Advertisement Joel Levitt, Life Cycle Engineering Because so few people have put a value on a supervisor actually supervising, many managers unfortunately fill up the supervisor’s day with paperwork, exacerbating the problem. If I asked you how much time your maintenance supervisor spends on the shop floor, what would you say? Being in a supervisory role doesn’t make someone an effective supervisor. They have to develop their skills as a supervisor the same way they learn any craft. The job of maintenance supervisors is to get the maintenance work completed on time, on budget and safely!, They can be popular. They can be great communicators. They can be inspired trainers. They can be great repair people. But these things alone do not make successful maintenance supervisors. They are not successful maintenance supervisors unless they can keep the machines running, the fleet rolling and the occupants warm in the winter. When does an active supervisor look like when he is no longer bogged down in an office doing paperwork? Active supervision occurs when a supervisor spends substantial time on the shop floor helping workers solve problems. As strange as it might sound, on the psychological level a supervisor might have to be both mother (nurturing and supportive) and father (strict and tough) to members of the crew. Active supervision encompasses several roles: Ongoing performance monitor: The supervisor knows how long each job should take and checks it periodically throughout the day. A four-hour job issued in the morning should be done by the lunch break. When the jobs fall behind, the experienced supervisor thinks about how best to intervene. In some cases it might be logistical help, helping with equipment, or providing guidance about how to proceed. In some cases what’s required is a kick in the pants! In other […]