Ever since I started working at MPS just over a year ago, I knew that one day I wanted to be a Field Service Engineer: to travel the world, experience different cultures and fix problems on-site for customers.
From production floor to customer sites
For nine years I worked for a partner installing electrical elements in MPS presses on the production floor, so I was already familiar with MPS. I had experience with their presses, and knew a number of the employees.
In 2017, I officially joined MPS as a mechanic, working in the press assembly hall at the headquarters in Arnhem. During that time I gained hands-on experience and extensive technical/mechanical knowledge about the presses, and developed further knowledge to be able to step into a new role. MPS provided me with a lot of internal- and external training possibilities, in order to grow towards a role in Service. In August of this year, I was found ready to go out and provide on-site service and operator training in my new role as Field Service Engineer.
Service around the world
For a Field Service Engineer, no week is the same. Training operators, installing new MPS presses, providing maintenance on our customers’ presses, and solving software related issues are some examples of what I do – all around the world.
And traveling is what I like most about my job! I’m not the kind of person that likes sitting in an office and doing the same work all day, every day. I love going places and applying my broad service experience into practice.
The past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to travel… a lot. I visited customers in Germany, the Netherlands, England and even Bangladesh – all in two weeks.
I started in Bangladesh for the installation of a new press and stayed a week to train the staff on the press operation (how the press works, how to keep the press running efficiently, how to obtain the highest quality, how to use all the provided features and applications, how to set the right pressure, etc.). It was a great experience being introduced to a new culture, and they were very friendly and hospitable, having arranged everything for me including my accommodation and meals.
I then returned back to the Netherlands to finish a customer installation and solve some small machine errors. Next I was off to England to fix electronical communication between computers.
Yesterday I came back from a customer in Germany. My visit there was to equip their MPS press for an expansion of an external tooling device. I made sure this external device receives a start signal and important information is exchanged (such as how fast the machine runs, whether the machine has errors, and vice versa - whether the device has errors).
Qualities of a good service engineer
A good service engineer is customer-oriented. They proactively solve problems on their own and think out of the box to find creative solutions to quickly get a press back up and running, or make recommendations to keep them running optimally.
In this case, the MPS Red Box would have been ideal to have on hand. Tailored to your specific press specifications, the Red Box is a highly valued service tool kit, which contains a set of most critical spare parts. Having the most critical spare parts already on-site for replacements when needed results in less press down-time. Here’s how you can order your very own Red Box! For example, during an on-site customer visit I noticed unit 5 on their press wasn’t working. I could have waited for the parts to arrive (which takes time when you’re abroad and parts need to be shipped). But instead, while the parts were shipped, I took some parts from unit 1 that wasn’t in use, so that the press could keep running in the meantime.
In good company
During my travels, I also spend a lot of time with my colleagues. Lucky for me, they all make great company, as I see them more than I see my friends and family!
I really enjoy experiencing different cultures and learning more about the companies that buy our presses. It’s interesting to meet customers and see what happens to MPS presses after the sale – from the installation to seeing it print eye-catching labels at maximum speed.
Career opportunities at MPS
MPS Systems offers many career opportunities and encourages career growth for its employees – like for me, going from a mechanical engineer to field service engineer.
I really enjoy my current position, and appreciate the opportunities at MPS to further develop my expertise in technical support, software or even project management.
Maybe a career at MPS is of interest to you, too? Or perhaps an internship at an interesting place to gain work experience? Take a look here at what MPS has to offer!
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