Study & career paths for condition monitoring people

STUDY & CAREER PATHS FOR CM/MAINTENANCE & RELIABILITY PEOPLE

Ray BeebeMCM Consultants Pty Ltd

Reliability & Maintenance engineers?

• Reliability engineers: not governed by day-to-day operations; strategic focus; develop programs that provide the framework for maintenance.

• Maintenance engineers: immediate equipment functionality; implement strategies developed in co-operation with reliability engineers.

STUDY? WHY?

Want to learn? “Read a book?”

Gain a formal, valued

qualification

Interest: sheer joy of

learning

Equip for promotion/

career change

Mental challeng

e

Boss says so!

MY STORY IN FORMAL PG STUDY

Early in career (at RMIT): Maths 5 Machinery Vibrations

Later: Accounting (TAFE course).

Later (Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education): Project management Engineering Supervision

Even later: (APESMA) Financial accounting for engineers

OUTCOME

Early in career (at RMIT): Maths 5 Dropped out – irrelevant Machinery Vibrations Dropped out – irrelevant

Later: Accounting (TAFE course). Instructor at info

session- said I should just read a book! Later (Gippsland Institute of Adv Education):

Project management Passed Engineering Supervision Passed

Even later (APESMA): Financial accounting for engineers Passed

OTHER STUFF I DID

18 short courses run by employer in technical topics and management development

4-week course at Melbourne University Business School

MEngSc(Research) (egotrip to keep up with my offspring!)

Ongoing learning – avid reading, writing, speaking, conferences, meetings.

SURVEY (62 RESPONSES) ON OUTCOMES OF COURSES

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Participate in more challengingprojects

More valuable contribution

Decision making improved

Enjoy w orking more

Applied/gained new externalposition

Received promotion - internal

Effective communicator

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Not applicable

(Beebe and Hodkiewicz, 2005)

What is your basic technical discipline?

Mechanical

Electrical

Electronic/Mechatronic

Management

Other

Chemical/Process/Oil&Gas

What industry do you currently work in?Mining/mineralprocessing/refining

Defence (military &civilian)

Manufacturing

Utility (gas, water,power)

Petrochemical

ServiceProvider/Consultant

Government

Warehouse/logistics

Timber/pulp&paper

Transport (air, road,rail)

Describe your job when you started your studies.

Reliability Engineer

Maintenance/ CM Engineer

Strategic Planner

Maintenance Supervisor

Maintenance Technician

Project Manager/ Manager

Operations (Engineer/ Manager)

Other

Top 3 technical: Reliability and Risk Based Inspection methods

Failure modes and effects analysis Failure mechanisms & Root cause analysis

Top 3 management: Life cycle costing and NPV methods

Risk assessment Budgeting and capital expenditure

Note: Some of these are not in traditional BE programs

Educational drivers summary

Observations

People in reliability have a wide variety of educational backgrounds and experience.

Reliability: a job people “move” into, not an early career choice

Few of the skills used by reliability engineers are taught in BEs.

Many reliability professionals do targeted education in the form of university-coordinated postgraduate studies, vendor- supplied or institution organised training.

Lots of engineers, but relatively few have undertaken PG reliability education

SOME COURSES

Wollongong Uni

EIT

UniWAAsset Mgt

CQUni MaintM

gt

Monash Uni MRE

APMM

COURSES IN GENERAL: UNIVERSITIES

Graduate Certificates 4 subjects, usually over 1 year Conditional entry if no BE degree Articulation on to GradDip (on results)

Graduate Diplomas 8 subjects, usually over 2 years Entry via articulation from GradCert Articulation on to Master’s (on results)

Master’s degree 8 subjects if BE entry 4 more subjects if articulating Or, some Unis - dissertation after GradDip

COURSES IN GENERAL: RTOS

Certificate IV 4 subjects, usually over 1 year

Diploma 8 subjects, usually over 2 years

Advanced Diploma 8 subjects

Australian Qualifications Framework - AQF - sets out the requirements and differences

between the levels

APMM GROUP (PERTH)

Certificate IV Workshops (6 days) Principles of Maintenance Management Scope Management Planning and Scheduling Techniques Cost Management Occupational Health and Safety Performance Indicators in Maintenance

Management Maintenance Operations Planning MS Project Basic/Intermediate

Assessment by competency-certified process

APMM GROUP

Diploma Workshops (6 days) (completion of Cert IV required first) The Maintenance Working Environment Root Cause Analysis Project Human Resources Management Managing the Maintenance Inventory Reliability Centred Maintenance Quality Management

Assessment by competency-certified process

CQUNIVERSITY

Graduate Certificate in Maintenance Management

Graduate Diploma in Maintenance management

Master of Maintenance Management Print study materials Residential schools Assessment by assignments – no exams

CQUNIVERSITY

Introduction to Maintenance Engineering Establishing the Maintenance Strategy Maintenance Organisation  Maintenance Systems & Documentation Maintenance Leadership Advanced Condition Monitoring Turnaround Management Maintenance Materials Management Auditing Maintenance Systems

EIT TECHNOLOGY (PERTH)

Advanced Diploma in Plant Engineering (one of several available)

18 months by e-learning: 72 webcasts Manuals provided. Modules: Plant Engineering Fundamentals Plant Operations and Facility Management Electrical Equipment and Technology Pressure Vessels and Boilers Mechanical Components Hydraulics and Pneumatics

EIT MODULES (CONT’D)

Pumps and Seals Thermodynamics, Compressors, Fans and Blowers Piping, HVAC and Materials Handling Noise and Vibration Structural and Civil Engineering Concepts Project Management Process Management Energy Management Instrument and Control Engineering Maintenance Management Environmental Engineering and concepts Safety Management Soft skills

MONASH MRE

Graduate Certificates: Maintenance Management Reliability Engineering

Graduate Diploma in Engineering Maintenance management

Master of Maintenance and Reliability Engineering

Monash Uni subjects (called

units)

Terotechnology and life cycle costs

Maintenance management

Industrial techniques in maintenance

management

Asset management techniques

Quantitative techniques for asset

management

Machine condition monitoring and fault

diagnosis

Risk engineering

Maintenance and Reliability Engineering

Project

Basic quantitative skills for reliability

engineering

Understanding reliability

Advanced reliability

Reliability applications

ABOUT MONASH MRE

Taught by 8 people: 2 on campus, the rest “sessionals”

Study materials and teaching on line using MOODLE.

Assessment by assignment and examination (except 2 units that have project type assignments)

Exams run anywhere in the world (even on a ship).

Commonwealth Supported Places available but limited – full fees then (tax-deductible)

No residential attendance (did up to 2009)

WOLLONGONG UNI

Grad Cert (4 subjects) Master’s (8 subjects: 6 core and choice of 3

electives) Master’s has options: course or dissertation

(worth 2 subjects) Modular workshops and on-line content Face-to-face sessions weekly in Sydney

UOW SUBJECTS Modelling of Engineering Management Systems Financial Management for Engineered Assets Project Implementation and Outsourcing Life-Cycle and Risk Management Maintenance Requirements Analysis Systems Reliability Engineering

Elective Subjects Infrastructure Decision Support Asset Management System Design Managing People in OrganisationsOr Dissertation

UWA

Asset management and Reliability Engineering – short course

Weekly night classes on campus in Perth Other courses in block sessions - three 2 day

sessions or 8 days of workshopsNow included in Master of Executive

Engineering (new 2014) and MBA

OTHERS IN AUSTRALIA

Vocational Graduate Certificate in Physical Asset Management: Chifley Business School and GHD 3 x 2-day courses, plus workplace tasks)

Graduate Cert/Dip/Master’s of Infrastructure Engineering and Management: Monash University, Civil Engg Dept Off-campus learning, civil engg focus

Institute of Quality and Asset Management – certs and diplomas

AND, OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA (SOME):

Manchester University Maintenance engineering and asset management (DE option)

University of Aberdeen Safety engineering, reliability and risk management

Heriot Watt University Safety, Rick and Reliability engineering (DE only)

Rutgers University Quality and Reliability engineering

University of Arizona Reliability and Quality Engineering(DE only)

University of Maryland Reliability Engineering

University of Tennessee Reliability and Maintainability Engineering (some by DE)

UTK’S SUBJECTSCore Courses: Introduction to Mathematical Statistics Introduction to Reliability Engineering Introduction to Maintainability Engineering Process System Reliability and Safety

Electives: Applications of Linear Algebra in Engineering Systems Applications of Multivariate Statistics and Process Modeling and Data

Analysis Modern Transform Methods Random Process Theory for Engineers Statistical Methods in Industrial Engineering Reliability of Lean Systems Mechanical Vibrations Equipment and System Prognostics Empirical Models for Monitoring and Diagnostics

UTK’S SUBJECTS (CONT’D)

Also Statistics Electives: Statistical Techniques in Industrial Processes Analysis of Lifetime Data Statistical Methods Applied Linear Models Design of Experiments Data Mining Applied Time Series Categorical Data Analysis Applied Multivariate Methods

ABERDEEN SUBJECTS

Fundamental Safety Engineering & Risk Management Concepts

Statistics & Probability for Safety, Reliability & Quality

Fire & Explosion Engineering Offshore Oil & Gas Production Systems Advanced Methods for Risk & Reliability

Assessment Applied Risk Analysis & Management Process Safety & Reliability Human FactorsIndividual Project For full-time students taking the MSc Program

RUTGERSStudents must take 7 core courses and select 1 elective from the list provided.

o Core Courses

Production Analysis Quality Management Systems Reliability Engineering I Systems Reliability Engineering II Statistical Quality Control I Life Data Analysis Design of Experiments

Electives 

Forecasting and Time Series Analysis Simulation of Production Systems Manufacturing Processes and Control Maintenance Modeling and Optimization Software Reliability I Probability Applied Stochastic Processes  

STORIES OF SOME CAREER OUTCOMES

Some comments noted over the years from students/graduates

Most from around Australia, but also in every continent (OK, not Antarctica!)

Monash Uni – but similar feedback would be expected from other courses

Wordy slides, but kept as they are worth reading

A

My Grad Dip gave me the framework to understand in depth how a large maintenance department should run and the confidence to stand up there and tell it how it is!

Set me up for a career in helping organisations close the gap. 

(Set up own company).

B NEW STUDENT IN THE UK: BEFORE

Have spent a fair bit of time over the last few months looking (and speaking with course coordinators) at eg xxxxxxx uni, yyyyyyyy Uni (only 35 miles from my home so would've been ideal) and zzzzzzzz Uni who all do something similar.  However, not wishing to be patronising their modules did not seem as interesting, courses were less flexible and the universities were not as highly ranked (not even close) in global terms as Monash. In addition, their course coordinators were not as helpful- costs were all much of a muchness though.

B ...AND AFTER…. ….has been of huge worth …. … accountants need to be made aware of potential pitfalls

that they can make… could lead to the demise of the organisation. It needs good solid engineering arguments with a knowledge of life-cycle costing to make this clear to all and MRE gave me the mix between engineering and management required in modern industries or with hi-tech assets.

Being qualified in a subject that the organisation has bought into (my manager was my project sponsor) led to him taking a deeper look at the subject and ultimately gave him faith in me and what I'm qualified to provide.

The number of positions I have been offered since receiving the Master’s degree has been incredible

C THE OAM…

“For meritorious service in the fields of Marine Engineering and Engineering Management”

Captain XXXX has been an outstanding advocate of technical excellence and engineering reform over a long period, and he took the initiative in addressing systemic weaknesses and commencing correction action of cultural deficiencies in the maintenance of the Fleet’s aging Amphibious and Afloat Support ships. He worked tirelessly to improve engineering standards and took a leading role in initiating the reinvigoration of consistently correct maintenance approaches in the Fleet.

D

I have been offered a job with another company as a reliability manager. It would not be fair to not give any credit for this opportunity to the Monash MRE program. This program more than prepared me for the interview and we had a good candid discussion about where they are and where they need to go. I'm very much appreciative to you and Monash for this program.

E

The presentation was given to my planning team yesterday afternoon and some actions have been planned to be taken as a result of the presentation. Planners showed great interest in the topics and the presentation did turn out to be a very contributive and useful to the operation of maintenance planning office. Thanks a lot!

(Feedback on work done for an assessed assignment)

F

I have found the unit (indeed all four units) that I have undertaken in the Maintenance Management program to have been of real value within my job role as a maintenance practitioner.

Thanks for the level of feedback on previous assignments from this and other units. Not an experience I'm used to after studying at xxxxxx xxxxx. Greatly appreciated.

G This assignment asked me to provide a policy and a

manual for “your organization”. I work at the xxxx refinery in xxxxxx.

Therefore, the information included in this assignment is real information… I was intrigued by the thoughts of a Reliability Policy. Until I took this unit, I had never heard of a Reliability Policy and had never seen one. Today, I showed my assignment to my supervisor. I discussed the advantages of having a Reliability Policy with him and suggested that he discuss developing a Reliability Policy with our plant leadership team. He was open to this suggestion.

 One reason that I like taking the courses is that I feel that I can apply them directly to what I am doing at work.

H

I've been at xxxxxxx Power Station for 3 years now as the Maintenance Manager and loving it. There's certainly some issues here but we'll steadily work through those. 

Success in my mind was no doubt due to the Master’s course and how I applied it at my last job (and the opportunities available and taken there too, of course). …. I certainly consider the Masters one of the best career moves I've ever made.

I

Please find attached Assignment 3. I believe this has directly impacted my career, as I have been successful in furthering my career with xxxxxxx, at the LNG plant in yyyyyy. 

I will fill the role of Maintenance Team Leader, starting in Mid October - busy couple of months ahead!!!!

J AND K

Applied my learning from the unit I studied, and gained $US80000 value for my company. (US)

I would say that the MRE studies got me through the front door and through the selection criteria and then my experience got me over the line. More significantly the MRE studies gave me the confidence to apply for the job (I ended up with 5 offers) and made me want to work directly in the MRE field.  

L

I still work in Offshore Oil & Gas Industry and have earned a wider appreciation and respect for my documented operational skills. I have just left xxxxxxxx in Korea after over 3 years. Next week I start with a company in Norway as their Project Manager for some contracts in Rio de Janeiro. The company appreciate very much the experience and skills of grey-haired personnel and especially the effort of graduating with a Master’s Degree at the age of 57. The oil industry is booming and skill shortage requires those > 55's to be appreciated and sought after for their skills. (Student from Norway, but mostly working elsewhere)

M

I have gained a lot from it.  It has given a lot of structure to things I had learned on the job, as well as the huge amount of new stuff I have learn.  

It has been influential in getting 3 jobs so far.  ( The first job as a Maintenance Planning Superintendent, a second job as a Senior Project Engineer in Argentina, and now my current job as Regional Maintenance Manager). 

AND LASTLY….N AND O

I got a new job based on the fact that I had applied and been accepted into the course…..

(I do not recall him completing it..!)

Continuing to enjoy the unit, except I showed my boss this assignment which I completed primarily in my own time and he liked the fault tree and wants me to produce a FTA for conductors and connectors giving me more work. Great stuff! as my employer and I are getting value out of it, I don’t know about the extra work for me though!

:-)

TWO FINAL STORIES

The Graduate Certificate …. was instrumental in helping me become Production Supervisor at a new plant. A great opportunity for further advancement, apart from about $40K increase in salary

Within the two years from enrolment I have gone from a project 2I/C co-ordinator to a maintenance superintendent, adding around $35K to my salary. Your masters program has been a big contributor to this. The content is the underlying factor with which individuals can build the confidence needed to take the next step".

SOURCES OF INFO

Apmm.com.au CQU.edu.au EIT.edu.au Monash.edu Uow.edu.au UWA.edu.au www.iq-am.com.au And to verify accreditation:

aqf.edu.au teqsa.gov.au

WHAT’S NEXT?

Point for discussion: is there such a thing as overskilling?

What will YOU do now?