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.
- Legal duties on site
Portable appliance testing on site: what's actually required
PAT isn't a legal must, and a green sticker isn't maintenance. What the law asks for portable kit on a factory floor, and where the real risk sits.
15 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Hydraulic failure: what to do in the first ten minutes
A hose lets go, there's oil on the floor and the pump is still running. The first ten minutes decide whether this is a repair or an injury.
15 October 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
24V DC control supply faults
Half the sensors are out, the PLC keeps rebooting and nothing makes sense. Start with the 24V supply.
14 October 2026 · 5 min read - Midlands industry
Derby: rail, aerospace and the engineers they need
Derby has more than twice the national share of jobs in manufacturing. Big names pull in the best engineers, and the smaller sites around them feel it first.
14 October 2026 · 4 min read - Engineers and cover
Onboarding a new maintenance engineer: the first 30 days
You waited months for this engineer. A plan for the first 30 days, so they're safe, useful on shift, and still with you at Christmas.
13 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
The breakdown that was really an operator problem
The callout engineer finds the machine in manual mode, or a jam cleared the wrong way. Why it keeps happening, and why blaming the operator won't stop it.
13 October 2026 · 5 min read - Contracting as an engineer
Self Assessment for contract engineers
The return is the easy part. The shock is the first January bill, with half of next year's tax on top. Dates, penalties and how to plan for it.
12 October 2026 · 5 min read - Legal duties on site
Inspecting and testing fixed wiring in factories
The law gives no date for testing the wiring. It expects you to test often enough that nothing fails between tests. What that means on a factory floor.
12 October 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
Oil analysis for gearboxes and hydraulics
The oil in a gearbox or power pack knows what's wearing long before you hear it. How to sample it, what the lab report means, and what to do next.
11 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Counter-offers and resignations: keeping an engineer who's handed in notice
Your best shift engineer has just handed in a letter. Whether to counter, what to say in the first conversation, and how to use the notice period if they go.
11 October 2026 · 5 min read - Tickets and qualifications
F-Gas certification for maintenance engineers
The chiller's down and your gauges are in the van. Without the right F-Gas category you can't connect them. Who needs which certificate, and when.
10 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Remote support on a breakdown: when a video call fixes it
A video call can fix a parameter or a fault code in ten minutes. It can't put hands on a seized bearing. How to tell which breakdown you've got.
10 October 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Contactor chatter and coil faults
A buzzing contactor is a warning. Why contactors chatter, why coils burn out, and why a welded contact is a safety problem as well as a breakdown.
9 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Getting the most out of the machine supplier's helpline
The supplier's helpline can save you a callout or waste an hour. What to have in your hand before you ring, and what to ask for once you're through.
9 October 2026 · 6 min read - Engineers and cover
Why your engineer vacancies sit open for months
The shift fitter job went up in spring and it's still open. Most of the delay is on your side of the fence, and most of it can be fixed.
8 October 2026 · 4 min read - Legal duties on site
Electricity at Work Regulations: duties for maintenance managers
The Electricity at Work Regulations put duties on you, your sparky and anyone who opens a panel. The ones that bite on a night shift, and what to do.
8 October 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Emergency stop circuits that won't reset
Every e-stop on the line is pulled out and the reset still won't take. Where to look, in what order, and the fixes that make a machine dangerous.
7 October 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Peak season in logistics: getting engineering cover lined up
Peak doesn't start in November. For the engineering team it starts now, with the rota, the spares and the cover you book before everyone else does.
7 October 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Machine maker's engineer or local engineer: who to call for which breakdown
The maker can send someone Thursday. A local engineer could be there in two hours. Which one you call should depend on the fault, not the badge on the machine.
6 October 2026 · 4 min read - Maintenance strategy
Thermal imaging for electrical panels
A thermal survey can find the loose termination before it burns out the panel. How to get a survey that's safe, useful and acted on.
6 October 2026 · 5 min read
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