If you are 30-something or perhaps a little younger and you have parents who were (or possibly still are) part of the electric power industry workforce, you owe them a big thank you. Why? Because if you’re not already aware, those individuals – and the rest of their so-called Baby Boom generation – were primarily responsible for creating the world’s most robust and (so far) most reliable electric power network. No small task, to say the least, and one for which there has been far too little public recognition over the years. (If you doubt that, when was the last time you read an article about how well our power system has been working?)
In any case, there’s a huge problem looming on the horizon that we all keep hearing about but that few are actually doing anything about - yet. That problem is our aging workforce, and it promises to be not only one of the most formidable challenges the power industry has ever faced, but also one that will be with us for many years (and generations) to come. The good news is that there is still time to react; the bad news is that too many utilities are NOT reacting and possibly won’t until the ceiling comes crashing down on them.
According to a new survey by staffing giant Manpower Inc., three of the top ten hardest-to-fill jobs are engineers, information technicians and call center operators; all positions critical to the operation of any utility regardless of size, type or location. Moreover, three of the remaining seven areas experiencing shortages – sales representatives, administrative assistants and accountants – also play important roles throughout the utility industry.
Another survey of the public power workforce published by the American Public Power Association in 2005, entitled “Work Force Planning for Public Power Utilities: Ensuring Resources to Meet Projected Needs,” found that half of responding utilities projected that more than 20 percent of their employees will be eligible for retirement between 2005 and 2010. “Skilled trades” were identified as the occupational group with the most likely retirements within that five-year span, as well as the most difficult positions to fill.
Some of the other highlights from the 2005 APPA survey include:
• 63% of respondents identified “skilled trades” as being among the utility positions with the most likely retirements over the next five years
• 52% of respondents indicated that vacancies among the “skilled trade” positions would be among the most difficult to fill
• 64% of respondents believe that retirements will pose either a moderate or very great challenge to their utility
• Twice as many respondents in 2005 believe that retirements will create a “significant challenge” for their utility than in the 2002 survey
• The most significant challenges created will be the loss of knowledge due to retirements, the difficulty finding replacements, and the lack of bench strength within the organization.
In my opinion, this last item is the real zinger! Loss of knowledge here does not just mean losing people with good educations. Although that is certainly also an issue as well, what it really means losing people with the implicit know-how to get the job done without having to look it up in a book, consult with others or resort to trial-and-error methods. This is about experiential knowledge, the kind that takes a lot of years – and often lots of mistakes – to accumulate. It is also the kind of knowledge that cannot be easily compressed into a crash course like an executive MBA. No, this is the kind of knowledge that only comes with time and experience, and a whole lot of that kind of knowledge is on the verge of going away forever unless we do something to preserve it.
Fortunately, there is a lot that actually can be done to keep from losing the vast pool of knowledge that is, in fact, the glue that has held the equipment, systems and devices together over the past 50+ years, often well past the manufacturers’ specified useful life for those elements. How did we manage to do that, one might ask? Simple; by using good old imagination, ingenuity and innovation – the same techniques that we need to apply now before it’s too late.
About two decades ago when I was still doing a lot of work in the process industries – right around the time that our domestic automotive industry was getting its wake-up call from Japan and Europe – I remember seeing quite a significant surge in knowledge-capturing technology in the industrial world. There were heads-up displays built into headsets, glasses or goggles and tied to belt-mounted microcomputers (among the first of their kind at that time) as well as expert system shells, software designed to enhance early rule-based expert systems. That period also saw rapid advances in the storage technology that would be needed to accommodate huge amounts of digitized information from service manuals, inspection logs and maintenance reports.
What happened to all of that? I would like to be proved wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find that we have a lot of young engineers in our ranks today that don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. Even some of the more senior folks may have simply forgotten that this stuff exists or have written it off to theoretical nonsense. Still others may not even be aware of these tools because they were originally developed outside the tightly woven cocoon of utility R&D departments.
Whatever the reasons, it’s time to take a look around to see what we can do to capture the knowledge that we have taken for granted for so long that we can’t even imagine a world without it. Digital Web cameras and microphones that can see and hear what happens when “Fred” (or “Sally”) goes out to Station 23 to tweak a relay and expert systems that can actually learn what works and what doesn’t without having to blow up Station 23 are actually here… now, today. These things don’t have to be invented or developed; they just have to be used and properly applied.
There is a catch, however. You have to find every Fred (or Sally) in your organization and make sure that you connect them to these tools. Don’t wait too long though, the clock is ticking and Fred and/or Sally won’t be around in just a few years from now. So, let me make the message clear: Wake up before the most important part of our workforce goes to sleep forever – and whatever you do – please don’t hit the snooze button; it could cost a lifetime of progress.
_____________________________________
About the Author
Mike Marullo has been active in the automation, controls and instrumentation field for more than 35 years and is a widely published author of numerous technical articles, industry directories and market research reports.
An independent consultant since 1984, he is President and Director of Research & Consulting for InfoNetrix LLC, a New Orleans-based market intelligence firm focused on Utility Automation and IT markets. Inquiries or comments about this column may be directed to Mike at MAM@electricenergyonline.com.
©2006 Jaguar Media, Inc. & Michael A. Marullo. All rights reserved.
In any case, there’s a huge problem looming on the horizon that we all keep hearing about but that few are actually doing anything about - yet. That problem is our aging workforce, and it promises to be not only one of the most formidable challenges the power industry has ever faced, but also one that will be with us for many years (and generations) to come. The good news is that there is still time to react; the bad news is that too many utilities are NOT reacting and possibly won’t until the ceiling comes crashing down on them.
According to a new survey by staffing giant Manpower Inc., three of the top ten hardest-to-fill jobs are engineers, information technicians and call center operators; all positions critical to the operation of any utility regardless of size, type or location. Moreover, three of the remaining seven areas experiencing shortages – sales representatives, administrative assistants and accountants – also play important roles throughout the utility industry.
Another survey of the public power workforce published by the American Public Power Association in 2005, entitled “Work Force Planning for Public Power Utilities: Ensuring Resources to Meet Projected Needs,” found that half of responding utilities projected that more than 20 percent of their employees will be eligible for retirement between 2005 and 2010. “Skilled trades” were identified as the occupational group with the most likely retirements within that five-year span, as well as the most difficult positions to fill.
Some of the other highlights from the 2005 APPA survey include:
• 63% of respondents identified “skilled trades” as being among the utility positions with the most likely retirements over the next five years
• 52% of respondents indicated that vacancies among the “skilled trade” positions would be among the most difficult to fill
• 64% of respondents believe that retirements will pose either a moderate or very great challenge to their utility
• Twice as many respondents in 2005 believe that retirements will create a “significant challenge” for their utility than in the 2002 survey
• The most significant challenges created will be the loss of knowledge due to retirements, the difficulty finding replacements, and the lack of bench strength within the organization.
In my opinion, this last item is the real zinger! Loss of knowledge here does not just mean losing people with good educations. Although that is certainly also an issue as well, what it really means losing people with the implicit know-how to get the job done without having to look it up in a book, consult with others or resort to trial-and-error methods. This is about experiential knowledge, the kind that takes a lot of years – and often lots of mistakes – to accumulate. It is also the kind of knowledge that cannot be easily compressed into a crash course like an executive MBA. No, this is the kind of knowledge that only comes with time and experience, and a whole lot of that kind of knowledge is on the verge of going away forever unless we do something to preserve it.
Fortunately, there is a lot that actually can be done to keep from losing the vast pool of knowledge that is, in fact, the glue that has held the equipment, systems and devices together over the past 50+ years, often well past the manufacturers’ specified useful life for those elements. How did we manage to do that, one might ask? Simple; by using good old imagination, ingenuity and innovation – the same techniques that we need to apply now before it’s too late.
About two decades ago when I was still doing a lot of work in the process industries – right around the time that our domestic automotive industry was getting its wake-up call from Japan and Europe – I remember seeing quite a significant surge in knowledge-capturing technology in the industrial world. There were heads-up displays built into headsets, glasses or goggles and tied to belt-mounted microcomputers (among the first of their kind at that time) as well as expert system shells, software designed to enhance early rule-based expert systems. That period also saw rapid advances in the storage technology that would be needed to accommodate huge amounts of digitized information from service manuals, inspection logs and maintenance reports.
What happened to all of that? I would like to be proved wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find that we have a lot of young engineers in our ranks today that don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. Even some of the more senior folks may have simply forgotten that this stuff exists or have written it off to theoretical nonsense. Still others may not even be aware of these tools because they were originally developed outside the tightly woven cocoon of utility R&D departments.
Whatever the reasons, it’s time to take a look around to see what we can do to capture the knowledge that we have taken for granted for so long that we can’t even imagine a world without it. Digital Web cameras and microphones that can see and hear what happens when “Fred” (or “Sally”) goes out to Station 23 to tweak a relay and expert systems that can actually learn what works and what doesn’t without having to blow up Station 23 are actually here… now, today. These things don’t have to be invented or developed; they just have to be used and properly applied.
There is a catch, however. You have to find every Fred (or Sally) in your organization and make sure that you connect them to these tools. Don’t wait too long though, the clock is ticking and Fred and/or Sally won’t be around in just a few years from now. So, let me make the message clear: Wake up before the most important part of our workforce goes to sleep forever – and whatever you do – please don’t hit the snooze button; it could cost a lifetime of progress.
_____________________________________
About the Author
Mike Marullo has been active in the automation, controls and instrumentation field for more than 35 years and is a widely published author of numerous technical articles, industry directories and market research reports.
An independent consultant since 1984, he is President and Director of Research & Consulting for InfoNetrix LLC, a New Orleans-based market intelligence firm focused on Utility Automation and IT markets. Inquiries or comments about this column may be directed to Mike at MAM@electricenergyonline.com.
©2006 Jaguar Media, Inc. & Michael A. Marullo. All rights reserved.
