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My journey in the steel industry began with my Millwright Apprenticeship at a steel mill in Oregon. From day one, I was hands-on with everything from maintaining and fabricating equipment to overhauling and installing machinery across the entire mill. Whether it was the gantry cranes in the scrap yard, the Electric Arc Furnace, or the continuous casting process, I was there, getting my hands dirty and learning the ropes.

One of the highlights of my early career was working with Gary Conner, a two-time Shingo Prize winner, on various Lean Manufacturing projects. This experience was invaluable and set the foundation for my future endeavors. I also had the privilege of studying under Ricky Smith, a renowned practitioner, lecturer, and author in reliability and maintenance. His mentorship helped me hone my skills and apply them effectively within the mill.

I took these learnings and applied them to the small maintenance unit responsible for all rolling stock, or "Fleet equipment." 

Within three years, our department set a new standard for reliability and availability, becoming the envy of other maintenance units. We overhauled old equipment at a fraction of the cost of replacement, proving that dedication and innovation can lead to significant cost savings.

Eventually, I moved on to become the Reliability Specialist, directing the mill's reliability journey. This role involved optimizing Oracle eAM and integrating it with Viziya WorkAlign Scheduler, ensuring that our processes were as efficient and effective as possible.

In the beginning, I had the attitude that life as a maintenance man meant working nights, weekends, and holidays. That's the path I chose, and I thought that's just how it is. But by the end, I learned that it wasn't true. Equipment can be reliable and predictable. There's no reason why a maintenance worker should ever miss family events like ball games and birthdays. Since that revelation, my goal has been to share this learning with as many maintenance people as I possibly can.

My adventure in the lumber industry was marked by a variety of roles, including Millwright Supervisor, Planner, and Scheduler. Our team was responsible for maintaining, fabricating, and installing a wide range of lumber equipment. From log pond boats to planning mills, and everything in between, we handled it all. This included log de-barkers, quad saw band mills, gang saws, chippers, planners, bin sorters, lumber kilns, and even the hog fuel boiler power plant.

During this time, I honed my skills in maintenance and production coordination, exercising scheduling compliance in an ever-changing production scheduling environment. One key project worth noting is the reorganization of the asset hierarchy to better fit the business and the Dynastar CMMS. This resulted in shorter LOTO times, purchasing the right part for the right equipment, and more robust data for decision-making.

I also had the unique opportunity to work with some very old-school millwrights. They taught me how to pour Babbitt, maintain plain bearings, and set tapered keys. They also showed me the old ways of moving heavy equipment with little more than levers, blocks, and tackle. These are some of my fondest craft memories, as these skills are almost lost entirely.

One of the key aspects of my time in the lumber industry was the opportunity to lead and collaborate with a dedicated team. As a Millwright Supervisor, I guided our team through complex projects and ensured that we met our goals. As a Planner and Scheduler, I optimized our workflows and made sure that our operations were as efficient as possible.

Throughout my career in the lumber industry, I learned the importance of teamwork, innovation, and dedication. These experiences not only shaped my professional skills but also reinforced my belief in the value of reliable and predictable equipment. Just like in the steel industry, I realized that maintenance workers shouldn't have to sacrifice their personal lives for their jobs. My goal has always been to share this learning with as many maintenance people as possible, helping them find a balance between work and life.

After high school, I served six years in the United States Seabees as a Steelworker. I excelled in the Seabees, graduating at the top of my Steelworker class. This achievement moved me into an accelerated advancement program and eventually into an advanced construction management class. My rank was not high enough to get into this class, but the Commanding Officer signed a waiver to allow me in. I graduated as an honor graduate from the advanced class.

Very few people know that the Gantt chart used in project management was developed by Henry Gantt circa 1913, with its first major application by the United States during WWI. In 1958, Booz Allen Hamilton developed the Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) for the US Navy Polaris submarine missile program. I was fortunate enough to attend this advanced project management school before the Navy had adopted an electronic solution for the PERT applied to the Gantt chart method. Therefore, I learned how to perform these project management skills all on paper, not realizing at the time how important this learning would be to my future.

During my time with the Seabees, I used this management method to build radio communication facilities and mine repair facilities in Guam, athletics and recreation facilities in Spain, highways, bridges, water treatment facilities, fuel depots, and medical facilities in Somalia. I left the Seabees as a certified welder of pipe in all positions. While welding is a valuable skillset, the ability to apply PERT and develop a Gantt chart longhand has paid more dividends in my career. I have always been a key player in the shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages that I am involved in.

My experience at the largest tire recycler in Oregon was a pivotal point in my career. I was brought on board as the Maintenance Manager for an old facility that was in disrepair due to years of deferred maintenance by the previous owners. The employees were under-skilled and new to the facility, which presented a unique set of challenges.

A few years before this, I had a life-changing accident and was advised to change my career due to my lungs no longer being able to handle the harsh environment of being a millwright at a steel mill. During this time, I moonlighted as a systems administrator in my brother's IT company and was preparing to take the Microsoft Certified Solutions Provider Exam. However, my heart was in heavy equipment, not IT. When I was offered the Maintenance Manager position, I jumped at the opportunity without hesitation. Little did I know that IT experience would become a key part of my future.

Other than the administrative department, this recycling company did not use computers. I managed to acquire a meager budget for a CMMS system and single-handedly ran the CMMS project from cradle to grave. By the end of this project, I had found my purpose. Making a CMMS actually work and add value to a process requires knowledge of both the shop needs and the system needs. At this time in my life, I was the only person I knew who understood both at the level that I did. To this day, I can count on one hand the number of people I know with this unique skillset.

The harvest of my first CMMS installation was bountiful. Most notably was the growth of the employees. Providing them with a database of equipment knowledge to learn from and empowering them to record their learnings for fellow and future employees was a powerful thing to witness. Having the information to make data-driven decisions and arrive at root causes allowed us to completely remove downtime from our environment. This was no small feat, considering they were accustomed to 80% downtime. When I first arrived, catastrophic failure of equipment with as much as 72 hours of downtime to repair was a weekly event. Our new system allowed us to prescribe maintenance at the most opportune time, guaranteeing uptime and the highest possible production rate.

This was the turning point in my life when I understood that maintenance is a science, not magic. I learned that this science, when correctly leveraged, can enable maintenance professionals to fully enjoy not only their work but, more importantly, a home life that is not interrupted by it.

I had the incredible opportunity to work with one of the largest tire manufacturers in North America. As a member of the assessment team, we conducted a thorough evaluation of one of their largest facilities. This was a fascinating experience, as it allowed us to dive deep into their operations and identify areas for improvement.

The result of our assessment was a comprehensive roadmap for their reliability journey. This roadmap outlined the steps they needed to take to enhance their processes and achieve greater efficiency. I'm proud to say that they successfully adopted this roadmap as their own. To this day, they are moving all of their manufacturing facilities down this path and are experiencing great success.

Working on this project was a rewarding experience, as it reinforced my belief in the power of reliable and predictable equipment. It also highlighted the importance of having a clear plan and the right tools to achieve success. Seeing the positive impact of our work on such a large scale was truly gratifying.

My experience in the pharmaceutical industry was quite similar to my work in the rubber industry. I was part of a team tasked with assessing the current condition of a single site for an international pharmaceutical corporation. Given the highly regulated nature of the industry, the organization had legacy regulatory processes that, while they served their purpose, were outdated and inefficient.

Our team conducted a thorough assessment and provided a roadmap to address their equipment reliability issues. This roadmap outlined the steps needed to enhance their processes and achieve greater efficiency. But we didn't stop there. We also designed a solution to automate the outdated processes using the CMMS. This was a game-changer for the organization, as it allowed them to streamline their operations and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

Working on this project was a rewarding experience, as it reinforced my belief in the power of reliable and predictable equipment. It also highlighted the importance of having a clear plan and the right tools to achieve success. Seeing the positive impact of our work on such a large scale was truly gratifying.

Very early in my career, I had the opportunity to moonlight at a local family-owned agriculture equipment manufacturer. On numerous occasions, I helped them improve their manufacturing processes. The talent pool was largely locally grown, and they didn't have a lot of cross-industry representation. This gave me the chance to bring practices and techniques from my other industry experiences to bear.

These techniques weren't my original ideas; I had learned them from others. It goes back to the old saying, "It is amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit." I only worked there for a short time, yet I know I made an impact. I see the owner from time to time, and they always mention how much they would like me back on the payroll.

Working at this manufacturer was a rewarding experience. It reinforced my belief in the value of sharing knowledge and collaborating to achieve success. Even though my time there was brief, the improvements we made had a lasting impact on their operations.

Shortly after obtaining my CMRP certificate, I jumped at the opportunity to move from the maintenance department to the mobile equipment department. This department was smaller and operated independently from the larger maintenance department, giving me the chance to lead and implement change.

I soon went to work replicating what I had done with the CMMS in the rubber industry. This endeavor was more challenging, as I was working within a global system that made it difficult to implement system changes. Therefore, I focused on the people and processes to find opportunities for improvement.

Within three years, our department set a new standard for reliability and availability, becoming the envy of other maintenance units. We overhauled old equipment at a fraction of the cost of replacement, all while meeting our production needs with fewer active rolling stock. The success of this proof of concept eventually led to me becoming the Site Reliability Specialist.

While I don't have wonderful reliability stories for the agriculture industry, I do have a life story that has shaped who I am today. I am a fourth-generation American farmer, with a farming lineage that traces back to Germany around 750 AD. My learnings from the farm are deeply ingrained in my approach to work and life.

One of my earliest memories is when I was about seven years old, riding the sled behind the old wire baler that my grandfather was pulling with the tractor. When the baler got a flat tire, my grandfather calmly said, "Unhook the baler, let's go to the barn." At the barn, he instructed me to hook the drawbar pin in the trailer and load some long planks and large blocks. I wondered what this had to do with changing a tire.

When we got back to the baler, my grandfather helped me arrange the planks and blocks in a certain way. To my amazement, I, a small boy of way less than 100 lbs, was able to lift and hold the baler in the air as my grandfather changed the tire. This experience taught me the value of ingenuity and resourcefulness.

After high school, I left the farm and traveled the world, building all sorts of things with the United States Navy Seabees. I've been in industry ever since. My younger brothers now run the family farm of about 3,000 acres. The work ethic and common-sense approach I learned on the farm are principles I bring to everything I do.

In the petrochemical industry, I had the opportunity to be part of an assessment team for a large refinery owned by an international petroleum company. Our task was to evaluate the entire maintenance and capital projects process and make recommendations. The organization was ready and eager to rearrange all the furniture if needed, which made our job both challenging and exciting.

During our assessment, we discovered some pockets of excellence within the organization. These areas were performing exceptionally well and served as a model for best practices. We then designed a roadmap that supported these pockets of excellence while focusing on the areas that needed improvement. This strategic allocation of resources did two things: it built morale and trust in the areas of excellence, and it accelerated progress in the areas needing improvement.

The group embraced the plan wholeheartedly and achieved milestones ahead of target. This experience reinforced my belief in the power of a well-designed roadmap and the importance of recognizing and supporting excellence while addressing areas for growth.

In the public utilities sector, I had the privilege of leading an assessment for a sizable wastewater treatment plant servicing a major midwestern city in the United States. The facility was facing significant reliability concerns, as any process shutdown or service interruption would affect the entire coverage area and pose environmental risks.

As the lead assessor, I designed a comprehensive roadmap to address the facility's equipment reliability issues and improve maintenance processes. Our team conducted interviews, alignment workshops, and direct observations to identify areas of excellence and uncover bad actors. We focused on supporting the pockets of excellence while allocating resources to the areas needing improvement. This strategic approach built morale and trust in the areas of excellence and accelerated progress in the areas needing improvement.

A crucial step in the project was to compile an accurate, robust Asset Register in the CMMS. This included an equipment hierarchy, asset criticality ranking, and attributes list for each piece of critical equipment. Once implemented, the operational reliability program brought the 40-year-old facility's reliability practices up to date with preventative, lower-cost maintenance, minimal downtime losses, and scalability for future expansion. A corporate culture change, from reactive to proactive, also contributed to the project's success.

The implementation of the reliability program brought the facility's practices up to date with preventative, lower-cost maintenance, minimal downtime losses, and scalability for future expansion. The success of this project was a testament to the power of a well-designed roadmap and the importance of recognizing and supporting excellence while addressing areas for growth.