Ding. Shut the car door. Ding. Fill the gas tank. Ding. Check the oil. Ding. Change the oil. Ding. Check the tire pressure. Ding. Check the engine. Ding…Ding…Ding.

These reminders are welcomed annoyances. They remind drivers of the standard maintenance tasks that will keep the vehicle running optimally. Unfortunately, they usually ding at the most inconvenient time. Lack of time, lack of resources, and lack of funding are just a few of the reasons that vehicle owners delay the necessary maintenance. But what happens if the owner never gets around to addressing the dings? When that happens, the car usually goes from standard maintenance, to high maintenance, to maintenance crisis, to junkyard. Owners know all this information up front and are provided manuals at the time of purchase, so why don’t they pay more attention to the standard maintenance requirements?

That is a question that Joel Leonard, host of SkillTV, was endeavoring to bring awareness to when he penned the lyrics to The Maintenance Crisis Song. Examining the woes and possible outcomes of deferred maintenance on the built environment, one of Leonard’s prime concerns is the lack of skilled workers. His anthem has been composed in eight music genres; the latest is adapted to the popularly known Barber of Seville opera. There are rock, reggae, bluegrass, and blues versions as well, to name a few. And for all you lonely techs out there, Leonard has crafted a new song about Finding a Maintenance Woman.

Deferred maintenance and the need for skilled workers have made their way from project manager calendars to your local listening device. Now there is a maintenance crisis anthem to drown out the din of the dings.

Download all of Leonard’s songs at www.skilltv.net and leave your comments here.