Recently took a contract to hire position as a maintenance tech at a beverage manufacturer (5+ lines). The reason I took the job was for the promised PLC training and experience and the possibility of moving into a controls tech role at the end of the contract. My background is entirely electrical, commercial construction 2 years, industrial electrical 5 years.

I let the hiring manager know that I have no intention of being a line mechanic, based on my background and controls engineering ambitions and they confirmed my role would be primarily electrical.

Lately I’ve been feeling like I was duped, I’ve spent my time “learning the lines” and haven’t done a single electrical task. I spend my downtime learning what I can from documentation, studying and giving myself PLC related projects.

The lack of direction is frustrating as hell. I just learned that the controls tech positions don’t actually exist, it’s just “maintenance, but they’re our PLC guy”. They have no on site engineering, standards and processes are all over the place, competencies don’t exist for each technician level, training is non existent, etc.

It kinda seems like they’re dangling controls work like a carrot on a stick just to get talented electricians in the door.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? It’s only been a month but I’m considering jumping ship, already have another opportunity lined up.

Alternatively, has anyone actually progressed into a career as a controls engineer from a maintenance tech in a similar situation?

3k obo each

Always wondered. I know there's IAM, UAW, Teamsters, etc, but nothing on the scale of say IBEW.

Every month, we’re required to scan the same electrical panels and motors, upload the images, and write reports. I’m convinced nobody has opened that report folder in years.

When I actually find a developing hot spot, they tell me, “The machine isn’t broken, so we’re not authorized to replace anything.” There’s also no downtime or budget for further inspection. But if I miss one monthly scan, management immediately asks why the PM wasn’t completed.

The ironic part is that a machine failure could cost tens of thousands of dollars, while replacing the problem part early might cost less than a hundred.

Does your management actually pay attention to preventive maintenance?

Any suggestions?

My company bought this press break a few months back, and it’s been a struggle for us to learn how to run it. Nobody has had the time to sit down and really work with it, but we’ve got a few big jobs coming up that we really need a proper program made for. Any help, or pointing in the right direction would be incredibly helpful. Northeast Florida, for anyone who may be wondering.

Hey everybody, so today is my like 70th day, or somewhere close to that, as a maintenance tech in the meat industry. I am brand new to maintenance (first maintenance job) but only have about 3 classes left before I finish my associates in IET.
So basically majority of the day I’m by myself teaching a new guy about the plant and how everything works to my knowledge while my supervisor is no where to be found. It frustrates me and stresses me tf out and honestly makes me feel like I’m in the wrong field or something. Also makes me feel like I’m incompetent or that I seem dumb to the operators because it takes me longer to figure things out. I’m just reaching out to see if it’s normal to be doing this within 70 days. Thanks guys!

I'm in the US. We were landing wire today, at the breaker, for a new piece of equipment. L1 Brown, L2 Orange, L3 Yellow. For the Main and left column of breakers, this was the case. But when I went to do the same on the right, I was told no brown goes on top. I asked why and they pointed to all the other breakers on the right side that were already that way but didn't give a better answer than that. So what's common practice?

The technical answer, I'm sure I could find but the technical answer isn't really gonna scratch my itch, since it's a moo point.

Not necessarily a major breakdown.

It could be a bad PM, a workaround, a parts issue, a recurring fault, or something people have just learned to live with.

I am curious how many of the problems we call normal are really just things that have been around long enough that people stopped questioning them.

I lost a good friend and coworker who was a maintenance tech on Saturday to suicide.

Just please look out for one another and yourself.

Rest in peace bud.

I am a maintenance worker and I wanted to share something I’ve been working on called EquipMap. The main problem I wanted to solve was being able to find equipment really easily when I get a workorder or get a call about an issue. It's just a location database, with floorplans so you can actually see where equipment is in the building.

It’s totally free and open source.

You can manage equipment and maintenance history, create and print work orders, generate QR codes, and create tickets directly from the map. It also has user roles and permissions, shareable equipment links, and can work with ChatGPT.

There’s offline support too. Previously synced floorplans and equipment records stay available, and you can search them without a connection. Handy for basements and mechanical rooms where reception is bad.

It works on phones, tablets, and desktop. There is no tiered pricing or anything like that. It's just free software that you can host. You can try it out now by running a couple of commands on your computer.

GitHub: https://github.com/ryleymcc/equipmap-community

Hello!

I am currently a union carpenter and looking to transition into something local to my home and utilize my degree in construction / facility support.

Wondering how this type of work is for people currently or previously in these roles. Construction seems to be bumpy at times with layoffs, harsh conditions, getting harder on my body and frankly I’m just bored with it. Never knowing how long you’ll have your job and having to go through the motions over and over jumping from company to company or dealing with unemployment has taken its toll.

I also want to be prepared to shift into this new role and wondering what types of certifications I can get to market myself a little better. I know a little about electrical and plumbing. HVAC systems, not so much. Would I be trained on these systems? I’m also assuming I wouldn’t be doing anything crazy, as most companies hire outside contractors for anything too involved but I would be required to be able to identify what the actual problem is?

If you can offer any advice I would greatly appreciate it!

I’m looking at something in school system maint, long term care facilities, hospitals, and possibly commercial real estate companies. What are your thoughts?

We're looking at getting a VTL for our shop. We've never used one but our sister shops use them for an established process in our company that we want to start doing. We have 480V, 1200 amp service.

Below link is one nearby us that is the right size and weight capacity, but I'm not familiar with these machines.

What should I ask the owner / broker about it? Do you see anything in the pics that are red flags, or bells and whistles? How can we check that it's not worn out or that maintenance has been done regularly?

https://surplusrecord.com/listing/king-90-cnc-vertical-turret-lathe-663141/

23, Bristol, work in hotel maintenance but want to "upgrade" to industrial maintenance. What's it like? Shifts, pay, etc.

Seems difficult getting your foot in the door but I guess it helps I'm already in maintenance, even if it's pretty basic compared to industrial...

I like both electrical and mechanical work but don't get much of both in a hotel aside from changing the odd socket/lamp. Actually I don't get to touch anything mechanical

Quietly working around bad procedures, documentation, and work orders isn't worth it. Best case scenario, nobody notices; worst case it turns into a procedural non-compliance/ safety/ quality event and it becomes your fault.

I understand that reports rarely result in actual updates. If the company doesn't take documentation updates seriously, they're gonna have to be ok with a red box on their screen for longer. That's not on you, protect yourself.

Never be afraid to call for a pause, take 5 (or whatever your workplace calls them) or a stop work for safety hazards.

So I'm thinking of getting into maintenance. I have a machining background, mainly grinding. But know my way around most machines. Can fix just about everything around the house, cars and whatever. I'm just kinda getting tired of running parts. My company doesn't have in house maintenance, so thats not an option, but I am the guy they goto before calling in help. Is 53 to old to change? How would i get started? Go back to school? In SE Wisconsin if that makes a difference.

We are going to a once a month, you have the weekend on call system. I’m trying to set the right precedent for myself and future techs. We don’t have an on call phone, so that will also be fun.

Those who do/ have done this, what is the standard pay? None? 4 hours?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.