david early professional portfolio
TRANSCRIPT
Professional Portfolio
For
David A. Early
Table of Contents
Summary Page
Cover Letter
Resume
Zone Based Service Teams
Maximizing Operational Efficiency Project
Maximizing Operational Efficiency Project Results
Writing Samples
Summary
I am a creative problem solver who continually looks for innovative solutions to
everyday problems. I believe that much more is accomplished by working in
cognitively diverse teams as oppose to teams of individuals with a similar
mindset.
As a maintenance/trades manager, I over see a $4.2 M operating budget and a
staff of 30 highly skilled individuals responsible to the operation and maintenance
of the University of Michigan health centers mechanical systems. Health care is a
fast pace, ever changing, compliance driven industry that requires me to
continually look for new ways to improve our service to the customer.
I have worn many hats over the course of my career, technician, engineer,
scheduler, planner and manager. As a result I feel that I possess great emotional
intelligence as I have seen how projects and operations impact organizations and
their customers at many levels.
I am a dedicated self-starter who works well as an individual but thrives in a team
environment. I enjoy making new professional acquaintances and love hearing
about new opportunities. Reach out to me if you would like to talk about
creativity, business or fly fishing.
Specialties: Creative thinking, team building, interpersonal skills, communication,
process improvement, project management
David A. Early 3634 Cushing Ct. ° Dexter, MI 48130 ° (734)474-3539 ° [email protected]
Dear Hiring Manager,
It is with great interest that I am exploring professional opportunities with your organization. I have spent
the last ten years of my career working in facilities management in the healthcare industry. Given the
criticality and competitiveness of healthcare and the need to be the provider of choice, I believe that both
my technical and management experience could be beneficial to your company.
In my current position I work at the maintenance/trades manager responsible for the mechanical systems
that the University of Michigan Health Systems. In this position I plan/schedule and manage a staff of 30
individuals responsible for the health centers mechanical systems as well as manage maintenance related
projects within our 7.2 million square feet of facilities. I also serve as a liaison between facilities
maintenance and the University of Michigan construction and engineering group on various construction
projects.
Working in a fast paced environment has taught me how to multitask and communicate very well. I am a
creative problem solver who works best in a team environment but is also comfortable working
independently. I also sit on and/or head up numerous cross functional teams at the University of Michigan
health center. I am a strong believer in the importance of cognitive diversity and believe that by working
in teams made up of individuals from all areas of an organization we are able to come up with creative
solutions to everyday problems.
I am looking for an opportunity to move my career to the next level and believe that your operations
would offer me just that. Therefore I welcome the opportunity to discuss in greater detail the value and
strength I can bring to your already successful company.
I thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
David Early
David A. Early 3634 Cushing Ct [email protected]
Dexter, Michigan (734)474-3539
www.linkedin.com/in/davidearly27/
Objective
To obtain a full time manager/director position within a company who not only welcomes but encourages both
creative and innovative solutions to daily business objectives
Profile
Experienced manager with interest in organizational development
Work scope planning, schedule development, budget and cost control
Technical background, team orientated, self-starter
Strong communication, presentation, and creative thinking skills
excellent customer service and interpersonal skills
Computer skills include: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel
Education
Certified LEAN Health Care
The University of Michigan, 2014
Bachelor of Business Administration
Cleary University, 2012
Associate in Arts (Business)
Washtenaw Community College, 2011
Experience
Multi-Function Maintenance/Trades Manager, University of Michigan, 2010 – Present
Manage a staff of 30 individuals responsible for the Mechanical Systems at the UMHS
Oversee a $4.2M operating budget
Act as a liaison between various vendors/contractors and the University of Michigan
Manage various maintenance projects from conception to completion
Planner/Scheduler, University of Michigan, 2010
Planned and scheduled the work of various skilled trades maintenance personnel
Worked alongside project managers in scheduling downtime of utilities
A/C Refrigeration Mechanic, University of Michigan, 2007 – 2010
Troubleshoot, maintain and repair mechanical systems
Worked in cross-functional teams on maintenance projects
Worked as a liaison between the maintenance group and project Managers
Operating Engineer, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, 2005 – 2007
Troubleshoot, maintain and repair mechanical systems
Worked on projects with various trades personnel
Maintained and operated three boilers that provided steam to health center
Service Technician, Koch and White Heating & Cooling, 1996 – 2005
Provide excellent customer service
Sell maintenance agreements and equipment
Install, troubleshoot, repair, and maintain HVAC systems.
University of Michigan
Plant Hospital Maintenance
HVAC Zone Based Service Teams
Summary
With the addition of the Children’s and Women’s hospital, maintenance is now required to
provide 24/7 coverage to a larger facility with limited a staff. In an attempt to better utilize the
existing staff with an increasing maintenance footprint, the following document will describe the
staffing alignment to be used for preventative and corrective maintenance pertaining to the
Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) calls at the university of Michigan Health
Center. This document will also describe what calls should be dispatched to what skill craft as
well as the responsibility of the technicians, supervisor and call center representatives.
In order to ensure a timely response, the health center will be divided up into 4 service groups
responsible for a specified area. These “service teams” will now be responsible for the entire
service zone as oppose to only a specific building. In doing so, employees will become more
familiar with other buildings and therefore be better prepared for coverage when others from that
zone request vacation, call in sick or retire. This structure will also provide more face time
between customers and other technicians in the area, improving the comfort level that they feel
with our maintenance group.
A. Establish Service Zones
The health center will be split up into 4 zones as designated service areas used to respond
to HVAC service calls as well as perform preventative maintenance.
a. Zone #A University Hospital
Anthony Brown
Bob Woodruff
Tom Hunget
Don Reilly
Glen Ford
Dave Hang
Steve Keween
b. Zone #B Children and Women’s & Taubman Center
Dan Allain
Kirt Horn
Mark Sweeso
Mike Schneider
Phil Mullally
Blaise Kimble
Jim McIntosh
c. Zone #C Neuroscience, CGC, CVC, MPB, M22, Towsley, Med Inn, Trailers
John Johnson
Darrin Pomo
Les Schneider
Chuck Malone
John Friedrich
Tim Sinclair
Matt Dickerson
James Spencer
d. Zone #D Area 5
Jeremia Brabbs
Rick Risner
Tom Dembinski
Chris Taylor
B. Assigning Work
The call center and systems monitoring will receive a list of what classification should be
dispatched to what calls.
e. A/C Refrigeration Mechanics
Hot / Cold complaints
Refrigerator / Freezer not working
Isolation rooms not operating or alarming
Room Pressure Issues
Humidity issues
Temp Track concerns
Refrigerant monitor alarms
HVAC Ceiling leaks (Dispatch Plumber first)
Chiller not operating properly
Air Handler not operating properly
f. HVAC Maintenance Mechanics
Potential HVAC odors
Equipment noises
Refrigerator / Freezer leaking
Exhaust hood / Bio Safety Cabinet lights
Drinking fountains
Filter changes (Air, water and ice machine)
Diffuser cleaning
Refrigerator door issues
Bar coding of new assets
B. Employee Responsibility
All employees assigned to a specific zone are eligible to be dispatched to any
classification specific call in their assigned zone, regardless of previous building
assignment. However, maintenance dispatch will attempt to assign the most
knowledgeable technician when applicable.
a. For Example: Employees previously assigned to C & W will now be expected to
respond to calls in Taubman as well as C & W.
b. Any concerns with dispatched calls will be brought to M9100 foreman or if the
foreman is not available, the foreman who is designated to cover shop M9100.
c. Employees will NOT call the call center or systems requesting that a call be
assigned to another individual in their zone.
d. Work may be passed to others within a zone, ONLY IF it is mutually agreed
upon.
C. Work distribution
All work will be distributed in a way that is even for all persons assigned to the different
zones. PM’s, CM’s and other work will be distributed in a way that ensures that all
employees are receiving equal work.
a. All existing PM’s will be redistributed on February 1st, 2014.
b. Work will be dispatched equally to allow time for employees to perform PM
work.
c. Special assignments may be assigned by the foreman who will notify the call
center and systems monitoring if an employee in unavailable.
D. Communication
Each zone will designate one person to serve as that persons “point person”. This
individual will be the foreman’s first point of contact if there are questions regarding a
specific zone.
a. If no point person is designated for the different zones by February 1st 2014, the
M9100 foreman will appoint one.
b. All concerns from a specific zone will be relayed to the point person to be brought
to the daily huddle with the other zone point persons as well as the ENWAH shift.
c. Monthly meeting will be held in each zone with Foreman and zone team
members. During this time all discussion points will be related to that zone. This
meeting will not replace the monthly M9100 shop meeting.
Organizational Chart
Maximizing the Efficiency of the University of Michigan’s
Plant Hospital Maintenance Department’s HVAC Staff
By: David A. Early
Shop M9100 Foreman
December 14, 2011
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
Description of Problem 3
Research Findings 7
Conclusions and Recommendations 8
Annotated Bibliography 11
References 13
Appendix A Current Shift Coverage 15
Appendix B Proposed Shift Coverage 16
Executive Summary
Since the year 1817 the University of Michigan has built a reputation of being the
“Leaders and Best.” While it is true that the name recognition of the University of Michigan is
impressive, what is more impressive is the quality of the approximately 34,624 people the
University employs (The University of Michigan, 2011). Equally as impressive is the more than
26 million square feet of facilities that makes up the university of Michigan and the over 1300
people who care for those buildings. (Robben 2011)
With over 1300 people working for the plant operations department, only 150 are
privileged enough to say that their responsibility is to care for the University of Michigan
Hospital and Health Systems facilities. With the recent addition of the 1.1 million square foot
C.S Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital, the University of Michigan Health
system is now made up of 7.2 million square feet of building space and has become one of the
world’s largest health care facilities.
As a growing health center in uncertain economic times, the University of Michigan has
been presented with the problem of providing the same quality of service, while at the same time
faces a reduced operating budget. Even with these financial restraints there is an obligation to
continue providing the uppermost level of service to our customers. Through research, this report
will evaluate what our current areas of weakness are as well as make recommendations on how
to address them.
Description of Problem
As one of the nation’s top 100 rated health care centers (US News 2011), when people
come to the University of Michigan Hospital and Health System they have an expectation. That
expectation is to receive top quality health care. As the Plant Hospital Maintenance Department’s
HVAC shop, we have a responsibility to provide our health care employees a comfortable
environment to perform this work. While it is true that our staff is made up of some of the most
talented individuals in the HVAC industry, the following issue has come up. How do we provide
our staff and guest a continuing high quality of work with a diminishing budget?
With the addition on the new C.S Mott and Voigtlander Women’s Hospitals our
department received two additional HVAC trades employees to fill a void on the midnight and
afternoon shifts, leaving the need to shuffle the existing day shift mechanics to care for the
building and its tenants during the most active time of day. Even though the old Mott complex is
predominantly inactive, preventative maintenance activities are to continue until further notice.
With fewer building inhabitants, ultimately the number of corrective maintenance (CM)
work orders will go down. However, roughly 70% of all work orders generated over the last year
were preventative maintenance (PM) compared to the 30% percent that were corrective
maintenance (CM). In fact, the 70% PM to 30 % CM ratio holds relatively true across all of our
buildings as it pertains to HVAC maintenance. (Briseno 2011)
The next issue is the size of the two buildings. The old Mott has only 514,680 square feet,
nearly 50% the size of the new C & W complex. With three, full time day shift HVAC trades
employees assigned to that area simple math would tell you that, based off of square footage
alone, more than three day shift employees will be needed to cover the new facility. That leaves
one to wonder where this staff is going to come from. Or, more importantly, how much will this
staff cost an organization that is going through a period of diminishing budgets? While these
questions are all good, the question that really needs to be addressed is, are we using our existing
staff efficiently?
As management, it is our responsibility to make sure that the staff we have is being used
to its fullest potential and if not it is our responsibility to address this issue. Beginning with the
recession in 2009, the University's fiscal planning process called for $36.5 million in budget cuts
over the next three years. As a department that costs money, we have an obligation to make sure
that we are performing as efficiently as possible since many will be looking toward us when
making these cuts. (Cunningham 2009)
In order to determine how to improve our efficiency we must first identify what our
strengths and weaknesses are. This could be done a number of different ways, customer
satisfaction surveys, work order completion rate reports and by interviewing customers,
managers and staff. Through these research methods one is able to identify where our department
thrives and where it needs to improve.
For instance, our completion rate for our priority 5 PM’s has been at 100% over the last
12 months along with a completion rate of 92% for our priority 4 PM’s. These two reports are
meeting or exceeding the requirements set out for us by the hospital’s administration. Our
completion rate on our corrective maintenance completed in less than 30 days is at 92%. This
number shows that our staff are accomplishing what we have sent them out to do (Briseno 2011).
It is also important to look at is how well our customers think we are doing and the
happiness of our employees. According to the 2011 customer and employee satisfaction surveys
the plant hospital maintenance department scored a 9 in customer service, one and a half points
higher than the goal of 7.5. We also scored a 7.75 when it comes to employee satisfaction, again
exceeding the goal of 7.5. (Customer satisfaction 2011)
While looking at ones strengths is enjoyable, looking at ones weakness can be less
enjoyable. After reviewing the numbers from the last 12 months one could conclude that even
though our customers and staff seem relatively happy, we may not be getting the most out of our
staff. For instance, according to our work order management system Maximo, the plant hospital
maintenance HVAC department had 4,733 CM work orders and 12,012 PM work orders for a
total of 16,745 work orders at the main medical campus. Assuming that all of the information in
the system was entered correctly, with a staff of 26 full time employees (FTE’s) this leaves each
employee with approximately 644 work orders per year.
Assuming that our average employee takes two weeks of vacation and seven paid
holidays per year, that leaves only 243 work days per year. Compare that to the number of work
orders in the Maximo database our average HVAC shop employee runs only 2.6 work orders per
day. Leaving one to ask are we over staffed?
Before that question can be answered we must first look at the nature of our business and
why we are here. As maintenance employees we are responsible for the care of one of the
world’s most renowned hospital’s physical space. And while there may be down time during the
day, we are not stretched to the point where we cannot respond to emergencies quickly.
Unfortunately, emergencies can happen at any time of day and if it were a friend or family
member that was going to be affected by a building failure, one would want to make sure that the
right people were here to address it.
This leads us to the true underlying problem. Even though a majority of the health
center’s occupants go home after 5:00 PM, the need for HVAC does not. As with any 24 hour
facility, mechanical equipment continues running even after a majority of the staff has gone
home for the evening. With a major hospital the need for 24 hour coverage is even greater. Just
because the business day is over doesn’t mean that people don’t get sick or hurt. In our facilities
there are emergency surgeries going on at all hours of the day. There are also several large server
rooms, refrigerators and ice machines being used 24 hours a day.
The problem is then presented, what do we do with this staff? Since the number of
occupants at our health care facilities is lowest over the evenings and weekends, there will be
fewer calls placed for service. On the contrary, these hours also give us our best time to perform
preventative maintenance. Since fewer people will be affected and the building’s heat load is
typically lower, evenings and weekends are an optimal time to shut down critical pieces of
equipment for maintenance.
By instituting a 24-7 HVAC maintenance presence we go from having most of our staff
on site at the same time, to now being on three different shifts. This can lead to communication
issues causing a negative impact on the service we provide to our customers. With little or no
overlap between shifts how is that information shared? Also simple things like computer usage
can be problematic since one shift attempts to enter their time for the shift they just worked,
while the next shift wants to use the same computers to look up their work log for the shift they
are beginning.
As one can see even with a highly skilled group of people there are still obstacles that
prevent us from providing the highest quality of service to our customers. As management it is
our responsibility to make the best use of the staff we have and allow them to do what they do
best, maintenance.
Research Findings
Primary research was conducted to identify our department strengths and weakness. By
interviewing several key steak holders, one issue that kept coming up was a lack of
communication. Obviously, by spreading our staff over three different shifts you take away
valuable face time and subsequently communication suffers. With a complex the size of the
University of Michigan Hospital and Health Systems, communication is fundamental in
providing our customers the service that they demand.
There are several options to address the communication issue. One of the less popular
options is to force communication by having staff pass along information from one shift to the
next via e-mail or a log book. The problem with this option is the time at which the information
will be entered. The obvious answer is at the end of one’s shifts. With over twenty employees
how can they access the computers or log book at the same time? If there are not enough
computers available or if the log book is in use, are we willing to fund the overtime for then to
wait their turn?
Another option found while researching, is to be creative when scheduling your
employees. By scheduling employees in a way that their shifts overlap you can gain valuable
face time. This allows staff from different shifts to discuss issues that they were having or
projects that they have been involved in. This also helps to build a team environment since staff
from different shifts will be given the opportunity to work together.
Lastly, identifying the tasks for which each shift will be responsible is essential. After
reviewing our work order database it was obvious that most of our major system preventative
maintenance work needs to done after hours (Briseno 2011). It makes sense to schedule this
work during this time because it is the least busy of all shifts. However, why spend the extra
money funding the overtime when we can alter one’s schedule to accommodate this work?
Conclusions and Recommendations
Fortunately, the University of Michigan has a dedicated and highly qualified staff that is
capable of addressing these problems. As management we have the responsibility to utilize the
staff effectively in order to address these concerns. Communication and work assignment are two
critical factors that must be addressed in order to continue being the “leaders and the Best.”
Creativity in scheduling shifts seems to be the best option as we move forward with
providing world class maintenance. By looking at our current coverage (Appendix A) one can
see the weakness in our communication bridge. As one shift is starting the previous shift is
leaving. This leaves the technicians little or no time to exchange information.
If we were to change from our current scheduling practice and adopt 4-10 hour shifts for
those working evenings, nights, weekends and holidays (ENWAH) we would be able to provide
a two hour overlap at the beginning and end of each ENWAH employees shift (Appendix B),
helping to eliminate our communication gap. By providing this overlap we also address the
problem of employees from both shifts needing to use the work stations to enter their time or
check e-mail, assuming that the first and last half hours of one’s shift is time dedicated for this
task (Oliver 2006). This structure also provides the entire crew with the feeling of being part of a
team as opposed to three different groups working toward the same goal, but never discussing
how to accomplish it.
Also, with more employees on site at the same time we address an issue we face with our
aging workforce. Since the ENWAH shifts are often less desirable, the individuals are usually
the less senior and therefore less experienced employees. Currently the only way for them to
transfer to a more appealing shift is to wait for a more senior employee to leave, and because of
that many of these employees never get the opportunity to work with the more knowledgeable
senior staff members. Unfortunately, when these “senior” employees either leave or retire, they
take the experience with them, forcing our new staff to learn the systems on their own.
Even though this new schedule addresses the communication problem, a new problem is
presented. With a lower management presence on the off shift, how do we ensure that the
employees are being productive? A simple answer would be by scheduling work for the off shift
and examining our key performance indicators (KPI’s) such as the ratio of CM work orders
compared to PM work orders and the completion rate on all work orders.
This is where it is imperative for management to make their expectations clear as well as
communicate with their counter parts on the different shifts. By giving the employees a clear
understanding of what is expected of them through planning and scheduling, employees have a
clear understanding as to what is expected from them. It is then our job as managers to make sure
those expectations are being met and if not find out why.
Another benefit that comes with running 4-10 shifts is a reduction in overtime cost. By
scheduling these employees to perform the major system PMs, we eliminate the need to bring
people in on overtime since we already have staff on site. These shutdowns could be scheduled
on Wednesday s when we will have two employees on each ENWAH shift in case one
emergency call comes in and needs to be addressed. This way one employee can take care of the
emergency while the other continues with the PM.
With these recommendations one can see where our areas of weakness are and how they
could be addressed. By being creative with our scheduling we can address the communication
gap we currently face between the different shifts. Also, buy providing our employees with a
clear understanding as to what we expect we put ourselves in a position to more effectively use
our staff to maintain our growing health center.
Annotated Bibliography
Briseno, J. (2011). Maximo database (Version 6) [Data file]. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of
Michigan.
Jamie Briseno is a U of M employee and has compiled several monthly reports based off
of information taken from the University of Michigan’s Maximo work order management
program.
Cunningham, K. E. (2009, August 13). U-M plans largest ever investment in financial aid [Press
Release]. Retrieved December 14, 2011, from The University of Michigan website:
http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/7202
Cunningham address how in the recent financial crisis the university has been put into a
position where budgets are cut, as well as addressing how an investment in financial aid
will assist with the budget cuts.
Customer Satisfaction Survey [PDF]. (2011). Retrieved December 10, 2011, from The University
of Michigan website: http://www.plantops.umich.edu/maintenance/hospital/PDF/
Customer&Employee_Satisfaction.pdf
This was information taken from the customer and employee satisfaction surveys taken
annually over the last 10 years.
Oliver, B. (2006, April). 10-hour shift schedules: A good match for your group? [Article].
Retrieved November 9, 2011, from http://www.apco911.org/new/commcenter911/
downloads/10-Hour_Shift_Schedules.pdf
Oliver writes about the pros and cons of 10 and 12 hour work shifts and offers advice as
to what creative schedule may work for you and your organization.
Robben, R. W. (2011, March 10). Executive Director’s Welcome. In U of M Plant Operations
(par. 2). Retrieved December 3, 2011, from The University of Michigan website:
http://www.plantops.umich.edu/director/
Richard Robben is the Executive Director of Facilities at the University of Michigan Ann
Arbor. This data was taken from his Executive Directors Welcome greeting on the plant
operations website.
The University of Michigan [Company profile]. (2011). Retrieved December 3, 2011, from
http://www.hoovers.com/company/The_University_of_Michigan/cfcsci-1.html
Hoovers is a website that gives a company profile. The University of Michigan’s profile
was taken from this source.
U.S. news best hospitals 2011-12 [Press Release]. (2011). Retrieved December 14, 2011, from
U.S. News & World Report website: http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings
Annually U.S. news ranks the nation’s top 100 hospital and health care centers.
References
Briseno, J. (2011). Maximo database (Version 6) [Data file]. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of
Michigan
Cunningham, K. E. (2009, August 13). U-M plans largest ever investment in financial aid [Press
Release]. Retrieved December 14, 2011, from The University of Michigan website:
http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/7202
Customer Satisfaction Survey [PDF]. (2011). Retrieved December 10, 2011, from The University
of Michigan website: http://www.plantops.umich.edu/maintenance/hospital/PDF/
Customer&Employee_Satisfaction.pdf
Oliver, B. (2006, April). 10-hour shift schedules: A good match for your group? [Article].
Retrieved November 9, 2011, from http://www.apco911.org/new/commcenter911/downloads/10-
Hour_Shift_Schedules.pdf
Robben, R. W. (2011, March 10). Executive Director’s Welcome. In U of M Plant Operations
(par. 2). Retrieved December 3, 2011, from The University of Michigan website:
http://www.plantops.umich.edu/director/
The University of Michigan [Company profile]. (2011). Retrieved December 3, 2011, from
http://www.hoovers.com/company/The_University_of_Michigan/cfcsci-1.html
U.S. news best hospitals 2011-12 [Press Release]. (2011). Retrieved December 14, 2011, from
U.S. News & World Report website: http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings
Appendix A
Current Coverage
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SaturdaySunday Wednesday ThursdayMonday Tuesday Friday
Sun-Thu 11:00PM to 7:00 AM
Sun-Thu 7:00AM to 3:30PM
Sun-Thu 3:00PM to 111:00AM
Appendix B
Proposed Coverage
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SaturdaySunday Wednesday Thursday FridayMonday Tuesday
Sun-Wed 10:00PM to 8:00 AM
Sun-Wed 6:00AM to 4:00PM
Sun-Wed 2:00PM to 12:00AM
Maximizing the Efficiency of the University of Michigan’s Plant Hospital Maintenance Department’s HVAC Staff
By: David Early
Shop M9100 Foreman
August 2, 2012
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Objectives of Trial 3
Trial Findings 3
History of 4-10’s vs. 5-8’s 5
Recommendations 11
Appendix A 12
Appendix B 13
References 14
INTRODUCTION
One of the largest problems that any organization can face is the lack of
communication within and between departments. A 2009 study estimated that on average
employees “waste” 17.5 hours each week, or roughly 44 percent of one’s time due to obstacles
caused by poor communication, assuming a forty hour work week (Poe, 2009). To help better
understand let’s say that the average full time employee (FTE) makes $15.00 per hour. The time
wasted each week would equal $262.50 per week (17.5 X $15.00) or $13,125.00 per employee
each year, assuming the employee works 50 weeks per year ($262.50 X 50 weeks worked) and is
100 percent efficient. Obviously 100 percent efficiency of ones employees would be impossible
for a department to achieve, however, one can clearly see that the potential that improving
communication could yield large benefits to any organization.
As with an organization, the leaders of the University of Michigan’s Plant Hospital
Maintenance Department (PHM) have an obligation to ensure that all resources are being used
effectively. While there are several factors of the daily operations that cannot be controlled,
communication is not one of them. Not only can communication be controlled, it can be altered
in a way the best fits the PHM’s structure.
One of the largest problems that any 24/7 organization has is the transfer of information
between its different shifts. Obstacles such as different managers with a lack of expertise and
staff members with little or no interaction with each other can add kinks to the communication
chain which often leads to different shift teams working against, rather than with each other since
there is little or no interaction between these individuals.
In order to help eliminate the communication barriers, the leadership of the PHM
department needs to look for ways to improve communication within the department. By
improving the department’s communication, one can expect to see an improvement in the
departments operations and customer service. While there is no simple fix that works for all
organizations’, creative scheduling may be a possible option to close the department’s
communication gaps.
With the addition of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s
Hospital in December of 2011, the PHM department began providing 24/7 coverage with A/C
Refrigeration mechanics. In doing so many of the departments preventative maintenance work
orders could be scheduled when there would be the least amount of impact on the health centers
patients and visitors. Having trades people on sight also allowed for a more prompt response into
the event that a corrective maintenance work order were to be called in. Prior to trades staff
being assigned to the off shifts, work orders would be triaged by AFSCME employees, and if
they were unable to correct them they would be addressed by the day shift employees when they
arrived in the morning.
While having HVAC trades staff on site 24/7 has its benefits, there are some
disadvantages as well, for example, the communication disconnect that takes place between the
different shifts. In order to help alleviate the communication disconnects and better utilize the
departments labor resources, the M9100 shop foremen recently ran a trial of a 4-10 hour shift
rotation for the individuals that work the evening, night and weekend shifts in an attempt to
better aid the transfer of information between the different shifts. By assigning trade’s employees
to work a 10 hour a day schedule, an overlap exist between the different shifts, allowing for more
interaction between the different A/C Refrigeration mechanics as well as with the HVAC
foreman.
OBJECTIVES OF THE TRIAL
Beginning January 1, 2012 and ending June 30, 2012 a trial of assigning the six
employees who work evenings, nights and weekends in shop M9100 took place. During this trial
period the work week was split into two separate units, Sunday – Wednesday and Wednesday –
Saturday. Each unit was then split into three different shifts, the day shift 06:00 – 16:00, the
afternoon shift, 14:00 – 24:00 and midnights 22:00 – 08:00 (Appendix A). This as opposed to
Sunday – Thursday and Tuesday - Saturday, days 07:00 – 15:30, afternoons 15:00 – 23:00 and
nights 23:00 – 07:00 (Appendix B).
By having the various shifts overlap, the M9100 foreman expected to see improved
communication, better transfer of work between the different shifts and also create a better team
environment among the group. In doing so the hope would be to see a noticeable improvement in
the completion rate of preventative and corrective maintenance work orders. Measurement will
be take of the number of PM’s that were complete on time compared to the number that was
completed late. Also the study will look to see if there were any changes to the average time it
takes to close a work order.
It has also been mentioned that in some cases, employees who work 4-10 hour shift may
get “burnt out” easier and in turn call in sick more often than those working 5-8 hour shifts. This
trial will also investigate if there is an increased use of sick time by the individuals assigned to
the 4-10 hour shifts.
TRIAL FINDING’S
At the conclusion of the six month study there were some noticeable improvements in a
number of different areas. Most notable was a reduction in sick time usage of 15.60% among the
6 employees working 4 ten hour shifts (figure 1). Also noticed was a 9.29% reduction of in the
amount of money spent on overtime once the 4-10 trial period began in January compared to the
previous 6 month period, as well as a 7.78% reduction in overtime for the trial period in
comparison to the same period (January 1st – June 30th ) of fiscal year 11.(figure 2). There was
also a noticeable 2% reduction in the amount of priority 4 PM’s that were completed late during
the trial period (The University of Michigan, 2012).
Figure 1
Employee 5-8's 4-10's Difference
Anthony Brown 0 0 0
Jim Galloway 40 35 (5)
Kirt Horn 44 24 (20)
Will Hunt 0 0 0
Mike Konwin 9 30 21
Bob Woodruff 48 30 (18)
Total Hours 141 119 (22)
15.60%Reduction In Sick Time Useage
Figure 2
Along with the decrease in the amount spent on overtime and a reduction in sick time
usage, the department saw a considerable increase in the percentage of corrective maintenance
work orders completed in the time frame of one to two days since the implementation of the 4-10
hour shifts (The University of Michigan, 2012). Also noticed was a reduction in corrective work
orders in the time frame of three to thirty days, proving that corrective maintenance work orders
are being completed in a more timely fashion (figure 3).
Figure 3
July August September October November December
$8,733 $2,797 $6,048 $3,681 $4,831 $8,515
$34,605
January February March April May June
$5,546 $4,459 $3,117 $4,188 $5,810 $8,270
$31,390
January February March April May June
$6,688 $6,444 $9,653 $2,976 $4,636 $3,641
$34,038 Overtime with 5-8's FY-11
9.29%
Reduction in Overtime 5-8's to 4-10's FY 117.78%
January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012
OVERTIME AMOUNT PER MONTH
Overtime with 4-10's
Overtime with 5-8's
OVERTIME JANURARY - JUNE FY-11
Reduction in Overtime 5-8's to 4-10's FY 12
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Co
mp
leti
on
Ra
te
Average Time to Complete CM
Comp Same Day
Comp 1 or 2 Days
Comp 3 to 7 Days
Comp 8 to 30 Days
At the conclusion of the 4-10 trial period, the data was unavailable for the completion
rates of corrective maintenance work orders. However, the data that was available showed a
trend that the implementation of the 4-10 hour shifts has made a noticeable improvement on
communications between the different shifts. Since there is the overlap at the beginning and end
of each shift there has been opportunity for information sharing between the different A/C
Refrigeration Mechanics and also between the HVAC shop foreman and the mechanics working
nights and weekends. With the overlap employees from all shifts and the HVAC foreman are
allowed to participate in daily huddles and share information face to face as opposed to
electronically or in worse case not at all.
When this trial first began it was unclear to many how the flow of work between shifts
would take place. As previously done all work orders that were unable to be addressed by the off
shifts were passed to the day shift. However, since there is 24-7 coverage work that was unable
to be addresses would flow from the employee to the shift foreman for an explanation as to why
the work was not complete. If practical, the employee would continue the job their next shift
since they were the most familiar with the job. In the event that the next shift needed to address
the issue, the overlap period is used to do so.
HISTORY OF 4-10’S VS 5-8’S
In the past different attempts at using 4-10 hour shifts to benefit both the university and
the employees have failed to yield favorable results. The following section is a list of the
concerns that took place when shop M6600 attempted the use of 4-10 hours shifts verses 5-8
hour shifts. List below each concern is an explanation as to the effects that these concerns would
have in the hospital environments.
Concern 1
Various work shifts are not conducive to cross training. It is imperative that we have
more than 2 or 3 staff with expertise in a particular system such as Generator/ATS, Variable
Speed Drives, Uninterruptible Power Systems, etc. To seamlessly cross train personnel, all shift
schedules must be aligned. This enhanced ability to cross train personnel will do far more to
enhance coverage to the University Community that the current 5x10 shifts. The greater the
number of staff trained in a specialty area, the greater the odds that someone will be at work
when a need arises in that area.
The addition of various shifts is not new to the hospital environment. Prior to the trial
period, shop M9100 was providing 24-7 A/C Refrigeration mechanic coverage of the medical
campus. With the implementation of the 4-10 hour shifts there has been more time for cross
training since the newer employees who typically work theses shift now have more interaction
time with the more senior staff working Monday – Friday 07:00 – 15:30.
Concern 2
M6600 schedules currently consist of four differing schedules; one schedule is
6:00am to 2:15pm; another is 7:00am to 3:15pm; another is Monday through Thursday (10
hours); and still another is Tuesday through Friday (10 hours). Operational needs and
efficiencies are not well served by such misaligned work schedules. In addition, the Electrical
Technical Foreman worked only four days a week leaving one day without a shop specific
foreman for supervision or support.
In order to meet the hospitals request for 24-7 coverage six different shifts are needed.
There is also a foreman on duty Monday – Friday all day and a foreman on call to cover the
weekends. Again with the overlap, employees from all shifts have time with the HVAC
Technical Foreman at the beginning and end of his shift Monday - Friday. Prior to the trial there
was no overlap and communication usually took place via e-mail.
Concern 3
Since most M6600 electricians begin work at 6:00am and other service units
(Construction Services, Moving and Trucking, etc.) start at 7:00am, daily conflicts occur in
which vehicles are blocked by those on another shift. Parking conflicts occur at the end of the
work day as well. Parking conflicts also occur on Mondays and Fridays when some staff is off
and their vehicles sometimes block other staffs that work on Mondays and Fridays. This has been
especially the case since the implementation of our new parking policy that has concentrated
vehicles in secure areas to reduce vehicle break-ins.
Since the health center does not use university vehicles at the medical center, this concern
does not apply.
Concern 4
M6600 electrician and Foremen availability is limited to management, and others
collectively, on Mondays and Fridays because these are the two days in which various staff and
Foremen will be off. Fridays are a particular concern because all of the Electrical Construction
Shop and some of the Electrical Technical Shop do not work on Fridays and there is minimal
staff to cover emergent campus needs that may occur on Fridays.
The HVAC Foreman is maintaining his shift of Monday – Friday so that he is present
during the normal work week. Even with 5-8 hour shifts there is a reduced work force on
Mondays and Friday created by those covering the weekend days. However, unlike the M6600
trial there is only one employee who’s schedule day off is during this time period. This vacancy
would take place regardless of 4-10 or 5-8 hour shifts.
Concern 5
The General Foreman’s schedule is 5 days a week. It is essential that he be able to
discuss important issues and ideas with all of his shop supervisors on any of those 5 days.
However, since one supervisor doesn’t work on Mondays and the other doesn’t work on Fridays,
access to both can only occur on Tuesday through Thursday.
Again the HVAC foreman will continue working his regular Monday- Friday 07:00 -
15:30 shift, making this concern irrelevant to the hospital environment.
Concern 6
The 6:00am start time is out of sync with the University community. While building
exteriors may be accessible by card access, internal customer project areas are difficult to
obtain access to at this time. If a key must be obtained to enter a non-Plant area to begin work at
6:00am, keys are not available until at least 7:30am after the key office opens. This has led to the
problem of excessive master keys being issued to all Plant employees inclusive of the
Electricians.
The University of Michigan Hospital is a 24 hour a day 7 day a week facility. Therefore
there is no start or stop time that is out of sync with the health center. In fact, there are benefits to
having staff on site when there is less traffic. This allows time to access areas that are normally
used during the course of a normal business day when access is limited. Since there is the
overlap of the shifts, if an issue is called in during the day shift and the area is inaccessible, the
day shift employee have time to discuss the issue with the following shift, which may reduce the
time needed to re-troubleshoot a problem.
Concern 7
Multi-trade projects suffer due to lack of synchronization of the various trades’ work
schedules. At one time, Construction Services attempted 10 hour shifts and found it to be
inefficient for many of the same reason’s discussed here. By their management and supervisory
unity on the many problems multiple shifts created, they aligned their entire operation back to 8
hour per day shifts.
Again, prior to the implementation of 4-10 hour shifts there were already A/C
refrigeration employees working off shifts. Since there are only six employees assigned to these
shifts, a majority of the HVAC will still be working a Monday – Friday an able to assist with
project that require various trades’.
Concern 8
The tool crib staff’s schedule is 7:00am to 3:30pm; therefore tool availability, sign out
procedure, and materials expediting is unavailable outside of these hours. Tool crib staffing is
not sufficient to be modified to meet the present 4x10 schedule, nor is the need for expansion of
Crib staffing necessary. Again, due to the lack of shift coordination here, more tools are bought
and purchased that could be centralized and shared with greater accountability; accountability
for use, University Audits tracking, and damage/repair follow-up when the need arises.
There is no tool crib at the health center and all tool purchases must be approved by the
HVAC foreman prior to being ordered. Once approved the foreman orders the tools and then
delivers the tools to the employee during the overlap period.
Concern 9
Coordination between all Plant Operations mechanics, trades, managerial, and
administrative staff is hindered when these schedules do not correspond such as on Monday,
Fridays and outside of 7:00am and 3:30pm daily. Plant support entities such as Zones, PPAPO,
Plant Academy, FM Training, etc. are consistently experience problems when attempting to
contact electrical staff due to the extra steps of ascertaining their actual work days. The rework
required due to this aspect is intangible.
The health center is a 24-7 facility at which HVAC technicians are on site. To address
PPAPO concerns, an admin is available during the overlap period. Other concerns are then
communicated to the HVAC foreman to follow up. While alternative schedules do make training
more difficult, scheduling training on Wednesday has allowed for most staff to attend. Since
there is now an overlap, cross information can be provided to the individuals who were unable to
attend. Again, even with 5-8’s there are normal week days where employees have their regularly
scheduled day off.
Concern 10
Holiday weeks are difficult to manage not only for PPAPO but for management due to
exception schedules that have to be created each holiday week to reconcile that the 8 hours of
holiday pay and the 10 hour workday schedules mathematically add up to a 40 hour week. This
problem has been exacerbated because the electricians have pushed for and have been allowed
to adjust their schedules during a holiday week to give them a 4 day week-end, i.e. the holiday
and their regular week day off. This practice has limited coverage to only 3-days during a
holiday week. Every varying work schedule creates an opportunity for errors in payroll. These
errors are compounded by factors such as: determining who is actually working overtime; who
may be due shift premium; who is participating in “On-Call;” and who is being paid
“Leadman.” The whole process benefits from the enhanced clarity of a standard work schedule.
During holiday weeks employees are given the choice of working 4-8’s like the rest of
the crew or using 2 hours of vacation. This is worked out in advance and has not posed an issue
within shop M9100.
Concern 11
“All-Hands” staff and mandatory safety training meetings are difficult to schedule and
must usually be scheduled on Tuesday through Thursday because of the electricians and
Foremen that do not work on Mondays and Fridays. This then pinches the communication and
work time available for multi-shop coordinated PM’s & Customer pay work on those three days
of the week.
With 24-7 coverage, it is impossible to have all employees attend shop meetings at the
same time. Currently the HVAC foreman has smaller meetings so the he can meet with the
afternoon and evening shifts. These meeting are held during the overlap period which allows for
coverage by the day shift so that employees are not pulled from the meeting to address building
concerns.
Concern 12
During peak project seasons such as the summer months, it would be imprudent to hire
enough permanent UM electricians to satisfy this peak work load and then have staff exceed
available work at all other periods necessitating layoffs. It continues to be a best practice in
hiring temporary Turner Electricians during these peak times and growing our internal staff as
the recurring workload predicates. It is very difficult to seamlessly transition Turner
Electricians, whose contractual hours with UM are 7:00am – 3:30pm, five days a week, with our
electricians that work 10 hours per day.
The plant hospital maintenance department shop M9100 typically does not hire
temporary help. In the event that temporary help is needed, they would be assigned Monday –
Friday 07:00 – 15:30 with the majority of the HVAC staff.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based off of the information gathered from the MAXIMO data base there are some
apparent gains which come from implementing 4-10 shifts permanently. However, the M9100
foreman is not confident enough with the data collected to guarantee that the trend will continue,
but this information could serve as an operational and performance target. On the contrary, the
improved communication between the different shifts has noticeably improved and many of the
reasons that the 4-10 shifts failed to work in shop M6600 would actually favor operations at the
health center.
Considering the MAXIMO information along with the communication benefits, the
M9100 shop foreman would make the recommendation that the six 4-10 shifts are made
permanent shifts within Plant Hospital Maintenance shop M9100.
APPENDIX A
4-10 Hour Shifts
12:00
12:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:00
4:30
5:00
5:30
6:00
6:30
7:00
7:30
8:00
8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
12:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:00
4:30
5:00
5:30
6:00
6:30
7:00
7:30
8:00
8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
Saturday
Wed-Sat 10:00PM to 8:00AMSun-Wed 10:00PM to 8:00 AM
Wed-Sat 6:00AM to 4:00PM
Sun-Wed 2:00PM to 12:00AM
Sun-Wed 6:00AM to 4:00PM
Wed-Sat 2:00PM to 12:00AM
Sunday Wednesday Thursday FridayMonday Tuesday
APPENDIX B
5 – 8 Hour Shifts
12:00
12:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:00
4:30
5:00
5:30
6:00
6:30
7:00
7:30
8:00
8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
12:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:00
4:30
5:00
5:30
6:00
6:30
7:00
7:30
8:00
8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
Sun-Thu 11:00PM to 7:00 AM
Sun-Thu 7:00AM to 3:30PM
Sun-Thu 3:00PM to 111:00AM
SaturdaySunday Wednesday ThursdayMonday Tuesday Friday
Tue-Sat 7:00AM to 3:30PM
Tue-Sat 3:00PM to 11:00AM
Tue-Sat 11:00PM to 7:00AM
REFERENCES
The University of Michigan. (2012, July). MAXIMO Database. Retrieved July 2012, from
https://maximo.med.umich.edu/maximo/webclient/login/login.jsp?sc=1343921701081
Poe, R. (2009, February 26). Study finds communication problems waste lots of SMB time.
Retrieved July 16, 2012, from http://www.voip-news.com/feature/problems-smb-022609/
David Early
Multi-Functional Maintenance/Trades Manager
Leading With Empowerment and Diversity
August 19, 2014
Creating and leading a team to solve an organization’s problems can be a rewarding, yet
challenging experience. Using one’s ability to influence others to share ideas and methods of
accomplishing specific tasks for the purpose of achieving goals in a team environment will likely
yield results that are outside of the abilities of any one individual. Building a team, however,
which meets the needs and objectives of an organization can be a daunting process.
Often overlooked in the team-building process is the importance of creating a diverse team. If
one were to create a team made up of individuals with similar backgrounds, work experiences,
educations, etc. it is amazing just how mediocre the end result may be. This could possibly be
due to the fact that there is no one there to challenge the group’s ideas. Or, in some cases, with so
many “experts” on the same team, conflicting egos will not allow the good ideas to flourish.
(Browning, 2014)
Take for example professional sports, where only the most talented/gifted athletes are able to
compete. The men and women at this level are by far the most elite of their trade however, in
team sports, no one individual has ever won a championship on their own. Take for instance the
National Football League team, the New England Patriots. Their quarterback Tom Brady is
arguably one of the best players in the league, but without a diverse offensive line and receivers,
would Brady have been able to lead his team to three Super Bowls?
It was the diversity in the makeup of the New England Patriots which led to their success. For
instance, if the Patriots had been fortunate enough to have an offensive line made of Tom Brady
clones, would they have been able to block as well as Damien Woody or run pass routes like
David Patten? Obviously not! The differences in speed and size alone would not have allowed
Brady to be as competitive at center and wide receiver as he was as a quarterback. The diversity
of size, speed and ability was essential in the team’s success.
Keep in mind that diversity was only part of the team’s success. Let’s not forget to mention the
trust that each player had in each other. While in the pocket, Brady has an angry mob of 300-
pound animals wanting nothing more than to rip his head off! But, with the trust he has in his
offensive line, Brady is able to remain calm and deliver accurate passes knowing that his team
has his back. It was because of their trust in each other, and the skills each of these players
brought to their team, that the Patriots were able to succeed.
When people hear the word diversity, the first thing that usually comes to mind is ethnicity or
cultural differences. While the ethnical makeup and/or cultural differences of a group will likely
lead to different opinions, one must not forget cognitive diversity as a whole. Regardless of race
and culture, in general people think differently and can offer different opinions. By grouping
together people with a different thought process, team leaders put themselves in a position to
accomplish so much more simply because this allows new ideas will be brought to the table. As
Stephen Covey once said, “Strengths lie in differences, not similarities.” The team (leader and
other members) needs to respect what each individual brings to the team.
In his book, Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, University of
Michigan professor Scott Page explained that in order to have an effective, diverse team, we
must be willing to encourage dissent. (Page, 2010) By that, one must be willing to accept that
conflict in a group, if managed properly, is a good thing. If all team members agree, one must
ask, was there really a problem in the first place or was the group created diverse enough for this
issue?
Creating a cognitively diverse team is only a small part of the recipe for success in a team
environment. Team leaders and decision makers must be willing to accept the ideas of the other
members. If these individuals are not willing to explore ideas that challenge the status quo, the
benefits of a diverse team are often reduced or eliminated. For example, a team could come up
with some of the most creative and innovative solutions for a business problem, but if the
decision makers are not willing to consider these ideas, was there really any benefit in creating a
diverse team?
This is a common problem with leaders who are both power hungry and/or inexperienced.
People in leadership positions often feel as if they must be the voice of authority, and if they give
in it could present an image of incompetence or weakness. This is compounded in any new
manager who may have been brought up by the “old school” authoritarian managers. As leaders,
we must understand and accept that it is typically our front line workers who see our flaws and
inefficiencies. Therefore we must trust their observations and be willing to accept their ideas.
(Haynes, 2014)
As a team leader, in order to truly meet, and hopefully exceed, the expectations of our
organization, we must create teams of individuals who challenge each other’s opinions, while at
the same time keep an open mind of those whom we are challenged by. Most importantly, the
leaders need to challenge their team to challenge everyone else, regardless of each other’s
position, title and egos. It is then and only then, that their team can reach its full potential.
Complex problems often require a creative solution and creativity takes courage. As leaders we
need to be willing to trust, encourage and accept others ideas, even if we ourselves feel
differently. The strength of problem solving in a diverse group long outweighs the comfort we
feel when we are in total control. Keep in mind it is often our comfort causing the problem in the
first place.
References
Browning, G. (2014, April 16). Inc.com. Retrieved August 18, 2014, from www.inc.com/geil-
browning/it-takes-all-kinds-of-brains-to-make-a-perfect-team.html)
Haynes, R. (2014). thewisdomjournal.com. Retrieved August 18, 20014, from
http://www.thewisdomjournal.com/Blog/20-reasons-managers-fail/
Page, S. E. (2010, February 9). Scott Page on Leveraging Diversity [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt9UeknKwZw
David Early
Multi-Functional Maintenance/Trades Manager
Maintaining Your Values in Times of
Change
November 5, 2014
Over the course of one’s career, if they are ever to implement a change, one thing that they can
be assured of is that there will be times of uncertainty. Whether it is the implementation of a new
program/process or the change in the culture of an organization, unrest will certainly be present.
While this period of unrest is typically unavoidable, what we learn and how we present and carry
ourselves is the only thing we can control.
As managers/leaders it is important that we establish and maintain our core values during these
times of transition. Often, members of our organization don’t realize the amount of time that was
spent researching, planning, and developing “change” prior to implementation. Once the change
is rolled out it is most likely going to be resisted and criticized. As is the case with most change
there are going to be setbacks along the way. At this time the naysayers are going to take this
opportunity to criticize the process. One will often hear phrases such as “I don’t know why
management did this, our previous program worked just fine” or “The only reason that they did
this was to justify their position”. As someone who has spent countless hours investing in a
project can tell you, this can be very discouraging and disheartening.
Over the course of my own management career I have come to the conclusion that people
generally fear change and there are many reasons for this. First and foremost, change is typically
uncomfortable. Once a change is implemented, we ask our work group to digress from the
processes that they are likely most comfortable performing. Secondly, change is typically
brought on by the desire to improve work efficiency in order to reduce cost. People fear that if
there is a more efficient way to perform the work that is required, they may be relieved of their
duties. It is important that we as leaders understand and put these fears at ease. These fears are
only compounded when change does not go as expected.
The fact is no matter what change you plan on implementing, things will likely not go as planned
and there will be setbacks. These setbacks are going to lead to questions of why KPI’s have not
improved, why people are not getting paid, etc. As the person responsible for this change people
are looking to you for answers, most of which you likely won’t have. This now poses the
question, how do we as managers push through to a successful implementation when faced with
these obstacles?
The answer is not very simple and varies based on the complexity of the implementation.
However, the one thing that we have control over is our core values, if they are in alignment with
our organizations, and whether they support that change that we feel is necessary. If any of these
three are not in alignment, one should step back and reevaluate before implementation. At the
end of the day one only has control over his/her own actions and not those of others. We, as
leaders need to lead with good morals and integrity and set the path for our team to follow.
Armed with solid core values and a well thought out plan, one can overcome setbacks as they are
presented. As is the case with any implementation, things will not always go as planned and
opportunities for improvement will present themselves. We must look at these as learning
opportunities and not failures. One should embrace these opportunities and ask yourself, what
did or did not work as planned, what could you do better to prevent this from happening in the
future. Remember, the turmoil shall pass and in the end the organization and its mission will be
better off because of the change you led.
David Early
Multi-Functional Maintenance/Trades Manager
We're Doomed!
November 7, 2014
After years of holding out hope I have finally come to the conclusion that we as a society are
doomed. While it saddens me to say it, I have officially lost all hope for the people of this great
nation. Somehow, over the last 238 years our country has gone from the land of opportunity to a
nation full of me-centric complainers looking for someone else to fix their problems. The sad
thing is that until people realize that they are not only the problem but also the solution there is
no hope.
It wasn't until I accepted a management position and became a decision maker myself that I
realized just how much people love to complain about what’s wrong in an organization but
seldom offer solutions on how to fix it. Somehow, the paradigm has shifted and people have
gone form working hard to be successful to looking at others for their own prosperity. The fact of
the matter is that we are the only ones who are responsible for our actions and whether or not we
are successful in life. Yet, so many people feel that success and prosperity is owed to them and
someone else is continually holding them back.
I look back at when I decided to return to college after taking several years off. Like many other
adults looking to earn a degree I began by attending evening classes at the local community
college. Coming from a small, middle-class Michigan town, the thing that I remember the most
was not the class content but the large number of foreign students who were enrolled in classes
with me. Looking back, the thing that separated us the most was not our nationality but the
optimism and drive that these students had as compared to their American-born counterparts.
Their dreams and aspirations were also much bigger and in the end many more of them achieved
what they set out to do, move on to a university.
Many of these people came to the United States with little or nothing to their name and a dream
to live a life of prosperity. They knew that if they worked hard and made sacrifices that they
could accomplish more than they ever could in their native country. Yet, at the same time many
of the people in this country are looking to others to provide for them. People want more reward
for less effort. As a father, I can’t understand how people can go home and look their children in
the eyes knowing that they did as little as possible all day long and in many cases got paid very
well for it. Personally, this is not the example that I want to set for my kids and yet others seem
completely fine with it.
In my opinion, the reason for this is simple. In this country today, I believe that there are two
different types of people; the doers, those who care and want to make a difference and the
grumblers, those who don’t care and want others to solve the world’s problems. Unfortunately,
many people have come to the conclusion that it is easier to let others provide for them as oppose
to providing for themselves. People no longer want to take ownership of a problem because they
know that someone else will come up with a resolution. At the same time, it’s these individuals
who typically are the first to complain about the solution that others came up with, while never
offering a remedy of their own. The sad thing is that people like this can be found in every social
class and at all levels of an organization. As long as the doers continue to provide, the grumblers
will continue to exist.
Take for instance the last major election in 2012 where only 53.5% of our nation’s voter age
population took part in selecting the leaders and law makers of this country. This left an
astonishing 46.5% of people who are eligible to vote basically saying that they were comfortable
letting someone else decide who will make decisions on how much money they pay in taxes,
whether or not they could legally get married etc. Yet often these people are the first to complain
when they feel that their rights are being impinged upon. We've all heard the excuses as to why
these people don’t vote, “my vote doesn't matter” or “I didn't have the time to vote” etc. The
truth is, that at the time these people didn't feel that the future was important enough to take the
time to research the candidates and proposals and voice their opinion.
The same holds true in the work place. People love to complain about what’s wrong with
management, the organization’s processes, culture, and policies yet these people seldom offer
any ideas on how things could be better executed. That’s because it’s easy to complain and
difficult to come up with solutions. Solutions are often challenged, and rightfully so. However, in
my opinion, if one is not willing to challenge a solution with a different one, then what are we
really accomplishing other than aggravation and a diminished morale?
This leads to the reason that I chose to write this post. It would be easy for me to become a
grumbler and quite honestly I often wonder why I haven’t. Why would anyone not want to hold
others accountable for their actions, or have to be the person in the “hot seat” when things are not
going as planned? For me the answer is simple. In my life I've been fortunate enough to have
mentors that challenged me to make a difference. These men and women pushed me to come up
with a solution as oppose to becoming a grumbler myself. They taught me that in order for
change to take place, everyone needs to be invested.
The fact of the matter is that many doers are enabling the grumblers to take advantage of the
system by not listening to what they have to say. We need to encourage others to get involved in
the solution and become a part of the change to save our society. This is done by challenging
others to challenge our way of thinking, by persuading others to vote and by helping the
grumblers realize that they are part of the solution. Until the doers realize that they need to get
the grumblers involved and not take care of everything themselves, we are stuck with the status
quo.
My hope is that in reading this people will realize that all opinions matter and because they do,
everyone can help to make a difference. I hope that people will appreciate that even the
grumblers have an opinion and right or wrong it is worth taking into consideration. People need
to stop complaining about management or politicians and offer a solution and get out and vote.
Whether they vote Republican, Democrat or for a third party there is a way to make your voice
heard. We as a society need to stop complaining about the problems and start creating solutions.
Now, if you have read this to the end apparently you are either really bored or at least partially
agree with my view. Either way, I offer you the challenge of making a difference. Challenge
others to challenge you but more importantly, keep an open mind. You may be surprised that
with a little persuasion and consideration even the biggest grumbler can become a part of the
solution.