Asset Optimisation - Derick Martins

21/12/2025

21/11/2025

Check out our latest podcast - Maintenance Untangled. The first episode was released today.

🔗Youtube: https://lnkd.in/gZDSFAXD

🔗Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gtMzx9ug

🔗Spotify: https://lnkd.in/g4C4MtiP

23/07/2025

Killing Creativity

Coaching leaders in maintenance is always interesting. As a leader, we need to understand the impact our words have on the team we lead.

How do we foster creativity in a safe environment for our teams to speak up? In recent years, managing large shutdowns, I always asked my team: “how can we make this better?”, “how can we do this differently?”, “what do you need to deliver a better result?”.

This allows the team to think, to debate, to be creative.

So how do you stop that creativity? Well, the one phrase, I have learned, that will quickly stop creativity AND remove responsibility, is:

“I am the Manager/Leader/Supervisor, and ultimately I make the decision”.

Why is that?

Because when you say that, you accept all responsibility, and stifle any creativity. Because if your team think that you won’t approve their idea, they won’t even explore it. They will only suggest solutions that they reckon you will approve, i.e. they will try and think like you.

And the whole point of a team is to have diversity in ideas!

So, while you may ultimately make the final decision, be careful how you say it to your team.

21/07/2025

26/07/2023

We love supporting local talent!
Good luck to all the competitors competing in the October competition!

Welcome to our Corporate Sponsors Asset Optimisation. Asset Optimisation have sponsored us for years and have recently sponsored us as corporate sponsors for our October competition. We are so grateful, and their sponsorship will help us transport the equipment needed for the competition!

23/07/2023

: Is there a right or wrong way to do maintenance?

I do not think so.

I think there is a more or less suitable strategy, at that point in time.

Why do I say “at that point in time”? Because if your operation is connected to a commodity price, the one year you might have the luxury to have ample trades to fulfil a total predictive maintenance strategy, and the next year you might find yourself with half the price, and half the resource pool. Then your strategy is no longer the better suited maintenance strategy, for you at that point in time.

So ensure you review your overall maintenance intent and strategy, as situations for the business change.

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford

17/07/2023

: Shutdown Work - To do, or not to do?

That is the question. But that is the question not asked often enough.

Too often, work is planned into major outages/shutdowns because ‘the plant is down’ without asking if these work can be done at another time. A facility often have annual, or 6 monthly or maybe 4 yearly major outages, with some minor shutdowns in between. During these outages there is typically a reliance on external labour to perform a high percentage of work.

Remember, work done during major outages are usually at a higher cost (external labour, additional travel costs, accommodation, etc.), a higher risk (people not familiar with site, higher level of interaction between work crews, etc.) and with a lower revenue period. So the aim should be to NOT do work in this period.

If you want your major shutdowns to become more effective, move as much work out of your major outages, and into your smaller downtimes. That way you can focus your best effort on making your major outages a success.

Remember: the best shutdown EVER, is the one that NEVER happened!

06/07/2023

: Work Management

Do you have a Work Management process in place? How effective is it? Is there any work being done that you do not have visibility over?

If you do not have clear measuring points in your process to ensure it is effective, you will struggle to gain control over it. You must ensure that ALL your work is captured through your CMMS and measured as part of your work management.

If you have work conducted by a Contract or Project Controller and their work is not measured in your Work Management, chances are that a lot of this work will be out of control and you will have no visibility over it. The same goes if you log and manage Shutdown work outside of your CMMS.

All maintenance work must be measured if you want to be able to control it.

23/06/2023

Another great week of Maintenance Coaching! Helping the team to improve Shutdown processes.

Beautiful sunrises in NSW!

24/04/2023

To all serving members, past and present, in Australia, South Africa and beyond, we will not forget.
Salute!