Reliability Program Not Working? Here’s What Might Be Wrong

Joe Kuhn, CMRP, former plant manager, engineer, and global reliability consultant, is now president of Lean Driven Reliability LLC. He is the author of the book “Zero to Hero: How to Jumpstart Your Reliability Journey Given Today’s Business Challenges” and the creator of the Joe Kuhn YouTube Channel, which offers content on starting your reliability journey and achieving financial independence. In our monthly podcast miniseries, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. This episode explains some of the problems that can go wrong when you are starting your reliability journey, and what folks should be on the lookout for along the way. Key takeaways Prioritize reliability by choosing where to excel—get a C on less critical tasks to focus on what truly drives plant performance. Reliability success demands active operations ownership—learn failures, engage on the floor, and earn credibility. Promote small wins visibly—selling reliability outcomes prevents loss of sponsorship and ensures long-term buy-in. Without structured problem-solving, best practices fall short—embed it into your process to triple reliability results.