The year was 1859. That’s when Charles Dickens released his 13th novel to the public. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of fiction, A Tale of Two Cities opens with what is arguably, the most famous opening line in English literature: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Dickens used those words to succinctly describe the sentiment surrounding economic, social, and political events
in London and Paris that led to the French and American Revolutions.
Fast forward 160 years. Today, the world is once again experiencing an unprecedented economic, social, and political upheaval. This time, though, it’s on a global scale, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Struggling through this peacetime catastrophe has created a whole new perspective and appreciation regarding the importance and fragility of relationships and what is truly meaningful in
times of adversity. In the process, the pandemic continues to highlight the “best” and, sadly, in many ways, the “worst.”
Although we have been witnessing extremely divisive, partisan bickering among politicians and devastating impacts of opportunists and scammers working to cash in on our fears, their “worst” has been far outweighed by the “best” of countless others. Consider the dedication and valor shown by first responders, medical professionals, truck drivers, grocery-store personnel, food-delivery workers, educators,
and, let us not forget, the brave men and women who continue to keep critical facilities and essential industrial operations up and running, all at elevated risk to themselves and their families. We salute your human spirit and thank you—each and every one of you.
Many plants and facilities have been forced to close for the time being, requiring an engineered approach to shutdown and development of a methodology for maintaining assets in a state of startup readiness over an unknown period of time (see my Mar. 23 article for The RAM Review). Others have been tasked to apply their ingenuity to rapidly retool and redeploy their assets in the manufacture and distribution
of critical equipment and supplies to fight the pandemic. Success in these circumstances calls for extraordinary teamwork and communication between engineering, maintenance, and operations.
With many members of the workforce at home (whether in self-isolation or -quarantine, or under government-imposed “shelter-in-place” or “lockdown” orders), the ability of plant and facility teams to communicate effectively requires us to truly listen rather than merely “hear,” to be more open-minded to change, and to basically rethink the way we approach the world. All of these situations bring out the very
best of people. Moreover, we need to document and embrace this new way of learning and communicating and build on it once the world returns to normalcy.
The COVID-19 pandemic will eventually come to an end, and we will be stronger as a result. With that in mind, I’ll sign off here with another quote from Dickens, who, in the final chapter of A Tale of Two Cities, articulated what some describe as the overcoming of struggles and the overturning of one way of life for another: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have
ever done…” Good luck. Stay safe.
kbannister@theramreview.com
For More Articles Related To The COVID-19 Crisis:
CLICK HERE TO READ
"Maintaining in An Emergency State"
by Ken Bannister
CLICK HERE TO READ
"8 Asset-Management Strategies to Help Survive The Recession,"
by Drew Troyer
CLICK HERE TO READ
"Sending Them Home, Keeping Them Productive"
by Heinz Bloch
