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.

 

[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