Best practices drive best results

by Tim Egenes

The most important objective that should be established for any efficient business operation is the development of standard methods by which business will be conducted across all operational departments within that company. If all functional organizations associated with the maintenance environment of a company adopt a compatible and consistent series of business practices, the results of activities performed based on those standard processes will ensure a well-run and efficient operation overall.

This is a rather broad statement, however, and there are additional details that must be considered; the concept of standardizing a business operation is based on achieving the most efficient and cost-effective method of completing a given set of tasks.

This says, by definition, that one must consider not only those methods used by an individual organization within the company, but also those methods used by ancillary support organizations. In addition, it is important to consider those methods used by competitor(s), if available, so that some understanding of the overall market place can be evaluated.

The development of an effective business operation demands that we look outside the box. That is to say, just because the idea was not developed at home is not a reason to ignore its potential. This attitude or state of mind must extend to internal and external sources and should include any methodologies that may improve a plant’s ability to achieve its objectives.

To that end, it is recommended that all functional organizations influenced by or having an impact on the system being developed should be asked to participate in its development.

Best practice methodology is a state of mind, which is to say that best practices cannot be defined as a textbook subject. It should be thought of as more of a broad set of thinking processes that result in a common philosophy used by a cooperative group of organizations.

It should also be noted that this type of philosophy must have direct support and encouragement from top-level management. Without management support, any effort to standardize business processes will fall victim to what can only be described as local politics. In most cases, unless there is a mandate from upper management, middle and lower management will simply revert to those old methods that are considered tried and true.

Consequently, it must be said that if a company is going to achieve a best practices environment, it is imperative that all parties are of the same mindset. Each organization must have the best interests of the company at heart and cannot be distracted by local agendas. The idea that one organization is more important than another must be eliminated from the equation. The development and deployment of efficient business processes must be the sole objective of a company if best practices are to be accomplished.

The most essential element of this endeavor is an unrelenting demand from the executive leadership of the company for establishment of rigid corporate policies that define and mandate the behavior of organizations and individuals within the company. 

Without top-level direction and support, the actions of individual organizations and/or personnel tend to become the product of local solutions, and therefore never accommodate a standard methodology. It is imperative that the policies and procedural foundations of the company be established and monitored at the executive level of the company.

The first step in establishing a common business solution is to ensure that all organizations use what can be referred to as standardized data as part of their operations.

This means that the concept of data ownership must be considered. In other words, let the organization most responsible for a given piece of information be responsible for creating and administering the data that represents that information.

An example of this might be the human resources department, where all employee data should be administered. Once responsibility for the data elements has been established, the use of those data elements by others becomes consistent and any administration becomes localized to the organization responsible for its upkeep.

The next requirement is the establishment of a comprehensive change management policy and procedure. This is an essential element that ensures that any changes to policy, procedures, database configuration, or application development are administered in a consistent and controlled manner.

As changes are suggested, it is crucial for each suggested change to be evaluated in terms of the impact that will result from that change and whether that impact is acceptable to the company. This activity requires a team of functional representatives, selected on the basis of their involvement with the suggested change, to review the suggestion and determine the operational impact on the system, the cost impact and the overall risk the change would have on the current effectiveness of company operations.

Finally, it is necessary to define and implement a series of common business processes that describe the standard methodology that the company desires to use in the performance of their operations. They should be developed as cooperative and integrated processes that result in the most efficient and cost-effective methods identified to accomplish all of the functional tasks necessary to complete the companies’ objectives.

Keep in mind that these processes may include activities that are not viewed as traditional maintenance activities, but have some indirect relationship to the final objective. Without a consistent and cooperative series of business processes the expectations of the company as a whole cannot be predicted; the results will remain inconsistent and, in most instances, less than cost effective.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the establishment of best practices must be a common endeavor, driven by upper-level management, adhered to by supervision, and fostered within the total population of the company. No single individual can accomplish this task, and therefore no single individual should be held completely responsible for it. It must become a mantra that is encouraged from the top and made an integral part of the company’s culture.

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