How to take Maintenance to the next level?

The story starts by taking yourself to the next level. But what do we mean by the next level? The next level is the one that you consider better than the level you are in know. While playing a game you are sure that there is higher level; you can achieve some wining like a virtual crown or cup; you improve your position on the leaders board and so on. When playing a game, The next level is more challenging but also it is more rewarding. You face different challenges and you have different opportunities or tools.

Life and work are not much different from the philosophy of the game. There is always a higher level. This higher level can be a promotion, a salary increase, a team leader position, more trust from the team or the boss, etc. You can name the next level you want. Sometimes, you target being more knowledgeable or experienced about a subject.

Your next level is at your reach.

The first step is to name your next level, then to figure it out and find a way to reach it. Lastly, you embark on your journey to it. When you are ready and prepared some coincidences will fall in your way. Coincidences are stemmed from “coincide”.

Coincide = to happen at or near the same time e.g. The publication of the book was planned to coincide with the screening of the television series

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/coincideh/coincide

There is another great definition here about luck. It say “Luck is when a chance meets preparedness”. In other words, when you get ready for meeting your higher level some chances will come your way that you can grasp them because you are prepared. For an outsider who doesn’t know the effort you placed on preparing yourself, he will say that’s a mere stoke of luck.

Same happens when you prepare your workplace or your maintenance team for a higher level of maintenance performance that you visualized for sometime, made some preparations and started to roll out some soft changes in your team. The next challenge which is inevitable will be inline with the track you are already on. Just you need to tight some bolts and nuts and that’s it. It is all about how you decided to live on the life or work timelines.

Life and work timeline

Life is bound to the timeline that is calculated by days, hours and minutes. It is usually our choice to stay at a standstill while the time line is passing. Or, to move forward on our timeline.

What happens if we tried to hold on to the current conditions?

Actually we shall face the same challenges on the timeline. However they will be always taking us by surprise. We can find some examples in the maintenance field like:

• The annual major repair is approaching, we didn’t prepare anything
• The equipment failed because we didn’t notice that it exceeded the operation hours for maintenance. Or, there was a high vibration on the equipment, who took an action?
• The equipment became obsolete, where can I find spares? Is it better to upgrade it? Who will calculate the cost of the alternatives?
• The technology is changing, I can’t find technical support for this outdated software. How can I make the modifications the boss asked me?
• Today is the board’s meeting, what reports should I bring to the table?
• My best and only certified welder is going for a vacation, leaving or retiring. What can I do now? Who can do this critical repair job?
• I am about retirement, what do people do if they are not going to work during the weekdays?

A lot of this life and work situations are out there on the timeline and are approaching. Should it take us by surprise every time?

Can we mentally move forward on the life timeline to know the coming challenges?

Yes, we can. The organization decided to roll out an ERP system within 2 years or to be ISO certified within 6 month. Those are milestones on the road. I can wait to see what the organization will do or, what my colleagues will prepare. And then I try to adapt to the organization’s or the colleagues’ approaches . Or, I can start early exploring about the subjects; what will be needed from the maintenance team to integrate their work with the new approach? Then, I start to take some steps of preparation towards the target. This way, I will meet the changes or the challenges midway. I will be ready to ask, clarify or even lead.

There is a simple rule; there is the first time you hear about a subject, a new innovation, a new information. Usually, This first time pops up all the denial and rejection for the new comer. It is not wrong that we don’t get accommodated directly with a new situation. But our resistance to the challenge won’t stop it from being. Moreover it would widen the gap between where we are and where this change is taking us.

On the other hand, when we start to prepare for this Change, challenge, newcomer or, deadline early enough, we are more in the control rather than the controlled or the surprised position.

Are there always alerts on the timeline?

Mostly, Yes. What differs each time is how early we detect those signs. This detection is possible based on our awareness of the environment we are in. However, we are part of a dynamic ever-changing world with intersecting timelines. So, the repair workshop that I am using in the major overhaul was closed. The raw material batch ordered has some quality issues; the fumes filers or ducts are eroding faster.

Those information are not part of the maintenance timeline. But they are on the timelines of intersecting life or work situations. If you keep aware of the point you are in now, you can find those information passing by you. Then, you have the choice to take action in any of them or just to take a note. This way, you are not taken by surprise. Even if you didn’t take an action to prepare, at least you are not surprised. After that you panic, feel mentally paralyzed then you start to scream, shout and fight.

In conclusion,

Moving yourself and your maintenance career or profession to the next level is at your hand’s reach. Just, you need to move forward on your life or work timeline. How to move forward on the timeline? That’s what we had chatted about today with practical steps. What if you chose to hold on to your position on life timeline? You can’t stop the timeline from flowing and hence you will face he inevitable next challenge while you are unprepared.

Enjoy your coffee while walking forward on your timeline.