Maintenance technician, a job with a future

The job of maintenance technician is one of the most common among maintenance jobs. Working as a team on a wide variety of machines, maintenance technicians have the main objective of preventing rather than curing, i.e. avoiding breakdowns before they happen.

Like all maintenance jobs, the industrial maintenance technician is at the heart of the evolution of industrial systems. Its activities are increasingly varied and call on increasingly advanced technological skills, in particular in connection with the increasing use of digital tools: CMMS, virtual reality, IoT, IoT, BIM, etc.

What does a maintenance technician do?

The main mission of a maintenance technician is to ensure the proper functioning of the production system by maintaining it in its optimal condition.

The activities of the maintenance technician

Concretely, the activities of the maintenance technician are:

• diagnosing and control the machines, equipment and installations;
• organize maintenance interventions;
• realize corrective or preventive maintenance interventions;
• participate to the continuous improvement of maintenance processes within the company.

What are the missions of a maintenance technician?

They can be summarised in 5 main missions :

• analyze and organize to anticipate breakdowns;
• troubleshoot and repair;
• improving production tools;
• train and train;
• manage spare parts stocks.

What technical skills are expected of a maintenance technician?

A maintenance technician should be able to:

• regularly monitor, control and maintain the equipment under his care;
• diagnose possible malfunctions on this equipment and detect the origin of a failure;
• organize and plan maintenance activities;
• intervene in the event of a failure in coordination with his team;
• propose solutions to improve the safety and performance of tools, machines and equipment;
• master the use of CMMS software (computer-assisted maintenance management);
• capitalize and share information;
• respect safety regulations;
• analyze maintenance data;
• working as a team.

How do I become a maintenance technician?

While there are several paths to become a maintenance technician, the most common is initial training.

What diploma to become a maintenance technician?

It is possible to start as a maintenance technician by obtaining the Bac Pro MSPC (Maintenance of Connected Production Systems). This diploma replaces, Since the start of the 2021 school year, the former MEI Pro Bac (Maintenance of Industrial Equipment). It was put in place in order to integrate technological developments within companies into initial training, in particular the increasingly frequent use of GMAO and environmental requirements.

However, more and more businesses are looking for people with a Bac+2 maintenance diploma, such as the BTS System Maintenance option Production Systems or the DUT Industrial Engineering and Maintenance.

There are also several pro licenses which allow you to specialize in a particular branch of maintenance, such as the licenses Maintenance of Industrial Automation and Instrumentation (in Pau), Maintenance of Industrial Systems (in Villeurbanne) or Management of Nuclear Installations (in Paris-Est-Créteil).

Continuing education

For people who have some professional experience and initial level V training, it is also possible to become a maintenance technician by following continuing education modules, for example to train themselves in the use of a CMMS.

In addition, there are pathways to evolve into a maintenance manager position or to specialize in a particular technology or in the use of certain tools, CMMS or others.

The future of the profession

Maintenance technicians are called upon to mastering more and more technical skills (electricity, mechanics, automation) and more and more extensively. They will also work more often as part of a team and in connection with other departments in the company. With the development of preventive maintenance, their activities will be more planned and less urgently carried out.

So, theAnticipation of breakdowns will be of greater and greater importance in the coming years. This expectation is based on the exploitation of maintenance data collected by new digital tools and on the increasing sharing of technical information within communities of maintenance professionals.

Analysis of maintenance data in a mobile CMMS

In addition, maintenance interventions will be carried out more and more often using technologies such as augmented reality or 3D imaging. Maintenance technicians will therefore have to work regularly with specialists in certain digital technologies applied to maintenance, or even to specialize themselves.

Tomorrow's maintenance needs

Most economic sectors use maintenance activities: industry, agriculture, agriculture, transport and logistics, but also real estate (with “facility management”) or IT.

The need for maintenance professionals will therefore always be significant and even growing with the efforts of companies to optimize the financial and ecological use of equipment.

A current trend is undoubtedly set to increase in the coming years: the decline in internal industrial maintenance staff and the increasing use of external service providers maintenance specialists.

In general, maintenance jobs lack candidates, while these professions have become essential for the proper functioning of a very large number of companies.