To recap, in a recent article, “Workforce Appreciation and Achieving Plant Goals” (Nov. 23, 2019), I discussed how, in early 2000, the Canadian consulting company Systems Approach Strategies (SAS) developed a training course that brought W. Edwards Deming’s “14 Points” into sharper focus.
Concluding that companies could be energized with empathy, SAS introduced the acronym “CARE” to convey the idea that organizations excel when management gives consistent evidence of:
-
- Clear direction and support
- Adequate and appropriate training
- Recognition and reward
- Empathy
As noted in my previous article, despite being the foundation of the CARE program, “empathy” is the most neglected of those four points. To emphasize, without the ability to put one’s self in the shoes of the individuals one manages, a manager will never know, understand, or bring those human assets to their full potential as employees and people. But empathy only goes so far.
PROVIDING CLARITY
Successful managers provide clear direction and support for the individuals they manage. The “clearest” way to do this is through written role statements.
How well an employee is able to fulfill his or her role (based on his or her written role statement) must then be discussed during periodic performance appraisals. The outcomes of such appraisals, of course, are contributing factors in salary- and promotion-related decisions.
FORMALIZING/DEVELOPING ROLE STATEMENTS
A role statement can be developed by the employer i.e., appropriate manager(s), or the employee. A typical statement includes 10 or more points. Both parties must agree to these points and the way they are worded. While a role statement may be negotiated when it’s first developed, once it is agreed to by both parties, it becomes a binding contract.
The 10 items in the following list reflect what could be considered a typical statement for an equipment-reliability engineer. Modeled on the type of written “clear direction” that’s taught in the CARE program, it can be expanded or modified for other roles and specific needs. Note that the “support” element in the first of the four CARE points is reemphasized in items 9 and 10.
ROLE STATEMENT FOR J. DOE
EQUIPMENT-RELIABILITY ENGINEER
1. Assistance role:
-
- Establish equipment failure records and provide stewardship of accurate data logging by others. Compare our operation with BOC performers.
- Review preventive-maintenance procedures compiled by maintenance personnel.
- Review maintenance intervals. Understand when, where and why our operation deviates from Best Practices.
2. Evaluate new materials and recommend changes, as warranted by life-cycle-cost (LCC) studies.
3. Investigate special or recurring equipment problems. Example:
-
- Take ownership of failures occurring a third time in any 12-month period.
- Coach others in root-cause-failure analysis.
- Define upgrade and failure-avoidance options.
4. Serve as contact person for OEMs:
-
- Understand how existing equipment differs from newer models.
- Be able and prepared to explain if upgrading existing equipment to state-of-art status is feasible and/or cost-justified.
5. Serve as contact person for other plant groups.
-
- Communicate with counterparts in Operations and Maintenance.
- Participate in (management’s) Service Factor Committee meetings.
6. Develop and keep priority lists current:
-
- Understand basic economics of downtime. Request extension of outage duration where end results would yield rapid payback.
- Activate resources in case of unexpected outage opportunities.
7. Identify critical spare parts:
-
- Arrange for incoming inspection of critical spares prior to their storage.
- Arrange for inspection of large parts at vendor/manufacturer’s facilities prior to authorizing shipment to plant site.
- Define conditions allowing procurement from non-OEMs.
8. Review maintenance costs and service factors:
-
- Compare against Best-in-Class performance.
- Recommend organizational adjustments.
- Compare cost of replacing vs. repairing; recommend best value.
9. Periodically communicate important findings to local and affiliate management:
-
- Fulfill a networking and information-sharing function.
- Arrange for key contributors to make brief oral presentations to mid-level managers (share the credit, give visibility to others).
10. Develop training plans for self and other Reliability Team contributors.
WORDS TO THE WISE
I have always appreciated role statements. Unlike any other mere “job description,” a role statement allowed me to use imagination, resourcefulness, and innovation to the fullest.
Professionals, regardless of their fields or interests, grow into valued contributors when they think of themselves (and, conversely, their managers think of them) in terms of performing within the wide range of a “role” rather than in the narrow filling of a “job.”TRR
CLICK HERE to read the article “Workforce Appreciation and Achieving Plant Goals” (Nov. 23, 2019)
CLICK HERE to learn more about Systems Approach Strategies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heinz Bloch’s long professional career included assignments as Exxon Chemical’s Regional Machinery Specialist for the United States. A recognized subject-matter-expert on plant equipment and failure avoidance, he is the author of numerous books and articles, and continues to present at technical conferences around the world. Bloch holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and is an ASME Life Fellow. These days, he’s based near Houston, TX. Email him directly at [email protected].
Tags: reliability, maintenance, workforce management
