Skilled Mechanics?

[Boris]

The pay is good. But the fact that there has been an open mechanic position for more than a year and we are losing mechanics faster than they can be replaced makes me wonder if we're not being underpaid. It is a challenging job. There is a lot of automated and interconnected equipment and systems. A lot to learn. I've been there three years and I'm still learning every day. This is not a job that anyone will be really good at in their first year. That said, it's not a repetitive job. I have no idea what I'll spend my day working on until it happens. You're working in a production environment and your job is to keep production going when there is any sort of breakdown, be it mechanical, materials, automation or simple user error. The majority of auto mechanics do not pass the pre-employment tests and don't get hired. This is a different sort of work than that.

I knew it was a shot in the dark, but I suppose there aren't going to be applicants generated from this thread. But maybe still, who knows?

Is it more advanced than pneumatic compressors, hydrolics, pumps, pressure gauges an I am assuming boilers an emergency generators? Shoot I could walk in an fix any of that. My problem came in at computer programming.

 

[Gameface]

Is it more advanced than pneumatic compressors, hydrolics, pumps, pressure gauges an I am assuming boilers an emergency generators? Shoot I could walk in an fix any of that. My problem came in at computer programming.

There is an automation element involving PLCs and there is the various control software that runs reach piece of equipment that is tied to the PLC system.

It isn't even mostly about the ability to fix something, it is at least as much about identifying what needs to be fixed. With the interconnected systems involved that can sometimes be very challenging.

There are times when a production line just won't start and the is no apparent fault and you have to figure out why.

And there is also the continuous improvement aspect where you have to identify specific functions that could be done better and then fabricate the parts to make that happen.

 

[Boris]

There is an automation element involving PLCs and there is the various control software that runs reach piece of equipment that is tied to the PLC system.

It isn't even mostly about the ability to fix something, it is at least as much about identifying what needs to be fixed. With the interconnected systems involved that can sometimes be very challenging.

There are times when a production line just won't start and the is no apparent fault and you have to figure out why.

And there is also the continuous improvement aspect where you have to identify specific functions that could be done better and then fabricate the parts to make that happen.

I meant I can not getting into reprogramming. Back when I started we had hard wired relay switches. Those were much harder to deal with than PLC. I loved it when those thinks came out but I never operated one they just told me what it said an I went to work. Before that, hell sometimes we had to walk round the damn shop checking which one tripped us offline an piece everything together the old fashion way.

In that industry downtime costs money. That firebox is hot an you do not want to waste the coal lettin the fire burn out. So we had to find out straight off if it is just a faulty relay or a bad gauge or a actual problem. Nice think was if low steam pressure was from boiler tube leaks an not external problem you got a day free than a ton of overtime fixing the think.