5 answers
Armando
Student
Denton, Texas
1
Question
Updated
1948 views
What aspect of your job do you enjoy the most and what does the environment that you work in look like?
How does the current job you’re doing utilize the skills you’ve learned in college?
What does a general workday look like for you?
How well do you mesh with members of your team?
What is the most important skill to have in your field?
What inspired you to choose this field?
What challenges have you faced in your current role and how have you overcome them?
What do you enjoy most about your job?, What advice would you give people who want to follow a similar career path to you?
How do you see your field progressing in the next five years?
What have been some challenges that had to be overcome quickly and why did they occur in the first place?
What is your view on the newer generation of graduates/workers that although they are still very new to the field, have a lot of ambition to achieve their goals and improve the field?
When you first started working in your field, how does it compare to today and what are some of the most significant changes?
This is for a class to interview people in our field of study
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5 answers
Patrick S
Security Specialist
16
Answers
Las Vegas, Nevada
Updated
Patrick’s Answer
Armando
What aspect of your job do you enjoy the most and what does the environment that you work in look like?
- The aspect I enjoy the most from my job is assisting customers or individuals in difficult situations and providing them with a solution. There is a bit of gratification when seeing the person light up that is very satisfying.
How does the current job you’re doing utilize the skills you’ve learned in college?
- The real answer is college teaches you to be dedicated and get work done with a deadline. Most schools provided outdated content that typically does not align with your field of work. However, I still appreciated the school experience as it also provided me the knowledge of how to study.
What does a general workday look like for you?
- Depends on the position, in my mot recent one (Security Platform Engineer), it was ten to twelve hours a day with an hour lunch and an hour break / lunch. The first half of the day consisted of communication with customers and contacts. The second half of the day consisted of drafting solutions and executing them in projects.
How well do you mesh with members of your team?
- I would say I meshed with my team members excellently. I believe teamwork is one of the most important variables for success in the workplace. Outside of work, we had outings that we would organize so we can get to know each other better.
What is the most important skill to have in your field?
- Perseverance. Never quit, develop that mindset that makes you crave and want to learn more. The stagnant individuals are those who fall behind and struggle the most.
What inspired you to choose this field?
- College. My professor and my uncle got me interested in Cybersecurity. I originally was targeting computer science which I had to drop out of for a year to figure out what I want to do.
What challenges have you faced in your current role and how have you overcome them?
- The largest challenge I had to face was deal with difficult customers. There are some that will yell, scream, or make fun of you. Keep a level headed approach, do not mirror their tactics, and always come out ahead with a solution or resolve.
What do you enjoy most about your job?, What advice would you give people who want to follow a similar career path to you?
- I enjoy the problem solving the most about my job. It doesn't require as much creativity as a programmer would need, but it is more like detective work. Currently, I will be performing SOC Analyst like work which requires you to respond to detections, investigate the activity, and respond if it is truly malicious. I recommend that if you are interested in Cybersecurity that you apply for internships before hand to figure out what speciality you want to get into.
How do you see your field progressing in the next five years?
- AI, just as any other field or sector. I would strongly suggest you get acclimated with the tools and figure out how to use it to your advantage so you are then more efficient.
What have been some challenges that had to be overcome quickly and why did they occur in the first place?
- One challenge I had to overcome quickly is work / life balance. This is because cybersecurity requires you to study outside of work to stay on top of the game of the ever-evolving field. I found the best thing to do is plan out your day and schedule it so you are not overwhelmed.
What is your view on the newer generation of graduates/workers that although they are still very new to the field, have a lot of ambition to achieve their goals and improve the field?
- My view of the new graduate workers that are new to the field is that they quit to quickly. It took me about five years to get to a position where I am happy, and that was because I had to work full-time while being a full-time student. Graduating is not a guarantee of success, but a strong work ethic is.
When you first started working in your field, how does it compare to today and what are some of the most significant changes?
- I was originally working in IT when I began my first internship. I was basically managing asset replacements and performing a miscellaneous amount of IT chore work (which was fun and important!). It is different from my work today as in my previous job I was setting up security operational control connections, deploying security detection coverage, developing automation configurations, and providing consultation / advice to big value customers.
- Patrick
What aspect of your job do you enjoy the most and what does the environment that you work in look like?
- The aspect I enjoy the most from my job is assisting customers or individuals in difficult situations and providing them with a solution. There is a bit of gratification when seeing the person light up that is very satisfying.
How does the current job you’re doing utilize the skills you’ve learned in college?
- The real answer is college teaches you to be dedicated and get work done with a deadline. Most schools provided outdated content that typically does not align with your field of work. However, I still appreciated the school experience as it also provided me the knowledge of how to study.
What does a general workday look like for you?
- Depends on the position, in my mot recent one (Security Platform Engineer), it was ten to twelve hours a day with an hour lunch and an hour break / lunch. The first half of the day consisted of communication with customers and contacts. The second half of the day consisted of drafting solutions and executing them in projects.
How well do you mesh with members of your team?
- I would say I meshed with my team members excellently. I believe teamwork is one of the most important variables for success in the workplace. Outside of work, we had outings that we would organize so we can get to know each other better.
What is the most important skill to have in your field?
- Perseverance. Never quit, develop that mindset that makes you crave and want to learn more. The stagnant individuals are those who fall behind and struggle the most.
What inspired you to choose this field?
- College. My professor and my uncle got me interested in Cybersecurity. I originally was targeting computer science which I had to drop out of for a year to figure out what I want to do.
What challenges have you faced in your current role and how have you overcome them?
- The largest challenge I had to face was deal with difficult customers. There are some that will yell, scream, or make fun of you. Keep a level headed approach, do not mirror their tactics, and always come out ahead with a solution or resolve.
What do you enjoy most about your job?, What advice would you give people who want to follow a similar career path to you?
- I enjoy the problem solving the most about my job. It doesn't require as much creativity as a programmer would need, but it is more like detective work. Currently, I will be performing SOC Analyst like work which requires you to respond to detections, investigate the activity, and respond if it is truly malicious. I recommend that if you are interested in Cybersecurity that you apply for internships before hand to figure out what speciality you want to get into.
How do you see your field progressing in the next five years?
- AI, just as any other field or sector. I would strongly suggest you get acclimated with the tools and figure out how to use it to your advantage so you are then more efficient.
What have been some challenges that had to be overcome quickly and why did they occur in the first place?
- One challenge I had to overcome quickly is work / life balance. This is because cybersecurity requires you to study outside of work to stay on top of the game of the ever-evolving field. I found the best thing to do is plan out your day and schedule it so you are not overwhelmed.
What is your view on the newer generation of graduates/workers that although they are still very new to the field, have a lot of ambition to achieve their goals and improve the field?
- My view of the new graduate workers that are new to the field is that they quit to quickly. It took me about five years to get to a position where I am happy, and that was because I had to work full-time while being a full-time student. Graduating is not a guarantee of success, but a strong work ethic is.
When you first started working in your field, how does it compare to today and what are some of the most significant changes?
- I was originally working in IT when I began my first internship. I was basically managing asset replacements and performing a miscellaneous amount of IT chore work (which was fun and important!). It is different from my work today as in my previous job I was setting up security operational control connections, deploying security detection coverage, developing automation configurations, and providing consultation / advice to big value customers.
- Patrick
Bryan Mayberry
Mechanical Design Engineer
14
Answers
San Diego, California
Updated
Bryan’s Answer
My current role is a Mechanical Design Engineer at a Fuel Cell company.
How does the current job you’re doing utilize the skills you’ve learned in college?
- My current job has me using CAD programs, FEA software, calculating stresses, and designing products.
- All of these tasks I had courses in college for, engineering design, engineering mechanics, and software courses.
What does a general workday look like for you?
- General workday for me is check email initially for anything coming in over night about prototypes being manufactured or correspondences from engineers overseas or on different time zones.
- Checking my calendar for what meetings I have that day to either discuss new engineering design tasks, or team check-ins, or design reviews.
- And then mostly going through my task list that is always updated through my other meetings. Focused mostly on creating 3D models and 2D drawings for various hydrogen fuel cell components like hoses, manifolds, or brackets.
How well do you mesh with members of your team?
- I think my immediate team I mesh really well with, can talk work easily with them and just as easily just talk about personal life.
- Definitely hasn't always been like that in every job I had.
What is the most important skill to have in your field?
- Technical Skills - I would say being able to think in 3D, helps a ton to be able to model parts.
- Soft Skills - I would say just communication, a lot of engineers can be bad at just answering emails or talking concisely so we can spend less time in meetings and more time working on the product.
What inspired you to choose this field?
- I loved legos as a kid so always wanted to build stuff, then was decent at math and science so Mechanical Engineering just made sense.
What challenges have you faced in your current role and how have you overcome them?
- A lot of the challenges I have to overcome are due to just poor planning and poor management. Engineering is usually pretty rigorous and can prevent problems from arising due to following the correct process. But when companies cut corners or make timelines unrealistic, then it becomes an issue of solving problems on parts that are out in the field.
What do you enjoy most about your job?, What advice would you give people who want to follow a similar career path to you?
- I love most just being able to create components out of thin air on my computer and the flexibility that my job gives me being able to work remotely.
- Definitely just on your own time make some cool 3D models! Really easy to showcase your skills with some good renders of what you made and there are so many tutorials online on how to make things, can learn a lot on your own.
How do you see your field progressing in the next five years?
- Next five years, hydrogen specifically seems very dependent on government funding, so unfortunately, it seems like a field that would be in a bit of trouble.
What have been some challenges that had to be overcome quickly and why did they occur in the first place?
- Most challenges that arise quickly are due to manufacturing errors or overlooked features on parts when designing components quickly.
- Manufacturing issues happen always, so you always need to be able to figure out how to re-machine the part, or adjust the assembly to account for an issue. It also can be anticipated and designed into the product with lots of slots and other features that can account for manufacturing error.
- As for design issues, no matter how many checks, guides, or reviews you have, there will always be something. I think just working quick, thinking fast, collaborating, and not pointing fingers is how you move forward. You can spend a lot of time trying to blame people and be mad, but that doesnt solve anything. Just work towards solutions.
What is your view on the newer generation of graduates/workers that although they are still very new to the field, have a lot of ambition to achieve their goals and improve the field?
- Honestly I have not worked with too many new grads as I was pretty new myself, so I do not have any strong opinions on this one!
When you first started working in your field, how does it compare to today and what are some of the most significant changes?
- I have been working for 7/8 years now, so nothing has changed tooooooo much except for the ability to work remote has definitely increased greatly due to the era of COVID.
Hope these help!
How does the current job you’re doing utilize the skills you’ve learned in college?
- My current job has me using CAD programs, FEA software, calculating stresses, and designing products.
- All of these tasks I had courses in college for, engineering design, engineering mechanics, and software courses.
What does a general workday look like for you?
- General workday for me is check email initially for anything coming in over night about prototypes being manufactured or correspondences from engineers overseas or on different time zones.
- Checking my calendar for what meetings I have that day to either discuss new engineering design tasks, or team check-ins, or design reviews.
- And then mostly going through my task list that is always updated through my other meetings. Focused mostly on creating 3D models and 2D drawings for various hydrogen fuel cell components like hoses, manifolds, or brackets.
How well do you mesh with members of your team?
- I think my immediate team I mesh really well with, can talk work easily with them and just as easily just talk about personal life.
- Definitely hasn't always been like that in every job I had.
What is the most important skill to have in your field?
- Technical Skills - I would say being able to think in 3D, helps a ton to be able to model parts.
- Soft Skills - I would say just communication, a lot of engineers can be bad at just answering emails or talking concisely so we can spend less time in meetings and more time working on the product.
What inspired you to choose this field?
- I loved legos as a kid so always wanted to build stuff, then was decent at math and science so Mechanical Engineering just made sense.
What challenges have you faced in your current role and how have you overcome them?
- A lot of the challenges I have to overcome are due to just poor planning and poor management. Engineering is usually pretty rigorous and can prevent problems from arising due to following the correct process. But when companies cut corners or make timelines unrealistic, then it becomes an issue of solving problems on parts that are out in the field.
What do you enjoy most about your job?, What advice would you give people who want to follow a similar career path to you?
- I love most just being able to create components out of thin air on my computer and the flexibility that my job gives me being able to work remotely.
- Definitely just on your own time make some cool 3D models! Really easy to showcase your skills with some good renders of what you made and there are so many tutorials online on how to make things, can learn a lot on your own.
How do you see your field progressing in the next five years?
- Next five years, hydrogen specifically seems very dependent on government funding, so unfortunately, it seems like a field that would be in a bit of trouble.
What have been some challenges that had to be overcome quickly and why did they occur in the first place?
- Most challenges that arise quickly are due to manufacturing errors or overlooked features on parts when designing components quickly.
- Manufacturing issues happen always, so you always need to be able to figure out how to re-machine the part, or adjust the assembly to account for an issue. It also can be anticipated and designed into the product with lots of slots and other features that can account for manufacturing error.
- As for design issues, no matter how many checks, guides, or reviews you have, there will always be something. I think just working quick, thinking fast, collaborating, and not pointing fingers is how you move forward. You can spend a lot of time trying to blame people and be mad, but that doesnt solve anything. Just work towards solutions.
What is your view on the newer generation of graduates/workers that although they are still very new to the field, have a lot of ambition to achieve their goals and improve the field?
- Honestly I have not worked with too many new grads as I was pretty new myself, so I do not have any strong opinions on this one!
When you first started working in your field, how does it compare to today and what are some of the most significant changes?
- I have been working for 7/8 years now, so nothing has changed tooooooo much except for the ability to work remote has definitely increased greatly due to the era of COVID.
Hope these help!
Karishma Biswas
5
Answers
Singapore
Updated
Karishma’s Answer
One of the most important skills for me in software engineering is problem-solving. This skill is crucial because software engineers constantly face challenges that require innovative solutions, whether it's debugging code, designing algorithms, or optimizing systems.
If we remove the filter on a particular field of study/work, there is a significant overlap in skill sets for a variety of sectors.
Attention to Detail, Collaboration and Communication: Working well with others and clearly communicating ideas and solutions is essential, especially in team environments.
Adaptability: Being able to learn new technologies and methodologies is crucial.
Critical Thinking: Analyzing problems from different angles and coming up with logical solutions is key to any successful career.
If we remove the filter on a particular field of study/work, there is a significant overlap in skill sets for a variety of sectors.
Attention to Detail, Collaboration and Communication: Working well with others and clearly communicating ideas and solutions is essential, especially in team environments.
Adaptability: Being able to learn new technologies and methodologies is crucial.
Critical Thinking: Analyzing problems from different angles and coming up with logical solutions is key to any successful career.
Alycia Plog, PMP
IT Project Manager
2
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Alycia’s Answer
I love these questions!
How does the current job you’re doing utilize the skills you’ve learned in college?
I am an IT project manager with a BS in Computer information systems and a MS in Instructional Design and Technology. Understanding the basics of IT infrastructure helps me ask the right questions when planning a projects activities; What type of system are we implementing or changing, is the system in house or will we use Saas: Will we need API's, Rest, Websockets? Just a few questions as examples, having an IT education helps me know what questions to ask. My MS taught me how to breakdown complex concepts to aid in communication as well as Project management principals
What does a general workday look like for you?
1. Review of Plans; what task or activities need to be completed today. which task or activities have been completed and how did we do, what did we learn.
2. How are we doing on the schedule. Can we correct if behind or improve
3. Meeting schedules ( there are always meetings) What exist, what needs to be scheduled and can we cancel this one (no agenda).
4. Agendas !!! develop agenda's (which are basically scripts for how you want to run the meeting) for all my meetings.
5. What do I need to research today, what do I need to learn today. ( Learning never ends)
How well do you mesh with members of your team?
Very well, some relationships take more time but ultimately we are here to achieve the same goal. Focus on the end result and it is easier to ignore the small things that might annoy you, (ugh the people who seem to always talk too much, give them space to talk you might learn something)
What is the most important skill to have in your field?
There are a lot of opinions about the skills you need, hard skills and soft skills. I would say that regardless of the field or role, you need to know how to work with a team, working with others is a skill (it can be learned, even if your an introvert like me). Knowing what your role is, what the roles of others are and how the roles all work together is a skill few seem to feel imperative. After over 20 years of PM experience I believe it is the most important skill.
What inspired you to choose this field? I love to solve problems. I found that I truly enjoyed breaking them down, determining the root cause through analysis suggesting solutions. We do a lot of this in project management.
What challenges have you faced in your current role and how have you overcome them? Most common is determining how to motivate resources to complete your projects task when they have conflicting priorities. Here is where the team work aspect helps, my approach is to understand how I can help them. I might take a task that they are struggling with, provide them other resources, help them prioritize or determine priority. I have found that task are often skipped or postponed when they are not fully understood, by asking "how can I help here" I have had more success in engaging resources then escalating to management.
What do you enjoy most about your job?, What advice would you give people who want to follow a similar career path to you?
The opportunity to learn more. I hated school, I really did. I did not start to enjoy learning until I started college. When I began my first true employment I find that I had even more opportunities to learn new ideas, concepts etc. In IT project management we are often relied upon to implement changes that include new IT concepts. There are seldom full instructions so we need to research the concepts, applications, systems etc. My advice to anyone wishing to enter project management, learn to research.
How do you see your field progressing in the next five years? I see more technology integrations, AI Agents are now the big drivers. I have started more studies AI. I also see more Data analysis requirements incorporating into PM roles, which means we need to understand more about the various data analysis tools: SQL, Python, spreadsheets (Google, MS etc.)
What have been some challenges that had to be overcome quickly and why did they occur in the first place? Challenges, that's a tough one. Lots of challenges there is always a new technology to learn, however I have found that my true challenges have centered around maneuvering through a vast array of business processes. Why do they occur, large corporations merging with other corporations tend to lead to inconsistent processes and procedures. If I focus on How I overcame them I think this would be a bit more useful, I reached out to others on my team ( need to know how to work with a team). I asked questions (never be afraid to ask questions), I researched (almost a daily activity).
What is your view on the newer generation of graduates/workers that although they are still very new to the field, have a lot of ambition to achieve their goals and improve the field? Ambition is a great start, it provides motivation. Keep the need to learn, feed your curiosity.
When you first started working in your field, how does it compare to today and what are some of the most significant changes? Two most significant, the technology has changed and it always will. I see more emphasis on the soft skills in my field, PM's seldom have any authority and I have found I am more successful without it. I have to be more creative in driving results.
How does the current job you’re doing utilize the skills you’ve learned in college?
I am an IT project manager with a BS in Computer information systems and a MS in Instructional Design and Technology. Understanding the basics of IT infrastructure helps me ask the right questions when planning a projects activities; What type of system are we implementing or changing, is the system in house or will we use Saas: Will we need API's, Rest, Websockets? Just a few questions as examples, having an IT education helps me know what questions to ask. My MS taught me how to breakdown complex concepts to aid in communication as well as Project management principals
What does a general workday look like for you?
1. Review of Plans; what task or activities need to be completed today. which task or activities have been completed and how did we do, what did we learn.
2. How are we doing on the schedule. Can we correct if behind or improve
3. Meeting schedules ( there are always meetings) What exist, what needs to be scheduled and can we cancel this one (no agenda).
4. Agendas !!! develop agenda's (which are basically scripts for how you want to run the meeting) for all my meetings.
5. What do I need to research today, what do I need to learn today. ( Learning never ends)
How well do you mesh with members of your team?
Very well, some relationships take more time but ultimately we are here to achieve the same goal. Focus on the end result and it is easier to ignore the small things that might annoy you, (ugh the people who seem to always talk too much, give them space to talk you might learn something)
What is the most important skill to have in your field?
There are a lot of opinions about the skills you need, hard skills and soft skills. I would say that regardless of the field or role, you need to know how to work with a team, working with others is a skill (it can be learned, even if your an introvert like me). Knowing what your role is, what the roles of others are and how the roles all work together is a skill few seem to feel imperative. After over 20 years of PM experience I believe it is the most important skill.
What inspired you to choose this field? I love to solve problems. I found that I truly enjoyed breaking them down, determining the root cause through analysis suggesting solutions. We do a lot of this in project management.
What challenges have you faced in your current role and how have you overcome them? Most common is determining how to motivate resources to complete your projects task when they have conflicting priorities. Here is where the team work aspect helps, my approach is to understand how I can help them. I might take a task that they are struggling with, provide them other resources, help them prioritize or determine priority. I have found that task are often skipped or postponed when they are not fully understood, by asking "how can I help here" I have had more success in engaging resources then escalating to management.
What do you enjoy most about your job?, What advice would you give people who want to follow a similar career path to you?
The opportunity to learn more. I hated school, I really did. I did not start to enjoy learning until I started college. When I began my first true employment I find that I had even more opportunities to learn new ideas, concepts etc. In IT project management we are often relied upon to implement changes that include new IT concepts. There are seldom full instructions so we need to research the concepts, applications, systems etc. My advice to anyone wishing to enter project management, learn to research.
How do you see your field progressing in the next five years? I see more technology integrations, AI Agents are now the big drivers. I have started more studies AI. I also see more Data analysis requirements incorporating into PM roles, which means we need to understand more about the various data analysis tools: SQL, Python, spreadsheets (Google, MS etc.)
What have been some challenges that had to be overcome quickly and why did they occur in the first place? Challenges, that's a tough one. Lots of challenges there is always a new technology to learn, however I have found that my true challenges have centered around maneuvering through a vast array of business processes. Why do they occur, large corporations merging with other corporations tend to lead to inconsistent processes and procedures. If I focus on How I overcame them I think this would be a bit more useful, I reached out to others on my team ( need to know how to work with a team). I asked questions (never be afraid to ask questions), I researched (almost a daily activity).
What is your view on the newer generation of graduates/workers that although they are still very new to the field, have a lot of ambition to achieve their goals and improve the field? Ambition is a great start, it provides motivation. Keep the need to learn, feed your curiosity.
When you first started working in your field, how does it compare to today and what are some of the most significant changes? Two most significant, the technology has changed and it always will. I see more emphasis on the soft skills in my field, PM's seldom have any authority and I have found I am more successful without it. I have to be more creative in driving results.
William Vvuko
Retired engineer
154
Answers
Moyo, Northern Region
Updated
William’s Answer
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for taking time to put this together. It's quite elaborate.
I'm currently a retired mechanical engineer. My professional career spans over a period of three decades, most of it in the beer industry & in maintenance roles including at senior levels.
Analytical & problem solving skills are at the very heart of engineering practice. There are many critical measures that are used in evaluation of the maintenance effort by the maintenance crew: mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to repair (MTTR), schedule completion rate, correctives arising from inspections, machine efficiency, innovations implemented, planned maintenance ratio/breakdown ratio, completed problem solving initiatives, safety incidents, best practices growth, spares stockouts etc. Huge amounts of data is required to analyze & compute these key performance indicators (KPIs). The maintenance management system, usually computerized, needs to contain this database. To ensure continuous improvement, this data is analyzed to establish dominant failure modes. Such failure modes are then progressed through the various problem solving methodologies (systemic & strategic) to identify & resolve root causes. Some of the solutions require redesigning of components.
Depending on your level, daily routines do vary. As head of engineering, my day starts at 06h00 in the morning with a walkabout on the production floor talking to team leaders, shift artisans & machine operators to get a feel of how the night went. I meet with the maintenance crew at 07h00 to review the previous day's performance. The meeting evaluates what went well & what did not. Actions are agreed upon to address performance issues.
I then attend a general safety meeting at 08h00. Between 08h30 and 10h00, I attend any of the departmental meetings, usually where challenges are evident. Plant meeting occurs at 10h00 to review the past 24hours.
After 12h00, I usually attend a variety of meetings: maintenance planning & scheduling, problem solving, projects, departmental etc. As head of engineering, I double as projects manager. I therefore chair all engineering & projects meetings. On maintenance days, my meetings are scaled down to a minimum, usually safety ones, as high visibility on the shop-floor essential to ensure execution is done as per plan and prompt interventions in case of deviations. Specific maintenance day KPIs need to be met: startup time, efficiencies in the first 8 hours after maintenance, new risks & commensurate interventions.
Building a cohesive team is essential for success but often full of challenges. Good communication, effective conflict resolution and trust are key success factors. A robust performance management framework needs to be in place. The team needs to have a vision that is internalized by all team members in order to move in a common direction. Team & individual goals are needed to ensure the team effectively and efficiently moves towards the realization of it's vision. Ground rules for appropriate behavior is vital for harmonious relationships.
Emotional Intelligence is a critical skill especially for team leaders and managers.
Multiple skills are required virtually in equal measure to succeed at the workplace: emotional intelligence, communication, planning, analytical & problem solving.
I got involved in mechanical work at a fairly young age. By the time I was 10 years old, my older brothers and I used to do all our bicycle repairs at home. On joining high school, I was attracted to the aviation industry momentarily. My interest then firmly shifted to medicine. This aspiration lasted for most of my high school years. I took a decision to become a mechanical engineer in the last two years of high school.
The challenges have been many but I just highlight two of them.
When I took over leadership of the engineering department, our skills base was quite low and the industry was modernizing very rapidly. The department had to undertake a comprehensive & intensive skills upgrade program. The early stage was quite stressful. As part of it's innovation initiatives, the business introduced new more affordable brand portfolios & stock keeping units (SKUs). The impact was so huge that our capacity model could not accommodate the surge quick enough. We therefore ran out of capacity for normal production. To meet market demand, we resorted to pit stop maintenance (adaptation from grand prix racing) as plans for ramping up capacity got underway.
Modern maintenance is moving towards a pit stop maintenance philosophy especially in view of the availability of predictive technologies.
As a manager, your success is measured not just by what you do in your role but also by what happens when you leave. Building a team of highly talented & skillful people that eventually took up the mantle successful on my retirement was very gratifying. Success becomes easier when we work in teams. Team empowerment becomes an imperative. Team empowerment is one of the key responsibilities of any manager.
The beer industry runs with very modern technology, some adopted from rocket science. The rate of obsolescence is quite high (some within every 3 to 5 years) for electronic parts. This requires frequent upgrades. We initially underestimated this risk.
Having ambition is a good thing. Opportunities for creativity & innovation are endless. However, in a workplace, everything happens within established frameworks that in turn do evolve. The youth are generally in hurry to get things done - this is true for every generation. The system in place may struggle to accommodate this zeal leading to frustration. Usually, the talent and performance management systems provide an effective approach to the acquisition, empowerment and deployment of talent within the organization. Career discussions during performance appraisals are an Integral part of the process. This way, the best talent can be channeled towards the best organizational causes. Additionally, experiential learning is as important as formal knowledge. When tacit knowledge is distilled & codified, it becomes formal knowledge.
The manufacturing environment has evolved significantly in the last three to four decades. Technological advancement has been very rapid. Advanced electronics, robotics and of late AI have been the key drivers. In terms of maintenance, the emergence of condition based maintenance (CBM) using advanced electronic condition monitoring tools & lab equipment have significantly changed the nature of maintenance activities.
On the side of people, the emergence of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) have transformed best practices in the manufacturing sector.
Thanks for taking time to put this together. It's quite elaborate.
I'm currently a retired mechanical engineer. My professional career spans over a period of three decades, most of it in the beer industry & in maintenance roles including at senior levels.
Analytical & problem solving skills are at the very heart of engineering practice. There are many critical measures that are used in evaluation of the maintenance effort by the maintenance crew: mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to repair (MTTR), schedule completion rate, correctives arising from inspections, machine efficiency, innovations implemented, planned maintenance ratio/breakdown ratio, completed problem solving initiatives, safety incidents, best practices growth, spares stockouts etc. Huge amounts of data is required to analyze & compute these key performance indicators (KPIs). The maintenance management system, usually computerized, needs to contain this database. To ensure continuous improvement, this data is analyzed to establish dominant failure modes. Such failure modes are then progressed through the various problem solving methodologies (systemic & strategic) to identify & resolve root causes. Some of the solutions require redesigning of components.
Depending on your level, daily routines do vary. As head of engineering, my day starts at 06h00 in the morning with a walkabout on the production floor talking to team leaders, shift artisans & machine operators to get a feel of how the night went. I meet with the maintenance crew at 07h00 to review the previous day's performance. The meeting evaluates what went well & what did not. Actions are agreed upon to address performance issues.
I then attend a general safety meeting at 08h00. Between 08h30 and 10h00, I attend any of the departmental meetings, usually where challenges are evident. Plant meeting occurs at 10h00 to review the past 24hours.
After 12h00, I usually attend a variety of meetings: maintenance planning & scheduling, problem solving, projects, departmental etc. As head of engineering, I double as projects manager. I therefore chair all engineering & projects meetings. On maintenance days, my meetings are scaled down to a minimum, usually safety ones, as high visibility on the shop-floor essential to ensure execution is done as per plan and prompt interventions in case of deviations. Specific maintenance day KPIs need to be met: startup time, efficiencies in the first 8 hours after maintenance, new risks & commensurate interventions.
Building a cohesive team is essential for success but often full of challenges. Good communication, effective conflict resolution and trust are key success factors. A robust performance management framework needs to be in place. The team needs to have a vision that is internalized by all team members in order to move in a common direction. Team & individual goals are needed to ensure the team effectively and efficiently moves towards the realization of it's vision. Ground rules for appropriate behavior is vital for harmonious relationships.
Emotional Intelligence is a critical skill especially for team leaders and managers.
Multiple skills are required virtually in equal measure to succeed at the workplace: emotional intelligence, communication, planning, analytical & problem solving.
I got involved in mechanical work at a fairly young age. By the time I was 10 years old, my older brothers and I used to do all our bicycle repairs at home. On joining high school, I was attracted to the aviation industry momentarily. My interest then firmly shifted to medicine. This aspiration lasted for most of my high school years. I took a decision to become a mechanical engineer in the last two years of high school.
The challenges have been many but I just highlight two of them.
When I took over leadership of the engineering department, our skills base was quite low and the industry was modernizing very rapidly. The department had to undertake a comprehensive & intensive skills upgrade program. The early stage was quite stressful. As part of it's innovation initiatives, the business introduced new more affordable brand portfolios & stock keeping units (SKUs). The impact was so huge that our capacity model could not accommodate the surge quick enough. We therefore ran out of capacity for normal production. To meet market demand, we resorted to pit stop maintenance (adaptation from grand prix racing) as plans for ramping up capacity got underway.
Modern maintenance is moving towards a pit stop maintenance philosophy especially in view of the availability of predictive technologies.
As a manager, your success is measured not just by what you do in your role but also by what happens when you leave. Building a team of highly talented & skillful people that eventually took up the mantle successful on my retirement was very gratifying. Success becomes easier when we work in teams. Team empowerment becomes an imperative. Team empowerment is one of the key responsibilities of any manager.
The beer industry runs with very modern technology, some adopted from rocket science. The rate of obsolescence is quite high (some within every 3 to 5 years) for electronic parts. This requires frequent upgrades. We initially underestimated this risk.
Having ambition is a good thing. Opportunities for creativity & innovation are endless. However, in a workplace, everything happens within established frameworks that in turn do evolve. The youth are generally in hurry to get things done - this is true for every generation. The system in place may struggle to accommodate this zeal leading to frustration. Usually, the talent and performance management systems provide an effective approach to the acquisition, empowerment and deployment of talent within the organization. Career discussions during performance appraisals are an Integral part of the process. This way, the best talent can be channeled towards the best organizational causes. Additionally, experiential learning is as important as formal knowledge. When tacit knowledge is distilled & codified, it becomes formal knowledge.
The manufacturing environment has evolved significantly in the last three to four decades. Technological advancement has been very rapid. Advanced electronics, robotics and of late AI have been the key drivers. In terms of maintenance, the emergence of condition based maintenance (CBM) using advanced electronic condition monitoring tools & lab equipment have significantly changed the nature of maintenance activities.
On the side of people, the emergence of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) have transformed best practices in the manufacturing sector.