Hey – I’m not paying you! Anyone could have thought of that!
Then why did you call me? Really?
This applies to so many scenarios in life. A person solves the problem and after the fact the solution seemed obvious.
Most of us heard or re-told the story of the plant where the machine started to break down every week when the engineer retired.
The frustrated plant manager called the engineer who was busy playing golf; however, if he could get access early in the morning he’d swing by.
The thankful manager took the retired engineer to the faulty machine and when requested, pulled the on lever.
A moment later the engineer directed stopping the machine. He reached into his tool bag, pulled out a hammer and tapped the machine 3 times.
He asked the manager to run the machine again; the engineer, upon listening carefully for a moment, suggested this would not happen again for some time and recommended maintenance.
He casually wrote a bill for $5,000 causing the plant manager’s face to turn beet red.
The manager refused to pay the bill for the 15 minutes it took the engineer to solve the problem.
The engineer revised the bill to $100 based on $400/hr for 15 minutes plus $4,900 for knowing where to hit the machine.
The knowledge a consultant or engineer retains is the value – not the time.
Process engineers are an interesting group of people.
According to Wikipedia process engineering is the understanding and application of the fundamental principles and laws of nature that allow humans to transform raw material and energy into products that are useful to society, at an industrial level.
Manufacturing process engineers require hard and soft skills. These skills include: critical thinking; communication; performing under pressure; analytical; computer; strategic planning; business; negotiation; and creative thinking.
Food manufacturing can be very tricky.
The liquid aseptic industry requires all of these skills and more to implement knowledge of chemistry, physics, and biology to enable a food designer to bring their product to commercial market.
Do you have what it takes to be a food manufacturing process engineer?
What are your thoughts or experiences?
Liquid - We Make It Easier! we pride ourselves on having some of the best process engineers in the #aseptic industry.
If anyone is considering a move, consider giving us a call.
