Systems Health
Case Studies
Real assessments across industrial environments — examining how systems perform, where they break down, and what it takes to move from reactive operations to lasting reliability.
Systems Tell the Truth
The following case studies are based on observational assessments of real operational environments. Each facility was evaluated across SBD's five core domains of operational health — not to judge performance, but to understand where systems support the people inside them and where those systems fall short.
Every operation has capable people. The question is whether the systems around them are built to sustain performance, retain knowledge, and improve over time.
Boeing Everett — Crane Maintenance Operations
A high-performing reactive system. Strong execution capability and experienced personnel, but fundamentally people-reliant rather than system-driven. Work gets done consistently — yet the systems around it do not evolve.
- Large-scale aerospace manufacturing facility
- Overhead crane fleet supporting aircraft assembly
- Preventive maintenance program with real-time response capability
- Third-party managed maintenance (JLL platform underutilized)
- High Lead bottleneck — knowledge and control centralized in individuals
- High No controlled intake system for work requests
- Elevated Limited KPI visibility — no operational dashboards
- Medium Weak root cause analysis and repeat-issue handling
- Execution strength masks underlying system fragility — work gets done because of individual effort, not process reliability
- Institutional knowledge lives in people, not systems — creating scalability and continuity risk
- Existing tools (JLL/CMMS) are present but underutilized, representing wasted investment
- No formal learning loop means problems are resolved but not prevented
- Implement structured intake channels to eliminate verbal-only work requests and establish prioritization rules
- Build an operational dashboard layer — uptime, PM compliance, response time, backlog visibility
- Distribute critical knowledge through documented procedures and cross-training frameworks
- Establish a root cause analysis pipeline tied to process updates and measurable outcomes
Amrize — Former Lafarge Cement Plant
A production-first operation with coordinated leadership planning, increasingly undermined by aging 1960s-era infrastructure, critical knowledge concentration, and insufficient system standardization. The facility is functional but on a declining trajectory.
- Large-scale cement production facility with continuous operations
- Legacy infrastructure — 1960s-era mechanical and electrical systems
- High mechanical and electrical load environments
- Multi-manager coordination across production and facilities
- Critical Single-point knowledge holder — senior electrician approaching retirement
- High Aging asset infrastructure driving escalating failure rates
- Elevated Safety exposure — silica risk, reactive repair conditions
- High Production-dominant governance overriding reliability priorities
- Coordinated planning exists at leadership level, but execution quality is degraded by aging systems and inconsistent procedures
- Core electrical expertise concentrated in a single technician — retirement creates an operational cliff, not a gradual transition
- Data is collected through apps and forms, but not leveraged for KPIs, trends, or predictive decision-making
- Production pressure consistently overrides maintenance priorities, accelerating asset degradation
- Deploy a structured knowledge capture program — document procedures and build standardized playbooks before institutional knowledge walks out the door
- Shift from reactive to reliability-centered maintenance planning with asset-criticality prioritization
- Rebalance governance to introduce KPI-driven decision-making alongside production targets
- Build a visibility layer with dashboards tracking downtime, failure rates, and maintenance backlog in real time
Seattle Times — Production Facility
Strong individual technical capability operating inside a near-total absence of formal systems. Organizational transitions and multiple retirements have created compounding knowledge loss, leaving a reactive and people-dependent operation without a recovery structure.
- Newspaper printing and production facility
- Mix of legacy and upgraded equipment (German press installation)
- Integrated machine shop and electrical maintenance
- Lean staffing with expanding individual responsibilities
- Critical Multiple knowledge holders departing — no capture process in place
- High No CMMS or maintenance software — fully manual reporting
- High Role instability — shifting responsibilities and unclear ownership
- Elevated Disorganized parts inventory increasing downtime exposure
- Skilled individuals are compensating for the complete absence of formal systems — creating an operation that functions but cannot scale or sustain
- Multiple retirements are removing institutional knowledge simultaneously, with no documentation or transfer mechanism in place
- Zero software infrastructure means no visibility into work volume, asset health, or maintenance trends
- Organizational transitions have left roles ambiguous — the facilities manager is absorbing responsibilities without structural support
- Implement a basic CMMS to centralize work tracking and replace manual reporting with a system of record
- Launch an urgent knowledge capture program — document machine procedures and expert workflows before retirement deadlines
- Establish a parts and inventory system with organized storage, usage tracking, and reorder protocols
- Define clear role structures and responsibilities to reduce overload and eliminate ambiguity in ownership
Every Operation Has a Score.
Do You Know Yours?
An Operational Health Assessment gives your leadership team a clear, scored picture of where your systems stand — across intake, execution, visibility, governance, and continuous improvement. No assumptions. No guesswork. A structured path from where you are to where you need to be.
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