This author compares asset management to the care and feeding of, and sometimes keeping endangered species alive. Compelling analogy, isn't it?

When was the last time you visited a zoo and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the exhibits, during which you interfaced with the various fauna? For the visitor, a zoo can be a quiet, relaxing place for reflection. For the animals, the zoo is a home. For the zookeepers and all the others involved in its day-to-day operation, the zoo is a job. Granted, most of the zookeepers are there because they consider this a true calling-something that fulfills their strong desire to 'be there and do that.' Take the staff of the zoo in my hometown, Columbia, SC. It is a wonderful place that is well-run, well-managed and well-maintained by competent, enthusiastic people. They are people who basically live and breathe for the existence of the zoo and the well-being of the animals and plants that inhabit it.

Consistency is key
Have you ever considered whether a zoo just exists, much like the animals and plants that exist in the wild, or whether there may be a rhyme, rhythm and reason to the organization?

What would happen if we were to put the lions in the polar bear exhibit (without the bears, of course)? Or,

Then there are the nutritional aspects to consider.Would the chameleons stay healthy on a menu of nothing but tsetse flies? Would the elephants thrive on a constant diet of sugar cane? Probably not.

Consistency is an important element in almost any successful operation, be it a zoo or, in our case, a maintenance organization. Just like zookeepers, we maintenance professionals have a fairly constant set of parameters within which to exist. For example, due to the living organisms and constant changes in a zoo environment, zookeepers must continuously evaluate the health, sanitation, nutrition, environment and social structure of their charges-some of which may include truly endangered species.

Likewise, we, as maintenance professionals also may be keeping individuals of an endangered species alive. There are all sorts of carnivores out there just waiting for us to become weak enough for them to swallow us! If we are lucky, they’ll swallow us whole; if we’re not,we will be ripped asunder and many good people and their value will be lost. The future of a maintenance organization, therefore, depends on how well the health, well-being and environment of our flora and fauna are managed.

Best practices
How exciting would a visit to the zoo with your family on a warm, spring afternoon be if the zookeepers had not followed the plan, schedule and procedure for feeding the lions for several days? Wouldn’t those young, tender morsels of fresh meat tagging along behind you look particularly appealing to the hungry lions? Keep in mind the fact that the lions don’t have highly developed thought processes that allow...(Read whole article)