SiteArticles for maintenance managers and engineers
Breakdowns, cover, the law and fault-finding, written by engineers for the people who keep factories and warehouses running.
- Tickets and qualifications
IPAF and PASMA for maintenance work at height
Plenty of faults in a tall warehouse are out of reach. What the law asks before you go up, where IPAF and PASMA fit, and the checks that matter more than the card.
25 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Palletiser and wrapper breakdowns: end-of-line faults that stop everything
When the palletiser or wrapper stops, the whole line backs up behind it. The usual faults, the traps inside the cell, and how to get it moving safely.
25 October 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Servo drive alarms: where to start
A servo alarm points you somewhere. Sort it into one of six families, ask when it happens, and you'll know where to look before you reach for a spare.
24 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Agency fees: what you're actually paying for
The gap between the engineer's pay and the charge rate looks like pure profit. Much of it isn't. What sits in the rate, and what to ask.
24 October 2026 · 4 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Gearbox failure on a critical line: the decisions in the first hour
The gearbox has let go on your busiest line. Repair, swap or wait for a new one? The calls to make in the first hour, before the line makes them for you.
23 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Temp to perm: hiring an agency engineer you like
The agency engineer knows your kit better than half your team. Before you offer them the job, read the transfer fee terms. Paying isn't your only choice.
23 October 2026 · 5 min read - Legal duties on site
Interlocked guards and how they get defeated
Every site has an interlock someone has beaten. How guard interlocks get defeated, why people do it, and what PUWER expects you to do about it.
22 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Booking extra hands for a planned shutdown, in time
Parts ordered, scope signed off, and every good fitter already booked. How to get the right people for a shutdown, and when to start.
22 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Motor burnt out: replace like for like, or find out why first?
A burnt-out motor is easy to swap and easy to burn out again. How to get the line back today without fitting the same failure twice.
21 October 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
OEE for maintenance managers
OEE lands on the maintenance desk every Monday. How to read it, which losses are really yours, and where the number can push your team the wrong way.
21 October 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Encoder faults on servo systems
Most encoder alarms are the cable, the plug or the screen, not the encoder. Where to look first, and how to avoid swapping a good motor at 3am.
20 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
What the Conduct Regulations mean when you take an agency engineer
The Conduct Regulations look like the agency's problem. They also decide what you have to tell the agency, what it must check, and what it owes you back.
20 October 2026 · 5 min read - Legal duties on site
Guarding: PUWER regulation 11 and the order of guards
PUWER sets a strict order for guarding, and breakdowns are where it slips. The four levels, what counts as a fixed guard, and why the bolts matter.
19 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
When the PLC loses its program: the backups you'll wish you had
The PLC's gone blank and nobody knows where the program is. What to do in the first hour, and the backups that would have saved the night.
19 October 2026 · 5 min read - Contracting as an engineer
Expenses you can and can't claim
Safety boots, yes. Jeans, no. The site canteen, usually not. What a contract engineer can put through the books, and where people get caught.
18 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Right to work checks for agency and contract engineers
The engineer's at the gate, the line's down, and nobody knows who checked their right to work. Whose job it is, what changed on 1 October, and what to keep.
18 October 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Earth faults in control circuits
The control fuse blows after every washdown. How to find an earth fault in a control circuit, and why the second one is the dangerous one.
17 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Compressed air down: the site-wide breakdown nobody plans for
When the air goes, every line goes with it. How to find the cause fast, restart safely, and stop one compressor holding the whole site to ransom.
17 October 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
Ultrasound for leaks and bearings
On a Sunday you can hear every air leak on site. On Monday the line drowns them out. Ultrasound hears them anyway, along with bearings, valves and traps.
16 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Inducting a contract engineer so they're useful on day one
A contract engineer who spends their first shift watching a fire safety video is a lost shift. An induction that gets them on the tools by mid-morning.
16 October 2026 · 5 min read
Need an engineer before the line stops?
Running a site?
SiteSOS sends vetted maintenance engineers to your site for breakdowns and shift cover. You see the hourly rates first, and you approve the timesheet from your phone when the job's done.
Get engineers on callAre you an engineer?
Breakdowns and shift cover near you, paid by the job. Offers show where, what, how far and the least you'll earn, and turning one down never counts against you.
Join as an engineer