6.4 How We Acquire Knowledge

We acquire new knowledge from both external and internal sources. Externally we encounter new information all of the time. We learn from attending conferences and seminars, meeting with other companies and their representatives on industry committees, meeting and working with external consultants, attending training classes, and many others. Internally we learn from our constant interaction with other plant sites, other departments within our own site, and new hires who have a much more objective view of what we do than we do—at least for the first six months of their new careers.  

The problem we face as we learn new things in each of the above cases is that we continually filter information. Learning new things is one step towards change. However, the harder step is being open enough to allow these new ideas past our filters so that we can analyze the information and determine if it is applicable. We need to be open to the fact that someone else may have invented a better mouse trap. If we fail to turn off the filters and learn, we are doing a disservice to our company by potentially missing out on new ways to improve the work. Filters of this type look and sound like:

• That is not how we have done this work before.

• We have been successful with the old method; why change?

• We tried that before and it was a waste of time.

• Our way of doing _____ is better.

• That is a different industry—it won’t work in ours.

• That can’t be right our information says something different.

There are many others that could be added to the list. Each in its own right is a destructive force that can render the best new idea useless. To be successful learners, individuals and groups need to turn off the filters and be open to new ideas. Rather than dismissing them, analyze their value. If there is value, use the idea to improve the business. If there is no value, then dismiss the idea, but at least you will know that its potential was evaluated first. The learning organization has the ability to recognize the gaps within their own sphere of knowledge, then to create or acquire new knowledge to fill these gaps.

6.5 How We Employ This Knowledge

Figure 6-2 shows a single loop where we set goals, act on the goals, and compare the results of our actions. Where there is a gap between our goal and the experienced outcome from the work, we identify it and feed it back into the work system. This causes us to readjust our work activities so that our next outcome more closely matches the desired goal.  

Eventually, through continual application of the learning loop, we will have closed the gap and reached the goal. At this point (or even before it), we may want to readjust the goal to something different. This new goal, which is most often more challenging than the one prior to it, is often referred to as “raising the bar.” Suppose we want 100% compliance with the preventive maintenance program (PM) so that PM tasks are completed as scheduled. Our goal, therefore, is 100%. We then conduct our program and measure the results. Assume that the first time we do this our compliance is at 80%. This result is then fed back into the work process; changes are made that will affect the rate of compliance. Assume that the outcome of the second iteration is now 90%. Once again, we review the work outcome and adjust the process until at the fourth iteration we reach the goal. Figure 6-3 demonstrates this process graphically.  

This single-loop learning process is relatively simple to apply to single activities such as a PM program. But think how much more difficult it becomes when applied to the many and inter-related goals of the business.