Kelly Tymko, Industrial Mechanic/Millwright

Confidence Required

Confidence Required

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"You have to be willing to try a lot of things. If you're willing to try things and outgoing, in the sense that you're not scared to take something apart and put it back together, you have potential for sure."

The Job Scope

The Job Scope

An industrial mechanic maintains, installs and modifies industrial machinery of many different types.

Troubleshooting is a big part of the job. You basically make sure that production machinery or building systems are working properly.

A millwright installs new machinery and sets up new systems or plants. Of the two, it's more of a construction type of job and means you could move around quite a bit.

It's Never Dull

It's Never Dull

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"A lot of times we'll be doing something that's scheduled and all of a sudden a machine will go down and we have to react to that to get that machine up and running again.

"So you never know what you're going to be doing over the course of a day. You'll be flying all over the place and the next thing you know the day is gone."

My Boss

My Boss

I report to a Lead Hand. He supervises two other millwrights, our apprentices, an electrician and me.

Our Lead Hand will usually have a good grasp on what everybody's responsibilities are for the day. He'll have work orders made up to do jobs on certain machines.

Most of the time we give him the input on that and let him know what needs to be done. We find that out from our preventative maintenance runs or from breakdowns.

Lots of Variety

Lots of Variety

As an industrial mechanic I do a lot of troubleshooting and repair to machinery.

But there's a wide range of responsibilities and skills that you can acquire in this trade: machine mechanical, carpentry, plumbing, some electrical (if you're in a union shop), pipefitting, heating and cooling systems and even working with cranes sometimes.

It's amazing how many different things you can do in this work.

Where I Work

Where I Work

Located in Winnipeg Manitoba, Palliser® is Canada's leading home furniture manufacturer, providing a livelihood for over 5200 people.

Palliser funds a philanthropic foundation that shares profits with communities around the world and continues to build value with values.

Always Busy

Always Busy

I like to build things and I like to fix things. I'll go and buy a book on my car or my van, like a shop manual.

I work mostly days but I'm on a 5 week out of 6 rotation. So for one week I'll go on an evening shift, which is nice too. You get a lot of stuff done at home when nobody is around.

Fix It!

Fix It!

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I rarely call someone into my home or to fix my car. I'll try to find out what the problem is on my own with my own two hands instead of hiring someone to do it and not learning anything out of it.

"I kind of pride myself on that - that I can fix almost anything."

Started Young

Started Young

I worked with my Dad on farm machinery up until I was 12 or 13 when he sold the farm. I guess that's where my interest came from and I got some of my mechanical ability from doing it.

I always leaned towards becoming an industrial mechanic more than an automotive mechanic because of the variety. You get to move around a lot more. I just think it's a more interesting job.

Outdoor Life

Outdoor Life

I have a quad and a snowmobile and I enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. You name it and I'll do it if it's outside.

Manitoba is one of the best places to live as far as I'm concerned. We have all the seasons here: spring, summer, fall and winter. I enjoy every one of them with my outdoor activities. The mosquitoes we could do without!

Home and Work

Home and Work

My boy is 10 and my daughter is 6.

The only challenge is that, with both my wife and I working full time, we need someone to look after our kids in the summer.

When they're in school and both of us are working, it's no problem.

Surprises

Surprises

One night, as soon as I walked into the plant my Lead Hand caught up with me and said we had a breakdown on one of our important machines.

The soft-former glues plastic edges onto particle board. Glue from the melting pot had run over and gummed up a chain and a bunch of sprockets. When it cooled down, everything was seized up.

I was elected to take this apart, clean it out and get it back up and running. It took most of the night.

A Typical Repair

A Typical Repair

Once you get into the machine you have to find out what you need. Then you go to the maintenance department and deal with the parts people. You look at parts manuals and go through drawings to get the parts ordered.

Then you have to go back to the machine's operators and tell them it's going to be two days before you can get the parts. Everybody's got to be informed. If you forget once, it comes back to haunt you.

Even a Nut

Even a Nut

Recently I repaired a molding machine. What happened was an ACME thread nut had stripped and caused a certain adjustment on the machine to seize.

So I had to take that apart and go to our parts room and find out if we had another nut, replace it and get the machine running again.

Making Parts

Making Parts

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"We have to get that machine running, and if it's a particular part that's not available locally through some of our power transmission dealers, we have to sometimes make those parts here in our own shop.

"And we do have a lot of the equipment that's necessary to do that."

The Pace

The Pace

Evening shift can be quite hectic. We have a lot more help on the day shift.

Often you're running around constantly. Somebody wants his machine fixed because he's got orders that need to get out and a guy on the other end of the plant has a problem and wants you to go there.

So you learn to use your own judgment based on what you think is the priority. It's hectic, but it's really not a stressful job.

Having an Apprentice

Having an Apprentice

Basically whenever an apprentice is either looking over your shoulder or you're telling him what to do to give him hands-on experience.

You're constantly explaining things as well and if they're really interested, they'll ask so many questions that it may take longer to fix the machine. But it's very worthwhile because they're learning something from it.

Up in the Air

Up in the Air

Just the other day there we were working out of the basket of a crane. We were 100 feet up in the air! Some people don't like it but I don't mind it. All safety precautions are taken with harnesses and clips.

That's what I mean about liking the variety. There's always something different in a day, even though I'm based at one plant.

I come to work here every day and there's enough work that I don't have to go to other plants.

Noise

Noise

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"The noise levels in the plant are quite high. Hearing protection is a must. I've been working in a noisy environment for probably ten years now."

Muscle Power

Muscle Power

There are times when you have to do some heavy work and carry shafts or motors, but only for the short term. Most of the time it's not bad. There are certain situations where the problem's hard to get at and we have to use our muscle to get in there and fix the job.

The company wants you to use lifting equipment if at all possible. Nobody wants accidents so if you can use proper lifting equipment, then you do.

Hot!

Hot!

When the temperature goes up outside it gets hot in the plant. We have a humidification system to keep the wood at a certain humidity level to avoid cracking or warpage.

If you can imagine a day that's 35 degrees outside and the humidifiers are keeping the humidity at 70 percent in the plant, you basically could just stand there and sweat.

But there are only a few days like that when it is unbearable.

College

College

In the beginning, I took Introduction to AC and DC Fundamentals and Electric Motors. I took Arc Welding and Machine Shop in the evenings at Red River.

I showed promise in the field and the next thing you know I challenged my level one as an Industrial Mechanic and passed. I was on my way and it's a decision I'm very happy I made.

I went on to do my apprenticeship Level 2-4 training through Keewatin College.

Apprenticeship Training

Apprenticeship Training

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"It was an excellent time, to go up there and to go to school and meet people and stay up there for that time.

"It was part of the experience and I wish I could almost do it again."

Key Skills

Key Skills

Technical Skills:
- mechanical
- computer
- some electrical

People Skills:
- communication
- negotiation and persuasion

Business Skills:
- customer satisfaction
- problem solving
- organization and planning

First Steps

First Steps

I used to sell a lot of the equipment that I work on now. Then I topped out in my wages as a purchasing agent at Palliser.

At that time I was already doing work on the side or helping the guys out on the floor, fixing this or welding that. I started thinking that maybe I should get into a trade and that I could make better money.

So I took some night courses at Red River and went on from there.

Negotiating

Negotiating

Sometimes operators or supervisors don't want to give up their machines for maintenance because they have deadlines to meet.

We have to negotiate with them and say "Okay, if you don't give us this machine and this particular part fails it's going to end up being down for a lot longer. Why not just give it to us now for an hour or two?"

Basically they're pretty cooperative if we can negotiate with them.

Moving Up

Moving Up

I would like to assume a supervisory position in the future. I can see myself possibly becoming a Lead Hand, overseeing and coordinating the work with other mechanics.

Future of the Trade

Future of the Trade

The technology has changed somewhat. A lot of the new machines are computer controlled and expensive. That's where learning the electrical part comes in.

But every machine that manufactures still has mechanical components that need looking after. There are cutters and moving parts to be maintained.

Moving parts are not electronic, so there's always going to be a lot of work for an industrial mechanic.

More Responsibility

More Responsibility

We do machine modifications to improve production or for safety.

There were two incidents where people got hurt on the same type of machine so Workplace Health and Safety came in. I was asked to give input into what I thought could be done to improve the safety on these machines.

As a result, we implemented changes and took care of the problem. We have 5 or 6 other machines that are now undergoing the same modification.

A Special Project

A Special Project

One of the projects that I really took pride in was setting up a preventative maintenance program for the central division at Palliser.

It's very successful. The number of breakdowns and the condition of the machines compared to what they were a year and a half ago is unbelievable. It's really made a huge difference.

Leadership Courses

Leadership Courses

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Palliser, if you qualify or if they feel that you're a candidate for a Lead Hand, they will put you through courses that they offer at this plant.

"They have outside companies come in and there's leadership training, different levels of it that all Lead Hands go through right now."

Job Market Info

Job Market Info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official title for Kelly's occupation is 'Construction Millwrights and Industrial Mechanics' and its NOC* code is 7311.

Manitoba Job Futures

Manitoba Labour Market Information
(Select Manitoba, the Area in Manitoba, NOC code 7311, then click Search)

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship

Trades Training @ School
You can register for this trade while still in school and earn money part-time. The Senior Years Apprenticeship Option allows you to log hours toward your certification and earn credits toward your high school diploma. After you graduate, you're already part of the system and can continue to work and learn your way to journeyperson status.

Apprenticeship Branch of Manitoba Education and Training
(204) 945-3337 or toll-free 1-800-282-8069
The Apprenticeship Training Coordinator for Industrial Mechanic/Millwright is:
Charlie Moar
(204) 945-1407
cmoar@gov.mb.ca

Education

High School

Useful High School Subjects:

- Mechanics
- Physics
- Math
- English
- Physical Education  

Source: Job Futures.ca  

University College of the North - The Pas/Thompson
All Programs
Apprenticeship Training - page 20 of the pdf
Trades Qualification - page 48 of the pdf

Assiniboine Community College - Brandon
All Programs
Trades Division - pages 201-226 of the pdf

Winnipeg Technical College
Industrial Maintenance Technology

Industry Association

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) - Manitoba Division is Canada¹s leading business network and senior business association. CME members account for 75 percent of Canada's industrial output and 90 percent of its exports. Over the past seven years, they have been responsible for over 45 percent of the new jobs created in the Canadian economy.

CME has established alliances with universities, colleges and training organizations throughout Canada. This ensures the availability of adequately skilled labour and enable Canadian companies to compete in today's global economy.

 

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