MAINTENANCE REPAIRERS, GENERAL UTILITY Occupational Guide Number 560 Interest Area 5-D 1997
THE JOB
MAINTENANCE REPAIRERS, GENERAL UTILITY use a variety of skills to install, repair, and maintain industrial machinery and equipment as well as physical structures like commercial buildings, factories, apartment houses, schools, and hospitals. Their duties may involve repairing restaurant refrigerators, building office partitions, repairing windows and doors, replacing electrical switches, painting walls and floors, laying bricks and installing tiles, clearing clogged drains and replacing plumbing, repairing heating and air conditioning equipment, and rewiring offices.
Repairers have skills in several construction and mechanical crafts such as carpentry, electrical installation and repair, plumbing, painting, roofing, and mechanics.
Maintenance Repairers use tools ranging from common hand and power tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, and wrenches to precision measuring instruments and electrical and electronic testing devices.
They may be required to read and understand diagrams, drawings, blueprints, maintenance manuals and schematic diagrams. Some may be responsible for ordering parts, supplies and equipment from industrial catalogs and suppliers.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Maintenance Repairers work inside and outside of all types of buildings from factories, warehouses and office buildings to classrooms, medical facilities, and apartment complexes.
Repairers usually work in well lighted and ventilated areas, but since they must work in many building locations, they may work in hot and cold temperatures, in dark places, in tight quarters, on ladders and scaffolding, in awkward positions, and around moving machinery and equipment. They must stand for long periods of time, and their work requires that they be able to bend, stoop, squat, lean, and reach.
Work hazards include factory noise, floors which are dirty and wet from water and greases, electrical shock, hot steam, sharp objects, moving machinery, heavy objects, and much work at heights well above the floor level. Repairers working in manufacturing plants and warehouses must also be aware of dangerous chemicals and industrial gases and liquids. They may be required to wear protective helmets, gloves, reinforced shoes and boots, masks, goggles and other protective devices while on the job.
Maintenance Repairers may work as part of a team or alone, as in most cases with employers with few workers. They usually work a 40-hour workweek but may be required to work in the evening or overnight shifts and on weekends and holidays. Some may be on call for emergencies.
Repairers who work for small employers may have little direct supervision. Those employed by larger establishments will generally be supervised by an experienced crafts worker such as a carpenter, plumber or electrician.
Those who work in manufacturing plants or in industries like hotels and resorts may be laid off from time-to-time because of seasonal changes and production scheduling.
Maintenance Repairers may belong to labor unions depending upon the industry for which the Repairer is employed and where they work in California. Unions may include the United Automobile Workers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Teamsters Union, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, and others.
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK
The following information is from the California Projections of Employment published by the Labor Market Information Division.
Estimated number of workers in 1993: 114,330 Estimated number of workers in 2005: 154,000 Projected Growth 1993-2005 35% Estimated openings due to separations by 2005: 32,730
(These figures do not include self-employment nor openings due to turnover.)
General Utility Maintenance Repairer jobs will grow at a rate much faster than average for all occupations. This growth is expected to continue with a strong California economy and the resulting development and construction of new and replacement office buildings, hospitals, hotels and motels, schools, apartment buildings, and manufacturing facilities. Replacement jobs should also be plentiful due to the normal occupational turnover. In the above table, approximately 40,000 new jobs are expected to develop between 1993 and 2005. Nearly 33,000 Repairer jobs will be available because of workers retiring or leaving the occupation for other reasons.
Opportunities for Repairers will be strongest in and around the largest cities and in communities with newly developing industries and commercial development.
WAGES, HOURS, AND FRINGE BENEFITS
Entry workers can expect a pay range from around $5.00 to $22.00 per hour. Experienced workers should earn from about $7.00 to $30.00 per hour. Those with three or more years with the employer may earn from $6.00 to $35.00 an hour.
Most employers have fringe-benefit packages which include health, life and disability insurance plans, vacation, holiday and sick leave programs and pension plans.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING
Most employers hire trainees with at least a high school diploma and completion of classes in electricity, woodworking, mechanical drawing, blueprint reading, shop math, and science. Some employers prefer graduates of vocational courses from community or technical colleges or adult education programs. Other employers will hire workers who were construction trade helpers or machinery repairers.
Mechanical aptitude, the ability to use basic math, and manual dexterity are essential. Problem solving ability is required for more complicated jobs. A familiarity with computers will be valuable for Repairers who work in buildings with computer control systems and in factories and warehouses using computerized production and distribution equipment.
The occupation requires workers to have normal or corrected vision, good hearing, full use of both arms, hands and legs. They should be able to stand for long periods of time, move and lift heavy objects, work in awkward positions and in tight quarters, and be in good overall physical condition.
ADVANCEMENT
Highly skilled Repairers may develop into specialists who perform the more difficult diagnoses and repairs in the shop. Those with supervisory abilities can promote to shop supervisor or service manager. Others may become specialists in one of the construction and mechanical crafts.
FINDING THE JOB
Repairers should start their job search by contacting manufacturing plants, wholesale and retail firms, apartments and other group residences, government agencies, hospitals and other health care facilities, hotels and resorts, and commercial real estate management companies. Other sources of information on job openings are newspaper classified ads and Job Service Offices of the California Employment Development Department.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 1625 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 (202) 429-1000
United Automobile Workers 8000 E. Jefferson Avenue Detroit, MI 48214 (313) 926-5000
For information about apprenticeships for specific skilled trades:
California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Apprenticeship Standards 45 Fremont Street San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 975-2035
RELATED OCCUPATIONAL GUIDES
Heating and Air Conditioning Mechanics No. 32 Appliance Repairers No. 101 Electricians No. 121 Maintenance Mechanics (Machinery) No. 136 Carpenters No. 169 Plumbers No. 173
OCCUPATIONAL CODE REFERENCES
DOT (Dictionary of Occupational Titles, 4th ed., Rev.1) Heating and Air Conditioning Installer 637.261-014 Refrigeration Mechanic 637.261-026 Electrician 824.261-010 Electrical Appliance Servicer 827.261-010 Household Appliance Installerr 827.661-010 Carpenter 860.381-022 Plumber 862.381-030 Maintenance Repairer, Industrial 899.261-014 Maintenance Repairer, Building 899.381-010
OES (Occupational Employment Statistics) System Maintenance Repairers, General Utility 851320
Source: State of California, Employment Development Department,
Labor Market Information Division, Information Services Group,
(916) 262-2162.
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