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
Risk assessments for maintenance tasks that people actually read
A 40-page risk assessment in the office protects nobody at the machine. How to write maintenance risk assessments a fitter will read at 3am.
16 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
Fitters, electricians and controls engineers: who you really need
Send the wrong trade to a breakdown and the first two hours go on finding out it's someone else's job. How to work out the mix your site needs, from your own fault log.
15 September 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Why breakdowns on nights take longer, and what to do about it
The same fault takes an hour on days and four on nights. The fitter isn't the problem. How to set nights up so a breakdown doesn't run until morning.
15 September 2026 · 6 min read - Fault-finding guides
Insulation resistance testing on motors
The motor's tripped and someone wants the spare fitted. Ten minutes with an insulation tester tells you if it's the motor, the cable or neither.
14 September 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
Building a PPM schedule from the manufacturer's manual
The manual is the best place to start a PPM schedule and a poor place to stop. How to turn it into tasks your fitters will actually do.
14 September 2026 · 5 min read - Engineers and cover
The multi-skilled engineer: what you can realistically ask for
Everyone wants a fitter who's also a sparky and a controls engineer. Most good engineers are strong in one trade and safe in another. How to ask for what you can get.
13 September 2026 · 5 min read - Legal duties on site
Contractors on site: what you owe them before they start
Your duties don't stop at the gate when someone else picks up the spanners. What you owe a contractor before they start, without losing an hour.
13 September 2026 · 5 min read - Contracting as an engineer
Insurance for contract engineers: what sites ask to see
Sites check your insurance before you pick up a spanner. Which policies they ask for, which the law makes you hold, and what the certificate must show.
12 September 2026 · 4 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
The 30-minute rule: when to stop trying and call for help
Nobody decides to waste three hours on a fault. It happens ten minutes at a time. A simple rule for when your shift stops trying and picks up the phone.
12 September 2026 · 5 min read - Tickets and qualifications
From mechanical fitter to multi-skilled: where to start
You can rebuild a gearbox blind, but the line keeps stopping on faults in the panel. Where a mechanical fitter should start on the electrical side, in what order.
11 September 2026 · 5 min read - Midlands industry
Engineering work in Birmingham: the sites and the shifts
Birmingham's factories are smaller than its reputation, and its shifts are longer. What that means for cover, nights and the engineer you call at 3am.
11 September 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Reading drive fault codes when the manual's gone
A four-character code on a drive nobody's seen the manual for. How to work out what it means at 2am, and how to make sure you never have to again.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Who signs off the restart? Handover after a breakdown
The fix is done. Now someone has to say the machine is safe to run. Who that should be, what they check, and why it can't be whoever's nearest.
10 September 2026 · 5 min read - 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 - Legal duties on site
Permits to work: when you need one and how to run it
A permit is only as good as the handover, the hand-back and who signs it. When you need one, when you don't, and how to keep it from becoming paperwork.
9 September 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
What to have ready before the callout engineer arrives
You're paying from the moment the callout engineer reaches your gate. What to have ready so the first hour goes on the fault, not the car park.
8 September 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
Criticality ranking: deciding which machines matter most
Ask production which machines are critical and they'll say all of them. A simple way to rank your kit so the PPM, spares and cover go where they count.
8 September 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Inverter trips: overcurrent, overvoltage and earth fault
The three drive trips you'll see most, what each one is pointing at, and how to find the cause without killing the drive or yourself.
7 September 2026 · 6 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 - Downtime and breakdowns
Writing a fault report an engineer can actually use
"Line 3 not working" costs an engineer the first hour. What a useful fault report says, who should write it, and how to get it written at 2am.
6 September 2026 · 5 min read
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