Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/229047
provement program. It is in your best interest to recognize the direct impact they have on the culture change. Respecting and supporting them in their professional development and teaching them not only what they should or need to be doing but also why will make all the difference. Common sense and mutual respect can go a long way, even in our plants. Give technicians a solid start by providing them with the proper tools they need to succeed. This means ensuring they have Recognize that the technicians are ultimately the foundation of your reliabilityimprovement program. the appropriate job description and pre-established procedures that are clearly taught and monitored through proper supervision. The importance of skills development cannot be overemphasized. This will require technical training for tradesmen as well as operators, followed by an audit of their skill set, i.e., competency testing in the technologies they will utilize when monitoring the condition of your assets. As you develop technicians to be future leaders within your program, new mentors will emerge. Empowering them with career potential and recognition of their worth and contributions to the overall health of the plant's reliability and availability will instill the pride everyone deserves in his or her professional role. Suddenly you will find yourself with in-house experts eager to make a difference. The intangible benefits you will see are the same as those experienced and documented by many worldclass operations. The crucial first step is to understand where you are currently. Establish your starting point, not only in relation to your practices and your team's skill level (be it in lubrication, for example, or other areas), but also where you aim to be, such as a benchmarked worldclass parameter. Knowledge of the steps needed to get where you want to go is an obvious necessity, as is knowing where your limited resources are best spent — and everyone has limited resources. Ultimately, wherever your higher return-on-investment opportunity lies, that is where your focus should be. To learn more about ICML's certification programs, please visit www.lubecouncil.org. Need to train your team, but it's always been too expensive? More and more companies are realizing the value of bringing training onsite. The benefits are obvious and rewarding: • Tailored curriculum to address your company's needs • Learning in a more personable and familiar environment • Confidential issues and solutions may be discussed freely • Flexible course scheduling • A unified learning experience Lubrication is the lifeblood of your machinery. Bring us onsite or to the facility of your choice for private team training. www.noria.com (918) 392-5033 www.machinerylubrication.com | November - December 2013 | 57