The most important 2 seconds of your career
The lights flicker, your phone starts making “message received” sounds, and the radio crackles with excited voices. You recognize that something is not as it should be at the facility and you’re the person on duty with the responsibility to respond. It becomes apparent that the power system is in distress. The orders come over the radio to shift the “E” lineup to backup. You run to the “E” power room and quickly move the switch to the backup power supply position. You hear the breakers actuate, and then the unthinkable happens – the lights go out. The ironic thing is that shortly after you turned the switch, your mind actually was pondering the possibility that you could have heard “D” instead of “E.” And sure enough, the actual order, as it turns out, was to place D into backup and not E. Your actions caused a loss of power to the facility, compounding the initial problem....
Read MoreWhat is the true measure of training?
Why do we send people to training? What should we expect from a training program? Considering the amount of money spent for training, we should expect results – but what are those results specifically? When I’ve asked these questions of others, I’ve received answers such as knowledge, skills, certification, qualifications and the like. But the true measure of training isn’t the increased knowledge, new skill sets, or additional certifications (though these may be indicators that training has been successful). The true measure of training is in fact determined by measuring how much behavior has changed. Training is used to serve another function as well, the validation of current skills and knowledge. While validation is one of the most used functions of training programs, there are still other, more effective methods to determine this. We’ll examine that a little later. When I send a technician to train on the latest techniques of rebuilding a compressor, I expect that they will return being able to do something they couldn’t do before, e.g., rebuild a compressor using new processes or methods. This new behavior can be measured and observed. If you want to measure how effective your training programs are, you need to observe and measure changes in behavior....
Read MoreLeadership’s role in preventing human-caused downtime
I’m often asked, “What is the single, most effective thing we as leaders can do to eliminate human-caused downtime?” My answer is that the leader must be the example and never the exception. I say that because leaders occupy a very special place in the sociology and group dynamics of an organization. Consequently, the degree to which their behavior is viewed, scrutinized, and mimicked is amplified, sometimes exponentially. Sir Isaac Newton explained that, in physics, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When it comes to human behavior, the idea is much the same except the reaction may not be equal or opposite. We are, after all, a little more complex than inanimate objects. The concept in human behavior that corresponds to this law of physics is: If you want to change behavior in an organization, the leadership of the organization must change their behavior. Perhaps an experience I had in the Navy would illustrate what I mean. I was initially stationed to a submarine that was in overhaul, being basically rebuilt in a shipyard. We were getting to the end of the overhaul and it was necessary to clean the ship to put it back to fighting condition. For those of you that are familiar with construction sites, you know that dirt and debris are everywhere. The same is true for a submarine during overhaul. We had a big cleaning job to do. My assignment was to clean the bilges in an area under the diesel generator, one of the worst areas. I had to put on coveralls, climb under the diesel into the bilges, and clean out all the debris and dirt. It was a miserable job, to say the least. I had a helper who climbed under the diesel with me to help out. We spent a good two hours working under the diesel and found ourselves even joking about the stuff we might find and whether it would be alive or …?...
Read MoreThe crucial role of the facilities manager in mission critical environments (part 2 of 2)
Last week I described my issues with how the most important roles and responsibilities of the facilities manager are not being addressed or supported by organizations. This week I look at these roles and responsibilities in more detail and offer my thoughts on how to ensure that your organization integrates them into its operation. To illustrate the problem, let’s look at the hiring process. It is a common experience to be hired into a company and find that the job description does not resemble the actual job duties. In fact, I have seen positions where the job description did not exist. Organizations that do not formalize these important roles and responsibilities through documentation risk hiring someone for the role who may not understand the true role, responsibilities, or priorities of their position. On the other hand, candidates who understand their roles and responsibilities correctly will encounter frustration if the organization doesn’t share their focus....
Read MoreThe crucial role of the facilities manager in mission critical environments (part 1 of 2)
If asked to select one position that is most determinative of success or failure in mission critical environments, I would have to say it would be the facilities manager. In my opinion, the facilities manager’s role is one of the most critical positions – if not the most critical position – within the mission critical organization. Let me explain. The facilities manager is responsible for the working environment of your equipment and personnel. This not only includes the maintenance of power, environment (temperature, air flow, cleanliness, lighting, et cetera.) and safety, but also a myriad of other less visible but incredibly important aspects that affect your organization’s ability to perform. And whether your product is software, high-tech electronics, pharmaceuticals, or food products, in a very real sense, your FM’s decisions materially affect your organization’s ability to meet customer expectations and to fulfill your legal obligations. The fate of the organization quite literally rests in your FM’s hands....
Read MoreThe Future of Data Centers
Everything Evolves I still remember playing with my Commodore VIC 20 and thinking that 3K of memory was plenty. But of course, within a couple months, 3K of memory wasn’t enough and I was already entertaining the idea of getting a Commodore 64. While both the VIC 20 and the Commodore 64 hooked to your TV set, the Commodore 64 had color – and it had 64K of usable memory, more memory than I could use in a lifetime – or so I thought. Nowadays, my watch has more computing power. Data centers have evolved too. To begin with, computers were housed in “computer rooms.” These computers were so large that an entire room was dedicated to one computer. As computers evolved, “computer rooms” became “data processing rooms.” Then entire floors were devoted to data processing. Gradually, entire facilities became “data centers.” Now we build server farms as this Facebook data center picture shows. Predictable Patterns...
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