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  • 1.  Culture questionnaire

    Posted 08-24-2022 12:24 PM
    Hi folks,

    Has anyone had experience of gauging or scoring the culture in the their workplaces, namely between Ops and Maintenance? I know this is not an easy thing to measure but I wondering if anyone has quantified it.

    I was curious if anyone has used a questionnaire to measure this and if so, could they share?

    Thanks
    Derek

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    Derek Brown
    Grangemouth
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  • 2.  RE: Culture questionnaire

    Posted 08-25-2022 09:23 AM
    Edited by Rafael Sanchez 08-26-2022 11:22 AM
    Derek,

    In my experience, this is one of the most difficult areas of reliability to gauge. And at the root of it, may I dare say, is the communication factor.

    A SWOT or Johari’s window exercise can provide insight into what Maintenance does relative to how Operations perceive their services and value and vice versa. This can apply to all interacting departments.

    The questionnaire can provide insights, but I would say that any attempt to quantify its value can prove to be more difficult due to its subjectivity. For me, the goal would be to identify opportunities to create a path of cooperation and collaboration.

    The ability to understand one another roles and responsibilities is integral to influencing culture. I am not talking in depth though this would be great, but how each impacts the other.

    Utilizing Johari’s window and applying it to a team setting the goal to gain self-discovery of what as a department is done and reveal areas that can help minimize blind spots. When there is a good understanding and a shared common goal, Operation can produce products efficiently and effectively with well-maintained safe, and reliable equipment.

     

    It may all seem overly optimistic or idealistic, but it does work.



    I hope this is of help.
    Regards,

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    Rafael Sanchez
    CEO & Sr. Reliability Consultant
    R&M CMMS Consulting, LLC
    Austin TX
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Culture questionnaire

    Posted 09-07-2022 12:47 PM
    Hi Rafael, thanks for your reply.

    I did read on one article by Heinz Bloch, where at one refinery he was responsible for, he would get the maintenance manager and the ops manager to swap roles for a week, periodically and they wouldn't know when. 

    He said it strengthened working relationships by allowing both managers to understand how each department must work together and an appreciation for their subsequent departmental issues.

    I like your SWOT/Johari's window exercise, i am going to look into that.

    Cheers
    Derek

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    Derek Brown
    Grangemouth
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Culture questionnaire

    Posted 08-26-2022 08:11 AM

    Hi Derek,
    Gauging the culture of any organization is almost always subjective. I don't know of anyway to quantify this. But there is no more important partnership in any organization that the one between maintenance and operations. There are an unlimited number or reasons for this. 

    But one way to gauge where this relationship or partnership resides is using an interview process to ask open-ended questions to a cross section of the organization. This cross section cuts across all lines of management right down through the frontline employees. And don't be surprised that managers view the relationship as being much better than the frontline. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

    This relationship can be subjectively scored between 0-100 and followed up with a series of initiatives to address the opportunities that surface that need to be addressed in order to improve the relationship and thus raise the score. Do another assessment in 12 months, hopefully the score has improved and then adjust the initiatives to continue to improve the relationship.



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    Terry Taylor
    Taylor Reliability Consulting
    Raleigh, NC
    ttaylor@taylorreliability.org
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Culture questionnaire

    Posted 08-26-2022 08:45 AM
    Organizations utilize the survey question method routinely I think because it is easy and can compile the data easily then generate reports, graphs, and action plans to correct the culture from the survey results.  I would say this provides some valid feedback but on the low end of accuracy.  Culture is not an exact science like most STEM subjects but hinges on the human element.  A single survey IMHO is just never going to be effective.

    Here is why.  

    • People are coached to answer the survey questions a certain way.  Why?  Or a plant is looking for some project approval (adding jobs) and people are coached that if we do good on this survey we have a better chance to get money, project, whatever.
    • Because the surveys in the past have been used wrongly - to punish a manager, department, etc.   For those that like their boss, they will lie to protect him.  
    • People do not trust that their answers are kept confidential.  They know who answered what and how.  You are not going to get real feedback that way.
    • A certain # of people will not do the survey so participation is low for various reasons.

    As others have said, culture evaluation is subjective so a simple survey isn't going to tell the story.  It is hard to get a feel of a culture from the outside too.  When visitors come in, everyone is on their best behavior and clean their house in preparation.   Send an audit team in for a week and you can learn a few things but not what you want.  The term audit sends everyone in defense mode.  

    The only way to get a real gauge of a culture is by a low key interaction with the organization in the trenches in a way that is non threatening and stealth in execution.  An experienced ​M&R professional can observe many things just by coming in for a routine activity but observe maintenance execution.  It is kinda like trying to get a real idea of wrench time.  Stand around and watch/follow people all day and the results will be useless.

    Great question and one that every organization needs to deal with.

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    Randy Riddell, CMRP, PSAP, CLS
    Reliability Manager
    Essity
    Cherokee AL
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Culture questionnaire

    Posted 08-28-2022 03:42 AM
    Hi Derek,

    This is one of these where the outcome in terms of productivity is obvious when you are close to the shop floor, but both the measure of the  input and the value of the output are impossible to quantify. I find this with a lot of human factors, making them very difficult to feedback in a metric type form thereby removing these very important factors from some decision making processes at levels remove from the shop floor.

     A one team 'bonding' culture is fluid and can change. It requires constant vigilance, coaching, and nurturing. At the top level it requires respect and cooperation at the operations and maintenance management level then it must be encouraged and promoted through the teams. Workers background can be an issue, technicians may come from industries where work scopes were strictly demarked and cliques can form between trades never mind between operations and maintenance.

    The question was how you monitor this. I don't know how to measure the input in terms of improved integration  and output in terms of productivity , however I think the questionnaire, as suggested, might produce some results if done regularly enough to provide a base line. If constructed well enough it might even help to identify specific issues that need addressing. Making the questionnaire regular could highlight significant changes in attitude which then may link to certain policy or personnel changes or maybe equipment equipment or production issues that are causing the stress.

    Let me know how you progress this one Derek. It would be an interesting experiment. The construction of the questionnaire and how it is delivered will take some thinking through in order to mitigate some of the issues highlighted in some replies.

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    Ron Gray
    Equipment Maintenance Management Services
    Inverness
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    Original Message


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