the Author

Brett Chesney writes about the tech industry, CMMS and startups. He also occasionally writes for AssetPoint, which provides CMMS and its innovative TabWare software. In his free time, Brett talks about Crossfit and researches new technologies entirely too much. 

Getting Better Returns from EAM Software

Article extract from ReliablePlant newsletter:
http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/29299/eam-software-returns

Nobody implements enterprise asset management (EAM) software without an idea of what return they expect on the investment, but too often either due to the selection of inadequate software, subpar implementation or poorly articulated goals, EAM software projects do not deliver a measurable return.

This article will examine a few of the specific ways that EAM software can deliver that sought-after return on investment (ROI) so you can plan your selection and implementation around these deliverables. These five tips should help you take advantage of the cost savings and revenue-enhancement features EAM has to offer while avoiding the pitfalls associated with an overly complex or problematic implementation.

Reduced Maintenance Inventory

As is the case with other types of enterprise software, including enterprise resource planning, inventory reduction is a key area where EAM can deliver a return. Maintenance inventory is just like any other type of inventory. A balance must be struck between excess inventory that ties up capital and outages and downtime that result when a part, consumable or subassembly is required but not available.

Maintenance inventory can be a real challenge to master because in most industrial environments some parts require a long lead-time and cannot be obtained on short notice. That heat exchanger, compressor or motor may be very specific to your individual piece of equipment. So during software selection and implementation, very close attention should be paid to purchasing functionality. Is the purchasing functionality robust enough for advanced and proactive inventory planning and management?

For organizations with multiple locations, special attention should be paid to the extent that inventory can be optimized through standardized part identification and intersite planning. Oftentimes, different locations have different part-naming nomenclatures. Consider the challenge presented a plant manager by a high-value part like a motor that must be stocked at a level of about 0.2. He needs to stock at least one, but if numerous locations around a region require the same part, that one motor could be shared across locations, saving money and preventing unnecessary downtime.

So it should be no secret that inventory reduction is one way the right EAM software can deliver a measurable ROI to your organization.

Manage Cash with Contract Management

Potentially reducing cash tied up in parts is one way the EAM can deliver an ROI, but real-time cash management in general ought to be a top priority. Even when an asset is delivering a positive return in the intermediate term, business still operates on a month-by-month, quarter-by-quarter basis. Real-time information on what it costs to operate a plant or a portfolio of plant assets allows an executive to manage the present rather than adjust for the past.

A significant portion of the variable cost of maintenance operations consists of the cost of contracts for supporting services and materials. EAM ought to take this into consideration and offer integrated contract management. Cash outlays necessary under each contract will be planned as the contract is finalized so cash-flow decisions can be made accordingly.

Some EAM packages allow you to open portals to suppliers like engineering firms and maintenance contractors. As you plan maintenance work for the weeks ahead, if your contractors have visibility of your plans through your EAM system, they can be informed of the upcoming work, schedule their people and ensure that they have the right tools and materials available. This also reduces the amount of time necessary to manage those outside contractors by phone and email.

The lifecycle of a contract with a supplier should be encompassed entirely within the EAM application, starting with the call for bids on the project, acceptance of the bid and then the projected cash outlays and associated work performed by the contractor. This has benefits far beyond cash and contract management.

This also means you save the time involved in entering the record of that work back into the EAM, enterprises resources planning (ERP) or computerized maintenance management (CMMS) software. Moreover, that real-time data could allow for more efficient use of the asset, as in the resumption of a production schedule immediately after a contractor finishes work.

It can also give management notification of when various milestones in a contracted project are completed – milestones that may constitute liquidity events when the contractor is paid. The ability to track these liquidity events is crucial from a cash-management standpoint and contributes to ROI.

Asset Integrity Management and Permitting

EAM can drive cost and risk reduction by acting as a centralized location for all asset data over the entire asset lifecycle. Most managers instinctively know that an as-designed drawing of an asset is different from the as-built drawing. Similarly, the as-maintained drawing will be different from the as-built version. Changes are made during maintenance, refits, lifecycle extensions and repairs just as they are made during construction, and those changes need to be reflected in the asset management system.

An EAM software application should ideally be used to support asset design and construction, enabling the asset data to flow directly into the systems that will be used to sustain, maintain and operate the asset. This approach, known as “Design, Operate, Maintain,” really involves a single asset management system that supports the asset over its entire lifecycle.

The contract-management tools referred to in the section above have a role in true cradle-to-grave support because they ensure that the same enterprise system and data set is used regardless of who is making alterations to the asset.

EAM software must also include integrated permit and incident tracking. For a typical maintenance technician, this level of integration expedites the work that needs to be done and pulls information directly from the EAM system that is necessary to complete a formal work permit. Many EAM applications might not have such a tightly integrated permitting process, forcing technicians to take the time to use a separate system and creating a silo of data that is not reflected in your enterprise application. 

Furthermore, someone may forget to get that permit and go into an enclosed area where there may have been a gas leak that was already reported. Eliminating death and disfigurement is certainly one more way EAM software can deliver ROI.

Leverage Integrated Document Management

In order to truly manage the asset lifecycle and maximize value realized from that tremendous capital investment, it is critical to have all of your asset data in a single repository. EAM software needs to have integrated document management so as assets are set up in the system, all of the relevant CAD drawings, contracts, maintenance schedules, testing reports and other documents are stored in a central repository. These individual documents must also be linked to the asset object in the EAM system.

Embedded document management with hooks into 3-D CAD drawings allows EAM to be the true central repository for asset data. Courtesy IFS North America

In a perfect EAM world, as process manufacturing equipment, oil and gas drilling equipment or other assets are commissioned, managers would be able to take the CAD serialized assets from the builder and pull them directly into their own EAM and document management system. Some EAM packages may be able to import the asset data but lack the hooks into CAD and 3-D CAD systems necessary to fully build those assets out into the system. 

This allows the EAM application to be the repository for all asset information over the asset lifecycle. Without that CAD integration, there is still a separate silo for a lot of key asset data that will hamper visibility and decision-making. This really is not in the true spirit of asset lifecycle management, which would keep all asset information together in an organized asset structure.

So apart from ensuring adequate asset integrity management and compliance measures are in place, integrated document management delivers an ROI by reducing the time it takes to find, manage and update documents relating to the asset.

Ease of Implementation and Usability Affect ROI

Fighting human nature is never a smart business strategy, and technicians and other front-line employees will not use a system that is confusing or presents functional barriers to their individual jobs. Therefore, ease of use is critical for an EAM software package. In addition, there is no way anyone can use a system until it has been implemented, so EAM software products that have a history of lengthy or failed implementations are to be avoided.

In many manufacturing environments, EAM software is a secondary or tertiary priority. There is an interest in increasing uptime and efficiency, but in industries like the chemical industry, nuclear power or oil and gas, it is a top priority because you cannot operate assets in a mission-critical environment without absolute control over asset integrity. In these industries, tracking maintenance work is not just about cost or even maximizing asset profitability. You need to be able to mitigate risks by preventing asset failures that could cost lives or cause environmental impacts. Maintenance is critical, and ensuring that the system used to manage and record maintenance work is just as critical.

If EAM software is too convoluted and byzantine, maintenance technicians will not use it, which will present challenges as you will not have visibility into the state of the asset and may not complete essential scheduled maintenance projects. Even a manufacturer in a standard manufacturing environment will realize that an opportunity for ROI is lost if the software that has been licensed and implemented is not broadly used.

EAM deployed across mobile apps can increase real-time visibility of asset integrity and technician productivity. It can also make for more efficient maintenance routes. Courtesy IFS North America

One way to increase ROI through usability is to deploy EAM functionality across mobile devices like tablets or through native apps for smartphones. This will allow technicians to update the system in real time, increasing visibility and reducing time spent at a terminal at the end of a shift.

Opportunity for ROI is also increased, and that return can be realized sooner through an EAM application that allows a phased approach to implementation. There are mission-critical elements like work orders, document management to track the specifications of the asset as it is maintained and inventory that can be implemented immediately, allowing safe asset operation. Once that functionality is familiar and absorbed by the operation, additional functionality including permitting, health and safety and even full-blown reliability centered maintenance (RCM) functionality can be implemented. 

So it becomes clear that implementation and usability are both potential barriers to realizing ROI on an EAM software investment.

Conclusion

EAM can provide real and measurable cost savings and competitive advantages for companies that select the right set of applications and plan their implementations intelligently. In general, an implementation of EAM software that addresses more of the business functions that support the asset (contract management, inventory, document management and even human resources and finance) will offer a greater return than can be achieved by simply addressing maintenance needs. Care must also be taken to plan the implementation in such a way that it minimizes business disruption and leaves end users with a system they can use comfortably and capably.
About the Author
Patrick Zirnhelt is the director of sales for asset-intensive industries for IFS North America. He has more than 17 years of experience working with enterprise systems, which includes software development, implementation and sales. He is a professional engineer who holds a master’s degree in business administration, specializing in management information systems, from the York University Schulich School of Business in Toronto and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. For information about IFS’ EAM offering, visit www.ifsworld.com/en-na/solutions/enterprise-asset-management-software/.

About the Author

Patrick Zirnhelt

Patrick Zirnhelt is the director of sales for asset-intensive industries for IFS North America. He has more than16 years of experience working with enterprise systems, which includes software ... Read More