Data => Information => Insights

When he first started on his career, he soon learned that data was a critical component of progress.

Repeatedly when confronted with a situation he sought out data about the elements involved in the situation, organic and not.

Inevitably he was stymied by the lack of data and information, searching helplessly for non-existent files, historical data, hearsay about a pump, motor, roll, valve, gearbox, turbine, agitator, whatever.

Under those circumstances he became his own best source of data memorizing as much as possible about the components within a specific function location, a walking, talking database.

He quickly earned the reputation as the nerd of the mill, constantly seen poking around equipment, wire brushing nameplates, taking copious notes of details. Later, during evening hours hunched over a keyboard at a machine producing data about the equipment he had reviewed to be sent to the company’s mainframe for filing and storage in his own designed database.

Information, he knew, was critical to progressing manufacturing improvement for the site.

Later, promoted within the same company and transferred to a mill near HQ, and a three-mile drive from the IT center for the corporation, he exerted influence, sometimes non-conventionally with the IT manager, armed with knowledge and experience and a willingness to fight for the cause.

He was rewarded in this effort with capital to purchase a ‘mini-computer’ in order to assemble, add to, filter and report data collected for the company’s ‘maintenance system’ which was nothing more than a financial accounting program that produced mostly meaningless reports, usually a month after data was collected.

He equated this situation as driving down a winding road while navigating by observing reflections in the rear-view mirror.

During the following years he produced nineteen apps to assist the maintenance team with everyday needs, time entry against work orders, motor management, skills achievement management, long-term equipment outage schedules with backlog, lubrication routes with relevant data specific to functional locations, historical notes, etc.

He fully understood the value of information and the collection of data supporting that effort.

Years later, after joining a well-known international OEM provider, he was encouraged to continue his avocation of writing articles for publishing about his real-world experiences.

One of those articles concerned unusual, at the time, cooperation between the OEM provider and a pulp and paper mill in Latin America. The results of which were highly praised by the mill’s Maintenance Manager and documented with extraordinary positive results contributing to much improved asset availability.

Some months later a similar site located in North America contacted their local OEM provider representative asking for additional information highlighted in this improvement effort.

An off-site meeting led to an assessment of the site’s current asset care practices compared to industry best practices, which then evolved into a specific go-forward strategy developed jointly by the mill and the OEM provider.

Lengthy negotiations hammered out details for a long-term contract whereby the OEM provider would assist the site with guidance, facilitation and technological support to accomplish the site’s goals for asset reliability improvement.

To paraphrase, the site gained the advantage of the ? inch hole they sought without having to worry about the minutiae of the process and technology it took to drill the ? inch hole.

The improvement effort required data which was then converted to information. Technology required to provide data and interpretation was supplied by the OEM provider as part of the contract and its negotiated monthly fee for services rendered to achieve contractual results.

Integral to this arrangement was the logical extension of the ‘Data’ to ‘Information’ transformation to an ‘Insight’ conclusion.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentdykes/2016/04/26/actionable-insights-the-missing-link-between-data-and-business-value/#3fb792c751e5

Expertise and knowledge specific to the OEM provider’s products and services was made available for use by the site for guidance in resolving issues with improved reliability of operating assets.

Information provided by the site for a before and after comparison is shown below.

These results were achieved by transforming raw data to information which was then transformed into knowledge-based insights in conjunction with the mill’s management to make strategic and tactical actionable decisions relating to equipment availability

Isn’t that what access to data and its transformation is all about?

Operational Improvement?