Trouble shooting

brain55 · May 31, 2010

Having spent the last 8 years as a field mechanic for a landscape contractor I understand the issue with operators not knowing their equipment. Project Managers are even worse.

PM - My tractor is broken.
Me - What is wrong with it?
PM - I don't know, I am not a mechanic.
Me - I'm not asking you to be a mechanic. Can you at least tell me what part quit going up and down or round and round.
PM - Let me call my guy.

Two minutes to two hours later
PM - My guy doesn't know what is wrong with it.
Me - Never mind, where is the machine?

I tried countless times to explain to these guys that I knew the equipment well enough that there was a good chance that if they got me close, I probably knew that the problem was and could tell them what to do, or make sure I brought the right parts with me to fix the machine. Another big issue was teaching them the difference between not starting, and not cranking.

Brian

Transit · May 31, 2010

mmurphy said:
Probably about the best advice a guy can give. We directed a guy to do his own oil change in his truck. Now this guy was in his mid 40's at the time, so we never thought anything about it untill he kept coming back for more and more oil. He was waiting for the oil to get to the top of the motor. Sounds crazy but, we assumed he knew. Turns out he never ever even checked his own oil not alone changed it, always was done at some ones service shop. So my point is also we assume when people ask anything we may really not have a clue what they are really meaning, and yes the operators do need to take time to learn the operation of the machine.

Missing drain plug? :laughing:

mmurphy · May 31, 2010

Some times the trouble shooting needs to go back to what was last done. When I did machining work, (lack of a better word) and setup at a factory, you would find a great amount problems an operator would have would be very curiously right after they did a tool change or another adjustment. The big problem was getting the truth to come to the surface. It was a interrogation process some times!!!!

AKKAMAAN · May 31, 2010

mmurphy said:
Some times the trouble shooting needs to go back to what was last done. When I did machining work, (lack of a better word) and setup at a factory, you would find a great amount problems an operator would have would be very curiously right after they did a tool change or another adjustment. The big problem was getting the truth to come to the surface. It was a interrogation process some times!!!!

The problem many times with this interrogation, is that the "suspect" think he answers truthfully on your question, but in fact he didn't really understand your question, so his answer put trouble shooting on the wrong path....Sometimes you have to consider that "suspect" having knowledge like a kid, and formulate your questions accordingly....

The technical language spoken, gotta be well known on both sides of the table....

brain55's post is a good example...

brain55 · Jun 1, 2010

I didn't even get into things like:

The Kubota is broken
Which one?
The little blue one
You mean the New Holland?
No, the little blue Kubota

ugh!

mmurphy · Jun 1, 2010

Yes Akkamaan, I agree. I know most of them did have a problem comprehending why it made a difference untill the truth came out. I am not saying it was on purpose but, Friday's were an awful busy day.:confused2:

And Brain, "yes it is doing that one thingy". Now I am just really having a little laugh thinking of some things I would hear, and do know they were most of the time quite innocent.:laughing:

I guess my point would be follow the trail of events. At a ethanol plant I worked at, they had a "historian" in the software that recorded every time a PLC would react to its program. It was an excellent way to pinpoint some problems that just could not be seen, like when this machine or process quit working out of the last 5 times, this valve on another process did this or that everytime just before it failed. O.K. maybe I am getting a little far off!!!!

oldnslo · Jun 1, 2010

Come on now guys, the simple answer is "It just Don't work". That was one of the most frustrating service calls I ever was on. Machine I had never seen before and the only information given was " It just Don't work".

After some time I managed to find out who usually operated this machine and started asking him some questions. Turns out there was a blown fuse. Was a very Expensive 20 amp fuse

Roy