Maintenance Mechanics | What You Need to Know

What does a maintenance mechanic do?

Maintenance mechanics, like maintenance technicians, primarily deal with an organization’s equipment maintenance tasks. The maintenance mechanic’s main goal is to achieve maximum possible uptime on equipment without sacrificing quality.

While a maintenance technician may deal with a large amount of different pieces of equipment, maintenance mechanics work specifically on machines. Mechanics specialize in the assembly, disassembly, repair, and maintenance of machinery.

Maintenance mechanics also perform tests on new pieces of equipment, as well as document maintenance work. Depending on the facility, a senior mechanic may even train new technicians and mechanics.

While maintenance technicians and mechanics seem similar, they aren’t exactly the same job. Maintenance mechanics, while they are more specialized, focus on one singular area: machines and mechanical equipment. “Maintenance technician,” on the other hand, is a more general label. A technician might work with machinery, or they might work in apartments patching walls and fixing piping.

Responsibilities

• Performs maintenance, examinations, and tests on all mechanical equipment
• Responsible for equipment transport, assembly, and disassembly
• Fabricates and adjusts repair parts via machining
• Updates maintenance documentation
• Trains new maintenance mechanics when necessary

Traits

• Follows manufacturer specifications and guides
• Skilled in usage of precise measurement tools
• Demonstrates knowledge of both general and complex mechanical systems
• Prioritizes safety of working environment and coworkers
• Possesses strong problem-solving skills

Who should hire a maintenance mechanic?

Maintenance mechanics typically work in industries requiring a large amount of machinery to create products. This means that any organization utilizing large-scale machinery can benefit from hiring one or more maintenance mechanics.

Without maintenance mechanics, mechanical equipment receives less maintenance and asset managers have to deal with the headache of machine assembly and transport. Moving a complex machine even just a few feet to the right or left can be a massive undertaking. Trained mechanics can make a world of difference in this scenario because they specialize in equipment disassembly - the machine will be moved in a day or week as opposed to a month.

These employees perform critical work when it comes to the normal operation of mechanical equipment, so any company concerned with its uptime should think about investing in maintenance mechanics. Maintenance mechanics should also be a concern for any startup company using machinery because they perform important initial tests and examinations. Successful tests can mean everything for a new facility when setting up new and expensive equipment.

Where does it work?

Any organization with a large amount of machinery will employ a maintenance mechanic or a team of them.

Some examples of industries that utilize the skills of maintenance mechanics include:

• Aerospace: Machines are involved in every single step of building an airplane. Equipment requires constant evaluation and maintenance to make sure the end product meets strict safety standards. After all all, no one wants to set foot in an airplane built with faulty equipment.
• Automotive: The automotive industry also uses a large variety of different machines. Just like with planes, every automobile leaving a factory must meet strict safety standards.
• Food and drink: Anyone who has watched an educational documentary on their favorite snack knows that the food and drink industry uses hundreds of pieces of machinery. Even some of the simplest candies pass through multiple mechanical steps.

You can see examples of other industries that hire maintenance mechanics by reviewing job postings for maintenance mechanics on Indeed.

What certifications are available for maintenance mechanics?

Anyone hiring a maintenance mechanic wants verification that a potential employee is properly trained and certified. While having the right education is important, certifications can mean the difference between good-enough uptime and a world class uptime.

When looking into maintenance mechanics, there are a variety of certifications available.

• Certified Maintenance Technician (CMT): The International Maintenance Institute offers a certification to become a Certified Maintenance Technician (CMT). It teaches mechanics a variety of important technical and mechanical skills.
• Professional Aviation Maintenance Certification (PAMC): Offered through Aviation Maintenance, the PAMC is a certification for aviation professionals which goes over advanced functionality and maintenance of aircraft.