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
LOLER thorough examinations: who checks what, and how often
Most sites get the LOLER exam done on time. Where they get caught is what happens after the report lands. Intervals, who can examine, and what to do with the defects.
26 September 2026 · 6 min read - Contracting as an engineer
Umbrella, limited or PAYE: what contract engineers need to know before they sign
The day rate is the easy bit. How it gets paid is where contract engineers get burned: PAYE, umbrella or limited company, IR35, and what to check on your payslip.
25 September 2026 · 6 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
The first hour of a breakdown, and why it's never about knowing what to do
Your team knows how to isolate a machine. What goes wrong in a breakdown is pressure. How to run the first hour so the line doesn't make the decisions for you.
25 September 2026 · 6 min read - Tickets and qualifications
CompEx: who needs it
CompEx is the ticket for work on equipment in explosive atmospheres. Some engineers need it every shift. Plenty never will. How to tell which one you are.
24 September 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Mean time to repair: the number your board should be asking about
Boards ask about output and OEE. Few ask how long it takes to fix a machine once it stops, or where those hours go. They should.
24 September 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
PLC inputs and outputs: finding the missing signal
The HMI says it's waiting for a signal. Follow it from the field device to the card and back out again, and you'll find where it's gone missing.
23 September 2026 · 5 min read - Legal duties on site
Pressure systems: written schemes of examination explained
Your written scheme says what gets examined, how and how often. Most sites have one. Fewer have one that still matches the plant on the floor.
23 September 2026 · 6 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Five whys on the shop floor, without a blame session
Five whys works on a breakdown if you ask about the machine and the system, not the person. How to run one in twenty minutes without anyone going on the defensive.
22 September 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
Condition monitoring on a small budget
You don't need a contract or a software licence to start condition monitoring. A clamp meter, an IR gun and a clipboard will catch more than you think.
22 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
On-call rotas that people will actually do
Most on-call rotas fail quietly. The phone rings out and the line waits. How to build a rota your engineers will stick to.
21 September 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
A breakdown log that actually tells you something
"Fixed. Running." tells you nothing next month. What to put in a breakdown log so it shows you the repeat faults, the skills gaps and the case for spend.
21 September 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Photoelectric sensors: alignment, dirt and reflections
Photocells fail in three ways: knocked out of line, dirty, or fooled by something shiny. How to tell which one you've got before the conveyor backs up.
20 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Shift patterns for maintenance teams: 4 on 4 off, days and continental
4 on 4 off is popular. Days with on-call looks cheap. Continental shares the nights. What each pattern does to your cover, your engineers and your breakdowns.
20 September 2026 · 5 min read - Legal duties on site
Method statements for breakdown work
Nobody writes a method statement at 2am. So write the ones you'll need now, for the breakdowns you know are coming, on one side of A4.
19 September 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
When the only person who knows the machine is on holiday
The old sorter goes down on day two of the one engineer's fortnight in Spain. How to get through it, and how to stop it happening next summer.
19 September 2026 · 5 min read - Contracting as an engineer
Public liability insurance explained for engineers
Every site asks for public liability. Few engineers read past the limit. What it pays for, what it doesn't, and the contract clauses that catch people out.
18 September 2026 · 4 min read - Maintenance strategy
Your PPM schedule is out of date: how to review it
Most PPM schedules were written for a site that no longer exists. How to review yours against the breakdowns you actually had.
18 September 2026 · 6 min read - Fault-finding guides
Proximity sensors: fault-finding inductive and capacitive sensors
A twenty-pound prox can stop a whole line. How to find out fast if it's the sensor, the target, the cable or the input card.
17 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Keeping good engineers when the site down the road pays more
A new site opens nearby and pays more per hour. You can't always match it. What makes good engineers stay anyway, and what drives them out faster than pay.
17 September 2026 · 4 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Single points of failure: the machine that can stop your whole site
Every site has one machine that stops everything when it goes. Most sites don't know which one it is until it fails. How to find it and cover it.
16 September 2026 · 5 min read
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