You’ve certainly got to have your wits about you for a maintenance role in the manufacturing and production sector. You must be unbelievably organised, meticulous and have a big pile of technical knowledge and practical skills at your disposal.Without maintenance technicians, factories and production environments would descend into chaos.
Each and every factory setting in the modern world relies on its machines and equipment. If they are not functioning properly, then production deadlines will be missed, conveyor belts will grind to a halt, things will get broken and there will be potentially disastrous cost implications. Basically, if something breaks down, malfunctions or packs in completely, it needs to be sorted quickly before it causes a whole lot of fuss.
Moreover, maintenance work is essential for keeping factories safe. If something explodes because it has not been maintained properly, it could potentially harm factory workers.
Many manufacturing and production companies work on a 24-hour operational basis. Therefore, it’s imperative that there is always a maintenance engineer on hand to jump into action. Consequently, you might be working unsociable hours from time-to-time.
What will I be doing in a maintenance career?
The majority of people that work in this area are expert maintenance engineers. These guys use their technical knowledge and practical skills to monitor, repair and make amendments to production line equipment and other manufacturing machinery.
They will also take preventative action to make sure that breakdowns and malfunctions don’t occur in the first place. They might be conducting regular tests and inspections and making necessary adjustments when required. The majority of maintenance engineers in this line of work will have accredited degrees in mechanical engineering.
It’s not just engineers that get involved though! Maintenance technicians and operatives are also very much a part of the process. Engineers will always have an overarching knowledge of how everything works and should be maintained and monitored, but basic equipment maintenance is usually carried out by individuals working at a technician level. It’s possible to enter at this level via an apprenticeship scheme or with a relevant HND.
So if you’re a dab hand at fixing things up, and tinkering away with tools is your past-time of choice, perhaps a career in maintenance could be the one for you!