HP Online Exclusive: It’s About the People
Change is inevitable, and we are seeing many changes in the industry that will require different skills. To gain some insights, we recently had the opportunity to talk with one of Emerson’s long-time employees.
Steve Lopez--Master Trainer for all of Emerson’s flow solutions business, has had a rich and varied 35-year career at Emerson.
Lopez started working at Micro Motion (before it was acquired by Emerson) at the age of 18 and worked his way up from there. With his trademark smile and sense of humor, he explained his trajectory, complete with twists and turns.
From that first welding job, he was promoted to weld inspector, which he quickly realized was not necessarily a good career move.
“At that young age, telling 40-somethings that their welds are not perfect did not go over well,” Lopez said.
From welding, he moved into calibration where he worked for four years while also working on getting his associates degree. After that, he worked as a bench technician for six years, which he says was something he enjoyed.
His supervisor at the time recognized his gift for gab and transferred him to customer service where he stayed for a year before moving into field service technician, working primarily in Latin America. It was an exciting opportunity that involved a significant amount of travel, but after four years, Steve wanted to be available more for his young kids. Lopez moved into training where he remains today, teaching not only at Emerson’s Boulder facility but also conducting training at other Emerson facilities around the globe.
Lopez remembers a conversation he had with his manager on his first day at Emerson, aimed at getting to know him to find out if his engaging and outgoing personality was ego driven or something that would be a valuable attribute for the training team, because ultimately the goal of training – internal and external – is to provide people with the tools they need to effectively do their jobs and excel in their careers.
That conversation sparked an acronym Lopez applies to all he does: PRAB – perception, reaction, attitude, balance (as in work-life balance). Essentially, he teaches that your perception of a situation informs your reaction and your attitude and that it is important to have a balance in your life; as that again determines your ability to perceive the nuances of a situation which in turn informs your reaction.
To Lopez, training is a critical piece when it comes to ensuring the success of a company or project.
“Not just technical training, but also soft skills or people-skills training and equally important is mentoring,” he says. “There is a big new wave of workers moving from school to the workforce at a time when another large group is retiring.”
To mitigate the growing manufacturing skills gap and loss of institutional knowledge, Lopez is a strong advocate of mentoring.
“In my own career I’ve benefited from others seeing my potential and helping me move along the chain and today it is something I feel passionate about and encourage at every opportunity,” Lopez said.
Lopez has also taken new hires under his wing and helped guide them in their careers.
“Knowledge transfer is so important right now with the changing of the guard that’s taking place,” Lopez said. “I’m not just talking about the old skills or work processes, but just the legacy knowledge of systems and equipment. Knowledge transfer is something we at Emerson strive to include in our work and the onboarding of new hires.”
When thinking about the new generation of technicians and engineers entering the workforce, Lopez smiles and reflects on how different things are now from when he first started. The new workforce
“Fortunately, much of our technology is digital, capable of remote sensing and data is stored in the cloud. But the importance of hands-on training is still crucial. For example, if you get a work order to go out to a refinery in Texas in the summer and you’re wearing your fireproof suit under that Texas sun, you can’t look something up on your phone,” Lopez Said. “You need to know how to troubleshoot the meter, reset the transmitter and make the necessary adjustments. Most of the time you aren’t even allowed to use your phone for security reasons.”
Lopez emphasized the value of hands-on learning, which Emerson offers in its training, its interactive Plant Environments, and new Performance Learning Platform. The platform is a customizable skid set up to represent the different equipment a technician will be expected to work on including meters and transmitters. This learning platform is available in Emerson training facilities but is also available to companies and colleges to make learning practical.
He stressed that one of the reasons Emerson has stepped up their training offerings is there is a very real and growing skills gap in manufacturing. A gap that may mean millions of jobs going unfilled by 2025.
The company is focusing on enhancing on-the-job training at their facilities, investing in trade-school partnerships and sponsoring universities to prepare workers at all levels for the manufacturing jobs of the future.
Lopez says Emerson has brought much of the needed skills training in-house, training their own trainers, like himself, who can walk a new employee or student through every step of the manufacturing process and how to apply that knowledge on the shop floor.
To Lopez, it is important that someone training at Emerson learns the steps involved in the process. He makes sure that students understand everything he has taught before they can progress to the next level.
Emerson promotes STEM education at all education levels and has highly active groups throughout the company, such as Women in STEM engaged in community outreach.
The need for skilled workers who understand the processes will not go away anytime soon, from welder to engineer, they all need solid training in the STEM principals that drive the processes.
When asked about some of the biggest changes seen during his time in the industry, Lopez explained that he has seen a lot of technological advancements. From built-in diagnostic tools to wireless data sharing that make the work of technicians and engineers easier.
Emerson now has meters with software built into the transmitter that can monitor flow in great detail and will send out an alert if there is a change that can potentially spell trouble in the line long before a technician can tell. These types of advances make operations more efficient and safer.
Throughout his long career, Lopez has had several standout moments, but he tells us they are all about connecting and making a difference in people’s careers and lives.
Though there is one experience that he will never forget. It was during his years as a field service technician and it was the first time he prepared for and landed—by helicopter on an offshore oil platform. Lopez received real-life simulation training prior to flying out to ensure his safety.
The memory of landing on the oil platform and the remote possibility of a water landing made him realize and appreciate the importance of the training he received. Lopez said the experience still gives him chills.
Looking back at his career, especially as a trainer, it is the little—human--interpersonal things that stand out the most for Lopez. Those are the moments that give him the satisfaction of knowing he has made a difference and had an impact.
“From my perspective,” he concludes, “no matter how far technology advances, it will always be about the people. Good people working together are what makes the difference every time. It’s why I still enjoy coming to work every day. That and knowing I am helping prepare the next generation workforce for the company.”
Comments