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by Doug Plucknette Leave a Comment

I’m Not an Engineer!

I’m Not an Engineer!

I’m not an Engineer

Engineers want order. Everything should happen in a programmed sequence making an expected result predictable. It’s one of the traits that gives Engineers a reputation for being boring. When things happen out of order or sequence the engineers of this world become quiet while their brains churn out what they know the expected order should be and what might have occurred to upset the process.

I’m not an engineer. While I have worked to develop a process that seeks to bring order to chaos I’m perfectly comfortable with the fact random events will take place over time I accepted the fact years ago that some events are just beyond our control.

Today is one of those days I wish I had more control. That I could somehow control the order of how things should happen but the reality is we aren’t qualified for the job.

One of my longtime friends died last night. He was 67 years old. When you’re 27 that seems old, when you’re 55 you realize something upset the process and this guy died out of order. Today I am quiet and my mind is wrestling with a process that is not in my control.

What I do know is Roy lived a full life, he ran at full speed for a good part of that 67 years and let’s just say like most operations managers, he didn’t believe in slowing things down or stopping for maintenance. He lived life his way and in the land of the free you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Rest in peace my friend!

Pictured above – Pine Knob Camp 1970 something…

Filed Under: Articles, on Maintenance Reliability, RCM Blitz

About Doug Plucknette

Doug Plucknette joined Allied Reliability Group as RCM Discipline Leader in 2007. As the founder of RCM Blitz® and author of the book Reliability Centered Maintenance using RCM Blitz®, he has provided reliability training and services to numerous companies around the world, large and small, including such Fortune 500 companies as Cargill, Whirlpool, Honda, Coors Brewing, Energizer, Corning, Invista, and Newmont Mining.

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