When Ownership Dies, Maintenance Breaks

There was a time when an engineer wasn't just an engineer.

He was an inspector, a planner, a scheduler, and a doer - all in one.

I’ve lived that era.
From 1999 to 2005, during our TPM journey, we didn’t just “work" - we owned.
I’d walk through the plant, spot abnormalities, note down issues, plan the actions, execute the job, and close the SAP notification.
And not just me - everyone around me worked the same way.

That was the norm. That was our pride.

Even years later, till NOW, I followed that approach in every plant I worked in.

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Then Came the Shift

I came across the new “efficient” model:

• One team inspects [inspectors / walk by inspectors etc.]

• Another team plans [planners / schedulers etc.]

• A third team executes [doers etc.]

It looked clean on paper. Divided roles. Structured accountability. Specialization.
But something inside me couldn’t digest it.
I struggled with myself - wondering why I was resisting this new approach.

Then it hit me.

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The Cost of Efficiency

We may have made the system more organized, but we killed the soul of engineering ownership.
And with it, we stripped young engineers of their sense of pride, growth, and belonging.

Now, someone inspects but doesn’t fix.
Someone else plans the job, but has never touched the equipment.
Another person executes the job but doesn’t know why it’s being done.

There’s no full-circle learning.
No craft.
No sense of “this is my machine, and I’ll keep it alive.”

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Ownership is Human Nature

As kids, we owned our bicycles.
We’d wash them, oil the chains, take care of the scratches.

As young men, we did the same with our motorbikes.
Wipe them down every Sunday. Fix the mirrors. Check the tyres.

As engineers, we did the same with our machines.
We’d clean them, tune them, protect them like our own.

Now?
The feeling of ownership is broken.

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Cleaning is the First Step of Maintenance

Let me say it clearly:
👉 A dirty machine is a proof that no one’s inspecting it.
👉 No inspection means no maintenance.
👉 No maintenance leads to failures.
👉 Failures lead to unplanned stoppages.
👉 And that is how plant efficiency collapses.

All because no one feels it’s their job anymore.

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So, What’s the Alternative?

Yes, we need structure.
Yes, we need roles and systems.

But in all of that - don’t take away the heart of engineering.
Don’t make your team members clock-punchers with checklists.

Instead, bring back the pride of ownership.

Give each engineer an area.
Let them inspect, plan, and even execute some small jobs.
Let them fall in love with the machine.
Let them grow with it.

Because if they don’t clean it, why will they inspect it?
And if they don’t inspect it, why would they maintain it?

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Whose Loss Is It?

We thought work division would make us efficient.
But it came at a cost: The loss of ownership. The loss of purpose. The loss of pride.

And ultimately, it’s not the machine’s loss.
It’s the organization’s. The nation’s. Ours.

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When engineers stop owning their machines, maintenance becomes mechanical - and plants lose their soul. Let’s bring ownership back.

[I challenged them today morning. I said that I would come there at 10am for this. They started before I joined. In pic, my maintenance team is cleaning the stacker belt drive gear box today morning.]