Reluctance

In several stages, increasingly stringent measures had to be imposed in order to contain the virus. And although the number of hospitalisations rose above the peak of the first wave, it took a great deal of effort on the part of policymakers to motivate citizens and businesses to go into lockdown again, even when the measures themselves were in many cases lighter than during the first wave.

With some hesitation

Being a maintenance professional, you have certainly already experienced 'Reluctance'. And no, I'm not referring to reluctance as in magnetic resistance.  I am talking about the more figurative meaning, a sense of resentment or the resistance we all feel when being forced to do something against our own will. The corona pandemic nicely illustrates the consequences of only reluctantly applying measures. 

Just think of the famous Adria-tour, an exhibition tennis tournament organised by Novak Djokovic in June 2020. Social media clearly showed that neither the public nor the players respected the distance rules. As a result, many of them tested positive for Covid-19 shortly afterwards.  

Can it be any different?

With an infection rate five times lower than the European average, Finland is showing how the Corona contamination can be contained successfully. In addition to a high level of readiness to deal with all kinds of disasters, the Finnish population is characterised by a high level of willingness to strictly follow up government measures. In English this is nicely summed up by the word 'Preparedness', which can mean both readiness and willingness.  The Finish figures prove that preparedness is the correct attitude to handling large-scale threats.

How to overcome resistance

In current times, also Maintenance is faced with much reluctance. Management and operations are often 'reluctant' to schedule preventive maintenance, especially in times of budgetary uncertainty.  So how can we remove much of that resistance? The answer is simple: by clearly communicating the necessity and objectives of the maintenance interventions ahead.  And just as a smaller air gap reduces the magnetic resistance in an electrical motor, it is as important for maintenance to work very closely together with the colleagues in other departments. Certainly in the current challenging times of social distancing...