What Do I Do? Factory Job

My dad asked me a question recently. 

"Chick, what is it, exactly, that you do?". 

This was in reference to my new job, which I'm still settling in to and figuring out, so I couldn't give him a proper answer right then and there. But it did get me thinking about what I did in my previous job...

When I was in varsity, my folks asked me a similar question:

"Chick, your degree is a very good degree, but once you're

finished studying, what, exactly, will you be able to do with it?"

There is pretty much no straight answer to these questions. As students we were told by our unforgettable Maths lecturer that as engineers, we are taught to think and solve problems.* I think that sums up pretty well, what engineers do. But it's also incredibly broad and still leaves you with no idea of what I would do on a daily basis. 

So, in a nutshell, here are some of the things I did in my previous job:

• Learnt something new most every day
• Helped to look after and maintain the software that controlled our factory operations
• Debugged code (and either fixed it myself or got others to fix it for me) when it was causing issues in factory operations, for example when:
• Valves stayed open/closed and tanks overfilled/didn't fill up - incorrect mass set points in the code
• A software sequence was stuck on a step - it was waiting for another sequence to end so it could use the same device
• Helped process engineers to optimise code by testing and monitoring proposed sequence changes with them and noting if it was physically possible or not
• Co-ordinated weekly maintenance planning meetings and followed up on planned maintenance activities carried out by the artisans
• Tracked breakdowns that occurred in the plant and put together action plans to improve the ICE (instrumentation, control and electrical) issues
• Attended project meetings
• Got called out a lot, in the middle of the night, when my team were battling to solve a software related issue or troubleshoot on the code (definitely the worst part of the job!)
• Worked on stabilising our control systems by facilitating the upgrading of our servers, sorting out licences and ensuring future projects took the control systems into account
• Helped to co-ordinate a supply chain graduate induction program in my second year (not exactly engineering, but such fun!)
• Maintained and kept track of any software change requests that needed to be sent to our 3rd party software guys
• Helped to commission some projects

This device is one of many that I had to learn to troubleshoot
on at the factory

The key is learning how to interpret the
error messages (and knowing when it's
time to replace the entire unit!)

It was a pretty stressful job, but I learnt so much from it and got to work with the most incredible team. This is just one of many types of jobs that engineers end up in. My current job will be very different from this and once I get my teeth into some proper work, I'll update you on what else an engineer does!

So, now, I hope that you have a better understanding on possible jobs that an engineer can be involved in. 

And, if you're an engineer, what does your day-to-day job involve?

*He also told us that the only three things you need to remember in life are:

1. Your wife's name. 

2. Your wife's phone number. 

3. Where you left your car keys.

And the rest of the things can be worked out if you think about them carefully enough. 

(This is difficult if you're a straight female...but I think it illustrated his point quite well:) ) 

Workplace Heros

I started writing this ages ago and found it when I was scrolling through drafts of posts - enjoy!

At my factory our jobs are hard. We're the factory that the whole business has been complaining about, week after week, for months. They 
forget that we've just completed major project, and have more projects coming, that will require us to somehow keep the factory running at full production even though we're changing major aspects of the factory.

Among the people in my team, there are those who stand out to me as workplace heroes. They are the guys who get called in at all times of the day and night to fix something that isn't theirs to fix. The guys who are in the top 10 of my favourite dialled list, just because I know that if I call them, they will be able to give me advice and help me out. The guys who have smiles on their faces whether it's 2am or 2pm. 

They somehow manage to still be interested and crack jokes with you after a frustrating session of problem solving and they're the guys who never stop learning and asking questions.

These guys are the ones who keep our factories running under hugely stressful work conditions. They're the ones who get by on minimal sleep because everyone else calls them when they have an issue. The ones who get called when people don't know what to do next. The guys who somehow still manage to be patient when explaining something they've explained a thousand times before, to a fresh-faced university graduate with no idea what's potting.

They're the guys you want on your team when you're faced with a problem that you have no idea how to fix.

I've now left this team behind and saying goodbye to these guys was something that I was not looking forward to. At the start I wasn't sure how I would fit into the team. When I left - one of them told me that when you work in this team, you become like family. This post is for those guys in my factory maintenance family - I learnt so much from all of you and am honoured to have worked side by side with you!

Goodbye Hello

"Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life..." 

- The Verve

I'm feeling extremely bittersweet about moving on to a new job. At times I feel so fed up with thinking for other people and sorting out issues that aren't mine to sort out, that I would be happy to walk out the door at that instant. And then, 5 minutes later, I start to feel extremely sad at leaving a bunch of people who I've worked closely with for the last (almost) two years.

There's a list of things that I'm not going to miss that runs through my mind on a daily basis, but for every "thing" that I won't miss I have at least one "counter-thing" that I will miss.

I will miss teaching the people who have a genuine thirst for knowledge and who use that knowledge to go out and improve the plant. To see someone use what you have taught them, it something incredibly rewarding.

I won't miss teaching the same people the same thing, day and and day out, who come to you with an issue expecting you to solve it before they've even looked at the issue themselves. It's soul-destroying and frustrating.

I will miss meetings that turn into an impromptu chat with the other 1 person who is also on time, where you learn more about work and the history of the factory than you would have from the meeting that was meant to happen.

I won't miss going to meetings where arriving on time is considered to be early and the word "late" does not seem to exist in peoples vocabulary. Neither do the words "Sorry I'm late" exist.

I will miss the fact that when I've been called out by one of my team, no matter what mood I'm in, somehow I always leave with a smile on my face.

I won't miss the job and the fact that I work at a place that never sleeps. Ever. And the guilt of missing calls or not being able to help when you're far away, even though it's not even your problem to begin with.

I will miss being able to disappear into the factory for hours at a time when I have nothing to do in my office and a craving to walk around. No one ever questions someone walking around the factory, making sure the lines are running smoothly.

I won't miss my heart speeding up and adrenaline coursing through my veins every time my phone rings - because usually it's someone from work. I won't miss being complained to but not ever given a solution for those same complaints. Being told about problems that don't concern me and being expected to fix them or know why they're there. Repeating myself day in and day out, reminding people (who are grown ups) to just do their jobs. Going to battle every day, suited up in white coat, earplugs and hairnet. Banging. My. Head. Against. A. Brick. Wall. 

I will miss the people. The individuals who commiserate with me when I'm frustrated and celebrate with me when we get something right. The ones who have been at the factory for years. And the ones who have been here for a few months. I will miss our Engineering morning meeting prayers. How everyone greets each other, no matter if you've seen that person 3 times before that day or if you're complete strangers. Planning fun events for new grads with a group of people who are based at all our different sites. Trips to Durban HO. The laughs I share with my team and learning about people who are so different to me in so many ways, but similar to me in the ways that count. I will miss learning and interacting with company leaders who challenge our points of view. Promising to go for coffee breaks with colleagues every day, almost going to a coffee break (and then one of us gets called to look at something) and then finally, actually going for that break about 2 weeks later. 

Maybe one day I'll come back and see how the factory is looking. Maybe I wont. Either way I'll be sad to say goodbye. On the flip side, I'm excited for what the future hold and new challenges that are coming my way. I'm down to single digit sleeps until my last day. I can hear Cape Town calling!

When My Phone Rings

I was chatting with some colleagues the other day and apart from the fact that we work in the same place, we all had one other thing in common. 

When our phone's ring, our hearts sink.

It doesn't matter whether it's the middle of the day in the middle of the week, in the evening, early in the morning or over the weekend. If it's the middle of the night, as I struggle to get my brain cogs turning, I know for sure that this sinking feeling is an indication that in the next 5 minutes I'm going to have to drag myself out of bed and go to work.

The first thing that any of us think any time that we hear our phone ringing is

"bugger, what's gone wrong at the factory now? I hope I don't have to go in."

We never think, oh, it must be my friend calling to meet for drinks or dinner. The thought of parents calling to say hello is the furtherest thing from our minds when our phones ring. 

Instead our hearts start pumping and adrenaline starts building up, preparing you for the inevitable call to work because something has gone wrong and you're the lucky person who has to go in and fix it - possibly for unknown hours on end.

Even when we're expecting a call from someone, that feel of dread rises up until we see the number. If we're lucky enough that it's a friend or family member, we start to breathe and calm the panic that started to flutter in our stomachs. If it's someone from work, you can be guaranteed that in the next minute or so you're going to need to drop what you're doing and prepare yourself to go to battle. Yes, battle. Adrenaline then really gets pumping and only stops when you've solved the problem and are back home.

Private numbers are the worst. 

Because at work all the landlines are set to private number. You should generally answer private number calls during business hours. Even though private number calls also turn out to be those annoying people who are trying to sell you another cell phone contract or insurance that you don't need and can't afford. Or it's some bloody annoying person/program that calls your number 5 times a day EVERY DAY and hangs up as soon as you answer the phone. 

I've taken to waiting a few seconds before saying hello when I get called on private number, because if it happens to be that stupid "hanging up" person I want to waste as much of their airtime as possible. Then I suspiciously speak and only once the person has introduced themselves to me (and I've verified that they're not from work or trying to sell me something) then I become friendly.

I don't know if other people have this problem with their work. But we do. And the fact that my colleagues feel the same way that I do makes me feel a little better about hating it when my phone rings. 

It's Not Personal, Just Business

This week my factory colleagues and I went away for an over-night trip so that we could reflect on our year and plan how we can ensure that we set ourselves up for a good year next year. It's been a tough year for the factory, however, we're starting to see a more positive trend and want to be able to carry that trend into next year and exceed expectations by pushing our limits and the limits of those around us.

I got to interact and chat with people that I don't talk to very often. The most rewarding of these chats was during breakfast on the second day. I was sitting with a group of ladies and two of them shared with us painful experiences that were incredibly similar. Their outlook on these experiences and the faith that they displayed while telling the rest of us their stories was incredibly inspiring. They both believe that things happen for a reason and that there's a bigger plan that God has for each of us. Even if it didn't make sense at the time, they've put complete faith in Him and feel no bitterness towards the events from their past.

I came away from that breakfast with new admiration for two women who I don't know very well. It made me realise that even though there are people that I work with every day, there are many people who I know only on a work-related level. This time away gave me a chance to connect with some of my colleagues on a deeper level that we just don't get to do when at work.

Sometimes it's easier to not know someone's story, especially in a work-related environment where it's "not personal, just business". But when you know someone's story, it's much easier to understand him or her as a person. In the end, you're working with people, not robots. Even if you work in a factory full of machines and computers. By understanding the person you'll be able to get that much more out of them by pushing them to achieve in a way that they will understand and react to. If you can get each individual to achieve and push their limits, then the group achieves. And the business is happy. 

So, it may be "just business". But I hope that by pushing myself to get to know my colleagues at a more personal level, I'll be able to do better business that if I knew them at only a superficial level.

Let your colleagues inspire you!

Post-Its and Papered Walls

I completed a 3 day planning workshop for a major, complex project we're about to launch at our factory. Wow. By the time we had finished, the pristine white sheets of paper that we had stuck over the walls and windows of our room had become littered with coloured post-it notes and kokie lines. I now view post it notes, markers and white sheets of paper stuck on walls in a whole new light.

I know a lot of people (especially a few of my girl friends) love to use post-its to place in their diaries, on their fridges and as quick thank you notes to friends. I've come to see this as a conventional use of post-its. 

This week, myself and the guys (yes, all the rest of the team were guys) spent time classifying and writing big tasks on post-its, then breaking up the big tasks into smaller tasks and writing them on post-its. Then breaking those tasks into smaller tasks on post-its. Each post-it had the task, name of person responsible, company, estimated duration and set of 3 or 4 filter "tags" written on it.

Hard at work writing post it notes

Then all the post-its were ordered according to logical sequences and processes and a temporary pencil line was added in to show the link between tasks. Each post it and all the accompanying information was then captured on to the computer as part of a database. During capturing, each note was given a corresponding number (according to the database number on the computer) and a red dot, to indicate it had been captured on the computer. Notes with a blue dot were used to indicate a delivery of something. Then processes were linked, and during this time, a blue line was drawn indicating links between the different tasks. By the end of our 3 day period, we had something looking like the below image and an ultra complicated project breakdown.

Discussing process and logic sequences

Part of our final project plan according to post-its

I've never been part of a big project planning session and this was an extremely enlightening exposure to an amazing project planning technique and tool. For the new people (like myself), our facilitator's aim was to ensure that we understood the project planning process so that going forward, we can facilitate other project planning sessions. I'm sure that I will be able to use this tool going forward, as it's applicable to all projects, not only engineering ones. However, this is only the beginning and our facilitator will have regular check-in sessions with us to track our progress and I'm sure there's still a lot to learn from him about the project planning process.

Cape Town SAGirlEng Event

Last Saturday my colleague and I had the privilege of going to speak in Cape Town for the Western Cape SAGirlEng event that was held at UCT.

SAGirlEng is a branch of the SAWomEng initiative which was started by Mabohlale Addae and Naadiya Moosajee in 2005 with the aim of encouraging more female involvement in the engineering sector. It's an NGO and has a few different branches:

SAWomEng GirlEng - aims to expose high school girls to the idea of engineering as a career through information sessions, workshops and mentorship sessions with university students.

SAWomEng Conference - university students from across the country come together to participate in team driven projects which cover social and engineering problems and require the teams to come up with an engineering solution to these problems. The students are also exposed to different sponsors of WomEng, meet other females who are actively involved in the industry and network with fellow lady engineers.

SAWomEng@Network - allows practicing female engineers to network and acts as a means of guidance for career development as well as encouraging them to carry on pursuing a career in the engineering field.

Click here to find out more about the SAWomEng initiative.

We were asked to give a presentation at the GirlEng workshop event and included information on the different types of engineering and how engineers fit into our company as a lot of girls at high school don't really know the different types of engineering options that they have. We were able to expose them to the different types of engineers that we use in our company and give them a few details on what the different types of jobs involve. There was also a presentation given by a representative from the CBEm(Council for the Built Environment) which was extremely informative. You can read more about them here. After the presentations there were lots of questions from both the high school girls as well as their university level mentors. They ranged in topic, some were technical, some were general, but all of the questions allowed us to uncover a bit more about engineering, the "working world" and what it was all about.

This was my first interaction with SAWomEng and I really think that this organisation has an amazing idea, so much so that I've just completed my registration with them! Encouraging more girls to enter into a technical degree is something that I feel incredible strongly about - I only wish that I had had proper information on what engineering was about while I was at high school. I fell into engineering through chance and "luck" - imagine how many more people would pursue a career in engineering if they were exposed to it at a high school level!

Take a peek at some of the pics below that I took at the event :)

Hat Decorating

More Hat Decorating

In my pink hat after decorating.
I had a lovely time chatting to some of
the young ladies who attended the event.

SAWomEng - thanks for such a great event!
I look forward to the coming events

Challenges

One would think that being one of the few females in the overwhelmingly male dominated world of maintenance would be one of the biggest challenges I've faced at work. Not so.

It took a few months to prove myself to the team (as one needs to do) but I can honestly say that the team I work with haven't ever treated me differently just because I'm a lady. I work closely with the guys from the ICE (instrumentation, control and electrical) team and I have to say that these guys have always treated me impeccably, I regard them as brother/uncle figures and have the utmost respect for all of them.

So, if being a female in my department is not my biggest challenge, then what is it? It's a thing that's not quite tangible. It belongs to no one in particular, yet it affects my whole team. It's the group mindset.

My department is currently in the process of trying to step change our performance using a variety of tools and theories. One of these tools is the implementation and effective use of check-lists in order to perform maintenance more efficiently. We started getting check-lists going about 6 months ago and we've had an uphill battle trying to convince our guys of the value of this. Finally, we've got to a stage where we have got check-lists for almost all of our lines and we have got our artisans filling them in on a daily basis.

During this time I have come to understand that breaking through the group mindset is something that needs to be done when you are trying to implement something new. There have been huge learnings that I have come away with, here are some of the most important ones:

• Upper management support is essential in order to implement new processes and procedures - we've recently had a new manager take over our department and since he has joined us we've been receiving support and guidance from him that we were lacking earlier on.
  
• You need to follow up on a daily basis and actually do it - we now check the check-lists every morning after our 7 am meeting as this is the time that the whole team is together.
  
• You need to keep repeating yourself. Again and again. And AGAIN. Repeat the same message until you start to feel like a stuck record. And then repeat that same message until you're blue in the face. Eventually, people will get the idea that this thing is here to stay.
  
• Explain the reason for this new idea or thing you want to implement. People are logical and if you can show them how this will give an improvement they're much more likely to buy into the idea. Keep on repeating this logic to them.
  
• Show the results. After a few weeks, you should start seeing results. Communicate this to the team so that they can see the benefit of the new procedure/activity that is being implemented.
  
• Sometimes, you need to shout at people. You need to (and excuse my french, I'm quoting team members here) "kak them out". Show your frustration. But afterwards, if you see an improvement, give recognition where recognition is due. 

In the last month I, along with other leaders of my department, have done all of the above. And we're seeing results. The best thing about it is that other departments are also starting to see the results of our efforts and, for the first time since I've started working here, people are commenting on the good work that the team are doing (instead of complaining about having too many breakdowns on the line).

We've still got quite a road to travel, but I think we've turned a corner and even though different challenges will be popping up, this is one challenge that has taught me a huge amount and in the future hopefully I can use this to be more effective at changing mindsets when faced with another new idea that needs to be implemented.

Margarine 101

So, as I briefly mentioned in my About Me page, I work at a factory. On my site there are a number of different factories producing a number of different products, but at my factory we produce margarine. Of all the exciting factories I could have been allocated to, I was allocated to the margarine factory.

As you can imagine, I (a dedicated butter eater) had been allocated to work at a margarine factory. In the maintenance department. No other females in my office. It was TOUGH. I mean, really tough. For the first 6 months I was not a happy person. I missed Frosty. After spending almost 3 years together seeing each other every day I had to go months weeks without seeing him. I had no clue what I was meant to be doing. I was just dropped in the deep end and left to figure out where I fit in to the department.

After about 6 months, I finally started to get into my groove. I started helping the guys in the ICE (instrumentation, control and electrical) team troubleshoot and solve maintenance issues with the software that controls the processes in our plant. I've now been driving software and ICE in the maintenance department and we are slowly seeing improvements. Yesterday there was an issue similar to one we encountered a few months ago. A few months ago it took us a WHOLE WEEKEND to solve this problem. Yesterday, once we identified the problem, it took us about 2 hours. Middle of the night call outs (for me at any rate) are decreasing. We're starting to see the light!

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering how marge gets made. More importantly, I'm sure you're all sitting there thinking 

          "Finally, someone who can answer me this age old question! Is
           margarine black at any stage of the process?"

You'll be surprised to discover that NO at no stage in our process is margarine BLACK!

Let me explain to you the basic process of margarine making (without giving away any secrets), and then you can decide for yourself if you believe me or not.

Recipe for Marge

Ingredients

Oil (mainly sunflower, can add other types of oil too)

Water
Brine
Milk Whey
Minor ingredients

Method

1. Refine the oil, add a few secret ingredients and store it in a big tank (Oil Tank).
2. Mix together the water, brine, milk whey and minor ingredients and store in another big tank (Aqeous Phase Tank).
3. Mix oil and aqueous phase together in desired fat percentage (lets say 50-50, to make life easy) and store in another big tank.
4. Pass the oil through a series of heating units (heat exchangers) and chilling units (Margarine Processing Units). The temperatures are essential for the correct formation and breakage of crystals and need to be controlled to varying degrees of precision - ask your nearest marge processing engineer what these temperatures are.
5. Once the marge has got the correct consistency, pack it either into tubs (for the lower fat % marge) or bricks (for the higher fat % marge).
6. After packing the marge, store it in a cool place to allow final crystal formation for a few days.

And there you have it, folks. Marge 101. And I'm sure you'll agree with me, it's impossible for oil and water mixed together to turn black.