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How can we expect others to perceive us as professionals?

Partially in response to Keith Mobley’s blog about the “image” of maintenance and also Angelo’s blog about Management’s Leadership Commitment:

I just returned from one our industry’s premiere conference event – held in a cold, windy northern city in the basement of an old urban convention center.

It is going to be hard to write this email without it seeming like a bunch of sour grapes so if it sounds like sour grapes – then sour grapes it is as I think this is important to say.

We all talk about the problem that maintenance is perceived as a bunch of grease monkeys with dirty hands (I used to be one so I can say that) and that we need work to upgrade the perception of professionalism of the “Reliability” worker and manager. In fact that is one of the stated goals of the sponsoring organization of this particular event.

There were plastic buckets hanging from the ceiling to catch the water leaks with mold and rust all over this conference center. The expo was held in a basement and the meals were held in an old broken down gymnasium. You could rarely find a bottle of water or a cup of coffee without going outside the conference center.

We cannot ask others to raise their perception of our professionals when we are not willing to do so ourselves.

On the bright side – I am prepared with some really good answers the next time someone asks my opinion about how we can raise the perception of maintenance and reliability as a profession. It seems like there are really easy steps we can take to get started.

- Terry O

Posted by Terrence O'Hanlon on Nov 7, 2008 8:29 AM EST

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Terrence O'Hanlon

Date Posted: Nov 11, 2008 at 6:47 AM

Ed, I was not attempting to place responsibility on the facility maintenance crew - as I am sure you are correct - they are making due and doing the best they can with much less than would be required to make that place function. I was referring more to the set back in perception created by hosting the event in a run down venue. All of us that participated have to accept responsibility. I for one will be much more selective where to apply my reputation in the future. Terry O

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Angelo Agresti

Date Posted: Nov 10, 2008 at 9:03 PM

Performance has nothing to do with your qualifications or title. Respect (or even better, appreciation of your efforts) is the result of delivery of required performance. If we as understand how our function interacts with the other operation systems then we can communicate this to others. Also we can deliver the results that will help others develop a perspective which value our contribution. If we do not posess persal mastery (self respect, self awareness, emotional intelligence there might be another element to Personal Mastery that I have forgotten) then we will always doubt our abilty and contribution, we will not be able to see the 'others perspective' and we will tend to argue our cause instaed of clarifying the system dynamics of our collective circumstances. Back to the conference .... if the organising body chose to use a crappy venue then they have rocks in their head. Why do they expect any particpants to attend their next event of this is the standard of experience they provide? The venue owners however are in a precarious place ... why do they expect anyone to use / return to their venue if it is in such a run down state? How would their insurere feel if they thought the building was in a state that couse cause injury to the occupants / public? In both cases it is as Terry has suggested - we can not expect anyone to develop a perception that values the maintenance function contribution unless the plant / assets under our care demonstrate the required / expect performance.

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Terrence O'Hanlon

Date Posted: Nov 9, 2008 at 9:05 AM

There is the issue of the parts of the business we cannot control - and as Sniffer states - how participation is structured says a great deal about how the function of maintenance is held. Perhaps it is an inward look toward self mastery (I finally got the Peter Singe book) where we can each make the most difference. I am not convinced we can demand to be perceived as professionals as the viewer gets to pick the perspective. If the viewer (our CEO, our plant manager or the business community in general) is not seeing the professionalism within our community - where does the responsibility lie?

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