"If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got"

This large mill complex, one of the largest in the US, has been in existence for nearly fifty years. Its original workforce was hired from the crews that built the original mill. Constructors, skilled in installing iron, pipe, concrete. 

Some change had occurred over the years, mostly brought in from 'outside', but the fundamental mentality that prevailed was one of..."this is what worked for us in the past" [so it’s all right to continue doing it the same way],..."don't rock the boat",..."our mill is different" and,..."we don't care how you did it where you came from" [this is how we do it here]. 

Meanwhile the mill's productivity level had remained stable, not because production equipment improvements had not been made, on the contrary, a lot of capital had been spent over the years to constantly improve the equipment and increase production. Rather, there had been no 'investment' made in changing the behavior of the people. Behavior and change were not commonly combined in the local vocabulary. 

Sam, the maintenance man, was on assignment to the mill, from corporate, to assist with implementing a wide-scale maintenance function improvement program. An assignment targeting him as an 'outsider' to the local folks.  

Part of the process of improvement was one-on-one, data gathering conversations with people throughout the mill complex.

The intent of this discovery exercise is to get a picture, a mental image, of the existing practices, procedures, organization, response, competency, training, attitude and overall effectiveness of the maintenance effort (maintenance is not necessarily the maintenance department’s private domain).

During one of these fact-finding conversations, with the backtender on one of the paper machines, the data gatherer was told, as an example of the lack of 'responsiveness' by maintenance, that the lights in this machine room had not been operating for several months and, although a work order had been sent in, no action had been taken and his job was seriously affected by the improper light available.

Of course, the actual dialog was a little more ‘shop talk’ like and quite explicit so there was no misinterpreting his meaning.

Sam found the building was extremely dark, light fixtures and conduit could be seen mounted to the ceiling. Some of the light fixtures were partially lit, some were completely out. 

Sam thought he should, at least, visit with the paper mill's E&I Maintenance Supt. to find out what has been the problem in maintaining the lighting system in this part of the mill. Following up on an issue obviously emotionally charged. 

After verifying, with planning, that there was, in fact, a work order for this job, Sam, the 'alien' (local colloquialism for someone not wanted), headed for the E&I Superintendent's office.

"Hey, Charlie, how's it going?" Sam asked.

"Not too bad, same old, same old," came the response with a look of frustration, barely disguising his lack of interest in discussing anything with this 'outsider'.

"You know, Charlie, that I'm here to help in whatever way I can, to see if maintenance at this mill can be improved. Sam the internal consultant started,

"Sometimes it's the little things that can affect the ordinary person in his job that can get you recognition for trying."

"Yeah, I know that, so what have you got that affects my image?" challenged Charlie.

"Well I was out on #6 machine and the backtender was telling me how difficult it is for him to make a good sheet of paper when he can't even see the machine because the lights are always out. It's obvious that the lights are not working. Is it because they are shorting out from all the moisture collecting near the ceiling, or what?" Sam asked.

"Can't do nothing about it until we get some downtime to fix the light fixtures. Then its only temporary until the lights short out or bulbs burn out again. Been a real nightmare in that room, wasn't designed right, I guess. Charlie exclaimed.

"The other problem is getting the people, during the machine 'shuts' to fix the lights. Seems like there is always something else comes up that's more important. Then there is the problem of us being in the way, people can't work under us while we're changing bulbs, cleaning fixtures. Just a nightmare." 

"Charlie, I know those are the standard answers to this problem but let's analyze this problem.

“You're not the first maintenance superintendent. to have the problem of poor lighting in the machine room, you know. I doubt you'll be the last either, as long as Engineers keep forgetting about the future maintenance of the equipment they're so proud of installing." Sam ventured.

"Sounds like you've seen this problem before." Charlie said as he looked up.

"Not only have I seen it, I've lived it. Look, you can sit here and complain about the reasons you can't fix this or fix that, and they are all good reasons, but, in the meantime, the guys on the machine are getting angrier and angrier.

"At you, and everyone else in the maintenance group, because they view it as your problem, not some engineer's that wasn't thinking about the future, which, incidentally, is now." 

"Hey don't you think I don't know that, but my hands are tied, I got no way of getting up to those lights and fixing them, not while the machine is running." grumbled the haggard E&I Supt.

"Look, Charlie, I'm on your side. Let's think about this. One, you can't get to those lights while the machine is running, right?" 

"Yep." 

"Two, even after you repair the lights it’s just a matter of time before they fail again, right?"

"Yep."

"Three, the people that are complaining about the lack of lighting are on the floor of the machine, right?"

"Yep." 

"Charlie, the problem is no lights, not broken lights, right?"

"I guess."

"If the problem is no lights, then where can you place lights, that can be repaired anytime, that shine onto the areas of the machine that require lighting?"

Several seconds later the light in Charlie's eyes went on. 

"On the walls, of course. Wall packs, of course, why didn't I think of that?" came the gleeful answer.

"I think you just did."

"Wall packs. I can install them whenever, and wherever I want, I can repair them anytime, even when the machine is operating and I can probably get more life out of them because they're not stuck up there in all that heat and humidity. And with these LED lamps, it’s a simple replace. Damn, that's a good idea, thanks."

"Don't thank me, you thought of it." Sam, the outsider, answered.

Caretaker management, that process of continuing the outmoded practices of predecessors, is a wide-spread, productivity-threatening disease. A disease spread by non-enlightened upper management personnel failing to realize that those openly expressed words of encouragement, in honest appreciation for urgent correction of a what is usually a preventable problem, reinforces the notion that the 'wrong thing done quickly’ is much more valuable than the ‘right thing done in its proper time'. 

This mill’s situation was further aggravated by the fact that it was not originally staffed with 'solutions minded' people, who think in terms of solutions to problems.

It was staffed instead by people who had been conditioned to think in terms of replacement, in kind, of equipment that has failed, constructors, not 'programmed' to follow-up with solutions to recurring problems.

An entire culture was created with this mind-set.

Training, what there was, is oriented towards replacement, not problem-solving. 

If you always congratulate promptness and quickness during urgencies, you will always get emergencies. 

The real problem will never be addressed properly.  

If you are never encouraged to seek alternatives [to urgent replacements] you can never be expected to solve problems and eliminate failures or time consuming repetitive tasks.

"If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got"