Remove the Blindfold

Imagine if you will, that you are wearing a blindfold and are expected to navigate a maze with not only dead ends, but dangerous pitfalls. Let's say that numerous people depend on you negotiating the maze unharmed, and you have to do so everyday.

Some days you might get lucky, and make it through with only a scratch. That's good for all the people depending on you. On another day you might end up with a twisted ankle, causing one or more of the people who depend on you to have to work overtime to make up for the loss of your contribution.

The worst thing that could happen would be for you to fall and break your leg, taking you out of the picture entirely for an extended period. Now many people are left floundering, because no one ever thought of the simple solution: Take the blindfold off!

Isn't this kind of like a maintenance department doing it's best keep a facility running by employing the "fire-fighting" method of maintenance? Eventually fire fighting techniques won't be enough to keep up with the failures, and all the people that depend on the maintenance department will suffer.

The solution is to remove the blindfold by implementing maintenance planning and scheduling, and experiencing what it's like to see again.