Oh yes, it's management's job to manage (as I have said many times before). But that doesn't mean that the techs should just sit there moaning. If the manager falls short in some regard, challenge him (her)! If not, then one of these days you may well end up out of the cosy job you thought was yours for ever. Never mind the sensibilities involved ... they (the managers) will be on the big bucks. I'm not. Are you? As John Sandham says, be proactive! Or (as I like to say), lead, follow, or get out of the way!
And further to "giving away secrets" ... here are a couple from the other side (surely it works both ways?). Actually, they are not secrets at all, just the application of common sense.
Again as I have said many times in the past, all any of us has is time. So the smart (and mythical) "MES guy" charges for his
time. Regardless of whether he is servicing kit or reassuring (advising) staff ... or attending meetings, or whatever.
The mindset (can we call it the "Estates approach"?) where every hour in the week has to be logged against some job card or other has never been appropriate for biomed work, in my opinion.
Another "secret" is that the MES contract has to be well written. Only then will any "chargeable extras" be known about upfront. With a well-written contract, there should not be any surprises! Otherwise, if and when the MES guy is required to carry out work not mentioned in his contract, he has the right to charge for that, especially if extra resources need to be brought to bear (and quite rightly, too). Back to management, yet again.
At the "signing of the contract" stage, the ball is in the Trusts' court. If the requirement is that (MES) staff need to be recently trained on any or all kit, that needs to be put in the contract (but you can expect to pay more). If the MES guy is to be held to designated response times, that has to be made clear too. Want on-call cover? Then bung it in. A 24x7 on-site service? By all means, Sir. But can you afford that?
Etc., etc. It's like a menu, you select what you want, but the more you go for, the higher the bill at the end. It's hardly Rocket Science, is it?
The smart "MES guy" also needs to charge at commercial rates (that is, not some half-arsed, wishy-washy in-house figure dreamt up somewhere). He has to operate in the Real World, and has to absorb real-world prices. To put it bluntly, if you are to succeed in business, you need to charge the maximum the market will bear. Note here that some Agencies bill for Bank Nurses at around £ 60 an hour (note also that I personally have never billed at much more than a third of that ... but there again, I'm not smart)!
Here is yet more free advice for in-house biomed services (but it's the same as always):- adopt the "Zero Budget" model, and bill (the wards
etc.) for everything. That's
everything. Equipment maintenance (servicing, fault investigation, repairs, inspections, PM, parts used
etc.), consumables, advice, training ... and all the rest. Yes Mark, you should end up with a better service being provided. But don't forget that when you bill for time, someone has to actually put in those hours!
