73-y-o repairman keeps machines running

Despite being plagued by arthritis pain from time to time, 73-year-old Winston Anderson has never been able to give up his love for engineering.

And though the senior is far past retirement age, he is adamant that he will continue honing his skills until the day he dies.

"Boy mi cah help it man, mi nuh wah stop, until the day mi nuh have nuh use to myself mi nah guh stop," Anderson said with hearty laughter. For more than 40 years, Anderson has owned the repair shop, Quick Fixtures, on King Street in downtown Kingston. There, he repairs washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners and other electrical appliances. He also has a team of five employees who travel around the Corporate Area and the wider island to do repairs. From the outside, the tiny shop may not look like much, but inside showcases a wide range of Anderson's tools. Despite his age, Anderson is still very hands on in the business, doing many of the actual repairs. He works from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and even travels with the team when they have out of town repairs.

"A wah tell yuh seh mi start dah shop yah with nothing, just mi two hands dem and di skill weh mi did have," Anderson said, adding that he always had a love for reading. It was reading that brought him to books about engineering where he discovered his second love -- finding out how things worked.

He then went on to get his bachelor of science degree in engineering from the College of Arts, Science and Technology, now known as the University of Technology, Jamaica. After that, Anderson worked for two businesses. Then at 33, he realised that he wanted to have his own repair shop but he still had a lot to learn.

"First me did have to figure out how the machine work and see how the machine situated. Then mi guh from there and learn 'bout the parts, and once yuh know the parts and yuh know how to pull it up, yuh know how to assemble it; yuh good to go," Anderson said, adding that being a repairman requires constant learning. No machine is too tricky for him to tackle, as long as he has the requisite knowledge of the product.

"Every minute dem come in with a new one (machine), suh yuh always affi a read and yuh affi learn and study. Yuh always a study because a nuh every machine or fridge stay the same" Anderson said.

"It is technical and yuh have different type. Suh if yuh nuh have knowledge and yuh cah read good, yuh cah manage the work," Anderson added.