SiteEngineers and cover
Finding, keeping and covering maintenance engineers: holidays, sickness, nights and peak.
- Engineers and cover
Trade test or a chat? Checking an engineer can do the job
A good interview proves someone can talk about the work. A short trade test on your own kit shows whether they can do it. How to run one in an hour.
9 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Interviewing a maintenance engineer: questions that show real skill
Anyone can talk well about a CV. These are the interview questions that show whether an engineer can find a fault, work safely and hold a shift on their own.
7 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Agency engineer or a new hire: how to decide
You've got a gap in the team and a budget to fill it. When agency cover makes sense, when a permanent hire does, and the rules that change the sums.
6 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Night shift maintenance cover: the shift nobody wants
Nights are where the line runs hardest and the cover is thinnest. What the night working rules ask of you, and how to staff the shift so it holds up.
2 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
One fitter down: what to do when sickness hits a small team
A team of three is one sick text away from a team of two. How to cover the first day, the first week and beyond without breaking the fitters you've got left.
31 August 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Why maintenance engineers are so hard to find right now
The jobs market has cooled, yet your fitter vacancy still sits open. Where the engineers went, what the figures show, and what you can do about it.
27 August 2026 · 5 min read
Need an engineer?
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