Service Magazine Fall 2017

@Service Magazine Summer 2017 | 31 A Hero Among Us Field Service Engineer rescues woman from burning car before heading to work Around 9 a.m. on Friday, May 12, Imaging Account Manager Nick Bengel received a call from a Nuclear Medicine technologist at Vidant Health in Greenville, North Carolina. “Do you know BenWindley ?” she asked. Ben is a Nuclear Medicine and PET field service engineer in the Southeast Zone. “Knowing how much my customers love Ben, I was expecting to hear yet another story about how he went above and beyond on a project and deserved special recognition. But what she said next truly took my breath away,” shares Nick. The tech went on to explain that Ben, who’s been with GE for 19 years, came across a car accident on his way into work that morning. A woman was trapped inside one of the cars, and it was on fire. Ben ran to the scene, reached inside the car engulfed in flames, and pulled the woman out – suffering minor injuries as he did. Afterward, he drove into work and carried on with his day. “He is too humble of a person to ever admit it, but Ben is a hero,” the tech said. Ben remembers looking at the burning car and thinking of his wife and two boys. He was afraid the woman might be stuck in the car and he couldn't get her out. “I have no idea how long it all took for me to unbuckle her and pick her up. It was likely mere seconds, but I would swear that I had a birthday in there,” he said. Ben says he’s just like any field service engineer. “We often walk into a situation with little notice, sometimes without knowledge of all or any of the details of the issue. An FE is accustomed to keeping a level head with clear thinking while the people around us are stating how dire the circumstances are with a patient on the table, the schedule at risk and upset doctors standing by. We must act quickly and efficiently, which is dependent upon our reflexes of experience and training.” Working on down equipment can be a test on many levels, he says. "Our customers depend on us, from the minute we arrive, to take control of the situation. Often in my career customers will ask, 'how long will it take to fix it?' as soon as they see me and knowingly before I've looked at the equipment. They just want reassurance that they're going to be okay." Sometimes customers act almost as desperate as a crash victim. “I’m sure there are many FEs who’ve heard the greeting ‘thank goodness you’re here.’ We realize the need and know it’s on us to resolve it.” Often, a customer issue requires some serious personal commitment. Personal plans get changed or cancelled. One decides this is more important than me right now. There is the mental and physical ability to actually perform the tasks required. Getting up at 6 a.m. to take the kids to school and later changing a CT high-voltage tank or an MRI RF deck at 11 p.m. is going to require some toughness and fortitude. But, when the issue is resolved and the healthcare providers are so very thankful, “there is the feeling of being a hero,” he says.