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.
- 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 - Contracting as an engineer
Day rates: working out what to charge
Your day rate has to pay for the days you don't work. How to find the floor you never go under, then price the job on top of it.
5 September 2026 · 4 min read - Legal duties on site
Safe isolation: lock off, tag out, prove dead
Everyone knows the words. Steps get skipped when the line's down and the label looks right. The order that keeps fitters safe, and where it slips.
5 September 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Motor tripping on overload: what to check
An overload that keeps tripping is doing its job. How to find what's loading the motor, and why winding the setting up is the worst fix on site.
4 September 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
Summer shutdown: lessons to carry into next year
The shutdown's over and the line is running. Before the memory fades, write down what went wrong. Next August depends on it.
4 September 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Reset and run: the most expensive habit on site
Reset and run gets the line back in two minutes. Then it trips again, and again. Why the habit costs more than the fix, and how to break it.
3 September 2026 · 5 min read - Maintenance strategy
Critical spares: what to hold and what to stop hoarding
Most stores are full of parts nobody will fit and short of the one that stops the line. How to decide what earns a place on the shelf.
3 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 - Downtime and breakdowns
The fault that keeps coming back: finding the root cause on a busy shift
Same machine, same fault, third time this month. How to find the real cause when the shift only gives you time to get it running.
2 September 2026 · 5 min read - Fault-finding guides
Three-phase motor won't start: a fault-finding order
Silent, clicking, humming or tripping: what a dead three-phase motor is telling you, and the order to check it in before anyone orders a new one.
1 September 2026 · 6 min read - Legal duties on site
PUWER inspections: what your records need to show
A PUWER inspection record is only as good as what's on it. What needs inspecting, how often, who can do it, and the nine things worth writing down.
1 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 - Downtime and breakdowns
Hot weather and breakdowns: panels, motors and chillers
Heat finds the weak spots in a site: drives that derate, motors that trip and chillers that can't keep up. What to check before the next hot spell.
31 August 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
What an hour of downtime really costs you, and how to work it out
Most sites guess the cost of a stopped line, and guess low. A simple way to work out your own figure, and why it changes the 2am decision.
30 August 2026 · 5 min read - Midlands industry
Manufacturing in the West Midlands: what the numbers show
The West Midlands still makes things, more than most of Britain. What the official figures say, and what they mean when your line stops at 2am.
30 August 2026 · 4 min read - Maintenance strategy
Planned versus breakdown maintenance: getting the balance right
Every site says it wants more planned work and less firefighting. Then the first breakdown eats the PPM. How to find a balance that holds.
29 August 2026 · 5 min read - Legal duties on site
PUWER for maintenance managers: what the regulations actually ask
Managers file PUWER under guarding. Read it again and most of it is about your maintenance team: who fixes what, and whether the kit lets them work safely.
29 August 2026 · 5 min read - Tickets and qualifications
Which tickets actually get you contract work?
Sites don't hire tickets, they hire someone who can fix the line. But the right cards get you through the gate. Which ones to book first, and which to skip.
28 August 2026 · 5 min read - Downtime and breakdowns
Bank holiday breakdowns: covering a long weekend
Three days, a thin team and suppliers shut till Tuesday. How to plan cover for a bank holiday weekend before the line stops on Saturday night.
28 August 2026 · 5 min read - Contracting as an engineer
Going contract after years on staff: the first six months
The work is the easy bit. The first six months of contracting go wrong on cash, tax and paperwork. What to sort before you hand your notice in.
27 August 2026 · 5 min read
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