How can I motivate my mechanical tech to get his work done? 6

[flukeynub]

I'm an entry level mech. engr at a semiconductor plant and have been tasked with being the system owner for the site's HVAC (general and 3 cleanrooms) and their related water systems. Part of this is ensuring that all the equipment is operational and up to date on PMs.

As I am inheritting a system that has not been maintained properly, there is a lot of work to be done but I can't seem to get our mechanical tech (contractor) to stay on task and complete his work in a timely manner.

Does anyone have any advice on how to get him motivated without having to hold his hand through each task or going to the service contract account manager?

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Cry me a river - Tell him/her to get it done in a reasonable amount of time - if he/she fails three times in the near future - they are gone!!

 

[KENAT]

The 3rd party contractor is being paid to provide a service.

If they are failing to provide this service to the standard required, then yes it's ethical to end the contract with them.

If I take my car to the garage for an oil change, and they don't have it done on the day promised, is it ethical for me to never go to that garage again?

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[MacGyverS2000]

Ethical? Just? I do not think these words mean what you think they mean, Vezinni...

It's not my job to babysit every employee and make sure they do their job... if they're capable of doing it and know it needs to be done, that's all it should take. If I have to babysit or demand it be done, they're gone. Nothing unethical, and it's certainly just!

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[bigTomHanks]

tz101 you have made some very good points but as others have pointed out this person is a contractor. With some contractors it is obvious why they are where they are at. They can't perform the basic functions of holding a job, ie showing up/ontime, completing the work, etc. I have "let go" many contractors for these reasons. As a manager I had to cycle through the guys enough to get the work done at the end of the day. There are also a lot of contractors who are great employees, who do it for the elevated salary and other factors. These are typically the high tech types and I don't want anyone to confuse those with the ones I am referring to. As I said, you made some very good points that I feel a lot of people don't understand. Many times no matter how well built a team is, if the leader is a jerk who can't motivate or mentor then eventually, everyone will sit on their hands and do the bare minimum. I have found that by treating my employees well they would go the extra mile for me when I needed them most. When I did have to let someone go who couldn't be salvaged, my employees stood behind me and trusted that my decision was fair and warranted.

 

[berkshire]

Removing the excuses works with employees and contractors alike.
If you have removed the excuses and the job is still not getting done, then your next step is to remove the contractor.
B.E.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[patprimmer]

tz101

So many on here are of the "fire him" or "look for a replacement" mentality.

Did you actually read this thread. That was not the majority of advice given. That was fairly evenly mixed with a great variety of advice. The advice varied because of lack of relevant data on which to base it.

Fire his ass may well be the appropriate, depending on WHY he is not doing the job as required. It is unethical to fire people for no good reason. It is also unethical to waste your companies money paying for unsatisfactory service.

Regards
Pat
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[jmw]

By the way, this is turning into another of those posts where we talk amongst ourselves.
No feedback from the OP.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[tz101]

Lots of tough guys on this thread. I just hope the OP can sense the right methods to use with this subordinate.

 

[flukeynub]

Honestly, I hadn't seen any of the constructive (non-fire his ass/get someone new) comments the first time I read it and this situation has gotten somewhat better since my original post.

I ended up making a structured, written and prioritized list of tasks to be done that he had not been tracking himself. In short, he realized how far behind he was and brought out an apprentice (at his company's expense) to help catch up on the high priority tasks.

Hopefully this trend will continue on its current trend and keep getting better.

 

[patprimmer]

Sounds like a good outcome to me. It seems it was simply a matter of tactfully but clearly making him aware and also letting him know you where aware of the shortfall.

Regards
Pat
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[berkshire]

""I ended up making a structured, written and prioritized list of tasks to be done that he had not been tracking himself. In short, he realized how far behind he was and brought out an apprentice (at his company's expense) to help catch up on the high priority tasks.""

There you go, now stay with it.
B.E.


The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor