In the quest to FIX-IT FORWARD to develop a pipeline of skilled technicians, we need more to get in the battle and do the face the face in the trenches combat to win young hearts and minds of future generations.

Have you heard the Maintenance Crisis Song?

Below are just some of the few places it has been played:

To be more competitive companies must train. However, with escalating costs and the need to develop a new generation of workers, companies have every right to be concerned about the added expense.

However, not training is not an option as Pete Little, retired engineer said, "Training might be expensive, but not training is extravagant."

So below are some ideas to help you and your company maximize your training dollar. Hope you enjoy and perhaps add more to the comment section below.

With the ambient anxiety in a society of over 700,000 attorneys of being constantly careful of not offending has created a fake interaction where we can no longer tell people what they need to hear but what they want to hear.

This week is a perfect week for more to recognize the sacrifice, talent, ingenuity, and hard work of group of unsung heroes that many do not fully appreciate, respect or even understand.

Perhaps I should hold this discussion for Labor Day but as we are entering the US day of Independence, July 4th, I have time give pause and reflect at all of the people I have encountered recently who are applying for a job or those not willing to do common sense things to survive, not just succeed on the job.

Well, as reliability guru, Ron Moore wrote in his book "Making Common Sense Common Practice" is not easy and common sense is indeed quite rare especially in the country that cherishes independence and free will to do whatever we want.

So what are you doing to build a solid pipeline of skilled technicians?

Believe it or not, right now as this blog is being posted, eleven, hand picked high school grad and several rising seniors, are attending their summer youth development orientation by vocational school instructor at a renovated old elementary school that now serves as a job resource center.

September will mark four years since the greatest economic slide since the great depression. With the volatility, divisiveness, uncertainty of another election year and pendulum shift of between left and right, is your business ready for another economic plunge.

Why is this issue important to the Maintenance and Reliability profession?

Don't you love the Lean revolution? Has it not saved businesses, increased efficiencies,driven change, made businesses more competitive, increased profit levels?

The Lean Revolution was created to help businesses cut their "fat" or waste of their operations. However, have some companies gone too far?

Many people only think maintenance technicians just fix machines and do not factor in the environmental conditions that add to the complexity and challenges for this noble profession.

For example, an engineer from near Mumbai India just shared that they super busy striving to get their regular workload accomplished, while simultaneously preparing for the rainy season.