"Unsung heroes of operations"

Shift mechanics, because of their func-tion, must possess certain skills and behavior that are not necessarily required of others within the maintenance department.

Observing the "routine" of a shift mechanic, either mechanical or E&I (automation), pro-duces some interesting revelations.

One, they must, somehow, cope with the continuing change of shift, something, of course, that every manufacturing shift worker must also master. Many articles have been written concerning how one can learn to adjust to "shift changes" or "jet lag," both similar in the way they upset the body's clock. Try working shift for about three weeks with a "normal" jump shift change in the middle. A shift mechanic must learn to adjust to these conditions... or fail.

Two, as a "shifter," personal relationships are developed with the particular crew that also may be on the same shift. In terms of direction, priorities, training, accep-tance, peer pressure, recognition, allegiance and so on, this maintenance shift mechanic does not share some of the same goals that are typically developed within and shared by the "regular" maintenance department. A shift mechanic must learn to "cope" with these circumstances... or fail.

Three, the workload confronting a shift mechanic is the most variable of any maintenance employee. The mechanic is expected, typically, to be a first class troubleshooter, e.g., he/she is expected to be able to encounter a problem, diagnose the cause, provide "band aid" solutions, . . . as a minimum, to do so with a doctor's bedside manner and in an "emergency room" environment with frantic people all around. Or, often they have moments when there is absolutely nothing to do for the manufacturing operation, so idle time is filled with other things. A shift mechanic learns to live this frenetic-to-boredom routine ... or fails.

Four, in the course of this shift activity, the mechanic is basically on his own. He can always call his boss, at home, at two o'clock in the morning be-cause he is having an anxiety attack because the entire mill is down and he does not real-Iy know what to do to return the place to operation ... or he can go jump off the pier, a bridge or any other high point.

The shift mechanic, generally, is left alone to make decisions that are made by super-vision during daylight hours. A shift mechanic adapts to this ... or fails.

Five, the shift mechanic for reasons not clear, is a jack?of?all?trades allowed to practice those trades as long as no one (interpreted, that means management) sees him do it. The point being that the shift mechanic is very "skills intensive." And when there is a combination of mechanical and E&I that have learned to work together the results are dynamite and unspoken.

Someone, somewhere, at some time made the observation that managers do "things" right, while leaders do the "right" thing. A shift mechanic has to do the 'right' thing, not necessarily in the "right" way. Experience has shown that under the pressure and stress at the time the "right" fix is not generally allowed.

One trait to be sought, then, is the ability to do the "right" thing. Is that instinctive or learned?

So, how does the industry select this individual? Are elaborate testing pro-cedures performed to glean through the ranks until the best combination of skills, logic and behavior surface?

Of course it wouldn't happen that this selection process, for an individual that has the manufacturing operation in the palm of his hand, be performed, by others, on a strictly seniority basis? And even then, it wouldn't happen that this selection be either the most senior of the least senior? It wouldn't happen that this most valuable player is an entry level job to the maintenance department?

One might question the strategy of having shift mechanics to begin with ... and be shot, of course, for having such counter-productive, "revolutionary" ideas. After all, every mill has shift mechanics, it being the conventional wisdom, the way we’ve always done it.

If there are overwhelming problems, “after?hours", then is the obvious solution to increase the number of shift mechanics? Might the problem be the skills quality of the mechanic, or has anyone examined whether the mechanic has been given the opportunity to learn the skills necessary for shift ‘overload’?

Has the shift mechanic been instructed in the logic of troubleshooting? Is it assumed that the shift mechanic is logical and can troubleshoot (problem solve)?

Are the problems actually left over from "normal hours" because the "right" thing was not done in the "right" way when there were plenty of people and time?

Very likely little thought has been given to this extremely critical function. More likely the function has been ‘automatically’ filled with individuals based upon ‘past’ practice which is not necessarily ‘best’ practice.