What Does “Professional” Look Like Today? [Highlights the generational difference in the use of social media in a business context. Uses the Komen Foundation de-funding of Planned Parenthood to illustrate the impact of the different management styles.]

Projects Are the New Job Interviews [The job interview is dead. Long live the job interview.]

Culture Takes Over When the CEO [Boss] Leaves the Room [This article sounds exactly like PBL, but it's not clear what relationship, if any, there is between the author and Competitive Solutions, Inc.]

From MindTools:

Preventing Manager Dependency: Teaching Your Team to Be More Independent

Building Confidence in Other People: Creating Self-Assured Teams

When Soviet nail factories had their output measured by weight, they tended to make big, heavy nails, even if many of these big nails sat unsold on the shelves while the country was crying out for small nails.

—Thomas Sowell

Almost any grease monkey can get a piece of equipment to run. But a skilled technician can get it to run perfectly. If a machine runs, what does it matter to make it run better? There are many reasons:

• Comfort: When a machine is not shaking and screaming, it’s less costly (in terms of comfort) to the humans to operate them or work around them.
• Energy Efficiency: When a machine is not running against excessive friction or shaking itself to pieces, it uses fewer resources to accomplish the same work. Does this sound like an environmentalist warm fuzzy? If you are so inclined, you can always use the principle to increase power rather than reduce energy consumed.
• Safety: The probability of functional failure within a given time period is reduced. Even if you like working on your machine, it’s nice to do so on your own schedule, not when you’re taking your bike down a steep hill at 50 mph.

Personally, I’ve never been much impressed by loud machines. There is a certain brand of motorcycle that tends to appeal to guys who like their bikes loud. Like Shawn’s chef who can savor and appreciate perfect vanilla ice cream, I prefer a competing brand that is famously quiet.

Shawn is not just talking about food. Nor is he simply writing about fries. He doesn’t use the word, but he is running with the idea of virtuosity: doing the common uncommonly well. It is the difference between a journeyman and a master. They journeyman can git-r-done and the thing will work. The master does the simple things perfectly. Some people can do a cartwheel. A gymnast can do a perfect cartwheel… on a balance beam.

Being a universal concept, virtuosity can be applied to any field of endeavor. How does virtuosity manifest itself in maintenance and reliability?

• Balance: A large fan wheel with all but fractional ounce-inches of imbalance can take hours to achieve, and without a skilled balancer might never happen.
• Alignment: Take a motor. Line it up to a pump. Easy? Line it up so that the centerlines of the shafts are concentric to the thousandth of an inch. Not so easy.
• Tightness: Take an inclined plane and wrap it around an axis. What do you have? A bolt. Push a weight up that plane and you have a bolt under tension. Now shake that bolt. The weight falls. The tension is lost. The machine becomes loose. Most people can turn a wrench, but can they apply the right science to a bolt that will ensure it will stay tight for years under heat and vibration loads? Can they weld a joint that will not crack? Can they install a bearing with just the right clearance?
• Lubrication: Since most machines involve surfaces in close proximity and relative motion, they require lubrication to avoid wear. Too little lubrication and the machine wears out. Too much lubrication and liquid friction reduces efficiency and causes excessive heat. The wrong lubrication causes the same problems and more. Anyone can put a grease gun or oil can in a machine, but an equipment “chef” knows how much of what to apply when and where.
• Other Factors: High quality power. A structure free of resonance in the entire operating range. Contamination avoidance measures. Heat removal systems. Engineered noise control. The list goes on.

What could cooking possibly have to do with maintenance or reliability? Miyamoto Musashi said, “The Way of the warrior does not include other Ways, such as…artistic accomplishments and dancing. But even though these are not part of the Way, if you know the Way broadly you will see it in everything. Men must polish their particular Way.”

Foundations Operations & Maintenance was a 1-day workshop for operators, maintenance, and safety personnel who work around conveyors.

The workshop began with conveyor safety, guarding principles, and a history of conveyor injuries in mining, manufacturing, and power generation.

The next topic was cleanliness: keeping belts clean and avoiding fugitive material, principles of containment, and types of air movement that contribute to dust.

Finally, a list of potential causes was provided for both belt damage and tracking issues.

The presenter was very skilled: one of the best I have seen in these kinds of workshops. PowerPoint was used, but PowerPoint overload was avoided. Overall the course would not have enough content to satisfy an experienced engineer, but entry-level engineers, operators, and maintenance should all get a lot out of it.

Agenda

• The Importance of Bulk Material Handling
• Conveyor Safety
• Belting: Characteristics and Life Preservation
• Belt Tracking [Including a list of causes of failure to track and belt damage]
• Belt Cleaning
• Transfer Points & Loading Zones
• Basic Dust Management
• Return on Investment (ROI) in Conveyor Improvements

Key Concepts

• Conveyors have hidden dangers that have resulted in fatalities. Long belt conveyors have stored spring energy that can pull employees into nip points when tension is released. For example, a 600-foot conveyor with 4% stretch has 24 feet of contraction if not blocked from doing so.
• Don’t make cleaning the mess safer, keep from creating the mess in the first place.
• All rolling components steer the belt. To effectively do so, they must be clean, rolling, and touching.
• Fugitive material takes three forms: spillage, dust, and carryback. The two kinds of dust are nuisance and respirable.
• A clean belt requires multiple cleaners, a good belt and splice, proper selection and installation, and proper maintenance. Vulcanized splices are strongly preferred to mechanical.

More Information

• MSHA Fatalgrams E-mail Subscription Service
• NIBA – The Belting Assocation

Meant to accompany the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, the Handbook is a collection of articles and short essays. As a supplemental text, the Handbook does not simply repeat the contents of the PMBOK Guide, but attempts to expand, clarify, and apply the content.

A Project is an entrepreneurial enterprise that has a beginning and an end. Project management differs from operations management because operations are ongoing. Unless an operation is in real trouble, it never “ends.” Therefore, projects and operations require slightly different management strategies.

The chapters varied in quality and usefulness. Chapter 28 on power and politics in project management was excellent, presenting a model and theory or politics that avoided both pie-in-the-sky idealism and Machiavellian scheming.

Chapter 26 on balancing the resource requirements of multiple projects was less than useful, mostly re-stating the importance of not stretching people too thin.

The AMA Handbook is a decent supplemental text to a student or practitioner of project management, but does not make a good introductory text to the tools and techniques. The essays emphasize the importance of certain dimensions of project management, but do not offer comprehensive solutions to the barriers and roadblocks faced by a project or program manager.

Key Concepts

The AMA Handbook did contain quite a bit of information on a variety of topics. A few points that stuck out [to me]:

• Projects are unique and deliver a single unit of output. No two projects are exactly the same, although there are certain universal principles that can be applied to a variety of projects.
• Managing a project in practice involves the management and control of many fields of endeavor including scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, and procurement. A Project Management Professional (PMP) requires knowledge of all of these elements to execute a complex project successfully.
• Alternatives to PMI’s PMBOK include the UK Association of Project Management Body of Knowledge (APMBOK) which tends to be more inclusive of concepts that apply to some projects some of the time. PMI’s PMBOK focuses more on universal ideas.
• Project Management used to be an “accidental” job duty, but it is becoming more professionalized. Because the outcome of projects can be so critical to the success of a company, professional management is becoming increasingly desired. However, the PMBOK does not yet possess all of the characteristics of a profession: exclusive control of a systematic BOK, autonomous practice, requirement of acting in the best interest of the client, professional character of the client relationship, distinctive occupational culture, and legal recognition.
• There are three basic models of the development and transfer of technical knowledge. In the European model, there are structured and formal national systems. In the North American model, there is little formality and most advanced knowledge is generated at universities. In the Japanese model, a few dominant integrated companies control this knowledge and its generation is for the purpose of competitive advantage.
• Social media tools, in the form of synchronous, asynchronous, and supporting technologies are revolutionizing project management and communication. Instant messaging, chat, Twitter, and collaboration portals all make communication, tracking, collaboration, and management of projects far easier than it ever was.

Useful Features

With the exception of section five on industry applications, the Handbook tended to stay fairly broad. However, there were a few parts that are useful summaries of the content:

• Diagram of the APMBOK model (p. 19)
• Diagram of project management process group interactions (p. 29)
• Characteristics of functional organizational structure (p. 41) and fully projectized structure (p. 42)
• Table of four groups of project stakeholders (p. 185) and stakeholder success grid (p. 189)
• Internationally sensitive factors in the basic PMBOK concepts (p. 419)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: What is Project Management?

Section 1: The Project Management Body of Knowledge: Comprehension and Practice

Chapter 2: Bodies of Knowledge and Competency Standards in Project Management

Chapter 3: Project Management Process Groups: Project Management Knowledge in Action

Chapter 4: Initiation Strategies for Managing Major Projects

Chapter 5: Comprehensive Planning for Complex Projects

Chapter 6: Controlling Costs and Schedule: Systems That Really Work

Chapter 7: Project Management Integration in Practice

Chapter 8: Project Scope Management in Practice

Chapter 9: Time Management in Practice

Chapter 10: Project Cost Management in Practice

Chapter 10A: Studies in Cost Management: Earned Value—An Integrated Project Management Approach

Chapter 11: Project Quality Management in Practice

Chapter 11A: Studies in Project Quality Management: Achieving Business Excellence Using Baldridge, Business Process Management, Process Improvement and Project Management

Chapter 12: Human Resource Management in Practice

Chapter 12A: Studies in Project Human Resource Management: Team Building and Interpersonal Skills

Chapter 12B: Studies in Project Human Resource Management: Leadership

Chapter 13: Project Communications Management in Practice

Chapter 13A: Studies in Communications Management: Achieving Project Success Through Stakeholder Management

Chapter 14: Risk Management in Practice

Chapter 15: Project Procurement Management in Practice

Chapter 15A: Studies in Procurement Management: Managing to Avoid Claims

Section 2: The Profession of Project Management

Introduction

Chapter 16: Preparing for the Project Management Professional Certification Exam

Chapter 17: Competency and Careers in Project Management

Chapter 18: Project Management Ethics: Responsibility, Values, and Ethics in Project Environments

Chapter 19: Professionalization of Project Management: What Does it Mean for Practice?

Section 3: Organizational Issues in Project Management

Introduction

Chapter 20: Projects: The Engine of Strategy Execution

Chapter 21: Project Management: A Strategic Asset?

Chapter 22: Enterprise Project Management: Elements and Deployment Issues

Chapter 23: Project Portfolio Management: Principles and Best Practices

Chapter 24: Measuring the Value of Project Management: A Measurement System

Chapter 25: A Process of Organizational Change: From Bureaucracy to Project Management Orientation

Chapter 26: Managing Multiple Projects: Balancing Time, Resources, and Objectives

Chapter 27: The Project Office: Rationale and Implementation

Section 4: Issues and Ideas in Project Management Practice

Introduction

Chapter 28: Dealing with Power and Politics in Project Management

Chapter 29: Multiproject Constraint Management: The “Critical Chain” Approach

Chapter 30: Communities of Practice and Project Management

Chapter 31: Six Sigma and Project Management

Chapter 32: Cultural Challenges in Managing International Projects

Chapter 33: Social Media Tools: An Introduction to Their Role in Project Management

Section 5: Industry Applications of Project Management Practice

Introduction

Chapter 34: Building Organizational Project Management Capability: Learning from Engineering and Construction

Chapter 35: New Product Development: Issues for Project Management

Chapter 36: Why IT Matters: Project Management for Information Technology

Chapter 37: Applying Project Management Tools and Techniques in the Ecosystem Restoration Industry

Chapter 38: Rescue Mission: Project Management in the Helping Professions

About the Contributors

Index

Causemap: Deadly Sawmill Explosion

From MindTools:

Bridges’ Transition Model: Guiding People Through Change

Beckhard and Harris’ Change Equation: Overcoming Resistance to Change

Business Story-Telling: Using Stories to Inspire

From VitalSmarts:

Q&A: Staying Motivated When the End is Near

From Machinery Lubrication:

Condition Monitoring of Tactical Vehicle Engines

Self-Mastery: Learning Personal Leadership

Job Analysis: Zeroing In on What Your Job’s About

From Reliable Plant:

VIDEO: An explanation of the Theory of Constraints

Using Dynamic Electric Motor Monitoring to Identify Mechanical Issues

5 Keys to Maintain Equipment Reliability

How to Develop an Effective Oil Analysis Strategy

From Ryan Holiday:

You Won. Now What?

This 1988 book is on the SMRP-recommended reading list. A good conceptual understanding of TPM is given along with a decent understanding of program rollout.

Interestingly, one of the incentives for successful implementation mentioned several times is a PM Prize. This prize is referenced repeatedly as a motivating factor for employees. Perhaps this is a cultural difference between Japan and the United States, but I have a hard time envisioning many people getting excited over receiving this kind of reward.

This is a well-organized book that fits a lot of information in a short space. At first glance, it seems rather brief, but look again: there are many checklists, diagrams, and principles that cover much ground concisely.

Five Elements of TPM

1. TPM aims to maximize overall equipment effectiveness
2. TPM establishes a thorough system of PM for the equipment’s entire life span
3. TPM is implemented by various departments including engineering, opperations, and maintenance
4. TPM involves every single employee, from top management to workers on the floor
5. TPM is based on the promotion of PM through motivation management: autonomous small-group activities

12 Steps of TPM Development

1. Announce top managementdecision to introduce TPM
2. Launch education and campaign to introduce TPM
3. Create organizations to promote TPM
4. Establish basic TPM policies and goals
5. Formulate master plan for TPM development
6. Hold TPM kick-off
7. Improve effectiveness of each piece of equipment
8. Develop an autonomous maintenance program
9. Develop a scheduled maintenance program for the maintenance department
10. Conduct training to improve operation and maintenance skills
11. Develop early equipment management program
12. Perfect TPM implementation and raise TPM levels

Seven Steps for Developing Autonomous Maintenance

1. Initial cleaning
2. Countermeasures at the source of problems
3. Cleaning and lubrication standards
4. General inspection
5. Autonomous inspection
6. Organization and tidiness
7. Full autonomous maintenance

Other Key Concepts

• Automation reduces the need for unsklled labor while increasing the demand for skilled operators who can also maintain and troubleshoot sophisticated robots.
• TPM increases profits by increasing overall equipment effectiveness.
• TPM is the fourth developmental stage in maintenance. The first, second, and third stages are breakdown maintenance, preventive maintenance, and productive maintenance.
• TPM works to eliminate the “six big losses:” downtime (equipment failure and setup/adjustment), speed losses (minor stoppages and reduced speed), and quality defects (scrap and startup defects)

Useful Features

• How to calculate equipment effectiveness (pp. 24–8)
• Five related countermeasures for breakdowns (p. 41)
• TPM development process (pp. 50–1)
• Master plan for TPM promotion (p. 67)
• Example of cleaning and lubricating standards (p. 80)
• Curriculum for the basic equipment maintenance technical training course (p. 96)

Table of Contents

1. TPM is Profitable

2. TPM—Challenging Limits

3. Maximizing Equipment Effectiveness

4. Organizing for TPM Implementation

5. TPM Implementation and Stabilization

6. TPM Small Group Activities

Appendix—The PM Prize for Outstanding TPM Plants

There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents.

—Thomas Jefferson

Key Takeaways

• When tool-based methods [specifically named were Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, ISO, 5S, and high-performance work teams] are used to drive business results, implementation quality is primarily determined by the 3Ps: Proximity [when the boss is around], Persuasion [management by personality], and Position [recourse to authority].
• Better leadership results from an environment rich in the 3 Cs: Clarity [achieved through effective communication], Connectivity [achieved with a scorecard process], and Consistency [achieved through an accountability process].
• Non-negotiable processes provide consistency and prevent “leaving success to chance.” Non-negotiable processes create a “fence” delimiting boundaries within which teams operate. [In this particular deployment, some of the non-negotiables are defined by a central governing body and others are negotiated by the teams.]
• A process handbook is created by business teams with business processes that are agreed upon by all members. This handbook is reviewed by the team quarterly and amendment is by consensus. Between quarterly reviews, the handbook is used for orientation of new employees, training, reinforcement, and audits. A handbook owner responsible for these duties is picked from among team members.
• Key focus areas are defined for the scorecard by the company leadership team. Each team is then expected to have at least one SMART metric supporting the focus area.
• A Scorecard is created from these metrics. An owner for each metric is given responsibility for collecting the information and keeping it updated. The Scorecard serves the same purpose as a scoreboard in sports: to let the team know whether it is winning. If the team is not winning, it needs to change tactics.
• SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based.
• An Action Register is maintained, and an action item must be created when a Scorecard metric is not on target. A registrar for the team is given ownership of the action register.
• Behavioral Processes are set by defined, explicit expectations. These expectations come in three forms: Leader-to-Team, Team-to-Leader, and Member-to-Member. [The expectations need to be as specific as possible so that they can be audited. "Provide coaching" is less effective than "meet monthly for the purpose of providing guidance and coaching for fulfillment and career success."]
• Communication can be enriched by understanding different communication styles. The D.A.R.E. [Driver, Analytic, Relater, and Expressive] model can be used to promote understanding between team members. Each team member takes a survey and the final scores for each communication style is documented in the process handbook. [The workshop also provided an overview of the advantages and potential problems of each style along with tips for working with them. Ironically, as a Driver, I also learned not to feel guilty when getting "right to business" with fellow Drivers.]

Advantages

• Problems of accountability would be practically non-existent in a perfect deployment of Process-Based Leadership. Metrics are available to all, and a public record of commitments being met (or not) is available.
• The Process-Based Leadership software could theoretically form the basis of analytics for the purpose of performance measurement. Analytics is becoming increasingly popular as a driver of incentives programs, and the system measures people against defined business practices.
• Teams are given some Decision Rights to determine their own business processes. [However, the amount of latitude can be more or less depending upon the judgment of the central authority.]

Limitations

• Non-negotiables set by the central authority can be alienating, especially as the list grows in length. Central authorities should be sure that company-wide non-negotiables are actually necessary. Commitment can be sacrificed to compliance and open and honest communication are reduced in proportion to the quantity of “conditions of employment.”
• It is surprisingly difficult to combine the right metrics with good data to support them. Unless leaders understand concepts such as the Law of Unintended Consequences and how to apply it, they will likely fall into many traps and make bad decisions. Process-Based Leadership codifies non-negotiables and metrics into something akin to the force of law. This will amplify the bad along with the good.

Know When to Change Filters

Engine Lubrication Basics

From Reliable Plant:

Using Thermography to Uncover Hidden Problems

3 Common Excuses for Not Performing Root Cause Analysis

Implementing Solutions to Root Causes

New Testing Methods Can Benefit Mechanical Systems

From MindTools:

Four Dimensions of Relational Work: Matching Tasks to Interpersonal Skills

Standing Up for Your People: Showing Support When It Matters

Keeping Valued Team Members: Restoring Commitment to Prevent Resignations

Safety News From CBS Boston:

Worker Killed By Exploding Beer Keg In NH [A brewery worker was cleaning a beer keg with compressed air. The tank apparently became pressurized and exploded, sending shrapnel into the worker. Highlights the danger of compressed air, especially when in use on containers not designed to hold pressure.]

From VitalSmarts:

Q&A: Dealing with Personal Issues at Work

“Modern Steels” was published in 1949, but many of the most common modern alloys of steel were already in production: 1018, 4140, 4340, etc. The detailed processing methods, test data, and physical properties for a wide variety of steels makes the book more than a historical curiosity.

I would not call this book a necessary part of an engineering library, but it has its uses as a concise reference for physical properties of common grades. However, a metallurgist or user of specialty and non-ferrous alloys would find limited utility in “Modern Steels.”

Table of Contents

Preface

Brief Outline of Steelmaking

AISI Carbon Steels

AISI Alloy Steels

SAE Recommended Heat Treatments

Selection of Steels

Carbon Steel Charts

Alloy Steel Charts

Color Charts

End-Quench Hardenability Test

Calculation of End-Quench Hardenability Based on Analysis

End-Quench Hardenability Charts

Evaluation of Machinability

Grain Size

Quenching Media

Martempering

Induction Hardening

Decarburization

Isothermal Transformation Diagrams

Magnetic Particle Inspection

Magnetic Analysis Inspection

Supersonic Reflectoscope Testing

The P-F Test

Glossary of Testing and Heat-Treating Terms

Useful Tables

This 1988 book was on the SMRP-recommended reading list. The emphasis is one ‘people skills” and leadership instead of vibration analysis, maintenance practices, or any of the other technical subjects.

Key Concepts

Usually, this is where I put the theoretical principles that were a recurring theme within the book. However, this was almost exclusively a practical book. Therefore, it is somewhat difficult to distill and narrow down concepts. A different reader might list different ideas, but I would say the major theme was:

• Authority needs to be exercised gently. Heavy-handed criticism or ordering people about is alienating. However, persuasion is more effective in the long-term anyway, so it should be the modus operandi. Resourse to formal authority should be used sparingly. [For a major caveat, see the first bullet under "Limitations" below.]

Useful Features

The book was written as a quick, easy read with benefits-laden headings and numbered and bulleted lists of tips galore. Since more than half of the sections might be identified as a “useful feature” I’ll pick out a few that stood out to me.

• Eight Principles of Effective Orientation of Employees (p. 27)
• How You Can Be the Boss Without Being Obvious About It (p. 46)
• Guidelines to the Level at Which a Decision Should be Made (p. 82)
• How to Deliver Bad News to Employees (p. 102)
• How to Remember People and Their Names (p. 126)
• How to Get Across the Need for Profits (p. 150)
• Handling an Appraisal with an Angry Person (p. 168)
• Your Behavior: Seven Types to Avoid (p. 268)

Limitations

• With Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and the GLOBE study in mind, it seems that the supervisory techniques listed might apply primarily to western cultures. Cultures with high power-distance, in particular, may find the more empathetic and collaborative elements of the suggestions in the book uncomfortable. It would also be less necessary to “tone down” the giving of orders or the issuing of criticism because subordinates in high power-distance cultures will be less inclined to say to themselves, “Who are they to judge?”
• Some of the ideas are vague and pithy, and could use more detail. Example: “6. Try to promote team spirit when exercising authority” is offered without elaboration on page 20.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1—How to Get Action: Proven Methods That Get Results

Chapter 2—Tested Supervisory Techniques That Keep You in Control

Chapter 3—Training and Development Know-Hows That Assure Results

Chapter 4—Getting to Know People and Motivating Them

Chapter 5—How Successful Supervisors Use Persuasion

Chapter 6—How Effective Supervisors Handle People

Chapter 7—Supervisory Decisionmaking: How the “Pros” Do It

Chapter 8—How to Handle Problems of Communication

Chapter 9—Proven Techniques That Make Giving Orders Easy

Chapter 10—Guaranteed Methods for Getting Cooperation

Chapter 11—Positive Techniques for Maintaining Control of Quality

Chapter 12—Sure-Fire Ways to Control Costs

Chapter 13—Tested Ways for Evaluating Performance: Handling Appraisals

Chapter 14—Proven Methods for Getting Along with the Union

Chapter 15—Productivity and What to Do About It

Chapter 16—Successful Ways for Getting the Most from Skilled and “Special” People

Chapter 17—Working Out Answers to Your Problem People

Chapter 18—Tried-and-Proven Ways to Handle Safety and Health

Chapter 19—How to Promote Creativity and Sell Change

Chapter 20—Guaranteed Ways to Move Up the Management Ladder

Index

I picked up this book because it was recommended by Ken Elsea in a Root Cause Analysis Workshop. The New Way Things Work is a light-hearted, generously-illustrated book on mechanical, thermodynamic, electrical, and electronic machines and physical phenomena.

The book would be well-suited as an introduction to physics for a child in upper-elementary or middle-school level who isn’t yet ready for advanced mathematics. It would also be useful to an adult who wants a better understanding of technology. [I certainly would not be embarrassed to have it on my bookshelf next to Henry Petroski or Donald Norman.]

The step-by-step progression of simple to complex is similar to proven methods such as Saxon Math. For example, the very first lesson on inclined planes moves into locks and keys, axes and scissors, can openers, plows, and zippers.

Each section begins with a very brief introduction to the governing principles highlighted in the forthcoming applications. Then, a Rube-Goldberg-like sidebar is presented involving using mammoths in convoluted ways to achieve some goal that is more easily accomplished using the devices illustrated in the chapter.

Finally, each page presents one or more devices and shows how they work. Some are easier to understand than others, but a little study and concentration on these pages is time well (and enjoyably) spent.

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Mechanics of Movement

Introduction • The Inclined Plane • Levers • The Wheel & Axle • Gears & Belts • Cams & Cranks • Pulleys • Screws • Rotating Wheels • Springs • Friction

Part 2: Harnessing the Elements

Introduction • Floating • Flying • Pressure Power • Exploiting Heat • Nuclear Power

Part 3: Working with Waves

Introduction • Light & Images • Photography • Printing • Sound & Music • Telecommunications

Part 4: Electricity & Automation

Introduction • Electricity • Magnetism • Sensors & Detectors

Part 5: The Digital Domain

Making Bits • Storing Bits • Processing Bits • Sending Bits • Using Bits • Digital Systems • Epilog

Eureka!: The Invention of Machines [Glossary of machines]

Technical Terms

Index

Risk Impact/Probability Chart: Learning to Prioritize Risks

Contingency Planning: Developing a Good ‘Plan B’

Risk Analysis: Evaluating and Managing Risks

From HBR Blog:

Telltale Signs of an Unhealthy Hierarchy [As much as it galls egalitarian sensibilities, hierarchy is a natural and healthy part of social organization. However, hierarchy can also be potentially dysfunctional. Usually, you know it when you see it, but Ron Ashkenas puts three dimensions of it into words.]

Why You Won’t Get Breakthrough Innovation by Being Nice [More evidence against egalitarians. Also: do you really want what you say you want? If so, why aren't you doing what it takes? Praxeologists might point out that you value something else more than your stated goal: perhaps your leisure, your comfort, or your ego.]

Embracing What’s Wrong to Get to What’s Right [After all that, a feel-good piece to address "what's going right?"]

How Mobile Technologies Are Shaping a New Generation

From VitalSmarts:

Q&A: Responding to Confidential Feedback

Stay thirsty (for knowledge) my friends!

It’s Friday the 13th!

From HBR Blog:

The Biggest Mistake You (Probably) Make with Teams [A simple article—and one of the best I've read in a long time. Clearly defining the objective is important. Where leaders get tripped up is in not defining team roles and responsibilities. Will be of interest to students of MBM.]

If You Think Your Team Makes Decisions, Think Again [Another one for students of MBM. Pertains strongly to the Decision Rights element and the Tragedy of the Commons mental model.]

There Is No Invisible Hand [Does the free market "need" an invisible hand? Not really. The case for free markets is made more strongly by PraxGirl than by depending upon a system to provide "equilibrium." Seeking equilibrium in economics is futile.]

From the US Deptartment of Energy:

Improving Compressed Air System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry [This one won't necessarily be read over a weekend, but it's a good resource to have in your back pocket.]

From Eric Peters Autos:

Safety… Defined For You By Someone Else [Thoughts on safety with significant implications for Decision Rights and Knowledge Processes. While the focus is on government, the moral dilemma presented is something that should be kept in mind in the corporate world as well.]

From VitalSmarts:

Q&A: Managing Without Authority

Einstein went on to generalize his vision further and to derive from it a series of new and surprising consequences.

—Michael Polanyi

This 1994 book was on the SMRP recommended reading list. Various tools and techniques are described very briefly along with the application, but there are no details offered on how to perform any of the analyses. The book would be of most value to an operations manager or executive who wants to understand the risks involved in their plant and equipment.

Neither technical nor management aspects of risk avoidance are discussed in much detail. The key message is that the complexity of technical problems coupled with a legal climate of strict liability for manufacturers means that failure avoidance needs to be a top management priority.

Key Concepts

• Failure avoidance means forestalling the inevitable. Probability of failure within a specific time period and under specific conditions can be lowered, but never eliminated. [Although it's not what the author intended, we have to be careful with this message. Some get discouraged, throw up their hands here and say "it's hopeless."]
• Modern failure avoidance adds significantly to the costs of goods and services we buy. [This is a fact, but reasonable people can debate whether the costss are "worth it."]
• Failure investigation is not a linear process. Some charts show neat sequential steps, but really the investigation moves back and forth through these phases.
• The size of a failure is determined primarily by the amount of energy or material out of control. Root causes are the same as sub-catastrophic events.
• Sensitivity analysis is the study of subtle changes in problem parameters and their effect on the outcome. [The process is described conceptually in the book, but there are no details on how to do it.]
• Hazards analysis describes a variety of analyses that attempt to anticipate potential ways of failing. One way of approaching it is a tree format with hazardous elements listed at level 1, triggering events at level 2, and corrective measures at level 3. Another method is to create a matrix with headings: condition, cause, consequences, category, and correction. [Kepner-Tregoe Potential Problem Analysis would quality as a kind of hazards analysis.]
• Fault-Tree Analysis (FTA) is “a deductive logic model that depicts, in graphic format, conditions and combinations of conditions that can produce the fault or failure under consideration.”
• Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is often used with FTA, but in spreadsheet format with the bill of materials as a starting point. The emphasis is on how each component can contribute to failure. FTA offers improved “perspective” and is usually used first.
• High strength-to-weight materials used in applications with high operating stress dramatically diminish critical flaw size. The reduction in critical flaw size may even be reduced below the range of detectability resulting in expected brittle fractures.
• There are four options for handling business risks: elimination, retention, transfer, and reduction. Elimination means discontinuing operations, removing people, or removing equipment. Retention means acceptance of the risk. Transfer refers to insurance, warranty, or other contractual agreement. [Reduction of risk is not elaborated upon in any way except to note that it can be the most cost-effective option. If so, then couldn't the subject have been given at least an extra couple of paragraphs?]

Useful Features

• Decision model for implementing failure avoidance stratgies (p. 76)
• Failure mechanisms for metals and alloys (p. 88)
• Product characteristics and manufacturer conduct that can incur liability (p. 218)
• Management implementation steps in organizing a failure avoidance program (p. 249)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Failure: Misfortune or Avoidable Event?

Chapter 2. Analyzing Failures

Chapter 3. Strategies That Work

Chapter 4. Failure Avoidance in Day-to-Day Practice

Brett Veinotte on Horrors of State-Run Schools and Schooling

Perhaps this is another unusual link for a site on industrial reliability, but the challenge of the skills gap—big and growing—is widely acknowledged in the literature. We already see the results when unemployment plus underemployment is in the 20% range, yet recruiters can not fill positions.

As skilled, experienced Baby Boomers retire, who will replace them? Where do they come from? What are they learning? If I may be permitted a cliche, Mr. Veinotte offers us some “out of the box” thinking. For an in-depth exploration of the subject, try The Underground History of American Education. For a quick overview, see Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. Both book are by former public school teacher John Taylor Gatto.

From MindTools:

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model: Implementing Change Powerfully and Successfully

Impact Analysis: Identifying the Full Consequences of Change

From HBR Blog:

Listen to Your Frontline Employees