Manifesto: Parker Hannifin 2030

 

Manifesto

Parker 2030

Preamble

 

My name is Doug O’Bryon - I work at Parker - and EVERY DAY I get to the office, sit down at my desk, turn on my laptop, and do you know the first thing I see EVERY SINGLE DAY?

 

I KNOW YOU DO – it’s the same thing YOU SEE!

 

It’s Parker’s Annual Improvement Priorities…on a screensaver…with a Burnt Sienna color palette – listing 7 things we as a company want to focus on – which is a lot – so leadership decided to emphasize 3 of them IN BOLD to give them extra importance - and those 3 are Demand and Capacity Planning, Productivity Improvement (through Automation and Lean) and Implementing Zero Defects.

 

So, I sit there at my desk. First thing every morning. Just like you. And think...

 

How am I supposed to achieve these? I mean REALLY. These are BOLD AUDACIOUS goals.

 

Tackling one is hard enough – let alone all three!

 

And then I get this email, about a Mousetrap Innovation Award that Parker gives out each year for building a better mousetrap in three categories:

 

“Simple by Design: Things that reduce cost and complexity.”

 

“Purpose in Action: For Engineering Breakthroughs that Lead to a Better Tomorrow.”

 

“Golden Mousetrap: For excellence in commercialization.”

 

So, I think, “Wow - I’d really love to win that award AND tackle all of those other priorities.”

 

But I’m lazy. 

 

So, I thought “Ok, what if there was ONE THING. ONE THING that would achieve ALL of these at the same time.  

 

Fortunately, I’ve been able to work next to one of the foremost visionaries in all of Parker, so I put pen to paper, and would like to share with you a submission for the next Parker Mousetrap Award: “A Vision for Parker in 2030.”  

 

In short, a Manifesto.   

 

 

Manifesto

Parker 2030

 

 

 

On a miserable Cleveland morning in December 1918, Arthur Parker received an order from Goodyear to install his patented pneumatic brake system on a handful of trucks for $1500. 

 

It was his first sale.

 

In the century that followed, the Parker name has become synonymous with industry-leading parts crafted with the quality and reliability necessary for consistently performing in the most extreme and rugged environments in the world. Whether frigid bitter cold, skin-blistering heat, the raw brutality of space, or inside numb pressurized dungeons leagues under the sea, companies and communities across the globe confidently turn to Parker Parts for mission-critical performance and protection when life and livelihood are on the line.

 

Thanks to decades of organic growth and acquisitional expansion, these parts now span a portfolio of over 3,000 product lines, spread across 24 times zones, 44 countries, 335 plants, and more than 540,000 customers, powering nearly every type of machine that moves.

 

But here’s the problem.

 

Every single part we produce will eventually fail.

 

Regardless of quality. Regardless of precision. Regardless craftmanship.

 

As good as our parts are, each one has a functional performance horizon…and then an end.

 

Each part is designed to perform…but destined to fail. 

 

Every. Single. One.

 

Trapped in a world screaming “Failure in not an option” lives our grim alternate reality – where failure is not only an option – it’s inevitable…

 

Or WAS…until we started asking some tough questions…

 

What if failure was predictable?

 

What if failure was avoidable?

 

What if we started viewing failure - not as the end - but as the beginning?

 

And what if, in the process of studying failure, we suddenly discovered the cipher, cracked the code, and uncovered the secret for unleashing the intelligence and insights resident within our raw data to transform the global Parker brand from simply “Supplying Parts” to “Strategic Partner.”

 

In short, what if lodged deep within the debris of failure was the feedstock data of success?

 

The Internet of Things

 

In 1999, computer scientist Kevin Ashton coined the phrase “Internet of Things” to describe the novel nascent notion of linking disparate products within a single informational ecosystem via RFID chips to track them throughout the supply chain. Since then, the Internet of Things has grown exponentially to include a labyrinth of signals, sensors, and software all connected via a network of wireless technology and monitored globally using predominantly Bluetooth communication and a robust cloud computing infrastructure to manage and monitor this network in real time.

        

Before the Internet, these were just “things.” Single. Static. Separate.

 

But when these things were suddenly CONNECTED…something magical happened.

 

These “things” became animated - their potential unleashed.

 

Transformed from soloist to symphony, these singular sedentary products suddenly became sentient sensory participants, their signaled voices amplified in unison as a global chorus – creating glorious mosaics and prescient patterns – just as single night-time stars array, align, and then are absorbed into grand constellations.

 

The Internet of tangible touchable Things has defined the last 25 years.

 

But that was just the Overture.  

 

The Opening Act.

 

The NEXT frontier of this trailblazing technological construct begins when the Internet of Things starts tracking, tracing, and triaging - not just parts in STOCK - but parts in STATE.

 

Inline or askew. Calibrated or off-center. Six nines or three.

 

Once we reimagine, redefine, and recalibrate the Internet of Things from bits to bytes, from stock to state, and from crate to code, a new powerful paradigm emerges.

 

And it all starts…when everything stops.

 

At the moment of FAILURE.

 

A lathe seizes up. A 3-D printer breaks down. A machine dies. Why? Who killed it? Or was it from natural causes?

 

Could it have been predicted?  Could it have been prevented? Or was it just “time?”

 

It’s a murder mystery. Who-done-it? Each digit, each divot, and each device, a character, a suspect, in an unfolding story.

 

Data is the drama, variance is the villain, the plot points become the plot lines, and the clues are everywhere, but how do you determine the culprit?

 

Machines and mechanical devices always leave clues – small at first, but over time they become more notable, more noticeable.

 

Just as stories employ foreshadowing, statistics enable forecasting, but only if you know where to look.

 

Points beget patterns, signals foretell signs, tells become trends.

 

Each line of data informs a line of dialog-anomalies advancing the dramatic arc -1 micrometer at a time.

 

Each line of code offers a line of communication, a line of conversation, a line of conviction.

 

Using advanced heuristics to determine the hero and the villain.

 

You find fissures, then faults, then fails.

 

The role of the statistical storyteller is to leverage the narrative of numerology to connect the dots, uncover the themes, and then follow the calculations and clues to translate the raw data from information into insights into intelligence, and in doing so, transforming individual nodes into institutional knowledge. 

 

Break Fix to Brake Fix to Breakthroughs

 

The prevailing Parker manufacturing philosophy has experienced a renaissance over the past century of operations, originating with the founding paradigm of using a machine or a part until it breaks – and then fixing it.  This Break-Fix approach was elegant in its simplicity but came at a high cost of suddenly having to shut down an entire manufacturing line each time a critical component failed - wasting valuable human and machine resources and potentially scrapping entire runs due to parts being outside compliance specifications.

 

Parker successfully remedied this reactive orientation with the introduction of a Preventative Maintenance approach, wherein machines were preemptively serviced, and parts proactively replaced prior to breaking, based on historical utilization cycles and estimated life spans. While a definitive and marked improvement, this approach was still suboptimal in the margins. The saying goes, “Haste Makes Waste” and they’re right, because when the quest to prevent breakage results in replacing a part or servicing a machine too soon, you leave significant money on the table as you artificially abbreviate and accelerate the sunsetting and viable lifespan of fully functional assets - BUT - waiting until it breaks wastes even MORE money.

 

And so, once again, you’re faced with a dilemma.

 

You know machines and parts will fail.

 

In the words of Thanos, “It’s Inevitable.”

 

So, what is a global network of manufacturing logistics and line managers supposed to do?

 

Replace too early - leave money on the table. Replace too late - waste even MORE.

 

The solution is elegant in its simplicity.

 

Stop using your gut – start using your nut, because you don’t need a 6^th sense when you’ve got a sensor.

 

Introducing The Internet of Parker™  

 

Huddled deep inside a sloping non-descript three-picnic-table office bungalow located halfway between Pittsburgh and purgatory, an audacious team of visionary technologists have spent the last two years methodically assembling an integrated platform designed to fundamentally rearchitect the global Parker brand “From Parts to Partner™.”

 

Under the direct supervision of gifted thought leader and Digital IT Senior Analyst Jordan Reddick, scientists and strategists have successfully integrated a portfolio of databases, devices, and digital diagrams – overlaid with advanced software and systems – all with the express purpose of framing out a foundation for a scalable global solution for tracking and monitoring Parker’s global data, devices, and distribution system.

 

In short, the Internet of Parker™ Vision is to take the existing Internet of Things construct and overlay artificial intelligence, data-driven pattern recognition, predictive analytics, machine learning, and a century of industry experience to design an end-to-end ecosystem for proactively monitoring, measuring, and managing Parker parts/processes (internally) and Parker parts/partners (externally) to radically elevate our baseline thresholds of service and value FAR above our peers and thereby create an impenetrable, sustainable, and strategic moat of competitive advantage.

 

IOT + JIT = IOP™

 

Over the past 24 months, a powerful network of servers, sensors, and subroutines have been discreetly employed to track and triage various Parker machines and parts with a fanatical focus on failure.

 

Leveraging real-time sensors and software, we’re able to identify the precise moment of breakage, and then perform a post-mortem autopsy to review the cause of death - reenacting, recreating, and replicating the exact sequence of contributing events which preceded and precipitated the faults and ultimate failure.

 

Since 2022, our advanced device sentinels and modeling/sequencing macros have gathered and logged over 34 million discrete measurements, amassing a voluminous compilation of raw data points housed in a data lake codenamed Loch Ness, which continues to collect, compile, and archive data 24/7/365.

 

Over the last 2 years of managing and mining this data, the most significant thing we’ve learned is that there’s a HUGE difference between “Wearing down” and “Breaking down” as it relates to performance and profitability.

 

“Wearing down” is inevitable – “Breaking down” is not.

 

The sweet spot lies in threading the needle – identifying that precise window of opportunity when the part, hose, drill, or production machine approaches the final increment of high-performance productivity before requiring a replacement.

 

By setting up analogs and parameters via Big Data platforms, we’re now able to trace variances and wobbles, anomalies and outliers, and shifts and skips IN REAL TIME to determine when a machine “Death Rattle” is just a swoon, a major stroke, or an attempted suicide, and intervene before the damage is done.

 

But we’ve learned something else along the way.

 

This window of opportunity is DIFFERENT for every machine, model, and manifold.

 

Therefore, because different parts and pistons age at different speeds, it is incumbent upon us to track each and every item in our ecosystem to determine their intervals of intervention. 

 

The brakes on trucks will let you know they need replacing when they begin to squeak, but machines don’t typically squeak, so we’ve set up a battery of sensors and signals to speak and communicate in much the same way – all designed to track the precise moment and movement that precipitates fails and faults.

 

If the Parker goal is Zero Defects with a standard of quality at .999999 then we NEED to know within a whisper the precise interval between success and failure, and what we’ve learned (the hard way) is that precision tracking of this caliber is the MOST valuable with machines that break down the MOST.

 

In the same way that it’s not healthy people - but rather the sick - that need a doctor, it is the older, expensive, and more breakable mission-critical machines that need this level of attention the most, as they represent the most difficult cogs in the supply chain to replace and replicate.

 

In other words, if we’re going to keep these expensive but breakable machines for another 20-40  years, we’d better figure out how to manage them for maximum efficiency at a minimum of cost.

 

Chains We Can Believe In

 

If Covid taught us anything it’s that supply chains are only as strong as their weakest link - so how can Parker reinforce, buttress, and expand its brand dominance when its value chain and global supply chain can be crippled by an unexpected break in a bolt chain?  

 

Manufacturing the part is one thing. Getting it is another.

 

Supplying the right part is one thing. Shipping and receiving the part Just In Time is another.

 

By attaching attenuation sensors to Parker parts and devices, we are able to remotely track and triage their performance lifespan from afar, and proactively prompt our global customer base regarding any potential issues well in advance of any replacement cycles.

 

The Internet of Parker™ was designed to leverage the power of Big Data intelligence to reinforce and strengthen our decision making internally and then roll out a platform for our clients to share and include them in this knowledge and intelligence-driven ecosystem.

 

In the Forward of Geoffrey Moore’s bestseller “Crossing the Chasm,” Regis McKenna writes:

 

″Fundamentally, marketing must refocus away from selling product and toward creating relationships. Customers don’t like to be ‘owned’ if that implies lack of choice or freedom. But they do like to be ‘owned’ if what that means is a vendor taking ongoing responsibility for the success of their joint ventures. Ownership in this sense means an abiding commitment and a strong sense of mutuality in the development of the marketplace. When customers encounter this kind of ownership, they tend to become fanatically loyal to their supplier, which in turns builds a stable economic base for profitability and growth.″

 

 

From Parts to Partner™

 

Transforming the global brand perception of Parker “From Parts to Partner™” requires a fundamental rethinking of our approach to the marketplace. The posture of “supplier” has historically been one of demarcation, namely, a buyer has a request, and then we provide what was requested to the best of our ability, within the constraints of deliverability and profitability.

 

The posture of “Partner” however is much more holistic, encompassing, and robust. 

 

As a partner, we make THEIR problem OUR problem.

 

Over the past century, clients have increasingly grown to trust Parker Parts to enable their success, as global supply chains have become more intertwined and interconnected.

 

But here’s the truth. You can always get parts cheaper.

 

It’s a race to the bottom where there is no winner.                 

 

BUT - what if we did the opposite?

 

What if instead of racing to the bottom we sprinted to the top?

 

What if we leveraged the Internet of Parker™ to become so embedded, so entrenched in the value stream of our clients’ ecosystem, that our destinies became inseparable? 

 

What if we provided such overwhelming value in the form of our AI and analytics that we helped them transform from Preventative Maintenance to Predictive Maintenance to Performance Maintenance and invited them to join us in our shared pursuit of maximizing efficiency and profitability?

 

Metcalfe's Law states that the financial value or influence of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system, meaning that every time you add a new user to a network the value increases relative to the total number of nodes.

 

By leveraging our first-mover advantage to roll out the Internet of Parker™ and instilling within our products a sentient prescience, we assume the role of caretaker and trusted ally in our shared success arc, and by owning this virtual real estate and providing FREE access to these data and tracking technologies, we can command the thought leadership high-ground, dominate marketplace mindshare, and increase operational stickiness to our strategic advantage – living out our Automation, Lean, Productivity Improvement, Demand and Capacity Planning, Zero Defects, and Digital Leadership mandates all within a single enterprise-encompassing initiative.

 

For over a century, Parker has aspired to “Enabling Engineering Breakthroughs that Lead to a Better Tomorrow” in the belief that “Interconnected Technologies Create Competitive Advantages.” 

 

Leveraging the Internet of Parker™ to transition from Parts to Partner™ represents the pure realization of these aspirations, embodying both servant leadership and thought leadership, as we introduce a heightened threshold of intentionality - leveraging high tech and high touch - in the service of both man and machine.

 

If done correctly, companies will increasingly seek out Parker - not just for parts - but for something more.

 

A True Partner.

 

One who serves as an insightful interpreter, a trusted guide, an industry advisor - and one who grants invitation-only access to our valuable and evolving informational ecosystem.

 

At Parker, Partner means we’re ALL IN.

 

We make YOUR problem OUR problem.      

 

Metcalfe’s Law reminds us that it’s SYSTEMS – NOT SILOS – that create SYNERGIES. The more participants - the more raw data in the Internet of Parker™ - the more valuable it becomes to ALL parties, as it’s in the handling, archiving, and harvesting process that this goes from information to insights to intelligence - making the supply chain less fragile - and our value chain more agile. 

 

Who needs inventory when you’ve got intelligence? 

 

If you know the state - you can arbitrage your stock.

 

The ultimate goal of Kaizen is continuous improvement, whereby we don’t just “Clear the Bar” and “Meet the Standard” but rather “Raise the Bar” and “Set the Standard.”

 

“Leading with Purpose” and “Winning with Integrity” as we redefine expectations and reimagine excellence.

 

In 2030 - we’ll know we’ve been successful - when our clients hear Parker - they think Partner.

 

And when then hear Partner – they think Parker.

 

In stories, the “denouement” is the point in which the conflict is resolved. The word literally means “untie the knot” which refers to the narrative entanglements the author has woven throughout the plot development BUT - unlike novels - the story of machine learning and predictive maintenance never really resolves.  

 

It’s like a soap opera that never ends.

 

But here’s the beauty part.

 

That’s where the opportunity is.

 

The conflict never ends and parts always fail.

 

Guaranteed.

 

But if we do it right - that’s not a problem.

 

That’s….a business model.

 

 

Doug O’Bryon

December 2023

 

 

 

 

Manifesto

Parker 2030

Epilogue

 

In closing, I’d like to attempt the impossible, which is to summarize everything we’ve covered in 4 minutes – but first let me ZOOM OUT.

 

If you’ve made it this far, chances are you’re exhausted, frustrated, and fed up with the polarizing false choices regarding the future of our world.

 

Planet OR Profit.

 

Capitalist OR Environmentalist.

 

Head OR Heart.

 

Pick One – You Can’t Have Both.

 

But guess what?

 

People don’t want compromise.

 

They want it ALL.

 

So, we went back to the circuit board and decided to build something based on one tiny word.

 

AND

 

That’s it – one word. 

 

One wonderful conjoining word.

 

Why wonderful? 

 

Well, when you replace OR with AND all of those false choices go away.

 

The Internet of Parker™ was designed to bring people together by delivering what they want – EVERYTHING.

 

Sustainability AND Profitability.

 

Value AND Values.

 

Principal AND Principles. 

 

We believe you shouldn’t have to decide between protecting your planet OR protecting your profit, so we’ve designed an integrated solution that is Clean Without Compromise™ offering a shared win for both shareholders and our shared home.

 

We believe the Internet of Parker™ has finally cracked the code and figured out how to stack revenue streams with value streams – turning technology cost centers into data mining profit centers – while bringing a virtuous balance to balance sheets - registering green for both plants AND powerplants.

 

Instead of dividing and polarizing, the IOP™ was created to unite people around shared virtues and values which benefit everyone. We’re pitching a big tent – with room for everyone – and featuring an ecosystem of tools and technology with proven results that are both quantitative AND qualitative. 

 

That’s the Power of AND.  

 

We started with Parker’s Annual Improvement Priorities – THE BIG 3 – Demand and Capacity Planning, Productivity Improvement (through Automation and Lean) and Implementing Zero Defects.

 

AND then added the 3 Mousetrap Award criteria: Simple by Design, Purpose in Action (Engineering Breakthroughs), and Commercialization.

 

But then realized it was much bigger than that…

 

IOP supports Safety 360 - so you’ll know BEFORE the spindle breaks and accidents happen.

IOP supports Resilience - enabling better predictions of preventable breakage (and supply chain arbitrage).

IOP removes the hype around Sustainability - replacing it with science and structure (“It’s just common sensors.”)

IOP supports Sustainability - minimizing wasted time/materials (less wasted runs means less scrap for landfills).

 

And at the intersection of sustainability, reliability and profitability lies our vision for what we’ve coined NET ZERO DEFECTS™  – residing at the value and virtue-laden confluence of Net Zero AND Zero Defects – offering the Best of Both Worlds – with a “Plan for Every Part” AND a “Plan for Every Partner.”

 

IOP is Clean AND Lean – and gets us closer to a solution that is both Carbon-Neutral AND Cost-Neutral. (Or as Jenny likes to say “Cleaner, smarter and safer.”)

 

IOP supports ESG - minimizing both our Carbon Footprint AND Cost Footprint (Clean AND Green).

 

IOP provides critical VISIBILITY - which informs eCapacity, eProcurement, and eDay-By-The-Hour platforms.

 

And then there’s RISK.

 

IOP accelerates Intelligence – and Intelligence reduces RISK.  Safety Risk. Financial Risk. Competitive Risk. Logistical Risk. Environmental Risk. Reputational Risk.  Brand Risk.  And Shareholder Risk. Better Intelligence = Better Decisions. 

 

And finally, IOP supports “Parker’s Digital Leadership Strategy” - informing “Digital Products, Digital Operations, Digital Productivity, and the Digital Customer Experience.”

 

At Parker we talk a lot about Winning – but not just Winning – “Winning with Integrity.”

 

But what does that really mean?

 

It turns out that the word “Integrity” is derived from the Latin word “Integer” meaning “Whole or complete, an unbroken completeness, or to literally be integrated in every sense,” which is precisely what Parts to Partner™ is aspiring towards. 

 

IOP supports High Performance Teams by providing High Performance Technology to advance our new relationship-centered vision which currently states:

 

“Parker’s High Performance Teams Framework supports Win Strategy 3.0 by maximizing engagement, empowerment, and high performance at all levels. The High-Performance Teams (HPT) Framework is relationship-centered and drives team performance and business results through the growth and development of our team members. The three key changes to the framework are:

 

1. Strengthens the connection to The Win Strategy    (IOP ✓)
2. Incorporates the science of engagement and high performance  (IOP ✓)
3. Simplifies deliverables, methodology and resources (IOP ✓)   

 

The Framework is supported by Our Culture & Values and anchors on five broad elements of high performance: Building Relationships, Leveraging Strengths, Defining Purpose, Creating Clarity, and Driving Results. This current Framework brings a greater intentionality to the first two elements to support what we know about the science of high performance: relationships first; performance follows.”

 

Parts to Partner™ is the purist realization of this high-performance vision, as it puts relationships first, while also supporting and enabling everything else. 

 

By leveraging the information, insights, and intelligence of the Internet of Parker™ we’re able to advance all of these other initiatives, and when we make THEIR problem OUR problem, we embody our 2023 CX theme of Empathy to “Understand and share the feelings of others” – transcending from Parts to Partner™ as we go from “Better to Best.”

 

So tomorrow, when you sit down at your desk, open your laptop, and see that Burnt Sienna screensaver with Parker’s Annual Improvement Priorities, I want you to think about this Vision and how you might participate. From Macedonia to Mayfield Heights, and from Mumbai to Manchester, we’ve built a BIG TENT and we’re inviting everyone to participate.   We’re going Metcalf’s Law on this thing – the bigger the network the more valuable it is.

 

Remember it’s SYSTEMS – NOT SILOS – that create SYNERGIES.

 

The more participants - the more raw data in the Internet of Parker™ - the more valuable it becomes to ALL parties - information to insights to intelligence – “Turning Individual Nodes into Institutional Knowledge” across the enterprise – making the supply chain less fragile - and our value chain more agile.

 

At its core, leveraging the Internet of Parker™ to transform from Parts to Partner™ is more crusade than corporate soundbite, as our goal is to be the spark that ignites a movement which unites Head AND Heart by aligning Principal AND Principles in the pursuit of a singular vision to transform Parker from Parts to Partner™ – revolutionizing an industry and reimagining a better world around a common goal of the common good.

 

Doug O’Bryon, December 2023

 

Douglas J. O’Bryon, MBA

Parker Hannifin Corporation

1390 Highland Road E

Macedonia, Ohio 44056 USA

Mobile:  +1 443 421 0167