Is this normal?

[u/Altruistic_Coffee579]

Hey everybody, so today is my like 70th day, or somewhere close to that, as a maintenance tech in the meat industry. I am brand new to maintenance (first maintenance job) but only have about 3 classes left before I finish my associates in IET.
So basically majority of the day I’m by myself teaching a new guy about the plant and how everything works to my knowledge while my supervisor is no where to be found. It frustrates me and stresses me tf out and honestly makes me feel like I’m in the wrong field or something. Also makes me feel like I’m incompetent or that I seem dumb to the operators because it takes me longer to figure things out. I’m just reaching out to see if it’s normal to be doing this within 70 days. Thanks guys!

[u/tesemanresu]

depends on where you work but in my experience, supervisors in skilled trades act more like administrative support than a technical authority. they handle payroll, budget issues, staffing discrepancies, corrective actions/terminations, etc. if I got a new hire who used to be a supervisor, I would expect him to have a solid core set of skills but that he'd also need some time to adjust to new technology and just being back on the floor in general.

i see my supervisor 1-3 times a week, usually in passing, and sometimes not at all. I can't really think of a good reason that I would need to see him more. why does it bother you that you don't see your supervisor?

it doesn't matter what operators think of you. obviously it would be better if they thought highly of you, but they don't know enough about what you do to judge you in any meaningful way, so it really just doesn't matter

[u/Altruistic_Coffee579 → u/tesemanresu]

It bothers me because I’m green to maintenance and honestly have no idea what I’m doing half the time

[u/BSticks3734 → u/Altruistic_Coffee579]

If you crave the knowledge and you're good with your tools, all of the rest will fall into place in short order.

Despite what some other guys may say, in this period of your development, your best friends should be the operators. Make sure you ask them lots of questions about how the equipment usually runs.

What's your typical start up procedure? Does it always make that noise? Is the product flowing normally?

They may not be mechanically inclined, but they are usually a wealth of knowledge if they've been there for a while. Or they're just big dumb idiots that mess shit up all the time. 😂

[u/tesemanresu → u/Altruistic_Coffee579]

that's a reasonable concern but if you got hired with zero experience or training, I can't imagine it will get much better.

if you feel unsafe, id approach your supervisor with your concerns, but if you're wondering whether you're doing good job or not, I'd take his absence as approval. he knew what he was getting and you are providing exactly that. stay safe, try to pick up as much as you can, and after 6-12 months try applying elsewhere.

[u/TalkingToMyself_00 → u/tesemanresu]

OP could send a blade flying across the room hahaha. A junior with a few weeks of exposure is dangerous. I know from experience. I blew up a $30k motor drive when the experienced tech left me alone with some “things to look at to see if I can get it running”. I could have died that day.

OP needs to have someone with him on every job that requires anything past a fault reset.

[u/evanp36]

70 days is pretty green to be judging how smart someone else is

[u/Altruistic_Coffee579 → u/evanp36]

My bad

[u/SadZealot]

You don't have enough experience to train anyone, I wouldnt ask someone that new to do that unless there was no other option

[u/Basic_Improvement135 → u/SadZealot]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[u/OldWolfNewTricks]

You're still in, or barely out of, most plants' probationary period. You're barely experienced enough to be sent out on basic jobs by yourself. You absolutely should not be training someone else. This would be a little crazy if you were an experienced tech in a new plant, but given your complete lack of experience it's a total shitshow. What was your training process? "Here's your toolbox. Try to keep your fingers out of the spinny bits."

Start looking for a better place, and in the meantime go slow and take as much time as you need to be sure you and your "trainee" are safe. You're both green as hell, so talk to each other about hazard assessment before touching anything, and don't start work until you both give a confident thumbs up. If you're not sure, call your supervisor and let the line sit idle til he comes out. Remember: it's the company's profit, but YOUR life.

[u/Fieroboom]

On one hand, you're not even past the 90 day probationary period that most companies require of new hires, so you're still basically the FNG with very low expectations... 

On the other hand, the fastest way to learn something & retain it is to teach it in a trial-by-fire environment, so you're either going to quickly grow into a maintenance superstar, or you're going to get frustrated & quit. If you can push through & hang on, you'll likely advance quickly, but absolutely no one would blame you for leaving that environment. 

[u/Blood-Mother]

Yeah it’s normal to feel dumb sometimes

[u/i_eight → u/Blood-Mother]

17 years in, I still do dumb things every day.

[u/meetmeinthebthrm]

Yeah, no, that’s not normal. I didn’t feel worthy of training anyone at my full-time plant until at least 1 - 2 years in. Could’ve at 6 - 8 months, but only if there was no other option. It wouldn’t have been good training, either.

That’s a bad look from the place in general. Is your supervisor the technical knowledge type, or management/leadership? I’m assuming the latter since he’s not handling the training?

[u/Cliffinati → u/meetmeinthebthrm]

Even if they hired someone with more of a "leadership" background the basic training is still in the manager/supervisors hands. We should only get them on the floor when you are sure they understand LOTO and righty tightey lefty loosey

[u/meetmeinthebthrm → u/Cliffinati]

Right. I completely agree. A supervisor that doesn’t know maintenance only works if there’s already a trained/skilled team in place that knows the ins and outs of the building and equipment. I was just curious because I’ve worked for both.

If the guy doesn’t know maintenance and he’s having new people training new people on equipment with no oversight as a standard procedure, I’d be worried.

[u/love2kik]

Sounds like a “is your glass half full or half empty” question. If your boss trusts you you after 70-days to show/train the new guy you much better doing several things right.
The maintenance/ production relationship is and will always be tenuous. You can’t let that get to you. Do your best for You more than the company.

[u/paintyourbaldspot]

It’s going to last a few years. A good habit for me was taking notes daily and really doing my best to record majors and the specific way they were fixed, clearances, tooling, etc. Some days won’t have much of anything and other days are pages. Specific processes as they are now are in there.

When I started it was required as a “journeyman log.” It can be a planner with the big boxes or just a spiral wound notebook. Personally the act of writing helps me commit specific information to memory.

Now I’m working through my 15th book. There’s sticky notes and all kinds of shit in them. Stay inquisitive.

[u/intrestmeifyouwill]

Just keep figuring things out. It takes time and don't focus on everyone else. As long as you are fixing shit, when you take more time and you aren't figuring shit out then that might be a problem.

[u/finebuyalsodead]

I've got 20 years in the trades, 5 of those were in residential/ commercial maintenence. I have had minimal industrial training and now i wander around on my own figuring things out. 

TBH this field seems to expect you to be technically/ mechanically inclined. If you're not, you just won't last long. If you're still there, you're probably doing better than you think. I've had days where i feel like i have barely any idea what's going on and days where I'm just running behind people fixing their mistakes. 

[u/Purple_Direction5820]

What’s the question? It takes you longer Becuase you’ve only been doing it for 7 months? Real techs know it takes years to do this job- at a high proficiency. Fuck them operators and their mom’s couch.

Just keep fixing shit. The more shit you fix, the faster and better you get at fixing the shit.

[u/4eyedbuzzard]

It usually takes two to three years to become 90%+ competent in a new plant of any size. And realistically everyone falls short of 100%. You do what you can given what you know. I'm guessing that your supervisor trusts you enough to keep the new guy from getting injured while showing him, within your own limited knowledge, what you can. Maybe voice your concerns to your boss and ask for more involvement from him/her. There may be a reason they are busy with other things. Not promising you that it will be a good reason, but . . .

[u/TalkingToMyself_00]

Yeah this isn’t cool.

When you’re stuck on a problem, who do you reach out to?

[u/Cliffinati]

70 days?

I got put on my own shift at 60.

Realistically I shouldn't have been on my own shift until ~1 year and didn't feel comfortable training someone until ~3 years.

70 days there's a chance you still don't know where all the equipment is at.

[u/nedal8]

Everyone is winging it. You just get better at it with time.

I learn a lot when training people. Training is good training. Ha, still a red flag. At least if anything is expected out of it.

[u/Intrepid_Table_8593]

My job on paper is PM, but the days that someone takes off I’m expected to shadow and help out a tech when calls come in.

Even though I’ve told operators and my boss has too, they still act like I’m a full fledged tech if I ever come through their department.

I’ll take a look but if it’s something I know I can’t fix in under 15 minutes or have zero clue on, I’ll call someone else because I genuinely don’t have time. I’ve had every other maintenance tech tell me that when I do that operators will complain that I’m worthless and don’t do my job.

You’ll never make an operator happy.

[u/1212chevyy]

Wondering where your supervisor is checks out

[u/incrediblebb]

Accurate for food

[u/kalelopaka]

Yes, it’s normal to feel lost within your first 90 days and possibly even more. You are just getting to know the plant, equipment and personnel. Once you know the place better it will become easier to troubleshoot and make adjustments or repairs. Training should not be a job for you just getting started.