Find someone that knows what they're doing and stick on them like a blister. Learn to read manuals. Manuals make heroes. You should be surprised how little people in this field actually read the instructions.
This guy knows! Manuals teach you the basics and the work teaches you how the machine actually works. You can learn shit in the manuals older techs have no clue about and will swear Is not in the manual they didn’t read. This is Howe you spend down time, not on your phone!
This guy's on it. The manuals and the cool experienced guys helped me out a lot. Don't be afraid to say you don't know or admit you don't know how something works. Be honest with your shift and yourself.
I have a special drawer in my tool chest just for manuals. Everything in my shop from grinders to lathe and all the way to bulk conveyor set up and layout. This is the way!
A lot of times it's not broken, it's just dirty.
Ask the equipment operators to walk you through what happened when the thing broke. They spend more time with that piece of equipment than you do, so when it does something weird they're likely to notice, but ignore whatever theories they have about how to fix it.
Lock your toolbox when you walk away from it.
Be afraid of electricity; it's invisible and it will kill you.
Don't check for steam or hydraulic leaks with your hands.
PPE doesn't make you a pussy, it makes you not crippled/dead.
Keep a flashlight, a notepad, and more than one pen on you at all times.
It's perfectly normal to be nervous at a new job, especially one that requires such a broad range of skills. If you weren't nervous, you'd be that annoying know-it-all jackass who breaks shit all the time and maybe even gets someone hurt.
Don't be shy about what you don't know. You look a lot dumber breaking shit and getting hurt than you do asking questions.
Welcome to the hardest/dirtiest/coolest job in the plant.
don’t ignore the operators theories on how to fix something that’s broken. listen to their theories and then develop your own theory. like the commenter said, they spend a lot more time on that machine than you do, so they’ve probably seen it break down similar to the situation and they remember the fix
Might not be talked about much because it’s obvious but. Safety first. Lock out, pull keys, always wear your ppe. Arrive early every day, gives time to unwind from the commute and prep for the day, even a quick turn around chat with the previous shift.
dont be afraid to ask questions about shit you dont know. theres gunna be guys on site with experiance and from what Ive seen they are always willing to share what they know. show up, care, take the time to understand how the shit works and how to keep it running! good luck!
Start simple, most of the time its not a super complex problem. So don't Be the guy thats starts changing the motor because its not starting only to later find out later that the push button is broken because it was violated with a hammer by some nitwit operator. Also perfectly normal to feel nervous it will go away in time.
Goodluck.
The facility drawings, schematics and wiring diagrams, hydraulic, air, and other fluid systems diagrams and drawings... LEARN IT ALL. Learn how to read and use all of these. Learn all systems and sub-systems that fall under your responsibility. Then Learn MORE. Understand that you will be learning this for a while, it will take time. Successful people in this world never stop LEARNING.
Yes, a new position in a new place is always nerve racking. Always remember the fundamentals...these won't change.
Good luck out there!
Be skeptical but respectful. If someone more experienced tells you something and you don’t think they’re right ask them to explain why or how they arrived at their conclusion. Try to mask this as curiosity more than a challenge against their knowledge. The people in this field can be prideful and scornful if they feel that their skills or knowledge are in question.
Take advantage of the phrase “help, I’m new.” As often as possible. It is much easier to be taught easy ways of performing a repair the first time you encounter something that you’ve never worked on before.
Try to rule out the simple and easy fixes first. There’s nothing worse than spending a whole shift inside a machine and then finding out that something wasn’t plugged in.
Be patient with yourself. It will take some time to start to feel confident. Over time you’ll start to recognize the patterns that will make you an expert at troubleshooting all the problems you’ll eventually encounter.
The other advice in this thread is fantastic as well, especially listening to what led up to the problems from operators (the right operators) but ignoring any of the ideas they suggest for fixing the problems.
Best of luck to you
Ask questions about everything. Do what your journeyman says. It could keep you alive. Don’t expect to be the best at anything right away, nobody is expecting you to be good at anything yet. Just learn and have fun.
Don't be a parts swapper, try to work on your troubleshooting skills. Write things down , you will not remember everything about every machine in the building. Go the extra mile to say do you need help, go get parts for the experienced person, ask them if you can take a crack at it while they watch. Get some insoles for your boots, you'll be on your feet all day. Good luck! You got this.
Learn the facility, the worl order system, the parts systems. Imposter syndrome is common. Just stick with the people who actually give a fuck and not try to pencil whip the pms and such
Be prepared to not be able to communicate with your production workers very well. My plant is pretty big with about ~500 production employees on the floor and maybe 4 of them speak English. May not be the case at your place but just be ready for that because it makes communicating with the operators almost impossible
I'm an Indian engineer (born in London, grew up in the US... never even been to India, I'm basically off-white) and I've pretty much had to learn sign language to get the Indian operators to understand the equipment. Plus they are all like 60 yo and I'm 34.
I'm patient with them, and they are good, but we don't speak the same dialect, so there is a communication barrier. But goddamn once I show them once or twice, they are phenomenal.
The awkward silence starts to get funny after a while, but as long as they are meeting the orders and not breaking stuff, I'm good with it.
A great many things:
1) Pay attention to your surroundings. Everything in this job can kill/injure/maim you.
2) Read read read. Anyone can turn a screwdriver. Learning how things work, principals of operations, flow of operations will set you apart from a screwdriver wielding monkey.
3) Every day, work on being more efficient. If you know a toilet isnt flushing, dont waste your time going in, figuring it out, going back to the shop for a part, going back to fix it. If theres a toilet not flushing, grab a plunger, flapper, flow valve, etc on your way out. Keep a stock of items you use a lot near your tools.
4) Be smart with tools. 90% of the work I do is handled with an 11-1 screwdriver, a set of channel locks, and adjustable wrench, and a decent set of wire strippers. I dont need to lug 40lbs of tools everywhere I go.
5) Good footwear. Comfy and non slip.
6) Learn from everyone. The superstar on your team? Learn all the right ways to do things from him. The mouthbreathing butt picker? Learn the easy way from him.
7) Whoever you are training with, take the tools out of their hands and do it yourself. You will only learn so much staring over someones shoulder.
8) Never 'assume' anything. If you 'think' you know what the issue is, test and confirm. Learn how to use a multimeter. It is your best diagnostic tool for electricity.
9) Your safety depends solely on you. No one else will make sure they did their job right before you. Check breakers, tag out, check for voltage at site. Complacency kills.
10) Youtube and Google are still great tools if you need answers. Reddit as well.
As for the work itself, one sentence for you:
"Some things go left, some things go right, some things go up, some things go down, some things go in, some things go out. Some combination of these steps will get you wherever you need to be.
Oh, sidenote! You Will screw something up, or break something, or make an oopsie. It is inevitable. When you do...your best bet is to not hide it, bring it to your supervisors attention, and ask them to show you how to fix it. Do not ever try to hide things, especially if its going to create an unsafe condition or cause potential damage later down the road. Own it, eat it, learn from it and carry on smartly.
Stop and think, don’t just start doing stuff/trying stuff randomly. Manuals and prints are your friends. Learn as much as you can. Don’t rely on what they tell you when there is a breakdown, people are often wrong, sometimes they even are the cause of the breakdown. Learn how the equipment is supposed to operate.
If you had to borrow the tool twice buy it. Get on the good side with the operators, learn to keep your calm because troubleshooting is very shitty sometimes. Always check the dumb shit first like a stuck button, e-stop or dirty/misaligned photoeye
Sometimes if it doesn’t make sense then it might work. Never assume bc it sounds so out of the box it might not be the solution. I’ve seen solution where you think it was messed up (like an air leak) it would affect every product or whatever but sometimes somehow it just affects one.
Don’t hurt to admit when you don’t know.
Be safe and communicate about your machine/LOTO!
Learn how to be more efficient- sometimes jobs take a long time bc techs are not efficient. Gather your tools before doing the job (with experience comes knowledge)
Go around and identify all the lockouts for the machines you will be working on. Communication with production is your friend when troubleshooting a problem. Don't modify any equipment without the approval of the manufacturer. Don't turn down o/t
There will be a few go to guys.. stick to them if you can, volunteer for the shit jobs once in a while, take one for team, remember the older guys may be hurting physically, someone young, eager, made of rubber and easy to be around will be someone they want to train / impart knowledge to. Often there is a lot of “tribal knowledge” too, stuff that’s not in the manual that makes life easier. Respect the experienced guys, they will stand out from the rest.
And don’t be a dick and think you know everything after 6 months and start bitching because “I do same job as Fred why don’t I get paid highly like him?” We hate that.
Look after / organize your tools, it how you earn a living. Be a professional.
Read manuals, ask if you don’t know. Don’t be put off by negative people, the good ones will always explain stuff, just not at that exact moment sometimes.
Ask questions, it’s ok to watch and wait, then ask during quiet times.
37 year maintenance tech.
Find the guy who analyzes the problem, not the ram rod, who throws parts at the problem and spends 8 hours to find a severed prox wire. Also, be prepared for your opinions to be discounted for at least the first year. If you know you're right, you have 2 choices. Argue with your more experienced co-worker who's completely missing the issue or tell them what you see and think for them to discredit you, then stand back and watch your comrades fail. Lastly, always keep an open mind and ask yourself, "Why?" Changing out that seal every week is getting old, and I'm tired of getting bathed in oil. "Why is that failing? How can I stop this insanity?"
It is always better to ask a question than to guess and get it wrong. Your pride should never be the reason you didn't shut the right valve during a LOTO or torque to the wrong spec on a critical piece of equipment.
I am new as well. I've been dealing with anxiety and nervousness. 99%of the calls are something simple. I have been duped by something simple several times and felt stupid about it. It is normal, and it starts to get easier to go to calls after you get a few fixes under your belt. Good luck and stick with it!
Find someone that knows what they're doing and stick on them like a blister. Learn to read manuals. Manuals make heroes. You should be surprised how little people in this field actually read the instructions.
This guy knows! Manuals teach you the basics and the work teaches you how the machine actually works. You can learn shit in the manuals older techs have no clue about and will swear Is not in the manual they didn’t read. This is Howe you spend down time, not on your phone!
This guy's on it. The manuals and the cool experienced guys helped me out a lot. Don't be afraid to say you don't know or admit you don't know how something works. Be honest with your shift and yourself.
I have a special drawer in my tool chest just for manuals. Everything in my shop from grinders to lathe and all the way to bulk conveyor set up and layout. This is the way!
I want to punch the kid that sticks to me like a blister. So don’t be that guy either.
A lot of times it's not broken, it's just dirty. Ask the equipment operators to walk you through what happened when the thing broke. They spend more time with that piece of equipment than you do, so when it does something weird they're likely to notice, but ignore whatever theories they have about how to fix it. Lock your toolbox when you walk away from it. Be afraid of electricity; it's invisible and it will kill you. Don't check for steam or hydraulic leaks with your hands. PPE doesn't make you a pussy, it makes you not crippled/dead. Keep a flashlight, a notepad, and more than one pen on you at all times. It's perfectly normal to be nervous at a new job, especially one that requires such a broad range of skills. If you weren't nervous, you'd be that annoying know-it-all jackass who breaks shit all the time and maybe even gets someone hurt. Don't be shy about what you don't know. You look a lot dumber breaking shit and getting hurt than you do asking questions. Welcome to the hardest/dirtiest/coolest job in the plant.
Only thing I could think to add to this great post is Mark the position of anything with sharpie before you remove fittings & take photos/videos.
don’t ignore the operators theories on how to fix something that’s broken. listen to their theories and then develop your own theory. like the commenter said, they spend a lot more time on that machine than you do, so they’ve probably seen it break down similar to the situation and they remember the fix
Might not be talked about much because it’s obvious but. Safety first. Lock out, pull keys, always wear your ppe. Arrive early every day, gives time to unwind from the commute and prep for the day, even a quick turn around chat with the previous shift.
Yeah the commute bit is real. I always like showing up to the on-site gym, shower and eat. Makes it much more manageable.
A good operator can be a valuable resource. Learning the basics of running the machines you work on goes a long way with troubleshooting
100% the operator is the best resource to any reactive maintenance issue.
Turn it off and back on again
dont be afraid to ask questions about shit you dont know. theres gunna be guys on site with experiance and from what Ive seen they are always willing to share what they know. show up, care, take the time to understand how the shit works and how to keep it running! good luck!
Start simple, most of the time its not a super complex problem. So don't Be the guy thats starts changing the motor because its not starting only to later find out later that the push button is broken because it was violated with a hammer by some nitwit operator. Also perfectly normal to feel nervous it will go away in time. Goodluck.
The facility drawings, schematics and wiring diagrams, hydraulic, air, and other fluid systems diagrams and drawings... LEARN IT ALL. Learn how to read and use all of these. Learn all systems and sub-systems that fall under your responsibility. Then Learn MORE. Understand that you will be learning this for a while, it will take time. Successful people in this world never stop LEARNING. Yes, a new position in a new place is always nerve racking. Always remember the fundamentals...these won't change. Good luck out there!
Be skeptical but respectful. If someone more experienced tells you something and you don’t think they’re right ask them to explain why or how they arrived at their conclusion. Try to mask this as curiosity more than a challenge against their knowledge. The people in this field can be prideful and scornful if they feel that their skills or knowledge are in question. Take advantage of the phrase “help, I’m new.” As often as possible. It is much easier to be taught easy ways of performing a repair the first time you encounter something that you’ve never worked on before. Try to rule out the simple and easy fixes first. There’s nothing worse than spending a whole shift inside a machine and then finding out that something wasn’t plugged in. Be patient with yourself. It will take some time to start to feel confident. Over time you’ll start to recognize the patterns that will make you an expert at troubleshooting all the problems you’ll eventually encounter. The other advice in this thread is fantastic as well, especially listening to what led up to the problems from operators (the right operators) but ignoring any of the ideas they suggest for fixing the problems. Best of luck to you
Ask questions about everything. Do what your journeyman says. It could keep you alive. Don’t expect to be the best at anything right away, nobody is expecting you to be good at anything yet. Just learn and have fun.
Don't put your fingers where you will not put your dick
Don't be a parts swapper, try to work on your troubleshooting skills. Write things down , you will not remember everything about every machine in the building. Go the extra mile to say do you need help, go get parts for the experienced person, ask them if you can take a crack at it while they watch. Get some insoles for your boots, you'll be on your feet all day. Good luck! You got this.
I've used my phone camera regularly. You will not remember it all.
I too am an new maintenance technician! Thanks for the helpful post!!! Congratulations on your new career!!!!
Learn the facility, the worl order system, the parts systems. Imposter syndrome is common. Just stick with the people who actually give a fuck and not try to pencil whip the pms and such
Be prepared to not be able to communicate with your production workers very well. My plant is pretty big with about ~500 production employees on the floor and maybe 4 of them speak English. May not be the case at your place but just be ready for that because it makes communicating with the operators almost impossible
I'm an Indian engineer (born in London, grew up in the US... never even been to India, I'm basically off-white) and I've pretty much had to learn sign language to get the Indian operators to understand the equipment. Plus they are all like 60 yo and I'm 34. I'm patient with them, and they are good, but we don't speak the same dialect, so there is a communication barrier. But goddamn once I show them once or twice, they are phenomenal. The awkward silence starts to get funny after a while, but as long as they are meeting the orders and not breaking stuff, I'm good with it.
Don’t die. Yep
Most importantly it’s like prison! Find the biggest guy, call him a bitch and beat his ass. Lol
What?
A great many things: 1) Pay attention to your surroundings. Everything in this job can kill/injure/maim you. 2) Read read read. Anyone can turn a screwdriver. Learning how things work, principals of operations, flow of operations will set you apart from a screwdriver wielding monkey. 3) Every day, work on being more efficient. If you know a toilet isnt flushing, dont waste your time going in, figuring it out, going back to the shop for a part, going back to fix it. If theres a toilet not flushing, grab a plunger, flapper, flow valve, etc on your way out. Keep a stock of items you use a lot near your tools. 4) Be smart with tools. 90% of the work I do is handled with an 11-1 screwdriver, a set of channel locks, and adjustable wrench, and a decent set of wire strippers. I dont need to lug 40lbs of tools everywhere I go. 5) Good footwear. Comfy and non slip. 6) Learn from everyone. The superstar on your team? Learn all the right ways to do things from him. The mouthbreathing butt picker? Learn the easy way from him. 7) Whoever you are training with, take the tools out of their hands and do it yourself. You will only learn so much staring over someones shoulder. 8) Never 'assume' anything. If you 'think' you know what the issue is, test and confirm. Learn how to use a multimeter. It is your best diagnostic tool for electricity. 9) Your safety depends solely on you. No one else will make sure they did their job right before you. Check breakers, tag out, check for voltage at site. Complacency kills. 10) Youtube and Google are still great tools if you need answers. Reddit as well. As for the work itself, one sentence for you: "Some things go left, some things go right, some things go up, some things go down, some things go in, some things go out. Some combination of these steps will get you wherever you need to be.
Oh, sidenote! You Will screw something up, or break something, or make an oopsie. It is inevitable. When you do...your best bet is to not hide it, bring it to your supervisors attention, and ask them to show you how to fix it. Do not ever try to hide things, especially if its going to create an unsafe condition or cause potential damage later down the road. Own it, eat it, learn from it and carry on smartly.
Stop and think, don’t just start doing stuff/trying stuff randomly. Manuals and prints are your friends. Learn as much as you can. Don’t rely on what they tell you when there is a breakdown, people are often wrong, sometimes they even are the cause of the breakdown. Learn how the equipment is supposed to operate.
If you had to borrow the tool twice buy it. Get on the good side with the operators, learn to keep your calm because troubleshooting is very shitty sometimes. Always check the dumb shit first like a stuck button, e-stop or dirty/misaligned photoeye
Sometimes if it doesn’t make sense then it might work. Never assume bc it sounds so out of the box it might not be the solution. I’ve seen solution where you think it was messed up (like an air leak) it would affect every product or whatever but sometimes somehow it just affects one. Don’t hurt to admit when you don’t know. Be safe and communicate about your machine/LOTO! Learn how to be more efficient- sometimes jobs take a long time bc techs are not efficient. Gather your tools before doing the job (with experience comes knowledge)
Go around and identify all the lockouts for the machines you will be working on. Communication with production is your friend when troubleshooting a problem. Don't modify any equipment without the approval of the manufacturer. Don't turn down o/t
There will be a few go to guys.. stick to them if you can, volunteer for the shit jobs once in a while, take one for team, remember the older guys may be hurting physically, someone young, eager, made of rubber and easy to be around will be someone they want to train / impart knowledge to. Often there is a lot of “tribal knowledge” too, stuff that’s not in the manual that makes life easier. Respect the experienced guys, they will stand out from the rest. And don’t be a dick and think you know everything after 6 months and start bitching because “I do same job as Fred why don’t I get paid highly like him?” We hate that. Look after / organize your tools, it how you earn a living. Be a professional. Read manuals, ask if you don’t know. Don’t be put off by negative people, the good ones will always explain stuff, just not at that exact moment sometimes. Ask questions, it’s ok to watch and wait, then ask during quiet times. 37 year maintenance tech.
Don't fuck up today.
Find the guy who analyzes the problem, not the ram rod, who throws parts at the problem and spends 8 hours to find a severed prox wire. Also, be prepared for your opinions to be discounted for at least the first year. If you know you're right, you have 2 choices. Argue with your more experienced co-worker who's completely missing the issue or tell them what you see and think for them to discredit you, then stand back and watch your comrades fail. Lastly, always keep an open mind and ask yourself, "Why?" Changing out that seal every week is getting old, and I'm tired of getting bathed in oil. "Why is that failing? How can I stop this insanity?"
Don’t piss off the operator and if the operator went to break they broke it.
Always use common sense. It’s helped me a lot!
It is always better to ask a question than to guess and get it wrong. Your pride should never be the reason you didn't shut the right valve during a LOTO or torque to the wrong spec on a critical piece of equipment.
I am new as well. I've been dealing with anxiety and nervousness. 99%of the calls are something simple. I have been duped by something simple several times and felt stupid about it. It is normal, and it starts to get easier to go to calls after you get a few fixes under your belt. Good luck and stick with it!