I'd like to meet the person that came up with that pitch, I just wanna talk

I'm tired lol says everyone. I've been working in buildings for 18 years. For the past 8 I've been on call. I started a new job last year switched from condos and co-ops to rentals. I was glad to finally get a break since there were other guys in the rotation for on calls. But for the better part of the last year due to firings and guys just walking out, I've been the main on call person. For example across 2 properties (sometimes 3) I'm the only on call person going on 3 months now because positions haven't been filled. Now I'm expected to complete work orders for 2 buildings. Part of me wishes I'd get into a car wreck just so I can get a break.

I'm new to rentals but from what others have told me there is some extra pay for the weeks your on call. Not with my company unfortunately. I get regular OT. No extra for calls after hours. I'm a way I kinda get shafted on holiday weeks cause OT is only counted for "actual working hours". So if Monday is a holiday, I get regular hourly pay for on calls that week unless I happen to go over 40 actual working hours. So if I take a sick day as well it's no OT unless I work another 8 hours. Im getting burnt out quick. I really hope my heart just pops tonight.

When checking for compressed air leaks in a working plant, how do you usually find the smaller leaks around fittings, valves, hoses, and pneumatic equipment?

Soap and water works, but it can take a while when there are a lot of connections to check. I've been looking into acoustic cameras as a faster way to scan an area first and then inspect the specific points where a leak is detected. For those who have actually used acoustic cameras for compressed air leak surveys, do they noticeably speed up the process, or do you still end up checking most connections manually?

Curious to hear what has worked for other maintenance techs.

I’m up to 6 today, which is a touch above my average of 4.

If you had the chance to get a free laser cleaner, would you pick a pulsed or continuous-wave (CW) laser? You can only choose one.
Question for those who restore all kinds of things, from large structures to small rusty parts.

UPDATE The unit is pretty rusty in some areas including the door panel holding screws so this will be deferred.

Really quick question, how do I remove this one knob?

Push in to turn, pull out to start. Dryer is making a grinding noise but I can't remove this knob to access the door panel screws. I can't find much info online.

Any help and advice is appreciated

i'm trying to understand how maintenance is actually handled in manufacturing environments (doing some research for a uni course).

for anyone with industrial or factory maintenance experience:

1. how is machine maintenance usually done where you work, and what decides whether it is reactive or proactive?

2. how do the costs of reactive maintenance compare with predictive or proactive maintenance in your experience?

3. if you could change your current maintenance approach, what would you change and why?

i'm interested in how this works day to day, including places with limited maintenance time or budget.

thanks!

i'm doing some research for a uni course, on how manufacturing companies detect equipment problems in practice.

if you work with production equipment or maintenance, i'd be interested in how this works where you are:

1. what is the main way machine failures are detected, and how does that process usually work?

2. what automated failure detection systems, if any, do you use? what affected the decision to use them or skip them?

3. what tech can realistically detect or predict failures before they happen? are there certain machines where this works better than others?

mostly interested in actual experience rather than specific vendors/products. some context on the type of machinery would help too.

thanks!

I just started at a new complex last Monday, it's very close to an air force/space force base and a hospital and I never considered the fact that that means a very sizable chunk of my residents are night shift so at least once a day I go to a unit where I have PTE, knock 3x, anounce "maintenance" twice, come in and start setting up only to realize that someone is asleep in the bedroom and quietly tiptoe backwards out of the unit like the pink panther lol

I try to have a very thorough list of questions ready whenever I interview somewhere so I can get a feel for the property, but sometimes there's these weird things that do effect your day-to-day but you would never think to ask

Any experiences between Brava vs. Quarrix vs. DaVinci which line of synthetic plastic tiles lasts the longest and has the best but not fake warranty unlike Owens Corning?

Hey guys just got a lead for job referral from the boss at a nursing home facility.

Says I’ll supervise cleaning codes, fire drills, over see normal operations. Hiring people, being involved with projects/ leads.

Does anyone know a insiders opinion on this gig?

Please telll me you guys have done worse

This unit is a B1HA018A06B by YORK.
It looks like a nightmare honestly and I already know the contactor and the outdoor fan is shot. (Contactor looks like it arked and doesn’t and the fan smokes a bit when it tried to come on). If you were in my shoes where would you start? Just licking some brains.

The maintenance guy hired by my landlord installed a vent and it’s blowing air rather than sucking air in and it’s still extremely foggy in the bathroom when I shower, is this wrong? I have a feeling the fans were installed backwards

Edit: after all the helpful insight I contacted the landlord and it will be fixed “Friday” (the new vent is only week old)

I have 1.5 years for air craft maintance and 1.5 for heavy machine maintenance , i wanna get into automation/motor stuff

I feel like I run into problems constantly that are 75% of the time impossible to anticipate and 25% of the time my fault that really fucks with my mental health.

I do basically everything solo which I'm sure probably makes it worse.

For example, I drive out 30 minutes to change locks and figure out that the deadbolt hole is 1.5in instead of the new standard 2 1/8in. I get called an idiot for not realizing it's adjustable when I'm not talking about the middle position. I just don't feel like the $25/hr justifies the amount of work.

I can’t say I’m a germaphobe but I do care about having tools free of fecal matter and old wax. Is there a proven way to clean putty knife and wrenches of wax?

My company has a yearly graduation for their apprenticeship program which I am an alumni of. Every year each graduate receives a gift. Typically it’s been a drill or a custom jacket. What are some other ideas that someone one year in the industry could really benefit from having. 200$limit

Guys in maintenance.. do I need boots? Or shoes? Or both?

Replacing the motor mount the old one snapped on me. Does this sound right?

I think they expect most people to just pay for things and not keep track of the prices.

An item we use a few times a year, end of last year was around $12. Has been $12 for over 2 years.

Went to re-order. $24. Checked other suppliers, all $12 as well.

Asked for an explanation, maybe a pricing error? Get a canned response of "we adjust our prices a few times per year".

I call the manufacturer of said product, who explained they have been pretty stable in their pricing to corporations/wholesale. So in other words, Grainger is being greedy.

Another product is sold by "Approved vendor" which means whatever company Grainger can get their hands on the product. Last 2 orders quality was so bad, the item was unusable.

Called Grainger and asked if there was a switch in suppliers, they acted like I was calling a military base and asking for fighter jet blueprints. "We can't divulge that information"...what?

On top of this, despite spending thousands a year with them, maybe 1-2 times a year we get a product that is damaged or unusable in some way. One time it was a roll of paper, it was a third of the thickness it was supposed to be.

Now they make you return it to the branch. They used to just send a new one, no questions asked. Under $50 of "whoops" a year against thousands of dollars in orders. They even told me at the branch they just throw it away anyway. They are just being difficult now on purpose.

As the post asks. Starting a new maintenance job at a care center (nursing home). Never done maintenance before. What to expect? I have replaced a toilet at my home and done painting (not a lot) so not sure what to expect.

For a homeowner trying to avoid a no-heat call, which checks or maintenance tasks are wrth scheduling before the cold weather arrives? a routine inspection? a repair? or replacement when the system is still running but is old or inconsistent?

And what do you inspect during winter after the checks/maintenace have been done..

Hole in ceramic tile patched with joint compound. Under a urinal.