How Important Is Human Asset Performance Management ?
How Important Is Human Asset Performance Management ?
Asset performance management (APM) for operational excellence was discussed in-depth at the ARC Industry Forum in Orlando. Bruce Taylor, Director Digital Transformation, Sinclair Oil, looked at APM from a totally different perspective. His presentation was not about APM technologies or ecosystems related to it, he spoke about what he believes actually generates benefit, and that is the human asset performance. This blog captures the highlights of his presentation and the video can be watched here.
Importance of Asset Performance Management
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, privately held Sinclair Oil is a vertically integrated oil company, involved in oil and gas exploration, refining (two refineries in Wyoming), pipeline and transportation, and sales & marketing. Mr. Taylor expressed that he’s been “addicted to technology for over five decades.” His journey began at NASA’s Skylab Apollo-Soyuz project, and later he moved on to Max Fugue’s computation analysis and design, “working with technology, having to do things that hadn’t been invented yet.” With over 50+ years of implementing technology he understands the importance of asset performance management. There are all kinds of programs, such as reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), predictive and prescriptive maintenance, and KPIs to measure mean time between failure, mean time between repair, etc. Mr. Taylor stressed that more than the physical equipment what actually matters and makes a tangible difference is the human asset. His experience has proven that even with the best of technologies/software the project will fail if the human asset doesn’t perform; but even with not so up-to-date software the project can succeed if the human asset is optimized.
Further, he asked the audience where they were on the path of human asset performance optimization and if they are able to develop an adaptable and innovative workforce.
Investing in Human Asset Performance
“Are you investing in your human assets/workforce?”, asked Mr. Taylor. Usually, there is massive investment made on technologies (machine learning, artificial intelligence) for fixed assets. There has to be parity between investment on fixed assets and human assets, and these factors must be tied together, he explained. “Because, physical asset performance is 100 percent tied to your human asset performance.” Although the physical asset might be working at optimum level, many incident investigations reveal that somewhere in the process a human error/misjudgement caused a failure.
Technology can also be a major distractor, said Mr. Taylor. In this context he quoted some statistics. Apparently, average employees using the computer are distracted every 10.5 minutes, and this is due to checking email, checking the internet because they’re in front of a computer, or something pops up. Picture this scenario: on the one hand you want employees to focus and become more efficient, while on the other you install instant messaging to get immediate responses. “So, when you’re talking about technology, what are you really trying to accomplish?”
Organizational Focus
There has to be organizational parity and focus with respect to the investments, the programs, the timelines and workforce issues (losing senior workforce/seniors are stuck in their ways/training new recruits). According to Mr. Taylor, loss of the workforce and the transition is timely. “Because as we go forward and get past that transformation and get to digital innovation, it’s going to take new leadership, a whole new paradigm and a whole new way of thinking about the workforce.” So you must know the objectives you are trying to achieve, the technologies you are putting in place with respect to the workforce that you need. Information technology not only sustains the technology, but it also sustains the enterprise as it moves forward; and the consistent aspect is the workforce. Hence, it’s vital to know how to retain, reskill and stimulate the workforce. He added that in cross-functional teams, HR must be represented and soft skills are a prerequisite.
Citing his NASA experience, he said that when Apollo took off, there were about 5.6 or 5.7 million discrete parts generated and assembled by 400,000 plus employees from 20,000 different subcontractors, and all this was done without the technology we have today. “Taking technology and making it succeed is vision and dedication to the mission.” Change management is another important aspect – systems and positions can be physically changed, but the employees must accept the change (intellectually and emotionally) and that could take a little longer. Once that is achieved, it becomes the mission and culture of the organization and provides the overall direction.
In conclusion. Mr. Taylor reiterated that you must be passionate about the mission, the overall objectives, and not necessarily the technology. Because the technology is itself transitional and it’s going to change. What is needed is a different approach – the human asset performance approach.
Published at Sun, 06 Sep 2020 19:18:45 +0000
Huawei playing key role in Pakistan’s adoption of 2030 SDGs
Pakistan’s vision for a digitalized future is one that will enable the country to thrive through the immense potential of connectivity. A digital future will redefine societies, enabling growth and development, enhancing education and industry, and building new capacity for accelerating the economy.
Pakistan has been working tirelessly towards the development of its youth. This has been reflected by the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through which the country aims to activate a number of policies and actions that help empower and engage the youth for achieving the SDGs.
In line with this vision, Pakistan has launched initiatives, such as “Digital Pakistan”, that aim to empower the youth and enable them to become drivers of the country’s economic growth. Such initiatives are certainly establishing a strong base for the information and communications technology (ICT) ecosystem to thrive upon – but what we now need is to put our focus on Pakistan’s youth, to prepare them to take over and drive the country’s digital future.
Developing new skillsets for young people is something that is considered a priority in Pakistan. It also strengthens the ICT ecosystem, which will in turn contribute towards a stronger, digitally-driven economy – therefore investing in developing young ICT talents is a win-win situation that can only bring more benefits in the future, for everyone in Pakistan.
Numerous initiatives were organized in Pakistan, geared towards introducing young people to the ICT sector, educating them and enhancing their skills. These talent training programs include several ICT academies – including Huawei ICT Academies – and annual ICT competitions, amongst others.
Today there are several ICT academies across the country, launched in cooperation with renowned and prestigious universities. These academies operate in partnership with local educators and institutions, providing students with the opportunity to gain certification in some of the most relevant areas of ICT today. Courses at such institutions cover a wide range of technical fields, including routing and switching, storage, cloud, WLAN, cloud computing, big data, IoT, and artificial intelligence. To date, thousands of talented individuals have been trained and certified through these academies, providing them with the means to launch a career in the flourishing ICT industry. Even with the impact of COVID-19 and educational institutions closed as a result of the pandemic, students can access online training and certifications programs to continue learning.
In addition to that, annual ICT competitions have seen thousands of talented Pakistani college students participate in the past few years. These competitions aim to increase ICT knowledge, stimulate youths’ interest in learning and innovation capabilities, and improve their self-learning and problem-solving abilities.
With such immense potential amongst a young population, Pakistan is a goldmine of ICT talent. Harnessing this potential by making training and skills development opportunities accessible will ensure that the country has the best possible chance to not only realise its digitization ambitions, but to carry them forward for a brighter connected future for all.
ICT is playing a significant role in transforming economic activity. Considering its ongoing spread and importance for growth, developing ICT skills among the youth has major and tangible benefits on the advancement of digital economy.
Fostering an open, shared, ICT talent ecosystem benefits all parties in Pakistan. Consequently, cultivating ICT talent that meets industry requirements and treating them as the most important resource helps in driving the development of multiple sectors and industries.
Huawei is committed to sharing knowledge and technology experience and nurturing local ICT talents based on its talent cultivation standards gained from years of operations in the ICT industry in more than 170 countries. This has helped in developing the next generation of local ICT talent to boost the digital economy.
Huawei’s talent ecosystem aims to bridge the digital divide, develop local ICT talent, and fulfill corporate social responsibilities. This comes in line with the company’s efforts to support governments in achieving their goals of creating the future ICT leaders who will responsible for achieving national targets and visions, and who will ultimately build a diversified and sustainable knowledge-based economy.
Published at Sun, 06 Sep 2020 18:00:00 +0000
