Today among the most popular jobs there are service technicians, machinists and mechanics. The point is that in our days almost every area of people’s everyday life is automated and it is hardly possible to do without specialists who are able to maintain the equipment in work and repair it in case of trouble. To avoid the situation when there are not enough people to deal with machinery, one should attract young people to this kind of occupation. It seems that the ways it should be done are, first, to provide the specialists with decent salary and, second, to offer conductive work environment. The aim of this essay is to explain the main peculiarities of the occupation industrial maintenance and view its perspectives.

As the industrial systems are developing with a high speed, today the duties of one working in this sphere comprise support and maintenance of such sophisticated systems as computer-controlled electrical and mechanical production equipment, material processing and material handling equipment, general maintenance, and facility support systems.  According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, specific duties may include inspections of buildings, grounds, and facilities in order to detect and resolve problems or problems that potentially may occur, as well as “cleaning and lubricating machinery, testing and replacement of electrical switches, sockets, and plugs, or deteriorated pipes, and repair of floorings, railings, and appliances” (2008). However, this occupation may also include such common duties as painting, plumbing, and fixing broken parts of buildings (doors, windows, locks). Moreover, new equipment may be installed by the representatives of this profession. Thus, it should be emphasized that the major responsibilities of working in this area are preventive maintenance and the installation of new equipment. As nowadays robots are actively introduced into the manufacturing process, often the duties of a mechanic include programming the robot control system which requires additional experience and skills. So, this kind of job may include simple mechanical repairs, as well as high-level technology-related work. The ever-increasing introduction of sophisticated machines calls for workers who can use computerized equipment and work with electronic components. Nevertheless, traditional hand tools are still widely used.

Industrial maintenance is a vital thing for all the establishments in which industrial machinery is used, but as they are differentiated according to their functions, final products and functional complexity of equipment, maintainers also differ according to their main responsibilities and the area they are working in. Thus, they may be automotive service technicians, small engine mechanics, machinists, heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians, heating and refrigeration mechanics, diesel service technicians, etc.

These jobs may be found mainly in the areas of industry where industrial machinery is extensively used. They may be food processing, textile mills, chemicals, fabricated metal products, motor vehicles, and primary metals. The mechanics may be also required in such establishments as government agencies, public utilities, mining companies, etc.

At first sight, it may seem that to become a maintenance worker one should not have more than high school education and a little knowledge in machinery, so much the experience workers get on the job. All this might have been so two decades ago. Today the employer requires the maintenance worker to be knowledgeable about complex electronic systems and computers which regulate the work of equipment. Moreover, workers must be aware of all the complex components the machinery consists of and their work. They also must be able to work with reference manuals. So, it is preferable that workers applicants for a job have taken “courses in mechanical drawing, mathematics, blueprint reading, computer programming, or electronics” (2008). It is also very important to distinguish industrial machinery mechanics from maintenance workers – the latter ones perform less sophisticated work. So, machinery maintenance workers learn in the course of working, while industrial machinery mechanics need education after high school and some experience working on particular equipment.   Although the majority of machinery maintenance worker positions require just a high school diploma, it is highly recommended that workers have training in the area of industrial technology. In addition, to get some experience, the person may choose to be for some time an assistant worker by experienced workers or professional trainer. In this case one may be offered to perform such easy job as setting up, cleaning, and switching on machinery. After a while the assistant worker may be offered a steady job at least given a good reference. On the whole industrial machinery mechanics should possess the following kinds of knowledge: mechanical, engineering and technology, computers and electronics and physics. As for primary skills needed, they are equipment maintenance, repairing, determining causes of errors, operation monitoring (making sure that equipment is working properly) and quality control analysis (testing the quality of products and services).