Is your organization implementing solutions that seem to be looking for problems? It’s a fair question. There’s plenty of talk in asset-management circles these days about Digital Transformation, Digital Manufacturing, the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, and countless associated technologies. But to what end?
To be clear, I like technologies and exciting new gadgets as much as the next guy. Sometimes, however, when we’re mesmerized by a snazzy technology, we forget to align the application to a business process that: 1) solves a problem; 2) increases the efficiency and/or effectiveness of a business process; and/or c) enables the expansion of a business process to create value that was previously impossible or not cost-justifiable.
In other words, the technology is a tool. The business process is how we create value for the organization and its stakeholders. If we fail to keep innovative technologies in proper perspective, we run the risk of deploying a solution that’s essentially looking for a problem: We’re chasing shiny objects.
Consider this practical scenario: installation of condition-monitoring sensors on a machine to warn of an impending failure or to alert us to a proactive opportunity to control operating conditions that extend the life of the equipment. The cost to sensor-up machines has come down considerably due to technologies such as digital data transfer. This technology tool can add real value. But, if we divorce its implementation from the larger business process to which it connects, i.e., the work-management process, installation and management of the technology adds cost as it adds value.
Let’s take a deeper dive into that concept. The work-management process starts with a notification. The notification is typically reviewed by a gatekeeper and, if approved, is planned, scheduled, executed, checked for work quality, and, finally, closed out. In this business process, the condition-monitoring technology is serving the notification function, or at least supporting it, in hopes that the sensor will provide an earlier and more-timely indication of an impending failure or a proactive opportunity to intervene.
But what happens if the rest of your work-management business process doesn’t work? What if a condition-directed job isn’t properly approved, planned, scheduled, and executed? Implementing a technology, without considering the entire business process that it serves, creates what MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson has referred to as the “Productivity Paradox.” In the worst instances, the technology adds cost and adversely affects profits and value proposition.
As another MIT professor, Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Solow, observed in 1987, “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.” Keep that in mind: Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that certain technologies are the key to solving your problems. When a technology is divorced from the business process, it usually just adds cost, complexity, and frustration.
On the flip side, when technology is applied in support of a well-conceived business process, magic can happen. Just don’t allow yourself or your organization to chase shiny objects or implement solutions that are searching for problems.TRR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Drew Troyer has more than 30 years of experience in the RAM arena. Currently a Principal with T.A. Cook Consultants, he was a Co-founder and former CEO of Noria Corporation. A trusted advisor to a global blue chip client base, this industry veteran has authored or co-authored more than 250 books, chapters, course books, articles, and technical papers and is popular keynote and technical speaker at conferences around the world. Drew is a Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE), Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP), holds B.S. and M.B.A. degrees, and is Master’s degree candidate in Environmental Sustainability at Harvard University. Contact him directly at 512-800-6031 or dtroyer@theramreview.com.
Tags: reliability, availability, maintenance, RAM, Internet of Things, IoT, Industry 4.0, Digital Transformation, Digital Manufacturing
