Engineering maintenance technicians work in a range of industries that use plant – machinery, apparatus and fixtures – and equipment. This includes energy, leisure entertainment, manufacturing, processing, and utilities companies. The working environments vary across the industries.
This is a core and options apprenticeship. An apprentice must be trained and assessed against the core and one option. The options are:
- electrical and control and instrumentation technician
- electrical and mechanical maintenance technician
Electrical and control and instrumentation maintenance technicians work covers electrical and control and instrumentation. For example, motors, single-phase and three-phase, power supplies, low voltage or high-voltage electrical distribution, programmable logic controllers, flow meters, heat exchangers and safety controls.
Electrical and mechanical maintenance technicians work covers electrical and mechanical. For example, motors, single-phase and three-phase, power supplies, and low voltage or high-voltage electrical distribution, actuators, fans, pumps, valves, gearboxes, and pipework.
Engineering maintenance technicians maintain plant and equipment to optimise operation. They conduct planned and preventative maintenance to prevent issues occurring and reactive maintenance when problems occur. For example, responding to breakdowns. They must prepare for and accept jobs, complete work safely to required standards, close the job, and complete work records. They also contribute to continuous improvement activities. They may complete work as part of a team or alone, depending on the task.
Daily, they interact with other maintenance technicians, engineers, and support operatives. They also have contact with other internal and external stakeholders. This may include operations, managers, quality, research and development, and admin staff. They may also have contact with auditors, regulators, and customers undertaking site visits. They typically report to an experienced maintenance engineer.
They must maintain the safe and reliable operation of plant and equipment. Work must comply with any industry specific regulations. Safety is a key priority. They must comply with health, safety, and environmental regulations and procedures and sustainability practices. They must complete tasks in line with their company’s procedures and timescales. They also must also take account of business operation considerations such as cost and service level agreements.
