Evolved Technologist ® -

Clive Wilby has been kind enough to give us his impressions of the "Perfect Plant" book:

Firstly, I have not come across any other publication that covers the breadth of the subject as your book does and so I believe it is one of a kind. Also so you have a better understanding of where my views are coming from; I have spent time in process plant operations, maintenance, projects with OOs and EPC, and also with EPCs involved in Manufacturing, mainly Pharmaceuticals. In particular closely involved with Refinery TQM initiatives that essentially looked at all systems, associated business processes and underlying information needs to support these. This was back in 1993 and involved Anderson Consulting. I wish we had this book then, it would have saved us much grief, nonetheless I am not sure things have changed that much in the intervening years, so this book is a god send for these types of projects

What did the book mean to you? What really resonated with you and why you would recommend it to others.

Initially I was a little confused, as I mentally translated the word plant to meant processing plants as in oil, gas and chemicals and was slightly taken aback by the fact that plant in this case also meant Manufacturing (discrete). After this initial shock, I found merit in the approach as there is certainly an opportunity for cross learning between the two plant types; if only we can overcome our arrogance!

What resonated particularly with me was the Perfect Plant definition. One could perhaps argue with the wording, but I think it is spot on for process plant. Very useful definition on which to then tie critical success factors and objective of any organizational improvement type project. In my experience it has always been easier to get into the "weeds" quickly without clearly defining the critical success factors in terms of the high level operating objective(s). Result, doing a great job to produce something that really has marginal value to the organization

How would you recommend people use the book to make changes or move organizations forward?

Well the first one is covered above, in that I would modify the Perfect Plant definition to suite my operation and then use this to define critical success factors and objectives of any improvement initiative. If the initiative does not add to the overarching definition, then do not undertake the work. Also use it to check whether or not to approve change request. A change would only be approved if it materially supported or added value to the overarching objective.

I would certainly encourage all individuals associated with the change improvement project to read the book and I would use it to help them understand how their specific work relates. Depending on the project, I would also use the appropriate sections of the book to help communicate the project scope to all stake holders and get buy-in.