The Fine Line between Risk Management and Preventive Maintenance (Part 2 of 2)

*Make sure you read part 1 of this article first, scroll down for Part 1!

Now for the moment of truth, let me add to it a zest of Risk Management to the above example on car maintenance.

Risk identification process is represented by the definition of car maintenance. By not performing car maintenance we face risks concerning safety, drivability and longevity as stated above. Risks can also be found within the process of preventive maintenance itself. There’s potential in creating defects or human errors of various types while performing inspection and testing.

Determination of risk appetite is based on the amount of risk exposure, or potential adverse impact from an event, that we are willing to accept. In this case, we ask:

Can you afford to be late for work/meeting if your car happens to breakdown?
Can your wife take care of the family while you’re in the hospital recovering from an accident caused faulty ABS?

We can also classify our risk, in this case avoid performing car maintenance is a major financial and environmental (if you really care for the world!) risks.

Risk ranking is done based on priority followed by determination of actions which can be taken in order to mitigate and minimize the risks. For example, regular inspection of brake pad and testing of ABS are essential actions to be performed.

Lastly, we must maintain to monitor the performance and conditions of our car, with the help of auto-service checkup reports etc. as part of risk monitoring and reporting while maintaining continuous improvement in the process of preventive maintenance. So as the number of trips and distance traveled per trip per day increases, we must also make modifications to our maintenance plans and schedule. (I’m talking about the science of Planning and Scheduling!)

Enjoy reading,

Shivek Sachdev, Consultant
Thai Informatic Systems Co., Ltd. (TIS)

The Fine Line between Risk Management and Preventive Maintenance (Part 1 of 2)

A few of my partners, clients and regular blog visitors have been asking me about the diagram I recently published on my blog. Why is the arrow labeled “Risk Management” pointing towards “Preventive Maintenance”? So I’ve decided to take this opportunity to publicly answer this question through my usual Friday afternoon blog.

To be really honest with you, there’s actually a fine line between risk management and preventive maintenance. I assume most of my readers are responsible drivers and therefore would like refer to a simple analogy based on the concept of car maintenance.

Car maintenance requires regular inspection and testing of car conditions to ensure safety, drivability and longevity (I know there’s more to it but I’m not really a car person). The question to when and how depends largely on the type and the current condition of the car. I’m sure most of your service engineers would recommend regular maintenances as per the scheduled intervals described in your manuals.

Before I carry on, let me review the concepts of Risk Management for our non-risk readers/takers. In a nutshell Risk Management is defined by the following procedures:

- Identification of risk based on likelihood and severity
- Determination of risk appetite
- Classify risk into 5 main categories (strategic, operational, financial, compliance, environmental)
- Ranking of risks based on impact and other criterions
- Defining appropriate actions for minimize/mitigate risks
- Task action (as defined)
- Regular monitoring and reporting
- Continuous improvement based on feedback (The concept of closed-loop management)

Be sure to read Part 2 of this article for the moment of truth!

Shivek Sachdev, Consultant
Thai Informatic Systems Co., Ltd. (TIS)

TIS Facility Management Solution

“Facilities management is the integration of processes within an organization to maintain and develop agreed services which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities”.

The software delivers effective management of assets to better align with primary business strategies and objectives.

TIS Facility Management Solution ensures efficiency in the execution of crucial maintenance and asset lifecycle management tasks within an organization in order to support and improve the productivity of key infrastructure operations.

It helps mitigate risks, increases serviceability and productivity while gaining a better control of your assets.

The system consists of five main modules –

- Service Maintenance Management (SM)
- Preventive Maintenance Management (PM)
- Asset Lifecycle Management (AL)
- Facility Manager’s Diary (FMD)
- Billing and Accounts Receivables

It also has a optional Interface Module (IM) for achieving seamless integration with IBM DB2 based legacy systems, SAP ERP (R/3), SAP Business One (B1 running on IBM DB2), JD Edwards and other reputable software solutions.

TIS Facility Management Solution can help organization improve ROI by ensuring:
- extended life span and usability of assets
- the ability to plan and schedule preventive maintenance on time
- reduction in repair and maintenance related costs
- improve overall facility tenant satisfaction
- transparency and control from the start of operation and right on until the end of operation and retirement of assets
- lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
- Reduce Mean Time Between Failure of Equipment (MTBF)

Featured Modules:

Service Maintenance Management (SM) – provides an effective way to manage the service lifecycle and achieve higher tenant satisfaction. With a robust document workflow engine, you can expect a smooth transition from request initiation up to service order and finally invoice creation. Detail service history of every asset/equipment is maintained.

Preventive Maintenance Management (PM) – revolutionize plain-old facility management with technology. The ability to plan, schedule and execute preventive maintenance on time is the first step towards asset value preservation and effective cost/risk management.

Asset Lifecycle Management (AL) – is the core pillar of facility management. Asset Lifecycle Management allows asset registration and computation of depreciation to be done accurately. This module is fully compatible with the barcode system.

Facility Manager’s Diary (FMD) – leverage and capitalizes on the power of Microsoft Office Outlook. Facility managers can schedule, access and manage day-to-day tasks instantaneously through the familiar Outlook interface.

Interface Module (IM) – an optional Interface Module (IM) for achieving seamless integration with legacy systems, SAP ERP (R/3), SAP Business One (B1), Oracle JD Edwards (JDE) and other reputable software solutions.

Target Facilities:

- Banks
- Large Office Complexes
- Commercial Buildings
- Hotels and Convention Centers
- Large Schools and Colleges
- Hospitals

… runs on TIS Facility Management Solution

TIS Facility Management Solution serves: building, asset and facility managers/engineers/technician across all industries such as
- Banking & Finance
- Commercial Buildings
- Facilities and Estate Fields
- Hospitality
- Industrial Parks & Buildings
- Medical Care
- Plants & Factories
- Residential Buildings

Contacts
Sham Sachdev
Managing Director – Thai Informatic Systems Co.,Ltd.
tis@usa.net; sham@tis.co.th;
081-450-5255

Shivek Sachdev
Consultant – Thai Informatic Systems Co.,Ltd.
shivek@tis.co.th;
087-322-3353

Sailing Through the Storm - Managing during the Downturn (Part 1)

Running a midsize enterprise is somewhat similar to navigating a ship.

Investing in new startups and ventures is the exact same approach taken by King and Queen of Spain during the 13th century.

Christopher Columbus, at that time represents a young MBA graduate whose college tuitions was funded by a scholarship scheme. Financial troubles did not stop him from dreaming, Columbus had great visions of the new world and was able to impress Queen Isabella with his well-written business plan.

Apart from that he was ranked top in his human resources management class and that was enough (at that time) to persuade the Queen to invest in him.

Having taken advance navigational management in his freshman year, Columbus knew exactly what he needed to do. He proposed and was granted three sturdy ships along with a contract that ensures a huge pay check every time a new island is discovered. He also briefed the queen regarding risks and governance procedures for his expedition.

Columbus was happy with the flow of liquidity that he decided to hire a few consultants and auditors to accompany him in his voyage to establish and maintain continuous process improvement while ensuring complaint with the FIA (Ferdinand-Isabella Act).

The story so far illustrates something similar to what we see today. Entrepreneurs running their own midsize enterprises are finding it much more difficult to operate, manage cost and stay competitive all at the same time, not to mention ensuring conformance with the emerging standards and acts in this current business environment.

Shivek Sachdev, Consultant
Thai Informatic Systems Co.,Ltd. (TIS)