14 Ways to Acquire
Reliability Engineering Knowledge
Maria Popova recently wrote about the work of James T. Mangan and his book You Can Do Anything!
, published in 1936. In particular, she focused on one section entitled “14 Ways to Acquire Knowledge.” The article is about learning anything, which led me to thinking about how to learn reliability engineering.
So, without apology, let us explore 14 ways to learn about reliability engineering.
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We start learning at an early age, receive formal education, follow our interests, and continue to adapt to our world our entire life. These days we have many ways to learn—yet nothing is really that different than when Mangan wrote the section on how to learn anything.
The Internet does provide additional ways to find and consume information, yet it is really only variations of the list Mangan created.
Paths to Learn
The 14 ways to learn are rarely used in isolation. To teach a subject you may first read a book on the topic, then ask an expert for clarification on a few points, then do some experiments or practices a bit, before writing on the topic. Then you prepare and teach the subject.
There are many ways to learn and many combinations of ways to learn. Depending on the topic, current ability or knowledge, or resources and opportunities available you may take very different paths to learning.
Another example may be learning a hobby, for example woodworking. Based on fond memories of my grandfather’s woodworking shop (especially the smell of saw dust and cigars), I knew that I would learn woodworking at some point.
Later, while serving in the army and stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, I had time to explore the various craft shops. With time and equipment available, I decided to start learning woodworking. The desire to learn came from childhood memories and the intent to make something with my own hands.
After the safety briefings I was directed to a small library of books on the craft of woodworking. Reading about the subject helps you learn the language and provide a context for the overall process. Next, I followed the weekly public television show The New Yankee Workshop that let me observe a master of the craft.
Starting with simple projects, I quickly became involved in a series of experiments, learning what works and what does not work with specific techniques and tools. Then, practice, practice, and more practice were needed to master the techniques and tools.
At times, I learned by just asking for feedback from other experienced woodworkers on my ability and suggestions for improvement. I am still learning and enjoying the craft of woodworking today.
Plenty to Learn
Within reliability engineering there are plenty of topics to learn. Today I continue to learn about new products, new materials, and new markets where each requires a different application of the basic reliability tools. If you’re new to reliability you may need to master reliability statistics, process control techniques, and change management, all of which will help improve your ability to influence your team and organization.
If starting a new team with a charter to improve your organization’s reliability program, you may need to learn how to lead, how to inspire others, the elements of an overall reliability program, how to connect reliability activities to business and customer objectives, etc. Moreover, we all need to learn better ways to cost effectively achieve results.
This course introduces each of the 14 ways to learn reliability engineering, including how to get started, resources, and additional support for your efforts to learn reliability engineering.
Next Week: Practice
Practice make perfect when done deliberately. It’s not just 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert, it’s having meaningful feedback that matters.
In the meantime, check out the rest of the Accendo Reliability site. Tech Shorts, ebooks, Dare to Know interviews, and more on the way. Let me know what you would like to learn more about and I’ll work to get it on the site or point you to existing resources.
Be sure to add fms@accendoreliability.com to your email’s whitelist so you continue to receive the lesson announcements.
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