Human Resources: The Missing Link to Plant Reliability

What role does the human resources department play in the reliability of your plant?

In today’s industrial environment, HR has traditionally focused on recruiting, training, and succession planning for skilled craftsmen. Over the past decade, many companies have trimmed these functions to cut costs, assuming that on‑the‑job training (OJT) alone will prepare new hires. However, OJT without a structured framework often leads to inconsistent skill levels and self‑induced failures.

Do these statements describe your organization? A clear understanding of HR’s role is essential for sustaining reliability excellence. Without proper talent management, improvements in planning, scheduling, or reliability engineering cannot be maintained.

Three core HR functions are critical:

• Recruitment
• Training
• Succession Planning

Short‑sighted cost‑cutting has caused these areas to deteriorate, leaving maintenance departments ill‑equipped to meet today’s labor demands. Below we examine why each function has faltered and how HR can reverse the trend.

Secondary Vocational Programs

The 2004 National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) reported that while overall participation in secondary vocational education has plateaued since 1992, enrollment in trade and industry courses has fallen. Many students now enroll in vocational electives for reasons unrelated to an entry‑level career, indicating a mismatch between school offerings and industry needs.

Academic reforms—such as expanded graduation requirements and increased emphasis on core academics—could further erode vocational pipelines.

Apprenticeship Programs

Data from the National Registered Apprenticeship System (NRAS), gathered through the Apprenticeship Information Management System (AIMS) across 36 states, shows a 15% decline in registered apprenticeship programs from FY2000 to FY2003. Manufacturing‑category programs fell 14%, translating to a 14% drop in apprentices during the same period.

OJT is frequently the sole training method today, with budgets eliminating any semblance of formal programs. While OJT can be effective when properly designed, it often fails to provide depth for critical skills.

Consider a scenario where a new technician, with less than one month on site, is tasked with training a colleague. Such rapid, informal knowledge transfer introduces avoidable errors and compromises reliability.

Demographic Shifts in the U.S. Labor Force

The 2004‑05 Occupational Outlook Handbook projects a 43.6% increase in the 55‑to‑64 age group from 2002 to 2012, while the 35‑to‑44 cohort shrinks. The primary working‑age group (25‑54) is expected to decline by 4.3% over the same period.

These trends, coupled with the shift from goods‑producing to service‑providing industries, will reduce the talent pool for industrial maintenance. Of the ~2 million projected openings in installation, maintenance, and repair (2002‑2012), less than half result from growth; most stem from replacement needs.

Furthermore, a generation increasingly comfortable with computers over tools adds cultural resistance to maintenance roles.

How HR Can Respond

Re‑establishing strong foundations in recruitment, training, and succession planning is the most straightforward way HR can mitigate these challenges.

Recruitment

Employ a mix of traditional and innovative sourcing: online job boards (e.g., Monster, Hotjobs), professional headhunters, and veteran transition programs. With a shrinking skilled labor pool, creativity and proactive outreach are vital.

Training

OJT must be structured and complemented by formal instruction for higher‑level skills such as mechanical alignment, welding, PLC programming, and equipment calibration. HR can develop Job Task Analyses (JTAs) to identify essential competencies and design targeted curricula.

For lower‑level tasks—lubrication, inspections, preventive maintenance—a disciplined OJT framework ensures best practices are taught, not habits. Even experienced hires need a tailored onboarding program to bridge facility‑specific gaps.

Where feasible, formal apprenticeship or vocational‑style programs—combining classroom, hands‑on, and on‑the‑job training—provide a consistent, measurable path to competence. HR can partner with maintenance managers to formalize such programs and meet state or federal requirements.

Succession Planning

Planning for future retirements is not an after‑thought. A proactive succession plan identifies critical roles, assesses talent gaps, and creates development pathways for high‑potential staff. This prevents last‑minute hiring and preserves institutional knowledge.

Conclusion

HR’s influence on plant reliability cannot be overstated. By prioritizing recruitment, structured training, and forward‑looking succession planning, maintenance and HR leaders can align their strategies to meet the impending talent shortage and safeguard operational excellence.

Johnny Maldonado is a senior consultant for Life Cycle Engineering, a company specializing in reliability and maintenance solutions. For more information, call 843‑744‑7110, e‑mail jmaldonado@lce.com or visit www.lce.com.