He works with mechanical maintenance workers and electrical maintenance workers. The maintenance manager makes sure to prevent equipment becoming defective as much as possible. He takes care of replacing defective equipment. Even an office setting works with maintenance workers. These maintenance workers prevent and fix problems with the software, hardware, and even the servers of the company. Maintenance managers preside over in-services in the company to ensure that those who work with the machinery respect safety precautions. Maintenance managers keep track of the inventory of spare parts that are frequently needed for repairs of the production equipment and maintenance to the building. They fill out order forms for new parts, oils, cleaning products and whatever else is needed, as soon as it is needed.
A good maintenance manager is not just restricted to prevention maintenance and repairs. He is also involved in the process of making and handling suggestions on the production process. He collects data and makes reports on how to improve production and safety.
Maintenance managers are responsible for making sure that maintenance and repairs are done in a timely manner. What needs to be done and what was done is in most job settings discussed in weekly meetings. Areas of special attention are also discussed. Most companies have expectations of basic computer knowledge now for just about anybody who works for them, regardless of the position. The same is expected of a maintenance manager. He has to be able to do research on the internet, work in Word and Excel, and send, receive, and forward email.
Assistant maintenance managers with just a high school diploma can sometimes become maintenance managers after many years of experience within the same company. This was more prevalent in the old days however and today’s plants and companies require overall at least an Associate degree. A maintenance manager must be a skilled supervisor and his social skills must be sufficient to work with a diverse team of maintenance people. He is also part of the hiring and lay-off process of maintenance workers. Besides the policies of the company he works for, he also needs to be aware of all laws that are applicable to the field. Many plants and other companies require a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. A lot depends on the nature of the facility.
The same can be said about the salary of a maintenance manager. Small companies where maintenance managers face very limited challenges do not pay as well as power plants where every little issue is a potential catastrophe to the workers, the company, or the entire area where the plant is located. The salary of a maintenance manager varies between about fifty five thousand dollars a year and one hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year.
Maintenance managers are very valuable to a company or plant. When the economy forces lay-offs, maintenance managers will be able to keep their job when maintenance teams are thinned out if they are physically able to do some maintenance work themselves.
