In this episode, JP sits down with Marcelo Fariello, Plant Manager at Mars, to explore a powerful idea: reliability isn’t just a maintenance function — it’s a leadership system.

Marcelo shares lessons from his journey across digital transformation, operational excellence, and plant leadership, including his time at Danone and now leading a major Mars site in Australia.

They unpack why many reliability programs stall when they sit solely within maintenance, and what changes when operators take true ownership of their equipment. Marcelo explains how shifting to site-wide accountability can unlock performance gains that tools alone never will.

The conversation also dives into the reality of digital reliability tools — why so many initiatives fail, what actually works, and the cultural foundations required before technology can deliver value.

Finally, Marcelo breaks down how high-performing sites treat reliability as a leadership discipline, focusing on behaviours, mindset, and breaking down silos between production and maintenance.

If you’re a maintenance leader, reliability engineer, or site manager, this episode will challenge how you think about ownership, digital transformation, and what it really takes to build a reliable operation.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Marcelo's Journey

02:51 Reframing Reliability and Maintenance

03:33 The Importance of Ownership in Operations

08:44 Strategies for Cultural Change

11:11 Defining Operator Ownership

13:11 The Role of KPIs in High-Performance Teams

15:26 Effective KPIs for Reliability

18:21 The Power of Measurement

26:03 Digital Transformation and Its Challenges

32:04 Leadership as a System

36:09 Hard Truths in Reliability Management

Sound Bites

"Silos create a superhero mentality."

"Ownership drives pride and performance."

"KPIs should motivate, not just measure."

Key Topics

Holistic leadership in reliability and operations

Operator ownership and cultural change

Role of KPIs and data in continuous improvement