Moving into Maintenance

[bcm_spark]

I have decided that I want to get out of the installation game. To me it seems as if it is all going to the dogs, wage cuts, job cuts and just generally sick of it. I have mainly worked on commercial and industrial projects.

So, I thought about why not give maintenance a bash. I am interested working in factories, warehouses, power stations, anywhere really but have very limited experience or none at all when it comes to PLC's, motors and the like. I've got the knowledge whn it comes to motors but hardly any experience. I haven't got a clue where to start with PLC's. I have done a bit of FM and found I was more of a general caretaker and was bored out of my mind as I was always on my own.

Can anyone give advice on the best way forward? Is it worth doing maintenance? I'm not bothered about doing shifts as this will suit me.

Hope you all have a happy and prosperous new year.

 

[johnboy6083]

i think that without experience, the next best ting is maybe to get yourself an ONC or HNC in electrical engineering. Maybe the employers will see that your willing to learn,. and give you a shot.

To be honest, most maintenance jobs are not that well paid (what i see advertised), but there again, maybe im lucky that i get travel time, overtime ect.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

Having done both installation and maintenance, my opinion is that maintenance involves more thinking on your feet and getting out of a corner. I found it a lot more interested and varied. Motors are easy enough to deal with, there isn't much that can go wrong, so you see the same faults over and over again, windings go open circuit, or short to earth. Inverters can be learn't by reading the instructions, and when they go wrong its usually no output, so you replace it, and send the duff one back for repair. PLC's are fairly easy to learn if someone is willing to show you, but i found that it is even easier to forget if you aren't involved day in day out. What i liked about PLC work was the fact that as long as you save the programme BEFORE you start messing about, you could always put it back to how it was if you really cocked it up. But once you can read and understand a PLC programme and watch it in real time, it is a massive aid to fault finding, especially when a machine is just sat there doing nothing for no apparent reason.
PLC's like all other software is always evolving, and you need to keep pace with it.

The downside to maintenance that i didnt like was that you were usually fire fighting, it was more important to get the machine back into production even if you had to fashion your own parts, and no proper time was ever set aside to fix it properly, and you can guarantee that when it breaks again, it wont be on your shift, someone will go and get the parts you ordered and fix it properly, then proceed to slag you off for doing a bodge job "When all you had to do was go to stores and get the right parts" thats the parts that weren't available when it broke for you in the first place. They will then send all and sundry an email telling them how good a job they have done, and what a balls of it you made.

Cheers.........Howard.

PS good luck in maintenance, and make sure you have a wide back for all the knives.

 

[Sparky_Ben]

i personally like when you go to a maintenance call and the machine or whatever is totally off, and you get it back up and running, always brings a sense of achievement.

 

[BigBreakfast]

Maintenance can and does usually involve PPM (planned preventative maintenance) where set routine checks are carried out daily, weekly, monthly and yearly and can include items such as fixed wiring checks (pir), lighting including emergency, motors and controls, fire alarm tests, basically anything to ensure everything keeps going and is not a danger to anyone.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

i personally like when you go to a maintenance call and the machine or whatever is totally off, and you get it back up and running, always brings a sense of achievement.

I fully agree Ben. But like me I bet it riles you when someone comes along, slags you off, and then takes all the credit for a job well done. They soon forget who got it going in the first place. I get the impression you are also a doer, do the job and move on, and feel no need to have to tell all and sundry how good you are.

Cheers.........Howard

 

[Specialist]

Howard: What's the point of telling people how good you are mate ? You would'nt get any recognition for it anyway, it's allways the Toadies & backstabbers get the Cudos for other peoples work.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

Howard: What's the point of telling people how good you are mate ? You would'nt get any recognition for it anyway, it's allways the Toadies & backstabbers get the Cudos for other peoples work.

You are bang on the money there mate!

Sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread.

 

[Sparky_Ben]

sirkit breaker, i fully agree, yes i hate to brag as i know i will get stuck and there will always be something i cant get going, so if i just went around boasting all the time i feel as though i would set my self up for a fall if something i did, did go wrong, if that makes sense.

 

[Sparky_Ben]

but back to the OP if it is something you are considering or have the chance at i say go for it, if your willing to learn and scrub up on areas you arnt familiar with there is nothing stopping you, best of luck

 

[Specialist]

Ben: It makes perfect sense mate.

 

[Sparky_Ben]

i thought it did anyway, just my point of view some people however arnt like that

 

[Specialist]

Hi bcm: Sorry mate, we hijacked your thread a bit. Are you thinking of doing Maintenance on a Contract or employed basis ? If it's on a contract basis I think your biggest problem will be the initial foot in the door, think the 1 thing you will definately need to look at is the PLC side of things though. When we started up years ago we found that it was easier to get into the smaller factories & from there got into bigger stuff through recomendation.
Anyway best of luck mate.

 

[fuzzydunlop]

I've done a lot of maintenance/commissioning in the past and tbh 95% is make work, you just have to keep yourself prepared for the 5% where it goes ---- up and the machine/circuit etc.. needs to be back up and running yesterday

As SirKit say's PLCs are relatively easy to learn and if you're in the one environment you'll have it hands down in no time, I was lucky and was sent to Siemens in Germany for a month but a quick google search shows a few companies who offer training in the uk

 

[bcm_spark]

Thanks for all the replies fellas. I know what you mean about having a wide back for the knives Howard, it is like it where I am, "He put that in he's messed that up hasn't he, I'll fix it for you boss once I get off ya cheese pipe!" There is no point telling people how good you are, you don't get better thought of as you are just a number

I am interested in learning the PLC stuff and have tinkered with computers a bit a while back just as a hobbyso hopefully I'll pick it up fairly quickly. I think all you have to do is apply a bit of logic when diagnosing faults, stripping down to repair etc. This is something I do anyway when I do repairs on my own car, just look at things, what needs to come off to get that off and so on.

I have had quite a few calls from agencies in the past and still get emails for maintenance jobs but have never seriously thought about getting into it. I actually got a call two weeks ago from one and I told them I will probably be looking around February. I don't mind contract work, it's all I've done for a while now anyway.

Anyway, thanks lads hope you have a good night tonight whatever you are doing. Ben

 

[Knobhead]

After doing 35 years of maintenance and breakdown work the one thing I will say is you have to be inventive. The exact spares are rarely to hand, so a bit of bodge and codge comes in to play.

The way around the back stabbers is to make it clear in your report what you have done was temporary to get the plant running and needs correcting ASAP! I once repaired a contactor using the spring out of a pen. It turned out that the spares were obsolete and unavailable so it became the accepted method of repair.

As for PLC’s there are so many makes never expect to master them all. I’ll be honest I learnt Modsoft and PL7 flying by the seat of my pants. I was lucky in finding a mentor to teach me the basics of Modsoft but after the basics I was on my own. I went on to reprogram 4 out of the 5 main PLC systems.
PL7 I had to learn from scratch as the new PLC I was installing wasn’t standard to the company.

I enjoyed myself and if you take the step in to maintenance then I hope you will.

 

[bcm_spark]

Thanks, I am sure I will enjoy it. I enjoy getting my teeth into something new. Can anybody recommend which course to take? This firm seems to offer quite a range Online PLC & SCADA Programming Courses

I have heard of Scada as well as Allen Bradley and Siemens which seems to be asked for a lot.

 

[mattmoo1974]

Find a good hiding spot on nights and learn to sleep under a coat

 

[Knobhead]

Learn the basics of the PLC don’t worry about SCADA yet. If you’re lucky the PLC’s you come across will be programmed in ladder, which if you can follow a line drawing it’s simple.

Even better when on line you can watch each node of the program doing it’s thing. Literal programming was a step backwards in my opinion, but the nerds like it.
View attachment 9481
One thing you will find is each person that programs has their own style. The last major plant I worked on there was 5 of us that could alter a program. Every alteration would be recorded in a log, but by just looking at the layout you could tell who had done a mod, we each had an individual style.
As has been said save a program before you change it, you can then restore it when you’ve cocked up, it happens, believe me! CRUNCH, BANG, OOPPS, that wasn’t supposed to happen! Is something you get used to if you are lucky enough to get in to development work.

Go for it and enjoy yourself.

Read this and you will see how the PLC evolved http://www.barn.org/FILES/historyofplc.html Dick Morley should be up amongst the gods of the electrical universe.

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[sbrown2]

Also give respect to the systems you are interfacing with ie pneumatics, hydraulics maybe welding systems. The thing is do you want to move into being a maintenace electrician or a maintenance tech. The major part of moving into maintenance is understanding of the process you are involved with. Some of the guys who have given advice and myself understand this but a great many times understanding the process aleviates the need to get the laptop out and interagate the PLC. The PLC is the tool that has the greatest effect on understanding a machine process. This is also why electricians generally find it easier to move into ultiskilled roles than their counterparts.
Understanding PLC's is important but understanding what valves are involved in metering either flour, sugar, titanium dioide etc is important and where the physical location of these are. Understanding digital or analogue measuring is important. Understanding how to get local production staff to give you the information you want and ask them pertinent questions is just as important.
DEmonstrating an understanding of a companies processes will give you a fantastic opportunity of gaining employment with them as your skills will be transferable and they can fill in the training gaps.

Anyway Good Luck