For the Love of Fools!

First, sorry for a month or more without communication here, my goal was three letters a month and lately I have come up a bit short!

Fifteen years and counting of performing RCM Analyses and Instructing RCM Participants and Facilitators and I still get pressure from people who have never performed a RCM analysis in their life to do one of the following:

1. "Shorten your facilitator’s course; it doesn't need to be five days."

2. "Certify people as some level of RCM expert after a three day overview course."

3. "Forget teaching people about failure modes Doug just hit the magic button and bring the 6000 we invented instantly into the analysis."

If you search the internet you will find 3,370,000 quotes about ignorance and somehow I just don't think that is nearly enough because in searching these quotes I have yet to find one that addresses the ignorant ideas people who have never facilitated a RCM analysis have in regard to the process.

Sometimes I begin to feel old, hardheaded, and stubborn and then I think back to all I have learned about the process in the past fifteen years. I also look back on what I continue to learn as this is what is most important in keeping the RCM Blitz™ process relevant in the world of manufacturing reliability. Just one month ago I worked with a customer in Europe where we struggled to complete their first RCM analysis, the equipment being analyzed was off-shore, the prints were far from up to date, and the people performing the analysis had little experience in running or maintaining this asset. As a result we took some time at the end of the week to look at ways to modify our approach to improve the speed and end result. The process doesn't change, the way we prepare and set ourselves up for success does!

While trying to remain open to ideas on how to improve the process, in being honest I have to say the store is closed when it comes to training and certification shortcuts. People who have never performed a RCM are in my mind are the same people who butcher the process, expect a quick result and in the end ruin its reputation when the experiment falls short.

Looking for feedback from my RCM Blitz™ users.....Is the old guy CRAZY?