When I started on my career that lasted 36+ years, we did whatever it took to get the plant up and running regardless of “trade”. Once the union got firmly established, you would have to call an electrician to change a bulb, or a plumber to tighten a leaky faucet etc. I had already become evil management by then and some of the folks I had worked side by side with became increasingly hostile over the years and lazier as well. “Not My Job.” Pretty sad.
>>When I started on my career that lasted 36+ years, we did whatever it took to get the plant up and running regardless of “trade”. Once the union got firmly established, you would have to call an electrician to change a bulb, or a plumber to tighten a leaky faucet etc. I had already become evil management by then and some of the folks I had worked side by side with became increasingly hostile over the years and lazier as well. “Not My Job.” Pretty sad.
I agree. That is the ugly side. On the other hand, I had a co-worker get electrocuted because he thought he knew how to reset an overload, so instead of calling the plant electrician (me), he opened the cabinet door and did it himself. He pressed the reset, the motor starter pulled in and his knuckles brushed the load side of the starter sending single phase 480 (277 to ground) through his chest and out through his other hand, which he was using to steady himself by gripping the steel cabinet.
He watched me do it a hundred times and never noticed that my other hand was always behind my back...and that I pressed the overload reset with a screwdriver handle.
Like you, I did everything I could do to improve my skills so I am now a supervisor of SCADA Techs, electricians, and mechanics for a utility company. In a technical world, you have to have some specialization. Do you want a single doctor/banker/accountant/plumber to take care of your needs?