Maintenance Technology October 2016 - 6

ON THE FLOOR
An outlet for the views of
today's maintenance
& reliability professionals

Pros and Cons: Panelists
Discuss Succession Plans
Jane Alexander
Managing Editor

he Maintenance Technology editorial team
travels a lot. No matter where we go or
whatever industry event we attend, we can
always count on concerns about replenishment of the skilled-worker ranks to surface (with
an emphasis on reliability and maintenance
professionals). While countless public, private,
and academic initiatives, many of them supported
by leading OEMs, are on the case, we wonder
about the approaches that end-user organizations
are taking. The topic seemed ripe for October's
Reader Panel discussion. To start the conversation, we posed the following questions.

or all questions with as little or as much detail as
they care to provide. Edited, as always, for brevity
and clarity, here is some of what they shared in
this month's responses.

Plant Engineer, Institutional
Facilities, Midwest. . .

[Our institution] uses the Civil Service System
to hire/promote trade employees. The system
register lists all candidates that have taken and
passed a Civil Service test for specific trade
positions, along with full resumes (including
required certificates/licenses). Each trade has a set
of minimum requirements. Providing they meet
such requirements, current employees can take a
Civil Service promotional test to be added to that
register.
Candidates listed in the Civil Service System
promotional register could fill in for a higher
position on a supplemental basis. That would
give those candidates some experience for when
openings occur. They would also be informed of
any classes they might want to take to improve
their qualifications.

Engineer, Process Industries,
Southeast. . .

One of the most important things you can do for your organization is help
identify and groom candidates to fill key reliability and maintenance positions (including your own).

1. Did their organizations (or their customer/

client organizations) have succession plans to
fill key reliability and maintenance positions?
2. If these plans were in place (or in the works),
how were prospective successors identified and
groomed?
3. How did these organizations attract and
qualify candidates and, eventually train them,
if hired?
Our Panelists are encouraged to answer any

MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY

No [we don't have formal succession plans]. Since
we have a small facility and staff, we use outside
contractors and manufacturers for a lot of our
maintenance work.
We have hired maintenance personnel from
other area plants and from some of the same
contractors that have worked on site with us.

Maintenance Leader,
Discrete Mfg, Midwest. . .

We have back-ups for some positions. A case in
point would be for my position: I've recently been
out recently [for personal reasons], and we've
been able to bring in one of our other tradesman.
He basically had a short training period working
with me. From what I understand, he's doing a
great job. The only area where he is lacking is
having a strong contact list (which took me a
OCTOBER 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology October 2016