A chemicals plant began implementing a Reliability Centered Maintenance program. They carried out analyst training and sent two of their more capable and interested technicians on facilitation training. A couple of months later they began their first RCM analysis project. Analysis team members had finished their training 4 months before and were understandably "rusty" and uncomfortable with their first real analysis on a critical piece of equipment. The facilitator was also new to his role and uncomfortable. When questions about the RCM process and how to interpret what the RCM questions were really asking they got stuck. After a couple of weeks of muddling they asked for help.
Coaching of the facilitator and his team quickly cleared up the questions that the facilitator had difficulty answering and got the team moving again. A brief review of the work they had done to that point revealed a number of errors, both in their use of RCM and in their understanding of their own equipment. They didn't know what they didn't know and their new facilitator wasn't asking all the questions needed to get them to discover what they didn't know. The next few weeks of coaching got them through their first analysis, increased the facilitator's confidence and helped them feel that they really had learned a great deal and accomplished something important. They indicated that without the coaching they would have taken at least twice as long to get the work done and it would have been riddled with errors. The final product was of much higher quality than they would have produced alone. They were now actually anxious to get another analysis done, this time without help.
Another company - this time a mining operation, was implementing an improvement program following a detailed external review, strategy development and planning effort. Coaching was provided on a one week per month basis to their various activity leaders and project manager. Before each visit there would be a flurry of activity to get something done so that there was some progress to show. This quickly became evident so the coaching could zero in on the factors that were preventing progress at a more measured and steady pace. As those issues were identified and dealt with the amount of last minute catch-up work was reduced. The project manager was able to report progress and they were starting to see the desired results. Without the coaching support the project was headed nowhere.
Use coaching to keep projects on track and to clear up problems that are derailing progress.
The benefit is that new initiatives don't go off track as challenges arise. The experience of the coach enhances the efforts of the project leaders and team members alike in a non-threatening and supportive environment. Change becomes much easier to manage with this external support.
