Working as a consultant in operations and maintenance management for two decades, I've helped different companies successfully implement their continuous improvement initiatives. Over the years, however, I've discovered that presenting a great maintenance-related idea or design isn't enough to sell the concept to management.

Although my ideas made perfect sense to me, permission to move ahead with a concept or design was granted only after I sold the project from management's perspective. If management was looking for cost reduction, I sold the project based on efficiency. If management was looking for market leadership, I also sold based on innovation.

As well, I learned to break down a project into phases or "bite size" palatable pieces. By linking the project and phase goals with corporate objectives, management was able to significantly reduce its "buy-in" risks. This made it easy for management to support and move maintenance projects forward.

Realizing success and progressing to the next phase meant setting tangible goals, measuring and achieving these goals and capitalizing upon that success to drive full implementation. Here are some useful strategies to help you sell maintenance to management:

Choose winning projects
Every maintenance department is brimming with improvement opportunities. For example, performing a simple Maintenance Operation Effectiveness Review (MOER) will determine department strengths and areas of immediate opportunity. You'll be establishing your present state of maintenance and future direction. It's imperative that maintenance and management are going down the same path together.

"To successfully sell your project in a world of limited capital, you must work with your business partners [other departments] to prioritize your projects," says Dan Arsenault, manager of technical centre services for Mississauga, ON-based GlaxoSmithKlein. "Understanding and helping them meet their needs will help you meet your needs."

Successful projects bring sustainable benefits. You should look for projects that require minimal capital (i.e. waste reduction and elimination initiatives). Also, don't forget to include in the proposal that you want to re-invest any savings into a subsequent phase. Management will tend to buy into a project that offers sustainable savings versus a "one-time" savings initiative.

A winning project is one that you and others will believe in. It's also one that meets an immediate need and has achievable goals. As well, the project doesn't require complex project management. Lastly, it's one that you can confidently bring to a successful conclusion. Remember, your future credibility rests in the project's success or failure.

Understand your sponsor(s)
In preparing your project proposal, you must build and present it in such a way as to appeal to the sponsor(s) who'll approve the project. You'll need to know if you're interacting with a detail-oriented manager or a "big-picture" manager. It's important to prepare your presentation to fit the audience. Have all details ready, if needed.

You should also prepare to justify your argument based on your needs and requirements, as well as those of the sponsor(s). In other words, you need to make it easy for the sponsor(s) to defend any supporting decisions. Finally, anticipate any objections ahead of time. Always have a response ready for objections.

"Present your proposal information in a language that your sponsor(s) can understand. Presenting to a controller will require special emphasis on budget spending and costs versus savings," says Stan Shantz, a past maintenance coordinator for a major Ontario food manufacturer. "When presenting to plant or production managers, you'll need to help them understand the value of maintenance through performance measurements. This includes equipment uptime, availability and maintenance effectiveness."

Build an action plan
After choosing a winning project, you must now carefully prepare your business case. It's essential to detail how you intend to manage the project. Clearly, implementation success will depend on building a solid Management Action Plan (MAP). The MAP is a project plan that outlines your W5 strategy:

• Who will you use to complete the project? Detail your expected internal and external (i.e. contractors, and consultants) human resource requirements;
• What will your project entail? Outline the scope of work, including a listing of special tools, permits and considerations required for the project;
• When will you commence and complete the project? Implement a detailed project timeline (usually a Gantt chart) complete with milestone achievement points;
• Where will the project take place? Detail the project's geography; and
• Why are you proposing this project? List benefits, including clearly defined and tangible project goals. Use applicable performance indicators to help key players better understand the project's current state, to set tangible goal measures and trend the project's rate of success.

You must also know how much the project will cost. As well, you need to know who'll pay for the project. A detailed cost/benefit analysis budget has to accompany your project proposal. A project budget isn't complete without a return-on-investment (ROI) statement. This spells out expected savings and how long it will take to recoup project costs. Choosing a project with sustainable benefits will allow you to both amortize costs and gauge savings over a longer period of time (usually three to five years).

"When proposing new projects, you must do your homework. Back up your ROI statement with realistic figures that you can defend—not 'best-guess' efforts. Preparing a MAP takes practice and you shouldn't be afraid to solicit help. You don't have to be knowledgeable in all areas," says Shawn Crawford, manager, facilities services for the City of Mississauga, ON (Facility and Property Management Group). "A third-party can offer a different perspective and can motivate a project forward."

Committment to success
You have to be positive about your proposal. Part of feeling good, is the belief that you can successfully achieve the targets set out in your proposal. By doing your homework, you've earned the right to use convincing language to sell your proposal to management. Setting goals and a tangible measurement method displays confidence and a true commitment to success.

Professional presentations
All of the preparation work has been completed. Now, you're ready to present your proposal to your sponsor(s). Remember that a successful presentation is simple, concise and supported with facts. Nobody will tell you that selling maintenance to management is an easy proposition. However, you can make change happen. Believe in your project and present a detailed strategy. This will make it difficult for management not to support your case. You're now ready to succeed. Good luck with your next presentation.

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Ken Bannister is a founding partner with the Global Benchmarking Organization (a performance measurement company) and Engtech Industries Inc. (a production and maintenance management consulting company). Based in Cambridge, ON, you can email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Last issue's maintenance connections column ("What's in a word?") dealt with communication quality and accountability when sending and receiving information in written versus verbal format. All of these columns position members of the maintenance department as direct senders and receivers of information between themselves, all other internal corporate departments (engineering, purchasing, production, etc.), and outside agencies (consultants, contractors, suppliers, etc).

A common denominator in every linked connection is the human factor. People do not send instruction or reports to computers, they send them to people who look at databases in computers. People do not send requisitions or reports to other departments or agencies, they send them to people who work for those departments or agencies. Effective communication relies on the fact that the person sending information understands the people in his or her audience.

The 5 Cs of communications
What does the word communication mean to you? If a communication is to be effective it must contain content that is structured; five structural elements of a good communication are:

1. Clarity: the meaning of the communication must be clear. Is the message a direct instruction to be completed in a defined time period, or is the message for informational purposes only? Always state the purpose of the communication in the title.

2. Coherence: cognizance of the audience's level of understanding is crucial. The message must mean something to the person reading it. Jargon should be avoided and acronyms spelled out.

3. Consistence: communication process should be formalized and the communication format standardized — consistency eliminates reader confusion and leads to credibility and trust.

4. Conciseness: to be concise the message must be written objectively and without ambiguity. All data and information contained within the message must be correct, not fabricated.

5. Completeness: achieved through anticipating questions on the message content.

The five Cs provide a framework from which to base a communication strategy. If truly effective communication were merely a replicable product of the five Cs, communication problems would cease to exist. Unfortunately, regardless of strategy, communication problems will remain as long as the human factor is ignored.

The human factor
Place a person in a positive work environment and the person will nearly always respond in a positive manner. People like structure — communication structure is a cornerstone of corporate and personal well being and contributes directly to a positive working environment.

According to Carl Jung, a leading psychologist of the early 1900s and developer of the "theory of personality type", people can be classified into different personality types. Jung's theories were later translated into a practical personality type indicator chart, known as the MBTI, or Myers Briggs Type Indicator by two U.S. psychologists, Myers and Briggs, and used widely in business and industry to help people better understand how their personality type can best communicate with other personality types. For each individual, Jung subscribes four basic personality traits:

1. (E) Extroversion / (I) Introversion: an extrovert is more likely to voice an immediate "off the cuff" opinion, whereas an introvert likes to think a while before giving a reply.

2. (S) Sensing / (N) Intuitive: a sensing individual likes to pour over details (micro management) while an intuitive personality is a "big picture" person (macro manager).

3. (T) Thinking / (F) Feeling: thinking individuals tend to be more impersonal and make objective decisions based on facts only. Feeling individuals are subjective in nature and base decisions on how they affect people.

4. (J) Judgement / (P) Perception: the judgmental personality likes to live and operate in a decisive, planned and orderly environment while a perceiver chooses to operate within a more spontaneous, adaptive or flexible environment.

For example, an ENTJ personality is classified as a natural leader and organization builder, and is a big picture thinker who makes decisions objectively. Do you recognize your personality, and how you like to receive information?

Understanding and tailoring the information for the person receiving the communication is crucial. When presenting reports to other departments and agencies, ask the person receiving the report how they would like the information presented to them. If the audience is more than one person, you may have to prepare and present the report in detail form complete with an executive overview or summary.

Understanding yourself allows you to instruct people on how you like to receive information. The essence to effective communication is to know and understand yourself and your audience — the human connection is perhaps the most difficult connection to master and is always under construction.

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Ken Bannister is a principal management consultant with Engtech Industries Inc. in Cambridge, Ontario. You can reach Ken at (519) 622-4211 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .