How to access the industrial sector??

[PeractoPaulo]

Hello All,
I am a fully qualified electrician with experience solely in the domestic sector, I am 28 and from Ireland.
i would like to work maintenance in an industrial setting in the UK, originally from here, i would like to return- I am aware of ECS cards and JIB cards that are required,
it took me along time to figure out all the C+G's coding for different levels of qualification.

I would appreciate any advice from people who have walked this road or might be able to point me in the right direction.

thank you very much for taking the time to read this,
Regards, Paul

 

[johnboy6083]

First of all I would get a job as a mate on industrial jobs.

 

[Gage]

NVQ 3 In Electrical Maintenance (Can't remember the exact course name) or something like that. Should get you going.

 

[Knobhead]

Do a little research before you commit yourself to industrial maintenance. It will nearly always be shift work, will that suit you? Plant breakdowns will be in you're remit, having the plant manager breathing fire and brimstone is par for the course. It is one of the most stressful occupations you could choose. Don't ever thing you're going home when you're shifts ended, it just doesn't work like that. It's not an occupation, it's a way of life. Not just for you but you're family.

 

[Nipex83]

Hi Paul there is lots of company's in Ireland looking for maintenance sparks.. There is company's taking on people through the bridge scheme where u enter a production environment and be trained up in reactive maintenance etc ect.

 

[Knobhead]

So you take a job as a production monkey and get paid as such? It's an old con trick to get breakdown cover on the cheap. I've walked out on two companies that tried that.

 

[Nipex83]

It's for people who have no experience in the production environment .. There is no use in sending a guy in a high speed production line that breaks down he would be standing there scratching his nuts..all he is doing is looking and learning what the experienced guy is doing and getting paid..

 

[Gage]

It's for people who have no experience in the production environment .. There is no use in sending a guy in a high speed production line that breaks down he would be standing there scratching his nuts..all he is doing is looking and learning what the experienced guy is doing and getting paid..

Trained as an operator yes. This is why apprenticeships exist and if you want someone who knows what they're doing you get someone who knows what they're doing. If you want things done properly you don't get an operator in to do Maintenance bodges, because that's all these guys will ever be taught by other operators or teach themselves, how to bodge and get the machine back in to production for another hour or day or week whatever. Which is all good and well until they make things worse and start endangering themselves and everyone around them. This guy said he wanted to be Maintenance, not an operator, 'reactive Maintenance' is just another word for: "GET THE MACHINE RUNNING NOW!". Not to mention if he took this on he wouldn't just be dealing with Electrics he'd also (and probably 75% of the time) be attending Mechanical faults. I could rant for ages on this but...

Quick reply: No. Just no.

 

[Knobhead]

In one of my past incarnations in the maintenance field, I spent time on time removing "cardboard engineering" done by production operatives to keep a machine going. No consideration to the safety aspect of things. The crazy thing........ The moment I signed their chit, their bonus was safe............. Can anyone explain the mentality of a production worker to me?

 

[Gage]

In one of my past incarnations in the maintenance field, I spent time on time removing "cardboard engineering" done by production operatives to keep a machine going. No consideration to the safety aspect of things. The crazy thing........ The moment I signed their chit, their bonus was safe............. Can anyone explain the mentality of a production worker to me?

Usually IQ 1. Solved

 

[Nipex83]

Somebody hates factory work on here llol did u have a bad experience in one

 

[Darkwood]

Do a little research before you commit yourself to industrial maintenance. It will nearly always be shift work, will that suit you? Plant breakdowns will be in you're remit, having the plant manager breathing fire and brimstone is par for the course. It is one of the most stressful occupations you could choose. Don't ever thing you're going home when you're shifts ended, it just doesn't work like that. It's not an occupation, it's a way of life. Not just for you but you're family.

Never a true-rer-rer word said ... physically exhaustion is a minor side effect its the mental exhaustion that screws you up.... and switching of from it sometimes is hard work.

 

[silva.foxx]

You'd be better off finding a job where people will like you. Go cut grass.

 

[SheffSimon]

+1 to that, been on plenty of machine breakdowns when I was a software engineer for a machine builder in food and bev industry....all that matters is getting the machine running and line back in production, and dont think youre leaving site until it is....its mentally and physically stressful when youre on your own in that situation.

 

[malcoa]

If i was you i'd do a bit of homework on control circuits etc. Do you understand schematics and how things appear on diagrams, inverters, timers, safety circuits etc and cable colours and what voltage they represent. if not you have quite a bit to go at. As johnboy said it might be worth being a mate for a while although i'm not sure that a company will employ mates these days?

 

[Knobhead]

And now you know why I retired through ill health!

 

[gnuuser]

In one of my past incarnations in the maintenance field, I spent time on time removing "cardboard engineering" done by production operatives to keep a machine going. No consideration to the safety aspect of things. The crazy thing........ The moment I signed their chit, their bonus was safe............. Can anyone explain the mentality of a production worker to me?

the lord knows iv'e seen my share if it also
(momentary contact start switches depressed and wedged to keep machine running, contactors found the same way),
production bosses complaining of down time(we call those yapping chihuahuas)
people bypassing safety hardware to get machines running and not notifying anyone!

production workers undergo a required quadruple lobotomy so the end up caring only for two things!
production statistics and bonuses. nothing else matters.

to the O.P. research it carefully and get the required schooling and apprenticeship. industrial sparks are involved in some complex systems many things you would never see in a residential environment.
but keep in mind that safety is the most important aspect

 

[sbrown2]

One thing I did not realise is that this job can be stressful or maybe I just didn't realise!!!!!!! Apart from the stress side I agree with all of the advice.
The one thing to think about carefully is the working shifts it is literally a killer!

 

[stef]

One thing I did not realise is that this job can be stressful or maybe I just didn't realise!!!!!!! Apart from the stress side I agree with all of the advice.
The one thing to think about carefully is the working shifts it is literally a killer!

This depends what shifts you work. Currently, I am doing six to two and two to ten,
changing each week and I love it. Last job I did six to six, 12 hours days and nights, this was a real killer. I feel like I am on a holiday now ...

 

[Knobhead]

The management barstewards put me on days for 3 years. I hated every minute of it!

Don’t like 6-2.
2-10 / nights suited me down to the ground. No management to interfere on nights. Zzzzzzz………..

 

[Gage]

The management barstewards put me on days for 3 years. I hated every minute of it!

Don’t like 6-2.
2-10 / nights suited me down to the ground. No management to interfere on nights. Zzzzzzz………..

You also get the local factory ghosts wandering which is always entertaining

 

[sbrown2]

I'd take days and afters now. Two weeks of days two weeks of nights. Hopefully something will turn up!

 

[Knobhead]

You also get the local factory ghosts wandering which is always entertaining

Always good for scaring the new lads that came on to shifts. Some places on one of the works was built in 1885, more than it's fair share of tragedy happening over the years. Never really felt easy there. BOO!!!

 

[vaughant]

And now you know why I retired through ill health!

Just goes to show even someone with your extensive knowledge can get stressed out in a high pressure environment.
Saw it happen a lot in ford with various people but in all honesty you were rarely in your own there which was good,plus a strong union meant you always had back up if you knew the job wasn't safe etc.
Hope your better now mate.

The management barstewards put me on days for 3 years. I hated every minute of it!

Don’t like 6-2.
2-10 / nights suited me down to the ground. No management to interfere on nights. Zzzzzzz………..

And my god amen to that as well!!
loved nightshift,particularly up here in Scotland as in both my night shift incarnations your totally left alone,my car was never as well serviced and clean as when I worked in the mill plus offshore I actually ran out of things to look at on the Internet one night it was so boring!!!
bear in mind we can't get you tube up so that does limit a large area of entertainment.

 

[Knobhead]

It's OK trying to sleep on nights but towards the end insomnia was hitting me hard. I was also left planning work for the engineering department. The shifts knew if I'd had a bad night, they had a bad time as well. Just glad I'm out of it now.