In any large capital project or major outage, there comes a time when there is a transition of control from the engineering team to the operations. Whether it is a project for a $500M new production line or simply installing a new $5k AC drive, one team should be leaving as another takes control. Some may refer to this transitional period as transitioning from cold commissioning to hot commissioning. Others may refer to this as handing over the keys. In any case, the overarching goal of this transition is to let the operation manage the assets themselves and let engineering move on to the next mission.
The long-term goal is to leave a government able to stand by itself. In the end, the host nation has to win on its own. - Field Manual No.3-24 Marine Corps Warfighting Publication No. 3-33.5
Transition the closure of a manufacturing project to the operations
On one hand, you have an engineering team eager to close the project and move on to the next one. After months of engineering, constructing, and commissioning, their battle has ended. On the other hand, you have an operations team that acknowledges the responsibility to manage the assets in operations. In manufacturing, this transition of control can be arduous when departments and teams are unfamiliar with the efforts required for an effective transition. If you can relate to these types of transitions, applying the guidance from the Marine Corps Warfighting Publication No. 3-33.5 (MCWP 3-33.5) could improve the effectiveness (can also be referred to as Field Manual 33.4 or FM-33.4).
Transition from the counterinsurgent to the host nation per Field Manual No.3-24 Marine Corps Warfighting Publication No. 3-33.5
MCWP 3-33.5 would refer to this transition as the TOA, or the Transition of Authority, where there is a handover of control from one authority to another. This field manual (FM) describes the two distinct authorities as the counterinsurgency and the host. The counterinsurgency would be responsible for handing over the power and the host would assume the authority after the transition. Applying MCWP 3-33.5 as a guide for a manufacturing setting, the counterinsurgency could be considered the engineering or maintenance departments, and the operations could be the host nation. Whether it is a transfer of power in a military context or within a manufacturing facility, this transition can cause extreme tensions if not managed correctly. What can we learn from the FM to formalize a similar application in manufacturing and make these transitions more effective?
To manage the fluidity of this transition in manufacturing, MCWP 3.33.5 would require that the engineering lead establishes an accreditable assessment process early on. The engineering lead would establish a clear understanding of the project, its deliverables, and targeted milestones. This could be an agreed-upon scope of work or a pre-MOC (pre-management of change). To indicate the mission as being complete, a detailed checklist of items would not be used to indicate a binary moment formalizing the transition. Instead, the counterinsurgency and the host must be aware that disrespecting the transition with a checklist, can undermine and delay achieving the desired end state.
Field Manual No.3-24 avoids the checklist
You may want to argue that we must have a checklist to validate a transition can occur. Counterintuitive to what you might think, MCWP 3.33.5 emphasizes that the objective is for the host to maintain the territory itself and by itself. Offering caution, the FM indicates that a specific moment discredits the importance of active participation in performing the transition. The transition must have the host striving to manage the captured territory unaccompanied by the counterinsurgency and the counterinsurgency urging to move to the next mission. There must be a push to leave and a pull to control.
MCWP 3.33.5 would indicate that this transition is more like a phase change versus a specific point in time. The transition must involve the energy of both organizations driving action towards the independence of the host. The host nation must ensure its robustness and the resources to accept the authorized responsibilities.
To establish legitimacy, the affective government must strive to transition security activities from military authorities to host-nation law enforcement authorities as quickly as possible. Field Manual No.3-24 Marine Corps Warfighting Publication No. 3-33.5
If the host or the operations are unmotivated or lack the discipline to accept responsibility for the conquered territory, there will be challenges and delays. While it may appear more work is getting done if engineering continuously supports the operations, it is better to work on strengthening the operations and only assist them in escalations during this phase change. If engineering continuously is leaned upon for assistance, leadership could see engineering as a deterrent to independence. Inevitably, the faster operations can manage the assets without engineering’s support, the better.
MCWP 3.33.5 requires a push an a pull
MCWP 3.33.5 recognizes that the transition requires one group pushing and the other group pulling. Therefore, if the transition is unsuccessful or delayed, higher-ranking officials must intervene to demand the host nation own the territory and accept what is being given. In manufacturing, executive leadership may indicate to the host that they should work with what they have versus a relentless onslaught of enhancements and adjustments. Holding engineering accountable for an ineffective transition would be held offline. Leadership must move forward and ensure the host nation accept responsibility to achieve victory.
Using MCWP 3.33.5 as a metaphor for manufacturers to understand the transition of a project from engineering to operations can be an assistance. It motivates the engineering team to ensure the mission's achievement and prepares them to transition to the next one. It puts clear ownership on the engineering leader to provide clarity, milestones, and progress. It puts the urgency and responsibility in the hands of the operations to pull for the completion of hot commissioning. It stresses that if engineering or operations rely on all the boxes being checked on a specific checklist that indicates a finite moment, the transition will inevitably fail.
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