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on Systems Thinking

A listing in reverse chronological order of articles by:



  • JD Solomon — Communicating with FINESSE series

  • Robert (Bob) J. Latino — The RCA series

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

Qualitative Assessments: 3 Bad Examples That Will Improve Your Effectiveness

Qualitative Assessments: 3 Bad Examples That Will Improve Your Effectiveness

Opinion-based data is the foundation of qualitative assessments. Qualitative assessments are used in various applications, including asset management, risk management, human reliability analysis, and customer surveys. The usefulness of any qualitative assessment is a function of design, analysis, and administration. This article provides three examples of poor qualitative analysis to avoid and, in turn, improve the effectiveness of your work.

Qualitative Assessment Scales

Likert scales are five-point ordinal scales where participants select a label (or numerical value) that equates to an opinion or attitude. Labels are paired (i.e., agree-disagree, strongly agree-strongly disagree) symmetrically around a neutral center. Today, we see 5-, 7-, and 9-point versions of Likert scales in everything from customer surveys to risk assessments.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

What Are Best Practices for Facilitating Qualitative Assessments?

What Are Best Practices for Facilitating Qualitative Assessments?

Opinion-based data is the foundation of qualitative assessments. Qualitative assessments are used in various applications, including asset management, risk management, human reliability analysis, and customer surveys. The usefulness of any qualitative assessment is a function of design, analysis, and administration. The article provides best practices for improving administering and facilitating qualitative assessments.

A Long History with Many Forms

The modern basis of opinion-based data’s scientific use can be traced from the western hemisphere to the late 1800s. Educators and psychologists were seeking to quantify their clinical observations of human behavior. A similar movement was underway in the fields of natural science and statistics.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

FINESSE Facilitation: What Are Best Practices for Qualitative Assessment Analysis?

FINESSE Facilitation: What Are Best Practices for Qualitative Assessment Analysis?

Opinion-based data is the foundation of qualitative assessments. Qualitative assessments are used in various applications, including asset management, risk management, human reliability analysis, and customer surveys. The usefulness of any qualitative assessment is a function of best practices associated with design, analysis, and administration.

The article provides best practices for improving qualitative assessment analysis. Facilitators develop and use qualitative assessments in the execution of their work. Facilitators should be aware of qualitative assessment analysis as they seek to bring a group of participants to solutions that are created, understood, and accepted by all.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

FINESSE Facilitation: Why Qualitative Assessment Design Is Important

FINESSE Facilitation: Why Qualitative Assessment Design Is Important

Opinion-based data is the foundation of qualitative assessments. Qualitative assessments are used in various applications, including asset management, risk management, human reliability analysis, and customer surveys. The usefulness of any qualitative assessment is a function of design, analysis, and administration.

The article provides tips for improving qualitative assessment design. Facilitators develop and use qualitative assessments in the execution of their work. Facilitators should be aware of qualitative assessment design as they seek to bring a group of participants to solutions that are created, understood, and accepted by all. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

The #1 Thing Facilitators and Technical Experts Get Wrong About Qualitative Assessments

The #1 Thing Facilitators and Technical Experts Get Wrong About Qualitative Assessments

A facilitator leads a group of participants to solutions that are created, understood, and accepted by all. Effective facilitation cannot be achieved without the role of people and social sciences. Understanding Likert scales as a viable technique is necessary to improve qualitative assessments, including risk assessments, condition assessments, and prioritization.

Likert scales were originally developed by Rensis Likert, who was concerned with measuring psychological attitudes and wished to do this in a “scientific” way. Specifically, he sought a method to produce attitude measures that could reasonably be interpreted as measurements on a proper metric scale, such as a thermometer.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

How Reliability Engineers Can Improve Their Communication in Information Sessions

How Reliability Engineers Can Improve Their Communication in Information Sessions

There was a lot to unpack from the 45-minute information session. After all, three different governmental units evaluated the issue for over three years. We had not had a debriefing on the issue in a year. And the issue was an emerging one, ripe with complexity and uncertainty. Effective communication can be difficult in these types of information sessions.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

17 Powerful Insights on Effective Communication Using FINESSE

17 Powerful Insights on Effective Communication Using FINESSE

There are a lot of keen insights in the 2022 FINESSE guest articles for improving communication skills. Looking back on this bold collection reminds me that much good work, and systems thinking, is still needed for as we move into the future.

Effective Communication is a System

Is there a single theme that we can gain from the 2022 guest articles that makes it easier to communicate information related to work-related decisions with complexity and uncertainty? Is there one thing we can do to be an effective trusted advisor? The answer to both is “not really.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

The Power of Purpose: Exploring Transactions vs Relationships

The Power of Purpose: Exploring Transactions vs Relationships

With nearly four (4) decades of experience in Reliability, Maintenance and Safety in my rear-view mirror now, I’ve gotten to pondering about what have I actually learned? What has been my purpose? For those who don’t know me you can learn more about my career pathway by visiting my LinkedIn Profile. In short, I’ve been a practitioner, consultant, educator, author, businessman, mentor and thought-influencer (don’t like the term ‘Leader’, sounds too cocky).

Given all this ‘wisdom’ (polite term for dues paid in years or the state of being ‘old-er’), what have I really learned?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, on Systems Thinking, The RCA

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

How ADA Compliance Improves Communication for Reliability Engineers

How ADA Compliance Improves Communication for Reliability Engineers

Sometimes it is easier to start with what not to do. That is often the case for technically trained professionals who are often not the best natural communicators. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and international standards for the visually and hearing impaired provide good guardrails.

The Basics

These are five basics that should be considered as a minimum standard.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

How to Compel Uncertainty to Respond (and Strengthen Communication)

How to Compel Uncertainty to Respond (and Strengthen Communication)

Reliability and systems engineers are in it for the long game. Their work feeds big decisions that take months or years to evaluate and must pass through many levels of management. Big decisions are filled with complexity (many interrelated parts) and uncertainty (unknown beyond doubt or not clearly defined). This article provides several key observations about uncertainty and five tips on how to drive out uncertainty with FINESSE.

Knowledge (and the degree of its validation)

Uncertainty refers to situations involving imperfect or unknown information. It applies to predictions of future events, to physical measurements that are already made, or to the unknown. Uncertainty arises in partially observable environments and is due to ignorance, indolence, or both (Norvig and Thrun).

Technical professionals drive toward collecting more data – more knowledge – but is that really what decision-makers care about?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

Top 10 Reasons Maintenance and Reliability Initiatives Fail

Top 10 Reasons Maintenance and Reliability Initiatives Fail

Guest post by Kenneth Latino.

I have been in the business of maintenance and reliability for nearly 35 years. I have had the luxury of working with many industries during my career both as a practitioner in a large paper mill and as a maintenance/reliability consultant. I have been able to see what works and what does not. So, these are some of the mistakes I have made personally and have also seen others make. It is by far not a comprehensive list but does provide some of the more important reasons and some potential solutions.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, on Systems Thinking, The RCA

by JD Solomon Leave a Comment

So, You Are a Reliability Engineer Forced into Being a Facilitator

So, You Are a Reliability Engineer Forced into Being a Facilitator

Technical professionals are often asked to “lead” teams through the application of assessment tools such as failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), Root Cause Analysis (RCM), and Reliability Block Diagrams. In some cases, you may be a department manager. In other cases, you are the subject matter expert. Sometimes senior management simply knows you are willing to do it.

The issue is not whether you are smart enough or the most personable engineer in the group. The problem is that you may have all the hard skills required to do the assessment, but you lack formal training in the soft skills. Most of us do the best we can. 

This article provides some insights for doing better rather than just being adequate.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Communicating with FINESSE, on Systems Thinking Tagged With: business process, collaboration, Facilitation, reliability tools, Root Cause Analysis

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

My Reliability Journey

My Reliability Journey

Guest post by Ken Latino.

About 13 years ago, I began a reliability journey at a large paper mill. At that time, the mill was pretty reactive and I was naïve enough to think I was going to single handedly turn it around. While I thought I had all the answers and was going to teach the mill a thing or two about reliability, it ended up teaching me a hell of a lot more.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, on Systems Thinking, The RCA

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

So how Should I use the SAP-PM Breakdown Indicator?

So how Should I use the SAP-PM Breakdown Indicator?

Guest post by Ken Latino.

There are many opinions about the use of the breakdown flag in SAP-PM. I would like to offer my opinion on this debate. First, I do not like the term “breakdown”. With a name like breakdown, nobody will want to check the box! No one likes to admit that a something has failed or is broken. I wish the field were named “reliability event” to take away this negative connotation.  I will discuss this in more detail later.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, on Systems Thinking, The RCA

by Robert (Bob) J. Latino Leave a Comment

Utilizing CMMS/EAM for Defect Elimination

Utilizing CMMS/EAM for Defect Elimination

As we all have learned, eliminating defects is the key to a safe and profitable plant. But how do we know where our ‘bugs” are hiding? There are certainly many ways to uncover where the bugs are, but one place in particular is your computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) or enterprise asset management system (EAM), as it is commonly referred. 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, on Systems Thinking, The RCA

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