One of my pet peeves is that people have a tendency NOT to read the Instructions. I suppose everyone is an expert; maybe. I think more of this has to do with the overload of information we receive; have you ever heard of the term ‘Aliteracy’?
Aliteracy
|
Aliteracy is the phenomenon of people being able to read, but choosing not to. In the workplace, aliteracy combined with normal job pressures and distractions results in people who simply won’t read text-heavy instructions. Yet, industry continues to produce a flood of conventional text-heavy technical instructions to manufacture, sell, install and maintain products and services of every description. Instead of reading these cumbersome instructions, many users will guess or start a trial and error solution. The result is a costly loss of efficiency, accuracy, quality and productivity. Not to mention the introduction of error and resulting asset failures when management, operation and maintenance instructions are not followed.
|
I’m not really sure where or when I ran into this definition. However, it was from the internet and in the days of dial up modem, so the concept has been around for a while. The emboldened text is something I added. When you don’t read the Fricking Instructions, you have a 99.99% chance of introducing error during operation and maintenance of the facility assets; whenever you touch or you ‘interface’ with that asset. WOW!!!! 99.99%!!!!
Even myself, as much as I pontificate on this subject in my training courses, I sometimes find reading instructions a pain in the butt prior to starting the task at hand. And I have to continually remind myself to Read the Fricking Instructions. And why do I place so much emphasis on the instructions? It is the most economical method in preventing the introduction of error. It is the most economical method to ensure consistency of performance. Preventing introduction of error and managing consistency of performance are the best tools we have for managing the probability of asset failure (Pf). The three human performance evils that we try to overcome by reading the instructions: Errors of Knowledge….Errors of Performance….Errors of Intent. And how do we generally manage these? A new procedure is issued, required reading is established, self-study becomes mandatory – Read the Fricking Instructions becomes the mantra for success.
Now my Human Performance Improvement (HPI) consulting counterparts may argue that management is at fault for not providing training and not glad handing or kissing your ass to have you do a job you are paid to do, and do it error free. And to a certain degree they are correct. However, if you have any pride, any ambition, any loyalty to the man that gives you dollars for the work you perform, you will do the best job you can and do it error free. And that means self-study, that means self-qualification, that means Read the Fricking Instructions. To become technically competent at any task you need to study and study hard.
For example, below is a list of required documentation for equipment procured for a new construction project. This is an old, old Fluor Global Services document that was borrowed many moons ago but it is still relevant.
VENDOR DATA REQUIREMENTS
|
REQUISITIONING ENGINEER
|
REV.
|
DATE
| ||
ENGINEERS SIGNATURE
| |||||
ITEM NO.:
|
RFQ/PO NUMBER:
| ||||
ITEM:
|
PROJECT NUMBER:
| ||||
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
|
REVIEW SUBMITTAL
|
CERTIFIED SUBMITTAL
| |||
QTY.
|
DATE DUE
|
QTY.
|
DATE DUE
| ||
1.
|
PRELIMINARY GENERAL ARRANGEMENT DRAWING/SKETCH
| ||||
2.
|
DIMENSIONED OUTLINE DRAWINGS
| ||||
3.
|
CROSS SECTIONAL DRAWINGS
| ||||
4.
|
COMPLETED EQUIPMENT DATA SHEETS
|
1P
|
WQ
| ||
5.
|
COMPLETED MOTOR DATA SHEETS
|
1P
|
WQ
| ||
6.
|
PERFORMANCE CURVES
|
1P
|
WQ
| ||
7.
|
CATALOG INFORMATION, CUTS, ETC.
|
1P
|
WQ
| ||
8.
|
FOUNDATION DIAGRAMS AND LOADING REQUIREMENTS
| ||||
9.
|
SCHEMATIC PIPING DRAWINGS
| ||||
10.
|
SCHEMATIC WIRING DRAWINGS
| ||||
11.
|
ASSEMBLY AND/OR SHOP DETAIL DRAWINGS
| ||||
12.
|
COMPONENT AND/OR SHOP DETAIL DRAWINGS
| ||||
13.
|
DETAILED PARTS LIST (BILL OF MATERIALS)
| ||||
14.
|
RECOMMENDED SPARE PARTS (WITH OEM NUMBERS) FOR (1) YR OPERATION W/ FIRM PRICING
|
1P
|
3 WK ARD
| ||
15.
|
RECOMMENDED LONG LEAD SPARE PARTS/ASSEMBLIES (WITH OEM NUMBERS)
|
1P
|
(PREL) 3 WK ARO
|
1P
|
3 WK ARD
|
16.
|
RECOMMENDED START UP SPARE PARTS W/ FIRM PRICING
|
1P
|
3 WK ARD
| ||
17.
|
INSTALLATION, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE & LUBRICATION MANUALS (Documents Shipped With Equipment Are Information Only, Not Acceptable as Submittal)
|
1P, 1E
|
6 WK PTS
| ||
18.
|
MANUFACTURER'S TEST, INSPECTION & DATA REPORTS
| ||||
19.
|
MILL TEST CERTIFICATES WITH HEAT NUMBER
| ||||
20.
|
MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORTS W/ENGINEERING, PROCURE, FABRICATION & INSPECTION SCHEDULES
|
1P
|
2 WK ARO
|
1P
|
MONTHLY
|
21.
|
WELDING PROCEDURES
| ||||
22.
|
PAINT SPECIFICATION DETAILS
| ||||
23.
|
QUALITY SYSTEM QUESTIONAIRE
|
1P
|
WQ
| ||
24.
|
DETAILED QUALITY PLAN
|
1P
|
3 WK ARO
| ||
25.
|
DETAILED SHIPPING LIST
|
1P
|
(PREL) 3 WK ARO
|
1P
|
3 WK PTS
|
26.
|
WEIGHT LIST OF FABRICATED PARTS FOR ERECTION, UNIT SHIPPING WEIGHT, ERECTED WEIGHT
|
1P
|
3 WK PTS
| ||
27.
|
SHIPPING SCHEDULE AND PACKING LIST
|
1P
|
1 WK PTS
| ||
28.
|
EQUIPMENT CALCULATIONS AS NOTED
| ||||
29.
|
U-1 FORMS AND NAMEPLATE FACSIMILE
| ||||
30.
|
EQUIPMENT LIST/INDEX
|
1P, 1E
|
3 WK ARD
| ||
31.
|
INSTRUMENT LIST/INDEX
|
1P, 1E
|
3 WK ARD
| ||
32.
|
DRAWING LIST/INDEX
| ||||
33.
|
SUBSTITUTE CODES, STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS
| ||||
34.
|
SUBVENDORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS NAMES AND QUALIFICATIONS
|
1P
|
WQ
| ||
34.
|
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS
|
1P
|
WQ
|
1P
|
3 WK PTS
|
DOCUMENTS AS QUANTIFIED ABOVE SHALL BE FORWARDED TO:
FLUOR GLOBAL SERVICES
ATTN: XXXXXXX
100 FLUOR DANIEL DRIVE
GREENVILLE, SC 29607
VOICE:
FAX:
E-Mail:
|
NOTES:
1. ALL DRAWINGS MUST BE MARKED WITH COMPANY NAME, DRAWING TITLE, DRAWING NUMBER, REVISION, PURCHASE ORDER NUMBER AND EQUIPMENT ITEM NUMBER.
2. SUBMITTALS OTHER THAN DRAWINGS MUST BE MARKED WITH PURCHASE ORDER NUMBER AND EQUIPMENT ITEM NUMBER.
3. ALL HARD COPY SUBMITTALS MUST BE MICROFILM & SCANNING QUALITY.
| ||||
Once this equipment is installed and operational, this data, these documents are relevant in the ongoing management of the asset. This is your knowledge base for this specific piece of equipment. These are the Fricking Instructions, DON’T LOSE THEM. And now I have to ask; “do you know where yours are?” When I write my SOP’s, when I write my maintenance plans, when I troubleshoot, when I plan my outages, when I work on the fricking equipment, when I ……………….., I need to reference this knowledge base, I have to be familiar with the instructions to manage this asset throughout its life cycle. If you don’t have them, you’re guessing and you can’t afford to play the lottery here boys, you need the exacts, you need the Fricking Instructions.
And that’s not all you have to read, it’s a start but it still may not be enough. When we think Read the Fricking Instructions, we also need to think ‘Reductionism’.
Reductionism
|
Reductionism is the process of breaking complex systems down to their component level. We do this in an attempt to see how things work; assuming that a complex system is nothing more than the sum of its parts. Modern science and engineering protocols are largely influenced by this process. We Analyze for Failure and Evaluate Service Life at this level; the component level.
|
Reduction…………..what? Not only do I have to understand how an assembled asset functions, I need understand how the motor, the coupling, the bearings, the seals, the belts, the sheaves, the shafts, the motor starter, the VFD, the fuses, the pressure switch, the PLC and all of the other parts and components that make up an asset function as well. I also need to Read the Fricking Instructions for all of these components.
The big difference between instructions for the individual component as compare to the assembly, you may have to do some research to find the instructions. Today’s best source is the internet. You can virtually Google up just about anything. The Fricking Instructions are at our fingertips yet many individuals that need to review the instructions still don’t. It doesn’t seem all that many years ago I had a rolodex with the names of many, many vendors who I would call routinely and have them fax (another technology that is fading rapidly) me instructions and for larger manuals, they would send you me the instructions ‘snail mail’. Yet with all of the advances in communicating vendor information (the internet), Aliteracy is still prevalent and errors are still introduced.
It’s a shame that many, many errors can be avoided by a simple corrective action. Maybe my Human Performance Improvement (HPI) consulting counterparts should focus on a company’s management behavior so they will include the TIME needed by their engineers, technicians and operators to Read the Fricking Instructions. You know the old saying, there is never time to do it right the first time yet there is always time to do it over. If you Read the Fricking Instructions, you wouldn’t have this issue.
One of my all-time favorite ‘Read the Fricking Instructions’ stories is;
It was a bright and sunny day…………………….at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Richland Washington, I had one of my best planners (my employee) supporting two client millwrights and an electrician in the 200 areas. They were replacing the belts and a belt tensioning idler pulley on a confinement ventilation system exhaust fans. This was a rework job, the client had replaced the belts and idler two weeks earlier and the idler suffered a bearing failure. The original idler and belt lasted just over two years. And yes, you heard me correctly; this is about a belt tensioning idler pulley. This is something (the idler) I had included during a system restoration that included replacing that exhaust fan. My company had managed that exhaust system restoration several years earlier and the idea behind the tensioning idler was to allow a faster belt replacement in a radiologically contaminated area, minimizing exposure, etc… Just think, installing belts on a medium size fan with no alignment or tensioning issues; loosen the idler, slip off old belts, slip on new, retension the idler and start the fan. A two hour job reduced to twenty minutes or less. It would take longer to hang the LOTO then to replace the belt; maybe. And our maintenance strategy was to replace the idler pulley every two years. The reason; the idler incorporated sealed bearings without a means to collect any kind of vibration or condition data, you couldn’t verify condition so you replace routinely.
And the story goes…………………..Just to make sure there would not be a repeat failure two weeks later, I had my expert, the job planner, out there with the client’s crew. All were dressed out in anti-contamination clothing working in a radiation area. Just after 13:00 I get a frantic call from my planner. They had installed the new belts and idler and started the fan. There was squealing, smoke, lightning, plague and locusts; all because the belt was riding up on the edge of the idler. The client’s millwrights and electrician would like me to come out and investigate since I was the originator of this little change several years back. I was 70 miles in another direction at another client’s facility when this call for help came in.
The day was quickly becoming dark and gloomy……………..So I jump in my truck and drove an hour and a half plus spent thirty minutes dressing out in anti-contamination clothing. I met my planner and the client’s crew at the fan. They show me the issue and my planner presents me with his work package for the job. I thumbed through the pages but can’t seem to find what I’m searching for. I ask my planner for the box the new idler came in, the planner and crew fetch the box from the contaminated waste bin (there’s another story here also, we’ll save that for later). I look inside the box and pull out; you guessed it, the instructions for installing the idler. There are spacers and preloads that are required to ensure reliable service. The millwrights and electrician were in awe, my planner was astonished. I remember handing the sheet to my planner and saying “Read the Fricking Instructions”. I was not a happy boss at that moment. I left my planner and the client’s crew to finish the task at hand. They finally did a good job but at what price; the US taxpayer gets to pay.
Several days later my planner says to me; “that was the smartest thing I had ever seen, pulling those instructions from the box, without saying a word. And I will always remember what you said; Read the Fricking Instructions”.
Ever since that moment, my personal lesson learned, my goal, my windmill, my great white whale; pass on and train everyone you meet, the concept of Read the Fricking Instructions.
Maintenance, what a Concept!!!!!
MMJennings
