The Results-Oriented Maintenance Workplace

Maintenance jobs, whether equipment, plumbing or heating-air conditioning-ventilation, are involved in a lot of detail. When maintenance people are so engrossed in the details of their jobs, it's easy for them, for anyone actually, to lose sight of the job's major contribution.

A Results-Oriented Maintenance Job Description is different from a traditional job description because it focuses an employee on the several job results that answer the question: What results must this maintenance affairs job accomplish for the organization?

Maintenance Job Standards added to job expectations tighten management controls by clarifying how well and when results must be accomplished.

Maintenance Job Objectives establish management and employee plans by highlighting important current and future results needed.

Job-specific Maintenance Employee Management Forms maintain consistent and maintenancely sound management actions by basing manager-employee interactions on job results.

The Purpose of Maintenance Jobs

Stated in a results-oriented, three-line style, maintenance affairs jobs--

KEEP EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES OPERATIONAL by

tracking, scheduling repairs, maintenance, and installation of machines, tools, and equipment; installing, modifying and maintaining heat, steam, electric, gas, and air systems; inspecting operating machines, equipment, and systems for conformance with operational standards.

Types of Maintenance Jobs

Some maintenance jobs troubleshoot problems when equipment and systems fail, while other jobs perform regularly scheduled preventive maintenance in order to prevent failures. Some jobs specialize in certain types of equipment, such as automobiles or forklifts.

Other jobs provide plumbing and electricity to sites and equipment. Still other jobs plan maintenance activities and store tools and parts. Somebody needs to keep records and chart statistics. And, of course, somebody has to manage and supervise the maintenance people and processes.

Maintenance Job Management Tools

Here are actual job examples of how maintenance affairs job actions can be focused on results and kept on track using each of our job management tools:

Results-Oriented Maintenance Job Descriptions form the foundation of all job management tools. Our uniquely structured job descriptions focus on the result to be accomplished first and prominently, followed by the duties performed in order to accomplish the result. For example,

RECOMMENDS MAINTENANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Maintenance Job Standards sharpen employee attention and management control by defining and communicating how well the maintenance affairs results must be accomplished and what benchmarks will be used to measure job results. For example, for the job result above, the job standards might be:

• Maintenance situations are correctly understood.
• All options are identified and evaluated.
• Maintenance recommendations are ready when needed.

Maintenance Job Objectives point the direction for employee actions by focusing job efforts on current and future maintenance affairs issues. Job objectives are written in the three-line, results-oriented structure. For example, for the job result above, a job objective might be:

SPEED-UP DECISION MAKING by

reducing time to deliver maintenance affairs recommendations by 10% by (date).

Maintenance Employee Management Forms tied specifically to each maintenance affairs job description are more helpful (and maintenance) than generic forms used for all different kinds of jobs. Job-specific forms are used to state job qualifications, guide job interview questions, orient new employees, plan job training, and appraise job performance.

Maintenance Job Qualifications are stated in the same terms used in the job description. They are not translated into generic (typically behavioral) terms. For example:

RECOMMENDS MAINTENANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Maintenance Job Interview guide questions are inserted directly below each job result in the job description: For example:

• "What specific job responsibilities have you had in this area?"
• "Where did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "When did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "How did you go about accomplishing these responsibilities?"
• "What accomplishment in this area gave you the most pride?"
• "In this area, what were some of your biggest challenges?"
• "How did you overcome the challenges?"

The Maintenance Job Orientation guide reformats the job description sequence so that job explanations, policies, protocols, processes, and procedures are logical and complete and can easily be checked off. For example:

RECOMMENDS MAINTENANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Here's the procedure and format we use to analyze and present maintenance affairs recommendations."

The Maintenance Job Training plan guides a thorough examination of actual job knowledge, skills, and abilities as described in the job description that need improvement or that might be enhanced. For example:

RECOMMENDS MAINTENANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Analytical skills would be improved by enrolling in a statistical analysis class."

The Maintenance Job Performance Appraisal guide is a job-specific form. It is not a universal form used for all jobs. The guide adds an appraisal scale below each job result in the job description so that attention can be drawn to each job requirement and expectation. For example:

RECOMMENDS MAINTENANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

__ Great! Just want we wanted.
__ We have a problem.
__ Improvement is needed.
__ Much, much more than we asked for.

Comments: _________________

Maintenance Résumé Template

Potential employers want to know what a job applicant has accomplished in his/her maintenance affairs work career. They don't want to be bored with minor details. Our Résumé Template provides:

• an outline to help assemble personal background information.
• a Results-Oriented Job Description to provide the maintenance affairs job language-focused on results-needed to write an effective résumé.
• Maintenance Job Objectives to orient thinking in terms of accomplishments.
• instructions on how to use a Results-Oriented Maintenance Job Description and Maintenance Job Objectives to express job accomplishments.

Use the maintenance affairs job description responsibility statement as a base:

RECOMMENDS MAINTENANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Select the maintenance affairs job objective that fits your experience:

REDUCE COSTS 10% by

improving maintenance affairs processes.

Combine the two into a résumé statement:

Reduced costs 10% by analyzing, identifying, and recommending new maintenance affairs system controls.

Maintenance Career Links

CareerOverview.com, Maintenance and Repair Workers

Non-commercial website dedicated to providing aspiring career professionals and students with relevant, reliable and up-to-date career and job information whereby helping them to make better, more informed career choices.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Maintenance and Repair Workers

Learn about the training and education needed for maintenance and repair jobs, earnings, expected job prospects, what maintenance and repair workers do on the job, and working conditions.

Education-Portal.com, Auto Maintenance Technician Career

Career profile, definition, required education, skills required, career and economic outlook, recommended schools.