Below mentioned are few non technical questions and sample answers which can be provided during an interview, the answers need be modified to match your background and experience.
Why are you interested in this position?
- I’m sure that my skills and knowledge will be a great asset to your company in this position.
- Because I have both technical knowledge and practical expertise in this area, I am able to check equipment for any problems that it may have.
- If I could work for your company, it would help me improve my skills and teach me new things.
- I did some research on your company because it is already a market leader and it would be a great chance for me to learn more about this field.
What are an instrument technician’s responsibilities?
For this role, there are some basic responsibilities that may vary from plant to plant. Here are some:
- While maintaining close coordination with the operations team,
- Rather of repairing the heavy equipment, the firm should focus on preventative maintenance of all of its machinery.
- Working closely with process instruments such as valves and vibration monitors.
- Take part in the maintenance tasks, such as fixing or replacing instruments and troubleshooting and calibrating them.
- Following the official procedures and guidelines of the plant and wearing safety gear all day to keep everyone safe.
What competencies are necessary for success of an instrument technician?
However apart from technical knowledge, you also need a few important skills to do well in this role. Among the skills are:
- How to operate machinery,
- Understanding of equipment maintenance,
- Control over all kinds of mechanical systems, tools, and equipment,
- Having knowledge of all the plant’s regulatory needs,
- Checking and maintaining equipment,
- A working understanding of technical visuals, the interpretation of drawings, and the installation and removal of mechanical equipment.
What significant challenges did you face in your previous position? How were they handled by you?
- In my prior position, we were scheduled to do entire plant maintenance.
- Most of the equipment was old, so the job was hard, and our team had to work harder than usual to keep the plant running at its best.
- I was in charge of my team of technicians at the time, and one of them was experiencing problems with a coworker that were interfering with his job.
- I asked for a meeting with everyone on board for the maintenance work to resolve the problem since we were already running behind time.
- The technician’s conduct wasn’t professional, thus I had to decide to transfer him to another project by myself.
- I took on a few more jobs to help the other technicians since their workload became heavier.
- I learned from this occurrence that I should monitor all of the staff’s continuing actions to avoid any unpleasant surprises in the end.
- I can immediately identify the mistakes as I track the development to avoid wasting time.
Describe your daily routine as an instrument technician?
- My day starts with a meeting with my technical team, where I check on their work and give them feedback.
- I start my inspection and maintenance check around the facility from the floor after assigning everyone their daily tasks.
- I make sure everything runs properly so that everyone may complete their work on time and return to their homes.
- Before everyone goes home, I let my line manager know how things are going. This way, I can get their feedback and they can get to work right away the next day.
What strategies and mindset are necessary for this position?
- As you have many different responsibilities, you need to be able to solve problems and have a positive attitude.
- As a technician, it is your responsibility to keep an eye out for any trouble areas and to maintain the equipment since replacing it would be very expensive and time-consuming.
- One should be capable of making decisions without hesitating to trust their expertise and judgment.
- When doing maintenance, you have to look at the whole machine and fix the problem right away, because a problem in the machine could cause production loss.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be in this job?
- I don’t see a big problem with how things are set up here.
- My technical skill set is up to date, thus I am confident in my competence.
How do you keep motivated at work?
- Since I like my job, I don’t see a need for additional motivation to excel in my position.
- When I’m feeling stressed, I take a quick walk outside in the fresh air, which helps me get back to work.
- Aside from this, I keep a good balance between my work and personal life so I can spend good quality time with my friends and family.
- After having fun on the weekend, this helps me feel good at work during the week.
Describe a time when you failed in this role and what you learned from it?
- In my last job, I was given a new piece of equipment to add to the process to make it go faster.
- I was new to my job, so I didn’t want to add it until I read the manual for it.
- Before adding the device to the system, I thought I should know everything about it.
- My supervisor became aware of my choice and we discussed it.
- He got what I was saying, but he taught me to look at the whole system before saying “no.”
- I asked different market leaders about the machine and how well it worked. Our plant needed the equipment in order to meet the deadline.
Why do you think you are qualified for this role?
- I have a certain set of skills and a lot of experience in this area.
- I’ve worked with a variety of machines, and I’ve recently gotten a few certifications.
- I learn quickly and am always excited to learn something new at work.
- I want to excel in this sector and enhance my talents for the global market, thus I’m applying.
- So, this is why I think I’m the best candidate for this position.
Tell us about your most outstanding success.
- In my prior position, we were working under a tight deadline when the primary equipment unexpectedly failed.
- The items were due in a few hours, and everyone on the team started to worry.
- I had already done maintenance work earlier in the week to avoid problems on the main day.
- I told my supervisor about the problem right away. He talked to a couple of engineers on board.
- While this was going on, I started checking out the equipment.
- I think it took me no more than an hour to fix the broken part and turn on the machine. The machine worked well and got to work.
- My supervisor recognised my work and complimented me for maintaining the machines without losing my mind.
How do you make sure quality in your role?
- The Quality Management System is used at every plant to make sure that the quality is good.
- The software gives full information about the service’s performance and reports any problems.
- With the help of a Quality management system, it is made sure that all the machines are working properly and that at the end of every cycle, a high-quality, consistent product is made.
- With regular checks on the work, I’ve been able to improve the quality of my work.
Do you adhere to the 5s principles during inspection and maintenance? What’s a 5S?
Yes, I do, because it’s an efficient way to get things done.
5S consists of:
- Sort: It means getting rid of unnecessary parts and obstacles.
- Set in order: All tools and equipment should be labeled correctly and put in the right place.
- Shine: Making sure everyone has the right structure and environment to work well,
- Standardize: Everything should be in a proper, uniform format to keep it right.
- Sustain: For efficiency, there should be discipline on the floor, and everyone should follow it.
