Читать книгу Maintaining Mission Critical Systems in a 24/7 Environment - Peter M. Curtis - Страница 23

Technology has been progressing faster than Moore’s Law. Despite attaining high levels of technological standards in the mission critical industry, most of today’s financial resources remain allocated for planning, engineering, equipment procurement, project management, and continued research and development. Unfortunately, little attention is given to the actual management of these systems. As equipment reliability increases, a larger percentage of downtime results from actions by personnel that were not properly trained or do not have access to accurate data during crisis events. The diversity among mission critical systems severely hinders people’s ability to fully understand and master all necessary equipment and relevant information.

In the past, a greater percentage of people were hands‐on, and it was natural for many families to make their own home and auto repairs just out of necessity. In doing so they became mechanically inclined and attained an understanding of how systems operate. This experience gave a number of today’s mission critical professionals a set of skills to build upon.

Today’s “Nintendo generation” is gaining a slightly different set of skills through computers, software, and video games. They are gaining valuable experience with IT systems and will have a solid foundation to continue to develop more advanced IT skills. The next step is to create a strong succession plan that teaches them how critical infrastructure operates and connects their already abundant IT knowledge to engineering. Then, existing professionals can show them how to apply that knowledge in the field.

The best strategy may be to start training successors as early as possible so, upon retirement of current staff, someone is trained with the necessary experience to take on operational responsibilities. New college programs that include internships should be developed and made attractive for young engineers. These programs need to show real career path options and align with corporate needs.

It is time to invest in our future so that the people who will be running the critical infrastructure of our country will have the necessary skill sets needed to meet and exceed our current standards. We need to constantly evolve and improve as professionals or risk becoming extinct. If not addressed in a timely and proper manner, we jeopardize the foundation of how our everyday business is run and our e‐commerce generated. Imagine what would happen if, due to inadequate training, no one fully understands how to operate and maintain our critical infrastructure before all the experience hardened experts retire.

With that being said, certified training programs should be developed by industry and instituted, so there are established standards and best practices. It is only through education and training that we can guarantee facility employees are knowledgeable about all equipment and processes.