Mark Galley’s article, 3 Steps and 3 Tools that Organize and Improve your Problem Solving Capability, posted on Reliability Web, lists our the three steps to problem solving and some tools for predictive maintenance professionals and reliability engineers to improve their ways.  The three investigation steps to approaching a problem are:

1. What’s the Problem?
2. Why did it happen?
3. What should be done?

These are the three basic steps/questions that every reliability engineer and predictive maintenance professional ask themselves when they are faced with a problem. Step one is where the problem becomes defined, step two is the analysis of the problem, and step three is the brainstorming of solutions. To effectively solve problems, Mark says it is important for predictive maintenance professionals and reliability engineers to organize the investigation. He provides tools to do this:

1. Capture the Timeline – keep a log in chronological order of occurrences (date, time, description), this will help with the “why questions”. It will not give cause-and-effect – therefore a cause-effect-analysis will need to be done to correspond with the timeline.
2. Use Diagrams, Drawing, and Photos – visual tools can provide everyone with a common view of the issue and usually provide more contextual detail.
3. Review the Process – identify the processes that were in place before the failure occurred, this is important in order to prevent the incident from occurring again.

The three questions and tools should be implemented while the investigation process is underway. People in the predictive maintenance and reliability fields should refine their organizational skills, because by following these steps and documenting the investigation consistently will make for a quicker, clearer, more organized, and more effective investigation.

Industry Week discusses innovation and manufacturing technologies in a recent article. The article talks about how over the pas 20 years manufacturing has gone through many changes including advances in materials, controls, communications, electronics and software. All of these changes have helped launch manufacturing into the future. The product now makes it to the market faster than before, there is less chance for human error due to the machinery used, and the improvements to machines have allowed for flexibility in operations. Not only has the manufacturing technology improved, but the way we service machines has also changed for the better. Machines have become more complex and more important to maintain and this is why we now have reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals. Manufacturing companies have realized that in order to keep their companies afloat and moving towards the future, that predictive maintenance and reliability engineering jobs are essential. By having well cared for machines, companies are able to keep up and running. And as innovation plays a bigger role in manufacturing technology, the job of predictive maintenance professionals and reliability engineers will also have to evolve over time because new technologies lead to new maintenance procedures/techniques and new problems to solve.

You can read more about innovations in manufacturing technologies by reading the article on Industry Week.

As the demand for employment rapidly increases, employers in certain fields are finding themselves searching for qualified individuals to fill positions. According to Manpower Inc.’s “Annual 10 Hardest Jobs to fill”, employers have trouble filling the following positions:

1. Engineers
2. Machinists/Machine Operators
3. Skilled Trades
4. Technicians
5. Sales Representatives
6. Accounting & Finance Staff
7. Mechanics
8. Laborers
9. IT Staff
10. Production Operators

These findings are part of Manpower’s 2008 global study of 32 countries and territories involving approximately 42,500 employees. It suggests that individuals are looking at the wrong positions and in the wrong places. Some individuals are aware of these positions yet ignore them due to the training or education required. However, the time it takes to acquire the skills are outweighed by the benefits of the jobs.  For example, jobs in predictive maintenance require training and reliability engineering requires education, but they both provide stability, a complete benefits package, good pay, and the option to travel. However, finding positions for these jobs could be an issue, if job seekers are looking in the wrong places. For those seeking employment in predictive maintenance or reliability engineering, Next Up Careers is a great tool. Next Up devotes its job board to reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals, making it a lot easier for individuals to find jobs in these careers. The general job boards, just don’t cut it in an economy where there are thousands of people out of work.

When you think of Italy, the last thing that comes to mind is machinery. Even though Italy may not be known for their machinery sector, it is starting to emerge as one of the fastest growing industries in the country. With Italy’s machine industry growing, this might provide an opportunity for reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals. Italy is currently 2^nd to Germany in machinery produced in Europe. This is a great opportunity for reliability and predictive maintenance companies to tap into a new and developing market. Although Italy’s manufacturing has taken a hard hit with the economy, they have still put up impressive numbers both inside and outside of the European Union. The impact of reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals could be astronomical in Italy. In Italy, the average number of employees at a company in the equipment and machinery sector is 13.7. With over 41,000 companies Italy has more than twice the amount of companies in this sector as Germany. A concern of the Italian way is that the businesses are so family oriented that it will be hard for machinery and equipment businesses to face the challenges of the global market. This is where the reliability and predictive maintenance industries could assist. By keeping these smaller companies going, Italy will be able to continue growing and competing with other European countries.

 The full article on Italy’s growing presence in the equipment and machinery industry can be read at Industry Week.

Every organization will be faced with the same problem in the upcoming years, and that problem is leadership. Many companies have had the same managers and/or supervisors for many years now, and unfortunately those managers are inching closer to retirement. Just the other day we were talking to a reliability company that is already being faced with this dilemma. This company has had the same managers of the reliability and predictive maintenance technicians for the past 25 years, and now some of them are already retiring, and the company has no one ready to take their place. That is why it is important for companies to start identifying the next generation of leaders. Here are Ten Traits of good leaders.

1. Communication skills
2. Visionary
3. Inspirational
4. Charismatic
5. Passionate
6. Risk Taker
7. Differentiation
8. Know your flaws
9. Generate Trust
10. Retain position

Identifying leaders may seem like an easy thing to do, but more people have difficulty doing it than you would think. For reliability engineers and predictive maintenance professionals, it is important to identify potential leaders early on. That way they company can make sure that they are receiving any additional training they might want their managers/supervisors to have. Good leadership is essential for a company to continue down the path of success.

Sometimes, I think that someday I will awake in utopia where the economy is perfect and there is free health care and jobs for every one. Then I realize that perfect worlds do not exist. The sun cannot come out to play everyday, money does not grow on trees and life is not a walk in the park. More and more people are spending their days searching for jobs, and trying to figure out how they will pay this months bills.

As I research the job market, I realize that there are hundreds of jobs I have never heard about, like Predictive Maintenance and Reliability Engineering. These jobs are long term careers that pay well and are always in demand. Up until a couple of months ago, I had never heard of the reliability field or the predictive maintenance industry. But then I realized that jobs are out there, if you know where to look. With the economy starting to rebound, manufacturing companies are starting to hire people. And with the manufacturing industry starting to produce goods again, the need for reliability and predictive maintenance professionals will also begin to increase. Companies can use Next Up Careers as a job board, so available candidates can see the job opening out there. Next Up also provides potential candidates the opportunity to post their resumes to the site, so that hiring companies are able to find the reliability engineer or predictive maintenance professionals they are looking for.