What is it like to work as an Onshore Field Mechanical Maintenance Officer? This article focuses on the career of Joseph Tandoh who has a degree in mechanical engineering and experience working in a food and beverage plant, a power plant, and now works in the oil and gas industry. Joseph works for Quantum LC Company Limited and is based in Ghana.

Work and Skill Of Onshore Field Mechanical Maintenance Officer

Background

Were you interested in science and engineering when you were a child? Did you like understanding how things worked? Can you give examples?
I was interested in Science and Engineering from early in my education.
When I was a child, I wondered how a car could move from one point to another. Also, I was intrigued about the design of a train to be able to pull so many coaches. Around the home, I thought about how home appliances like a freezer, blender, water heater, etc. worked.
Was there anyone in your family or at school who guided you towards engineering? Why did they suggest it?
Nobody guided me towards studying and working in engineering, instead the passion came from within, or in other words I had a passion for it. The fact is that I came from a very poor family and poverty was really affecting my family, so I left home and went to stay with some people as a house-help. So, I actually grew up in that house. It was in the same house that I developed a strong passion for mechanical engineering following a dream I had of seeing myself in a reputable mining or oil and gas company, fixing pipelines and other machines.
Why did you decide to study mechanical engineering rather than another type of engineering?
Mechanical engineering was my topmost option because, from my little research and listening to others, I realised that it was the mother of all engineering fields. So, it is very difficult to study but afterwards has a lot of job opportunities.

Inspiration

Who do you consider great engineers?
There are two who I admire: James Watt and Elon Musk.

Working and Studying

You worked as well as studying while you completed your bachelor’s degree. How did you manage to balance your time?
Working while pursuing an engineering course is about determination, time management and commitment. I was able to study and work by considering the above dominant factors. Though it was not full-time work but rather a part-time job.
What advice would you give to someone starting at university who is also working? (in terms of time management)
My advice to new students who are starting university and working already is that they should make time management their topmost priority among the three factors I stuck to during my time. Though it was not easy. I had someone funding my tuition fee, but I was the one funding my accommodation and food and that was why I studied and worked as well.

Working as a mechanical maintenance technician for power Generation Company

You have worked for AKSA ENERGY on two occasions. What did your jobs involve?
My job roles at Aksa Energy included the following.
Maintenance and repair of inter coolers.
Also maintenance and repair of turbo chargers.
Maintenance and repair of cylinder heads, cylinder liners and exhaust and inlet valves.
Grinding and cutting of a work piece.
Servicing and installation of various valves such as butterfly valve, globe valve, gate valve, etc.
Taking daily readings on various machine components such as the separators, lube oil machines, air compressors, etc.
Operation of over-head cranes during overhauls.
Assisting the reliability engineer to perform the ground profile and grounds works during new engine installation to ensure proper alignment and control vibrations, etc.
What are the hard skills you gained from your time there?
The hard skills I gained included a lot of things including the following.
General maintenance on power generators.
Condition monitoring on power generators including fuel supply and engine air-pressure.
Installation of various mechanical components such as valves, pressure-pipes, inter-coolers, injectors, filters, etc.
Use of power tools to perform mechanical maintenance service activities.
Use of foot hydraulic press machine for tightening and loosening of studs /heavy nuts.
Also use of foot hydraulic press machine for the installation of both inlet and exhaust valves onto the cylinder head.
Use of chemicals for piston rods bearing contraction during its installation, etc.
What are the soft skills you gained from your time here?
I improved and gained more soft skills including:
Time management
How to troubleshoot successfully
Relationship-building
Being analytical
Problem-solving
Leadership
Communication
Research.

Working in mechanical maintenance and operations in food and beverage production plant

You have worked for Kasapreko Company Limited, a beverage company, in operations and maintenance. What did your jobs involve?
My job roles included a lot of different things. These included the following.
Operation and maintenance of belt conveyors.
Inspection and repair of mechanical systems.
Servicing and installation of filling valves and lifting cylinders.
Performing preventive, planned, daily, and autonomous maintenance on machine components.
Checking of gearbox oil levels.
Inspecting roller chain sprockets.
Changing of damaged bearings.
Lubrication of the various machine assets.
Fixing and installation of various types of conveyors.
Repair and installation of rotating equipment, especially pumps.
Repair and installation of various types of valves and plate-type heat exchangers.
Using a dial gauge to perform various shaft alignments.
Operated Varo-Pac machine for diagnosing and troubleshooting.
Also operated filler machine for diagnosing and troubleshooting.
Operated labeller machine for diagnosing and troubleshooting.
What sort of PPE did you need to wear?
I needed to wear:
Coverall
Safety Goggles
Safety boots
Hair net
Safety gloves.
What were the strategies for making sure there was no contamination?
There were two main strategies. Firstly, maintenance activities were carefully carried out following a planned maintenance system. Secondly, during breakdown maintenance, operations halt to give way for maintenance work and processes.

Typical week as an onshore field mechanical maintenance officer

What’s your typical week like?
From Monday to Thursday, we do our morning routine checks as stated in our SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). On Fridays, I do weekly checks on all the field equipment and send a report. Basically, some weeks are stressful due to unplanned breakdowns and maintenance schedules. Some weeks I have to work more than twelve hours due to the manager’s direction.
Do you work a shift system and are you on call?
Yes, I work on shift, and I am on call.
How important is physical fitness at work for you? How do you personally keep fit?
My work or duties on site mostly involve physical strength, in terms of breakdowns and monthly maintenance. Due to that, there is a lot of pain in the body, headache, eye strain, etc. Since we don’t have a gym or fitness centre at my workplace, during my off days, I do some morning runs on the beach. As well, I stretch out my body, do arm- pressing, join some aerobics group just to keep my body fit and health good.
What are your personal strategies for working in heat?
When working in heat sections, I make sure that I observe all the safety protocols pertaining to that section. Personally, I am cautious, analytic, observant, etc. and maintain these qualities when working in critical places like heat-zones.

Volunteer

You worked on Mercy Ships during the time you were studying. Why do you think it is important to volunteer and to give back to society?
Volunteering allows one to connect to their society, community or organisation and make it a better place. Even helping out with the smallest tasks can make a real difference in the lives of people, animals and organisations in need.
What did you learn from your time on Mercy Ships?
During my time with Mercy Ships I developed a lot of soft skills. These included:
Relationship building,
Communication skills,
How to interact and live with different people from diverse cultural backgrounds,
Time management,
Togetherness,
God fearing and prayerful.

Future

What are your plans and aspirations for the future? Which industry is your preferred one?
My plans and aspirations in life are to see myself in my dream company or industry. Then to earn a lot of money in order to set up my engineering business which will provide employment opportunities to the upcoming youths. I would also like to set up a children’s foundation to cater for orphans and the lost ones as a way of bringing hope, healing, and joy to the forgotten poor in society.
My preferred industry is upstream oil and gas, preferably offshore rigs (my dream land) but the mining industry is what I want to end up in and is also my second to none industry. It is really difficult to choose between the two industries. Nonetheless, either of them is my dream.
How do you think engineering in Ghana will change over the next ten years?
Engineering in Ghana can only change in the next ten years if the engineering tycoons cultivate and implement innovations and give opportunities to young talents in all aspects of engineering.

Joseph Tandoh, Onshore Field Mechanical Maintenance Officer

Joseph Tandoh has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Regional Maritime University in Ghana. He is an experienced mechanical technician with a demonstrated history of working with power plants using marine engines.

Further reading

Spotlight on life of a Well Intervention Engineer
Managing engineers in the field
Spotlight on the life of a Service Operator for Halliburton

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