Thinking Outside The Box

Thinking Outside the Box

4/20/20

We are deep into the second month of coping with the COVID-19 virus.  This has forced drastic adjustments by government, business and individuals as we do our best to cope with it.  Some businesses have been forced to cease operations entirely, while others seek to offer new goods and services in response to changing needs in the marketplace.  Still others that produce essential goods are moving forward but adjusting its business practices to protect the health and welfare of its employees and customers.  It can seem very overwhelming at times to deal with new restrictions on business practices, often to the point of thinking that nearly nothing can be done until this pandemic has past.  That may not be the case, however.

The phrase "think outside the box" has become cliché, but the concept has never been more appropriate.  Students are adjusting to "distance learning" at home via teleconferences with their teachers and professors.  Likewise, many businesses have found that meetings that used to be held in person could be performed online.  Maybe the solution isn't quite as good as actually being together in person, but it *can* be and *is* being done.  

Many contracted engineering services can be done in the same fashion.  Michaud Engineering provides a wide range of engineering consulting services, many of which can be done remotely with a little "thinking outside the box".  For instance, this is a great time to evaluate the status of your maintenance program.  How is it performing?  Are failure rates being reduced due effective preventive and predictive maintenance methods?  If not, why?  Is your current process more of a work order tracking system rather than a true maintenance program where preventive and predictive maintenance tools are utilized to improve reliability and reduce cost?  These are all examples of services that can be performed remotely without having to worry about on-site visits, PPE, social distancing protocols, etc.  This is also an ideal time to take a closer look at the practices and procedures of your maintenance program to find where its strengths and weaknesses are.  If you haven't really implemented a maintenance program yet, this would be an ideal time to do so.  Using tools that we are already familiar with - the phone and the computer - tackling these programs now means that your company will be better prepared to resume normal operations when we beat this virus.  

© Michaud Engineering Inc. 2020