AM-10-120 Craft Performance Improvement Using Mentoring Programs

Description:

Maintenance organizations have introduced increasingly sophisticated and complex processes in an effort to increase efficiency. The process for training craftpersons must also evolve to develop technicians fully capable to participate in these structures. A key aspect of any model for training craftpersons is the mentor process. The mentoring practices of the past do not support the demands of today’s modern industrial maintenance organizations. In order for maintenance functions to fully capitalize on their investments, the craftperson must be up to the challenge, both technically and behaviorally. Training programs must emphasize both. A key business solution to accomplish this is a craft training program that includes a new model for mentoring. Mentoring programs offer an effective lever for increased utilization of maintenance systems. Based on our experiences implementing mentoring systems at several industrial facilities including two refineries, we present an overview of what works (and what doesn’t work) in craftperson mentoring.