A new year is a good time to look at operations differently

By Darren Lewis | 7-1-26

The start of a new year is always a useful moment to pause and take stock. Not in a dramatic, overhaul-everything way, but in a practical one. It’s a chance to look at how things are actually running, what’s working well, and where small changes could make a meaningful difference over the months ahead.

When it comes to solar operations, one of the most revealing places to start is culture.

You can often tell how a site is managed before you ever open a dashboard. You see it in the condition of cabinets, the clarity of labelling, the state of access routes, and the way issues are reported and followed up. These things aren’t cosmetic. They’re cultural fingerprints.

Strong operational culture shows up in behaviour. It’s visible in how engineers treat equipment, how quickly small issues are escalated, and how consistently standards are applied even when no one is checking. That behaviour has a direct impact on performance, reliability, and long-term cost.

At the beginning of a new year, it’s worth asking some simple questions. Are issues being raised early, or only once they become unavoidable? Are sites left in a better condition after work has been carried out, or just good enough to move on? Do teams feel comfortable reporting uncertainty, or do they feel pressure to keep things quiet until there’s a clear problem?

These aren’t soft questions. They’re operational ones.

A healthy culture supports proactive escalation. Engineers feel confident flagging concerns early, knowing they’ll be taken seriously rather than questioned for raising something small. That early visibility allows issues to be resolved while they’re still straightforward, instead of becoming costly disruptions later on.

Culture also affects consistency. When people care about the asset, standards don’t slip when workloads increase or weather worsens. Tasks are completed properly rather than quickly. Temporary fixes are less likely to linger. Over time, that consistency is what protects performance and reduces avoidable wear.

As portfolios mature, the role of culture becomes even more important. Assets are no longer new, systems are more complex, and small inefficiencies can compound quickly. In that environment, operational culture isn’t a background consideration. It’s a performance tool.

The new year doesn’t have to mean new strategies or sweeping change. Sometimes it’s simply about looking at familiar operations with fresh eyes and recommitting to the behaviours that keep assets performing well. Clean sites. Clear reporting. Early escalation. Respect for the equipment and the people working with it.

Those habits, repeated consistently, shape outcomes over the long term.

Because we care.

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