When I joined as a 4th Engineer.
During my college days my professors emphasized on the importance of taking proper rounds in engine room & that too when you become a responsible watch keeping engineer on-board ship. I used to hear sincerely their experiences about how they noticed a slight variation in the performance of the machines by just putting their palm face onto the machine exposed surface. And sometimes they boasted about averting some of the major accidents because they noticed the fault at much earlier stage & took proper action to tame the severity. So all these stuffs from my professors had made a permanent impression on my mind & I concluded that it would be prudent to take rounds by feeling machinery and looking after all parameters. One most important thing on my mind was that I would become a hero on ship if I manage to be the reason for averting a mishap or any accident or any major breakdown because I noticed the thing on time and prevented its occurrence. ...