Sometimes known as “mature recollections”.

A Canadian firm called Western Management Consultants have put together the Ten Pitfalls to Avoid When
Selecting a CMMS/EAM

In Mistake no. 2 they comment…………”

Look for a vendor partner whose resources best fit your specific needs, now and over the long run. Some of the supporting services that vendors offer are as follows:
• assessment of organizational readiness and gap analysis to understand what changes will be necessary for a successful implementation, (That is the ESS Ltd. Maintenance Evaluation) • process design expertise to map your software configuration to optimized business processes, (That is part of the ESS Ltd. CMI service.) • guidance about industry best practices, (Done as part of the evaluation initially and then as part of CMI) •assistance in setting up key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure users are focused on the right things, and (Done as part of implementation of CMI) • facilitation of data analysis and decision-making to ensure expected savings and benefits are achieved. (This is the whole key to CMI)

Your relationship with the CMMS/EAM vendor should not end once the system has been implemented.

The vendor can be extremely helpful in establishing a framework for continuous improvement by assisting with performance assessment and benchmarking, as well as fine-tuning asset management processes and the underlying CMMS/ EAM system. I.e. the ESS Ltd. CMI Service.

Or Mistake No. 9…………
When purchasing a CMMS/EAM system, do not make the mistake of assuming the most economical approach is to buy the software outright and run it on your own premises. One of the latest alternatives that might be more cost-effective and/or preferable from a cash-flow perspective is called “SaaS” or “Software as a Service.” Although there are many variations on the theme, (The ESS Ltd. CMI service is a variation on the theme) SaaS provides you with the flexibility to pay a monthly subscription rate, per named user, that covers hosting, training, consulting and other start-up costs.

Last one: Mistake No. 10
When would you consider the CMMS/EAM system successfully implemented? Most companies would argue that the system is implemented after a successful go-live, when it is up and running with minimal interruptions, and the system has stabilized. However, this is flawed in that the basis for selecting and implementing a CMMS/EAM system was presumably to realize benefits, not simply install a system.

That is the reason for the existence of the award winning ESS Ltd. CMI service – to realise benefits.

It’s an old saying and it’s a good one. state, “What gets measured gets done, but you need the right measures to get the right things done.” Steven J Thomas says that that this raises an important question: What are the right measures?

He says that what should be measured is different for every company. Select and use measures to influence behavior. For example, measuring profitability will positively influence behavior he says. Really? I know of a firm that measured and displayed profitability and it lead to completely negative behaviour.

This was because the employees deemed the shareholders greedy and demanded a greater share of the profits.  So, I’d agree with Thomas on his next statement – It is important to identify what you want to change in the work process, then carefully put measures into place that will affect the selected behavior in the right direction. The key word in this last statement is carefully. You can easily introduce problems if you use the wrong measures!!

Machiavelli was dead on correct wasn’t he? – “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies, all of those who have done well under the old conditions, and luke-warm defenders in those who will do well under the new.”

He clearly understood the difficulties associated with change when he made this statement in “The Prince” almost 500 years ago. I’d say there is general agreement that change is probably the most difficult thing for us to accomplish as part of our jobs.  

Steven J Thomas outlines that there are Three Characteristics of a Successful Change Initiative saying if any one of these elements are missing from the equation, problems will occur. These are:

 1. Dissatisfaction with the current state of things
 2.  A vision of the future
•   3.  A set of next steps showing how to get where you want to go

Dissatisfaction with the Current State

Easy to get people to recognize their dissatisfaction and want to make the necessary change for the better when the wolf is at the door!  

Not so easy for companies that are  marginally profitable or even successful .  Example:

We worked with a plant that was not operating at full capacity.  When there was a breakdown, they just changed over to another line. Also the maintenance people were focussed on making rapid repairs to restore the equipment to service.  We all knew that a process needed to be put into place that addressed equipment failure before it happens – a preventive and predictive maintenance effort as part of an overall maintenance strategy. However this is a major change and will make those who are the great “rapid repairers” very uncomfortable. The praise that they got from Production for quick repair and return to service will no longer exist because in the new order of things, you can’t let that equipment fail!

 Thomas says that the problem is how to create dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs so that people will want to move to the new state of equipment reliability.  He says there are eight key elements to successfully making this transition. They are:

• Leadership – management at all levels leading the change.
• Work Process – a work process in place that supports the new way of working.
• Structure – an organizational structure that supports the new process.
• Group Learning – processes in place that allow the organization to make changes, evaluate the results, learn from what they accomplished.
• Technology – computer support tools to make the process easier.
• Communication – continuously explaining why the change is needed and where the organization stands in the effort.
• Interrelationships – high quality collaborative efforts between people and work groups.
• Rewards – positive reinforcement for making the change.

These elements are key, but there is one overriding component that needs to be addressed in more detail. This is the vision of what the change will look like.

This is the clear picture of the future that will inspire those who have done well under the old conditions and energize those who are luke-warm to the new.

Anybody want to come back with how they drew this “clear picture” in their change management?

Portions of this blog were extracted from “Successfully Managing Change in Organizations: A Users Guide” by Stephen J Thomas.