Up Time Magazine- February/March 2008

Specific Steps in the Training and Learning Process Just to re-emphasize: the first, and perhaps most important, step in an engineer’s training is accepting that the most important learning process begins at graduation. Yet, even an engineer with a commendable history of prior employment should concede that profession-related training starts in earnest after you have accepted a job offer. Our premise is very simple: To be gainfully employed with continuity, you need to set yourself apart from the indifferent crowd. While the specific training plans differ for various roles and job functions, the principles remain the same. Therefore, as we list components of a training plan for the role of “reliability improvement of fluid machinery”, remember that the general principles derived from this example apply to every other aspect of engineering. Reading Trade Journals In the interest of continually obtaining work-specific technology updates and related training, the developing engineer must peruse applicable trade journals. He or she should scan and-- either by eye or electronic scanner-- retain articles on topics of potential interest. Use your imagination to interpret “scanning” as viewing and making copies of, or reading, tearing out pages, filing away and cataloging articles. Companies with well-defined training plans arrange for applicable Trade Journal “1” to be given to employee “A”. As he notices an article dealing with shaft couplings, he sends copies to colleagues or co-workers “B”, “C”, “D”, etc. Applicable Trade Journal “2” starts its route at the desk of employee “B” who notices articles of pivoted shoe bearings and wear-resistant V-belts. “B” makes copies of these and sends these copies to “A”, “C”, “D”, etc.; likewise “C” sends articles to “A”,”B”, “D”,” E”, and so on. This once-per-month review task typically takes less than 10 minutes per month and allows each participant to acquire a data bank of relevant cross-references. I have personally had an experience decades ago when I looked for a reference article and then con- tacted its author, asking for - and cheerfully receiving - priceless guidance on a subject matter related to his article. Technical Books: One Page a Day, or 200 Pages per Year Few engineers purchase or thoroughly read technical texts after completing their formal education. Fortunately, however, there are some concerned employers who recommend that their staff read and absorb relevant technical texts. In 2003, one such employer encouraged his responsible professional employees to purchase as many books as they could reasonably assimilate or digest in a year’s time. During performance appraisals, the effectiveness of this policy is continually being tested, validated, ascertained and reaffirmed. Another company purchased pertinent technical texts and required each technical employee to read a page per day. To the extent feasible and reasonable, these professionals are then asked to jot down what they discern as differences between their work processes, hardware details, failure frequencies, maintenance intervals, work processes, etc., versus what others (competitors) are doing in these fields. The training value is immense. Certainly, the return on the investment of the time it takes to read a page-a-day and to make a two-sentence notation each week is huge. There can be no doubt that this well-focused training is priceless and benefits all parties for years to come. Training Through “Shirt-Sleeve Seminars” In the 1970’s, one highly profitable company arranged for its equipment reliability technicians and engineers to share the responsibility of making 7 to 10-minute presentations at the end of each routinely scheduled and mandatory safety meeting. The presenters had to first educate themselves on such topics as “how to properly install a centrifugal pump”, or “why steam turbines must be pre-heated before operation.” Following the safety meeting and after making their add-on presentation, the equipment reliability technician or engineer would distribute laminated copies of these equipment-related single-sheet guidelines. Each employee had a three-ring binder in which he would place his copies. Plant management made sure february/march 2008 http://www.timken.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Up Time Magazine- February/March 2008

Up Time Magazine- February/March 2008 Contents Upfront Upclose: Lessons Learned from the Walter Reed Story Information Technology: Parenting and Asset Performance Infrared: It's Alive! Lubrication: A Sense of Change Maintenance Management: PdM, Standardized Motor Testing: Being Well Connected Precision Maintenance: How to be Marketable Reliability: The Voyage of Wells Dairy Ultrasound: Two is Better Than One Vibration: Diagnosing a Cracked Shaft Upgrade: A Different Kind of Journey

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