Improving Safety, and Capturing the Knowledge of Key problem-solving Staff
The Problem
The Senior Operating Superintendent for a global mining and ore refining company was due to retire in two years. He had joined the company when the plant was built 33 years earlier. And, he wasn't the only one. This plant employed other over-30-year operators planning retirement soon. Losing experienced, and key personnel in a refinery employing hazardous materials raised serious safety concerns with the General Manager. Any lapse in day-to-day safety could lead to accidents that might have environmental impact or create plant-licensing concerns.
The General Manager was concerned about how they could transfer the experiences of his senior operators to the rest of his team. He tried hiring a journalism student to begin documenting as much as possible. Soon, the GM realized that even if this veteran remembered how he had solved a specific problem, the chances of the necessary variables lining up again in such a complicated production process were very slim. He needed a better way to capture and retain the problem-solving processes used by this, and other highly experienced employees.
Solving the Problem
The GM needed to try something new. He remembered that in 2001, the refinery experienced a major quality problem. One of their recently rebuilt tanks malfunctioned, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenues. His team recalled that the refinery had a similar problem 15 years earlier, the last time the tanks had been rebuilt. Planning to rebuild another one of their tanks, scheduled very soon, caused him concern. Management needed to get to the root of the problem before taking on the second tank rebuild, and find a way to retain that knowledge for future overhauls.
The General Manager brought together everyone responsible for maintaining and operating the plant's equipment. Using Analytical Problem Solving (APS) software from PHRED Solutions, the team was able to reconstruct what they had done in the past, and where the problems were. Then, they captured the root causes of the tank malfunction, a hard to test problem with the seams, that couldn't be tested in traditional ways before use.
The question-based APS application made it easy for all team members to help in solving difficult production problems. It captures cross-team input, and focuses the discussions on collective reasoning, and logical analysis. From this, the team was able to see the central issue and the solution for the tank problem. Their resulting actions proved themselves when the plant's other tank was rebuilt and returned to service without incident.
The APS system structures and captures the observations and reasoning of the team members. It also retains it for future use. This plant could avoid having another tank malfunction, no matter who worked there at the time. The solution and logic supporting this solution are now available to the next generation of plant Superintendents.
What They Found Out
After working through the tank seam problem with APS's question-based reasoning, the production teams thought through many other operating problems they run into regularly. Less senior operators were included, and added their own input and solutions. APS guided them through each issue, asking the team to state the problem, analyze the impact, design a temporary fix or determine the root cause, and define a permanent solution. The system captured all of the logic, data, and "best practices" to resolve each issue in an easy to retrieve format.
The teams saw how APS easily captures the root causes of recurring problems, and their solutions. They also noticed something else they hadn't expected. The way the members worked together had changed. When working together with APS, experienced and new operators enjoyed exchanging knowledge and problem-solving skills. This diverse group was working towards a common goal, and liking the experience.
Quote
"I had always assumed people were withholding knowledge, but in reality they just didn't have a forum to share it. The senior operators never had a way of sitting down with the younger guys and transferring what they know. But the software gives them a reason to sit down as a group, and it's not a finger pointing exercise. It's a pure learning experience. They can say, 'Here's what came up, and here's why we dealt with it like that.' We're just starting on this, but I'm hugely encouraged. I think we've found the mother load of how to transfer knowledge."
Clive Lewis-General Manager
Benefits To the Company By Using This Process:
- Retaining the knowledge of past problems and recording the problem-solving skills of experienced employees lets you stop reinventing the wheel for every new problem.
- Work groups focus on solving the problem, instead of voicing opinions and dissention.
- Can develop "best practices" for procedures. Performance and quality standards improve as problems are dealt with.
- These "best practices" can be shared across the organization. Training new employees becomes more efficient.
- Team communication dynamics can change promoting a positive work environment.
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