what is a maintenance manager?
As a maintenance manager, you are the company's maintenance department leader. Your job revolves around maintaining the company's facilities and equipment to ensure your co-workers have the best resources to complete their daily tasks. Your primary role is supervising the operations and activities within the department, and you are in charge of technical employees.
The job of a maintenance manager is quite different from other managerial roles. The scope of your responsibilities is broader than standard administrative tasks. Besides knowing the technical issues and equipment your team has to work on, your main challenge is creating a motivated workforce. As a maintenance manager, you should see yourself as a senior supervisor and facilitator. Keep asking your workers whether they need help, more training or specialised tools to manage their tasks better. You also help with other tasks within your department, like budget creation and expense tracking.
Maintenance managers work in electrical plants, manufacturing companies or commercial buildings. Hence, you need a basic understanding of electrical systems, plumbing, carpentry and other crafts. You should be well-versed in maintenance regulations and safety procedures, too. In small institutions, you do some maintenance tasks. However, in large enterprises, the main job is to supervise operations.
Would working as a maintenance manager suit your troubleshooting skills? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a maintenance manager role.
maintenance manager jobsaverage maintenance manager salary
According to the Economic Research Institute, you earn an average salary of €37,000 per year as a maintenance manager. The earnings fluctuate with experience and the complexity of your tasks. When starting as a maintenance manager, your compensation package is slightly lower due to your minimal experience. As you gain experience, your compensation package increases gradually, and you can take home over €46,000 per year.
what factors affect the salary of a maintenance manager?
Your compensation package as a maintenance manager depends on your duties and work experience. When you handle complex duties, you will likely earn a higher salary due to the required expertise. Having additional experience and educational qualifications improves your earnings significantly.
The size of the organisation also influences your earnings. When you work in a big company, you manage a larger team of maintenance workers compared to small companies with few workers. Large organisations also have unlimited resources and can afford higher salaries and better benefits. Small companies have limited budgets and may not have the resources to pay higher salaries.
types of maintenance managers
Different industries require specific types of maintenance managers. Some of these include:
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plant maintenance managers
Your job is to ensure smooth plant systems and equipment operations. For this job, you oversee new equipment installation, repairs, and preventive maintenance to ensure timely and effective production.
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facilities maintenance managers
As a facilities maintenance manager, you take charge of all servicing and engineering tasks within a facility. You often work with plumbers and mechanical or electrical engineers to ensure the facility is safe for its intended purpose.
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public works maintenance managers
Your work is to lead and guide maintenance supervisors in government institutions. Some roles include overseeing the landscaping or maintenance of roads, parks and recreation facilities.
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building complex maintenance managers
You are responsible for residential complexes and commercial offices. You supervise daily upkeep operations, such as cleaning and managing maintenance procedures.
working as a maintenance manager
If you want to start a career as a maintenance manager, you should understand the scope of the work. Read on to learn more about the duties, responsibilities and expectations of the job.
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what does a maintenance manager do?
As a maintenance manager, the nature and number of responsibilities vary from one organisation to another, depending on the company's size and the industry. Some typical tasks include:
- Supervising maintenance activities: the central role of a maintenance manager is to oversee and supervise staff. Your job involves planning daily work schedules and assigning responsibilities based on the employee's abilities. You also inspect the progress of each project depending on the schedule.
- Training employees: as a maintenance manager, you coach and mentor employees to meet organisational goals. You identify employees' weaknesses and train them to improve their skills. You work as a counsellor to build better relationships with your workforce. If your team faces any problems, you resolve them or hand over the issues to the responsible parties within the organisation.
- Implementing health and safety procedures: maintenance involves high-risk activities that expose workers and other employees to hazards. As the maintenance manager, you ensure that your team conducts all activities following occupational safety and health guidelines. The best way to implement such procedures is by providing every worker with the right equipment and choosing well-trained staff for their tasks.
- Managing budgets: as a maintenance manager, you manage your department's budget. The company expects you to manage its resources and expenses well by ensuring best practices. Your job as a maintenance manager also involves monitoring equipment inventory. As the manager, you develop better ways to improve productivity and cut costs within your department.
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work environment of a maintenance manager
The day-to-day work activities of a maintenance manager vary based on the industry. You may work in private or public sectors and in different environments and locations. Whether you work indoors or outdoors, expect to spend much of your time walking around the facility to provide proactive solutions when needed. If you work in a manufacturing company, you spend most of the time solving hydraulic, mechanical and electrical problems within the facility.
In commercial or residential buildings, you spend most of your workday evaluating, maintaining and repairing systems within the premises. However, if you are a maintenance manager working for a mining or construction company, you move from one place to another. Maintenance managers working in a transportation company also supervise corrective maintenance tasks on vehicles and equipment, wherever they are. Those who maintain electrical systems spend a lot of their time in the field.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on your employer and the industry you work in, your colleagues include mechanical engineers, maintenance engineers and electrical engineers. You collaborate with civil engineers, technicians, electricians and operations managers. In factories, you work alongside production workers, factory supervisors and factory managers.
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maintenance manager work schedule
The supervisory demands of maintenance managers require them to work long hours. You're likely to work full-time during traditional office hours or, in some cases, on a shift-based schedule. Expect to work at a standard rate of 40 hours a week. However, if you are in demanding sectors, like manufacturing or construction, prepare for emergency calls. Most plants operate 24 hours a day and have shift schedules.
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career opportunities as a maintenance manager
Companies have realised that maintenance is an integral contributor to business success and are rapidly adopting the predictive maintenance principle. Today, most enterprises don't wait for equipment to fail before seeking repair services — instead, they employ a maintenance team to keep their equipment and systems in working order and prevent disruptive breakdowns. You can specialise in specific maintenance tasks, such as railways and roads. If you work in manufacturing facilities, progress to a facilities manager role or become a consultant on maintenance issues.
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advantages of finding a job as a maintenance manager through randstad
Working with Randstad offers you a range of benefits.
- always a contact person you can fall back on and ask for help from
- a range of jobs in your area
maintenance manager skills and education
Some of the requirements for becoming a maintenance manager in Greece include:
- Education: pursue a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field — like facility management, mechanical engineering or electrical engineering — to excel in the role. You can also pursue courses relevant to the industry you want to work in, such as industrial or plant maintenance engineering.
- Work experience: gain experience in an entry-level role in maintenance to learn the industry's best practices and improve your knowledge. Consider getting relevant licences for your organisation. For instance, if you have a degree in electrical engineering, you can get a licence from the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE). Some employers also expect you to register with the Hellenic Association of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers in Greece.
competencies and characteristics of maintenance managers
You need the following qualities to become an effective maintenance manager:
- Leadership skills: as a maintenance manager, you supervise various workers to ensure tasks are completed on time. You need exceptional leadership skills to inspire and motivate workers toward a particular goal. Management skills also help you delegate tasks and multi-task effectively.
- Technical knowledge: you need basic computer skills to order stock, hold educational programs and create schedules. You also require computer skills to manage maintenance tasks with computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS). You need knowledge of engineering concepts to perform some tasks yourself in case a worker is unavailable.
- Problem-solving skills: as a maintenance manager, problem-solving skills help you resolve issues swiftly and avoid interfering with other business operations.
- People skills: as a maintenance manager, you deal with many colleagues, from cleaning staff to engineers and managers. You need great people skills to build effective relationships and communicate professionally with everyone.
FAQs
Here, you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the profession of a maintenance manager.
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what are the responsibilities of maintenance managers?
As a maintenance manager, you lead the maintenance team and oversee maintenance procedures in a company. You prepare the work schedules for maintenance tasks and assign tasks to maintenance workers. You also oversee maintenance work and perform inspections to ensure quality. When maintenance workers have trouble performing complex maintenance tasks, you step in to coordinate the tasks.
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which qualities should a maintenance manager have?
As a maintenance manager, you should be quick on your feet and make fast decisions in response to circumstances. Your ability to act quickly minimises downtimes in production. Since you interact with various professionals, you also require interpersonal skills to excel in the role.
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what is the difference between a maintenance supervisor and a maintenance manager?
A maintenance supervisor is in charge of a team of maintenance workers. As a maintenance supervisor, you ensure the maintenance tasks are assigned and completed by the team. You oversee the maintenance department, as well as the employees, equipment and resources allocated to the department.
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who does the maintenance manager report to?
As a maintenance manager, you are in charge of maintenance operations and oversee maintenance supervisors. Depending on the company hierarchy, you may report to the maintenance director or the head of operations.
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is maintenance manager a good job in Greece?
With the many industries in Greece, maintenance managers are highly sought after. You have a promising career and also have a great opportunity to build valuable skills that are relevant in other roles.
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how do I find a job as a maintenance manager?
Finding a job near you as a maintenance manager is easy. Search our job offers. Have you found what you're looking for? Then submit your application using the ‘Apply’ button top right on the page. No jobs available right now? Then log in or register an account to send us your resume and we'll pass it on to a recruiter who will contact you if an opportunity opens up for you.
