When technical problems crop up in any establishment, the staff responsible for the upkeep of the system generally attempt a quick-fix solution to keep the downtime to a minimum. But accurate diagnosis and providing the right solution are all the more essential, as I learnt the hard way.
On my engineering graduation, I joined a 24×7 chemical process industry as a trainee electrical engineer. I was given initial orientation and placed in the maintenance department under a senior engineer. Maintenance complaints had to be always rectified on war footing.
A few days later, I got a phone call at 11pm at the trainees’ hostel where I stayed. I was told by my reporting engineer that a large electric motor used for an important application had stopped running and I had to rush to the factory located four kilometers away to resolve the problem, taking the support of a technician on night shift duty.
I shrugged off my sleep and reported at the site with the shift technician. We checked the motor and concluded that one of its main components – the copper winding had burnt out. The motor, weighing as much as 350 kilogram and fixed in a congested location, had to be replaced with another motor. It was too much of a challenging task for a greenhorn like me. Yet, I brimmed with confidence.
A spare motor was available in central stores. Despite the odd hours, I managed to mobilise personnel from stores department and crew for shifting the motor. The whole team, under my guidance, slogged and by five am next morning, the replaced motor was up and running.
I returned to my room proudly to take a nap and was back in my office, two hours behind normal time. The head of maintenance – a man known for his technical acumen quizzed me, “Why are you late?” I explained and expected a pat for managing the show without disturbing any higher official.
“Can you tell me why the motor failed?” There was an element of seriousness in his tone. I replied, “Sir, the motor’s winding had failed. ”
“But why did the winding fail? Did you probe further? Did you see the process log book? Did you check the fuses and other devices meant to protect the motor? …. ..” His barrage continued and I could not answer any of them. ‘The motor failed and I’ve replaced it. What else does he want?’ – I was frustrated that my toil at night went unsung.
He then sat relaxed in his chair and said, “Don’t think I grill you for no reason or rhyme. I know you’ve laboured. But that can be done by any unskilled person. An engineer should be able to diagnose the problem quickly as well as correctly. You’ve to ensure that once the system is restored, the fault doesn’t recur. You’ve to go to the root of a problem and attack it. If the replaced motor too fails, fancy what a sorry figure we all have to cut!” Slowly, I began to see his point of view. He went on to explain the reasons for the failure and how a repeat should be prevented. That indeed was baptism by fire and a great eye-opener.
