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Greg Hutchins - Thought Leader

Author/Editor of CERM Risk Insights articles, multiple books, co-host on Speaking of Reliability, and speaker in the Accendo Reliability Webinar Series.


This author's archive lists contributions of articles and episodes.

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Trouble Shooting or Shooting Troubled Projects

Trouble Shooting or Shooting Troubled Projects

Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

The project hasn’t been going too well; KPI’s indicate problems, staff are demotivated, the customer is complaining, the schedule is in double digit revisions, rework and resubmissions reflect quality, and you may be on your third or even fourth project manager, and cash is all but flowing.  Phew…what will happen next?

Despite these symptoms the project is allowed to struggle on until, one day, one brave soul has the courage to admit that enough is enough!  The self-help applications of Band Aids and a couple of paracetamols obviously haven’t worked.  Making an appointment to see your local GP or even a trip to the emergency room at this juncture may also be a tad late.  It’s time for a surgeon or, in project terms, a troubleshooter.

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SOR 1003 Risks of Persistence

SOR 1003 Risks of Persistence

Risk of Persistence

Abstract

Greg and Fred discuss the risks of persisting in a project or in life when you know there are risks.Ā  In poker terms, “do you hold em’ or fold em’?Ā  What do companies do when they’ve sunk a lot of costs and know the ROI of their project is vaporizing?Ā  What do you do when you know you’re losing.Ā  Fight on.Ā  Or, walk away.Ā  The risks of persistence is what we face all the time.
į… Play Episode

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ESG Risks

ESG Risks

Guest Post by James Kline (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

In a previous CERM Insights I mention ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Risk. The U.S. and European governments are starting to stress ESG risk management. This article looks at the proposed ESG requirements of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the implication for quality management.

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Creating a Successful Crisis Management Plan

Creating a Successful Crisis Management Plan

Guest Post by Bill Pomfret (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Safety Projects International Inc. discusses how to handle different types of crises that may arise at your facility. If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that we need to adapt to outside elements that may affect your team processes and procedures. Let’s get started on a crisis management plan.

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Five Technology Trends in Manufacturing

Five Technology Trends in Manufacturing

Guest Post by Daniel Burrus (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Corporations that create in this world facilitate so many integral pieces to contemporary life by way of manufacturing. Manufacturing is quite literally a backbone to so many other industries, generating components for medical devices, automobiles, electronics, and machinery that keeps everything progressing forward. All of these components frequently need to be replaced, or more often upgraded thanks to new innovations that create new capabilities and in turn create new needs.

In addition, global supply chain shortages are driving a new wave of nearshoring to put manufacturing closer to customer locations. New manufacturing plants will utilize the latest technologies in an effort to increase productivity and competitive advantage. Due to the fact that technology-driven exponential change affects everything, manufacturing businesses must always keep up.

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Auditing Safety Management Systems

Auditing Safety Management Systems

Guest Post by Bill Pomfret (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

In any given PSM audit, the auditors will usually face one or more situations that represent a dilemma because the situation has not happened before, or no thought has been given on how to resolve it. These dilemmas usually require the individual auditor and/or the audit team leader resolve the situation in the field. These “on the fly” resolutions require both astute judgment and practical solutions that fit not only the governing regulations or company/facility standards for PSM, but also how those mandatory requirements should be interpreted and applied to the specific design, operations, and PSM program of the facility being audited.

The PSM audit dilemmas described in this paper are based on the experiences of seasoned auditors during actual PSM audits. Several of them are PSM adaptations of those published by Safety Projects International Inc., et al in 5 Star Health & Safety Management System™ Health and Safety Audits. In general, there are no absolute right or wrong answers to solving these dilemmas, although in some cases a resolution might seem obvious.

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How to Create a Positive Risk Culture

How to Create a Positive Risk Culture

Guest Post by Patrick Ow (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

As the world begins to unevenly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s re-evaluation of their lives and work means employee engagement has been replaced by employee experience.

Employee experience is about the critical need for organisations to help people do and be their best. It is shaped by:

  • The work we do.
  • The teams we work in.
  • Our direct managers and how they coach and support us.
  • Our health and wellbeing.
  • The digital, physical, and cultural workplace.
  • How we grow and develop.
  • How much do we trust the organisation.

Even before the pandemic, the work environment was already challenging. Many studies have shown that people felt overwhelmed. They had little time to concentrate, to spend with their families, and there was no time to learn something new.

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Is Detailed Design Anti-Agile?

Is Detailed Design Anti-Agile?

Guest Post by Howard M. Wiener (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

In the Beginning . . .

In days of yore, systems development projects were front ended with laborious requirements engineering and design tasks.  This made sense then because development was labor-intensive, time-consuming and expensive.  Changes to the scope or design of a solution mid-development increased the likelihood of errors and incremental time and expense.  In recognition of this, traditional Waterfall project management was applied, which created impediments to modifying the product definition once its development had begun.  Changes were strenuously resisted.

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Roadblocks on the Way to Leadership

Roadblocks on the Way to Leadership

Guest Post by Bill Pomfret (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Black Lives Matter is a slogan that we see at major sporting events, and on social media, however it is a fact that female managers of color are five times more likely (21%) than their white female counterparts (4%) to say they have quit a job after being overlooked for a new leadership opportunity at work.

While it’s not really news that women and especially women of color are more likely to encounter roadblocks in the journey to a leadership role, it’s very disconcerting to how it’s affecting not just the women, but the companies that are losing out on this talent. 

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Virtual Decisions: Art and Reality of Indecision

Virtual Decisions: Art and Reality of Indecision

Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

“Any decision is better than No Decision” goes the Law of Decision making.  However, sitting on the fence, humming and hawing, chewing the cud, weighing every option, exploring every avenue and leaving no stone unturned can, and often does, eventually amount to, at the end of the day, and in its cold light, without beating about the bush, or wasting any more time…indecision.

Indecision, at least for those affected, leads to a number of things including frustration, demotivation, and anger.  These feelings are not felt by those who dwell in indecision as they are blissfully unaware and are ignorantly oblivious as to the adverse effects of their procrastination.  They are also incognizant as to their responsibility for wasting everybody’s precious time as well as being bewilderingly ignorant that a definitive decision to do nothing may allow for some productive work elsewhere.  But they would rather keep people on tenterhooks and in a state of limbo and avoid any gainful and concurrent activity.  Productivity for them is of no consequence…people can always catch up later…or can they?!

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Why Agile Software Often Fails and What to Do About It

Why Agile Software Often Fails and What to Do About It

Guest Post by Howard M. Wiener (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

In the previous articles in this series, we discussed the role that agile digital delivery capabilities plays in your company’s competitiveness and why rapid delivery is so important.  In this article, we will look at the many reasons that Agile adoptions frequently fail to deliver what companies expect and suggest some things that you should do to address them.

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