Articles
Voices: Human Capital
Work prioritization problems: How to stay out of the ‘Twilight Zone’
Avoid gray areas by keeping team objectives consistent and linked to the big picture By Tom Moriarty for Plant Services Magazine Plant Services, May 01, 2017 “Last week he told us to do daily scheduling; the week before that he told us to focus on closing out work...
Who’s deciding who does what?
Set priorities and boundaries for task allocation to optimize everyone’s time. By Tom Moriarty for Plant Services Magazine Plant Services, March 31, 2017 An engineering manager supporting a maintenance organization was distraught. He had several people giving him...
Don’t train in vain. Follow these 5 steps to achieve leadership training success.
How to prevent goals for leadership training from clashing with reality. By Tom Moriarty for Plant Services Magazine Plant Services, March 01, 2017 Last month I broached the subject of “one-and-done” leadership training and why the one-off approach is ineffective. Now...
Stop one-and-done leadership training
Don’t take the generic route if you want to to ensure your leadership training actually works. By Tom Moriarty for Plant Services Magazine Plant Services, February 07, 2017 The plant manager knows there’s a gap between what he/she anticipated in terms of leadership...
Be a Macro-Manager
Strike the right balance between staying aware but not always taking direct action; be a macro-manager. By Tom Moriarty Plant Services, Oct 04, 2016 This article is about dealing with two common refrains from supervisors and the workforce. “I hate being micro-managed”...
Does your organization have leaders who understand and champion PdM?
The leadership imperative for PdM. By Tom Moriarty Plant Services Magazine, Aug 31, 2016 Predictive maintenance (PdM) describes a maintenance activity that seeks to identify and correct defects prior to an asset’s failure. So we can be aligned with the definition of...
What golf teaches us about maintenance: There are no quick fixes to persistent problems
You can't fix a golf swing – or a persistent problem in your plant – overnight. By Tom Moriarty Plant Services Magazine, Aug 01, 2016 My father, an avid (some would say obsessed) golfer, passed away last year. He had a sizable library of golf books. Lately, I have...
Buzz-worthy: How does leadership pollinate at your plant?
When it comes to cultivating leaders, does your plant pollinate and bearing fruit or withering away? By Tom Moriarty Plant Services Magazine, Jul 05, 2016 High school biology classes taught us that pollination enables a plant to bear fruit and produce seeds. There...
Plant Leaders, Put Down the Violin and Support Your Maintenance Team
Plant leaders owe it to their teams to understand and support the maintenance role. By Tom Moriarty Plant Services Magazine, Jun 14, 2016 In April 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank. In the hours it took for the massive ship to take on water and ultimately...
Workforce retention: Should I stay or should I go?
Retention... Who’s most likely to be looking for the exit at your plant? The answer may surprise you. By Tom Moriarty Plant Services Magazine, May 02, 2016 In 1981, The Clash had a hit with “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” In the workplace, people most often leave to...
Voices: Human Capital
Human Capital is a monthly column for plant managers, department managers, supervisors and aspiring leaders. This column provides a blend of leadership and organizational development concepts with practical applications and insight.