MAINTENANCE AND OTHER PROCESS INDUSTRY
CAREER OPTIONS

Taking care of business… and working overtime!

(“Takin’ Care of Business,” by Bachman Turner Overdrive, 1973)

The Process Technology and Operator Academy was created to inform interested Readers and Students about process technology and process operation fundamentals.

However, in the event that dedicating years to build a career that boils down to routinely monitoring the expected while being constantly vigilant for the occasional crisis is not your idea of a good time, then perhaps the Maintenance or auxiliary process industry careers would be a better career fit.

In that case, continuing as a PTOA Reader or Student will still be worthwhile. Gaining an understanding of industrial process operations will enhance the knowledge base of any auxiliary process technology career.

Maintenance Department:
Constant Troubleshooters and Problem Solvers

The Maintenance Department shop personnel troubleshoot and solve mechanical problems 24/7. Their days begin with work orders that describe problems that were primarily detected by the Process Operations Department.

For example:

Vigilant Outside Process Operators will notice when a pump is making an unexpected noise. The Outside Process Operator will write a work order to the Maintenance Mechanic Shop that alerts a Mechanic Technician to check the pump out.

Vigilant Control Board Operators will notice when the output of a control valve does not appear to correlate to the expected flow rate. The Control Board Operator will write a work order to have an Instrument Tech from the Maintenance Instrument & Electrical Shop evaluate the problem more thoroughly.

Some work orders are determined to be high priority and must be dealt with that day. Other items are given a lower priority and dealt with after the most immediate problems threatening safety or production have been fixed.

If all of the immediate and lower priority maintenance issues are taken care of, the shops are still busy with preventative maintenance items. Just like at your home, in a processing facility there is always a long list of preventative maintenance items.

Maintenance and Auxiliary Career Paths in Process Industries

PTOA readers that are not interested in becoming Process Unit Operators but are still interested in process technology careers may consider the below career paths:

• Mechanic and Mechanical Technician
• Electrician and Electrician Technician
• Industrial Process Instrumentation Technician
• Fabrication/Carpentry Shop Technician
• Maintenance Planner/Scheduler
• Quality Control/Quality Assurance Lab Technician
• Warehouse Technician
• Safety Technician
• Industrial Health Technician
• Environmental Compliance Tech

Take Home Message: Unlike their counterparts in Process Operations, the Maintenance Department workers arrive on shift not knowing exactly what their workload will be; a work order system determines which mechanical problems take priority. Maintenance jobs involve troubleshooting, or solving and fixing problems 24/7. There are many process industry auxiliary jobs that have varying degrees of routine and required skill sets.

Photo credit: www.austrailianapprenticeships.gov.au

©2014 PTOA Orientation Segment 10

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