Keep the trucks rolling... operational strategies to avoid down time

This weekend I was clearing out some master's degree books and notes, and came across my operational strategies for business leaders and technologists like me. Something I had written some 15 years ago. My research concludes that preventative maintenance done right can be a great tool.

 

How does one do operational maintenance without downtime? Easy Answer: Schedule it.

 

How does that work in a 24/7/365 world? The answer is that there are streams of everything going on at the same time: stock markets, electricity aka power, fluids and rivers and oceans, people and mortality - being born and dying, land and movements earthquakes shifts, earth rotations solar celestial adjustments, wind jet streams, water oceans tides, fire lava unstoppable forest fires, dirt cement concrete decay erosion, and seemingly more important "data" - data going everywhere all the time. Multiple streams, redundant paths, queueing, staging and the like are all methods for continuous flows of mammoth amounts of life and in our world - operational data and information.

 

If you think about the Hoover Dam project, what did they do? How did they do it?

 

1. use project management rules.

2. use stakeholder and political savvy rules.

3. communicate logically and regularly.

4. stay on track and use your instincts.

5. don't let distractors get in your way.

6. know the rules of money, assets, debts, risks, liabilities, avoidance, compliance.

7. have fun doing all the while - doing things that are important - work/life/family balance.

 

Now, some operational leaders in the departments of transportation do things right, and plan and research properly and some need a little more improvements. Some get a do over if they screw up their first few projects yet that depends on the scale of the project. "Start Small and Go Big", I always say. If you do something great on a small scale, you can do so on a large scale. Does your thinking and methods scale up? I hope they do. They better do. If you get it wrong small, you will get it wrong big.

 

If are you strong enough and have the courage - create a project that solves a problem - saves money, makes money, makes life better for all, makes things faster, gets rids of impediments, and above all - makes you happy doing it. Do work that you enjoy doing.

 

more to come...