(4 minutes read)This is about the value of the maintainer who can also be a trainer. Let us coin the word “maintainer-trainer” to describe such an individual.
I have been a maintainer-trainer both in India and abroad.
There are certain basic ingredients in any maintenance organization. First is the skilled individual. A skilled individual who is an expert in maintaining an equipment is quite capable of repairing other similar equipment. New equipment always comes with detailed workshop and overhaul manuals, if it is contracted for professionally. These manuals enable a maintainer-trainer to learn and teach the maintenance of new equipment of the same class..
The second issue is that any organization whether in India or abroad will have its own complement of human resources. A skilled maintainer-trainer can then go into such a location and create more maintainers. Here it becomes important that the newly trained maintainers are tested and certified by an industry accepted certifying agency.. This makes the newly trained maintainers acceptable in the industry. They also become more valuable for the organization in which they are working.
Next we must have the test equipment and the special maintenance tools and also the normal maintenance tools. These are not difficult to come by because they are generally available easily and the maintainer-trainer will be able to advise the organization to get the correct items.
Also we have to get the correct spare parts for the equipment. This is challenging as it is expensive to get the spares. Normally what can be done is that if the equipment has been sourced from certain OEMs then the equipment owning organization allocates funds and creates its own organization for procurement of the spares. Thus relieving the maintainer from the major and important task of negotiating the price and rates with the OEMs.
The payments for the spares is usually done through an escrow account once the spares are shipped by the OEM.
There is obviously the aspect of delay and for that reason some items can be stocked in advance but largely more expensive items can be shipped. This is a matter of detail which the organization can go into based on their own assessment.
Finally, spares which are of a generic nature are usually available locally and they can be procured on a need basis. Expendables and oils and lubricants can also be stocked in a similar manner.
In India we have a very large number of maintainers who have worked in various Indian organizations. For example, the defence services, the aviation sector, the railways,the shipping sector, the transport sector and the industrial plant and machinery sector.
There is, therefore, opportunity for Indian businesses and OEMs to create a process by which these maintainers can be deployed productively. It can be a win-win situation both for the industry and the person who they are deploying. The receiving organization will also benefit as they get pre-trained personnel.
This is food for thought for anybody who’s interested in facilitating such a deployment of skilled Indian manpower in various places.
The IT industry is an excellent example where our HR has proven to be world class.
Another indicator of the quality of our HR is that multinationals are setting up their research and development facilities in India.
We all know that for a very long time Indian engineers have been working in multinationals abroad in their design centers.
So we in MROdigestforums.com and in MROdigest.com feel that this is an opportunity which needs to be harnessed. Thus creating highly skilled employment opportunities for our people.
Thank you for reading
Maj Gen Ashok Kumar, VSM (R)
This is an excellent and pragmatic approach. A skilled maintainer can be game changer in the domain of MRO in case he transgresses in the domain of trainer. Capacity enhancement will grow in geometrical progression.
Anurag Saksena
Sir,
You have brought out the most important part of Maintainer – Trainer conundrum i.e the HR aspects related to proficiency and skills as well as the stocking and inventory management of spares. I would like to highlight my views as a user on these important facets of Maintenance.
Firstly, In the Services we pick our boys young. 17 – 23 years of age. Most of those who qualify and recruited a physically fit and sturdy Lads from primarily the rural hinterlands. This because we carry out Physical fitness selection first, followed by a rudimentary written exam and then the individual is allotted the Arms/Service. Say EME, Signals, AAD etc based on the vacancies as well as his meeting the QRs. ( say Science and Maths as subjects). Thereafter begins the tedious process of moldng him into a Military man first and then impart hin technical training as per his specialisation. All this takes place in a time bound accelerated manner with limited latitude in terms of performance. Aptitude for a job is seldom judged. This implies that this greenhorn will learn “On The Job” In retrospect though one can say that this has worked very well , however it may also be correct to accept that the End state of Tech proficiency or expertise is affected in contrast to a selection procedure where candidates, with qualification, skills and aptitude were to be inducted. The varied and diverse environments the Indian Army operates in also mandates adequate exposure in the different terrains to understand the nuances of Maintenance. Unfortunately the current revision of recruitment norms under the Agniveer scheme will not address this issue .
Secondly, there have been numerous iterations to refined and rejig the Repair philosophy, echelons and provision / replenishment of spares. In the long term bid to apply the clichéd phrase of Reducing the ‘Tooth to Tail’ ratio, has resulted in disjoint and draconian reductions in the strength of UROs and LRWs. The end user has got adversely affected, whilst the service provided rightfully nurses an Angst of not being involved in the Decision process. As new challenges of rapidly Evolving technologies and corresponding repair methodologies emerge – The Gap Widens!
The availability of spares, demand, stocking , Re order levels Maintenance and flexibility to meet operational needs in contrast to copious procedures starkly indicates the level of this problem. In the tussle within the Triad of the Provider, The Maintainer and the User it is not difficult to discern Who bears the Brunt!
Lt Gen KK Aggarwal, AVSM, SM, VSM (Retd))
Sir, This is an interesting idea; Lateral absorption of Maintainers – Trainers in different organisation’s, whether it be public or private sector. This is especially useful for our Technicians, who may be highly trained and superspecialists in a particular technology or equipment, but whose skills are lost in the anonymity of their early retirement while somebody somewhere, requiring the same skill sets, is in the process of incurring expenditure on training of freshers.
Perhaps it is also time for a national industry association purely devoted to MRO. It can then devise standards for different category of maintainers and those who meet these standards can be registered with it. Thereafter, the organisation’s desirous of utilizing their expertise can do so. It can be a win win situation for all.
Jastej Matharu
Dear Gen Aggarwal, this is most certainly a way forward. A goal worth working for. Thanks and regards. Jastej