Part 1. Innovation = Simplification
This is the first in a series of articles on my take-aways from Simplifying Mine Maintenance by Gerard Wood . Throughout these articles, I will share specific quotes from the book that I used as inspiration for writing these articles
“Innovation often means simplification”
Although there are lots of important themes in the book, I’m starting with this quote because I feel it is the foundation for everything that follows. All too often we get caught up in thinking “more” is the answer. More procedures, more controls, more paperwork, more monitoring, more data…
But sometimes the real innovation is through less.
;Expertise is more than just knowledge and facts. There is no point in bamboozling people with jargon and overwhelming them with complex information. Knowledge alone without suitable contextual experience and reflection often leads to an inability to “see the forest from the trees”. However, if an expert can apply their knowledge and experience in order to strip things back to what is truly most important and impactful, then this can create big opportunities for innovation and improvement.
“In order to make something simple, you have know your subject very well indeed” Edward de Bono
But it is only once a certain level of mastery is reached that one can start to strip back the complexity to the core fundamental principles and then be able to communicate these clearly.
When we started WQMS, we realised that the problems with weld repairs of cracking in mining equipment weren’t going to be fixed by applying the conventional thinking that caused them.
We used our depth of knowledge and experience to identify 5 core problems why crack repairs are generally done so poorly;
“Maintenance leaders and experts must be able to simplify the process for people.”
WQMS are experts and leaders? in structural maintenance. By simplifying and stripping back to the fundamentals, we were able to innovate and develop the Crack Data System, Maintenance Welder Competency microcredential, and AICARM Framework, which together solve all 5 of the core problems we identified.
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One of our guiding principles for all of these solutions is to provide role specific training that teaches the essential knowledge and skill sets and provides understanding of what is important and why it is important. This means that people can think for themselves rather than needing to be told what to do or relying on complicated and detailed procedures. By creating accountability and focusing on what is important, the little things tend to sort themselves out and through simplification, systems and processes become more robust.
Links to all the articles in this series below
Contact me to discuss how to improve structural maintenance management in your business.
Consultant - Asset Management & Reliability | RPEQ
1 天前Great article Simon!
Executive Stress Management > Executive Leadership Coach > Emotional Intelligence Coach > Executive Coaching
3 年Good job Simon
Companies talk about simple, effective asset management and reliable equipment. Few achieve it and most keep implementing the same failed solutions . The problem is culture based and the solution starts with leadership.
4 年Nice work Simon. When real knowledge experts actively simplify things for other it will always generate more.