Bob Bartley is the IT Risk & Compliance Manager, Corporate Processes & Information Management (CPIM) at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) and likes to apply his professional expertise to his personal life. He uses the so-called ITIL system, whether he is planning a farm or driving in car races.
What do raising exotic livestock and honing high-speed racing skills have in common with operating an effective IT department? For Bob Bartley, Freudenberg’s Manager of IT Risk and Compliance, they all can be managed and improved by a best practices framework known as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL for short. In fact, Bartley, who joined Freudenberg in 1999, says the principles of ITIL can be applied to virtually any aspect of your life to make better decisions, develop processes, track results, and achieve goals.
“I’m a huge advocate,” notes Bartley, who eagerly shares the concept with family, friends and FST’s co-workers. “The benefits add up fast and can make a major impact in everything you do.”
Getting started
Developed in the 1980s by the British government, ITIL established a foundation for optimizing IT service management. The latest version, ITIL 4, includes 34 management practices ranging from software development, security and risk assessment, service desk functions and infrastructure operation, and business analysis.
The ITIL framework has five phases that the company’s Corporate Processes and Information Management (CPIM) services pass through on their way to optimization.
They include:
- Strategy Development – assessing customer needs and identifying what to provide
- Design – taking an inventory of assets (products, processes, people, and partners), and developing new services and improving existing ones
- Transition – building, deploying, and coordinating processes
- Operation – fulfilling requests, fixing problems
- Continual Improvement – boosting efficiency and effectiveness
Different processes and practices can be applied during each phase of ITIL. The goal is to create simple, repeatable, and cost-effective processes that meet customer needs – and it works.
Bartley has been the primary force behind ITIL implementation within the CPIM organization for the past 14 years. During this time, CPIM has applied ITIL best practices to help stabilize IT services. The result has been lower IT incident rates, faster resolutions, and better service quality.
“I really like the flexibility that ITIL provides with its best practices, letting you define the scope of the processes. There aren’t any limitations in terms of industries, organizational size, job function or region.”
Living the lifecycle
But it’s outside of the workplace where ITIL can get very interesting, as Bartley can attest.
At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, Bartley and his wife, Patricia, decided to make a massive lifestyle change. Their plan included moving to a rural setting, reducing expenses, and becoming more self-sufficient.
Using ITIL, it took a month to evaluate their situation and map out a comprehensive strategy, including setting budgets and risk analysis. They studied everything from weather patterns, terrain and geological factors to livestock needs, the surrounding infrastructure and service providers.
The process resulted in the couple buying a 100-acre ranch in western Texas – 90 minutes away from the nearest hospital or major shopping center – and stocking it with an international assortment of exotic animals. Selected based on their fur, meat, adaptability and hardiness, the menagerie featured certain breeds of goats and sheep, Axis deer and Blackbuck antelope from Asia, Persian Ibex and Aoudad from Africa and native animals including chickens, whitetail deer, pigs, wild turkeys, and two pet dogs.
“Needless to say, we had a lot to learn,” Bartley admits. “In addition to caring for the animals, we had to establish key partnerships with a veterinarian specialist, privately owned telecom provider, electricity cooperative and helicopter service in case of a medical emergency. We had our own well for water and bartered with a local aquaponics farmer to supplement our garden vegetables.”
Full speed ahead
The Bartleys reevaluated their plans every six months, and in 2017 were ready for another major life transformation.
“Before buying the ranch, I began participating in several amateur open-road racing events,” Bartley explains. “We also started a side business, selling racing equipment and related products.”
What started as a hobby soon became a passion and a viable business. The couple realized they couldn’t effectively operate the ranch and devote as much time as needed to be a successful motorsports team. Employing ITIL again, they developed a plan to sell the ranch and focus more on racing.
Today they run a successful racing business that now covers 600 brands and 100,000 products. They both race as well, and Bartley is on the fast track to racing success with two wins and a second-place finish under his belt since 2017.
The new goal is simple but demanding: Go as fast possible … and do it safely.
“Operating on a limited budget, I have to know everything about my vehicle,” Bartley said. To this end, he is developing a spreadsheet for his GT 1 racecar that will include the specs for every part, down to the last nut and bolt. He also uses a detailed checklist to ensure he meets the technical specs for each race, then conducts a post-race analysis to help improve his performance. He hopes to top his personal best of 208 miles per hour (335 kilometers per hour) and eventually set a record at a future event.
No doubt ITIL will have played a role when he does.
