9781422273364

CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL

MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL

BECOME INVALUABLE IN THE WORKPLACE: SET YOURSELF APART MACHINERY MAINTENANCE & REPAIR PHARMACY TECHNICIAN POLICE OFFICER & DETECTIVE WEB DEVELOPER WELDER THE ARTS CAR MECHANIC CHEF COSMETOLOGIST DOG GROOMER FARMER MASSAGE THERAPIST PRESENTING YOURSELF

CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL

MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

Mike Heuer

mason crest PHILADELPHIA MIAMI

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Copyright © 2022 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4477-7 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4479-1 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7336-4

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Developed and Produced by National Highlights, Inc. Editor: Regency House Publishing Ltd. Cover Design: Creatively Tara.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR: Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field. CHAPTER 1: The Life of a Machinery Maintenance and Repair Specialist . . . . . . . 7 CHAPTER 2: What Do Machinery Maintenance and Repair Specialists Do?. . . . . 15 CHAPTER 3: Terms of the Trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 CHAPTER 4: Preparing for the Field and Making a Living. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 CHAPTER 5: Key Skills and Methods of Exploration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 CHAPTER 6: Looking to the Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Series Glossary of Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Further Reading & Internet Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Educational Video Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Author Biography & Photo Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Machinery mechanics are trained to understand technical instructions that enable them to service and repair equipment. These skills are often learned in vocational training classes.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

machinery: devices that work together to accomplish a final goal, such as making a new car maintenance: doing timely work on machines and the parts used to make them run before something goes wrong and stops the machines from working well repair: all mechanical things last only so long before they break. A repair fixes something that went wrong and stopped the machine from working well

vocational school: a school where you can learn a trade, like machinery maintenance and repair

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Machinery drives industry. Without it, things like cars could not be built in large numbers. Machines do more than drive industry—they also drive our society. A machine might be very small, like an electric engine. It might be massive, like a naval aircraft carrier. If you enjoy moving around, solving problems, working with different people nearly every day, and using your hands as well as your mind while working, a career in machinery maintenance and repair could be your calling. Machinery maintenance and repair are important services that help keep the engines of human progress humming along. The people who spend their careers maintaining and repairing the engines of industry accomplish truly amazing feats. They work on machines of all sizes. CHAPTER 1 THE LIFE OF A MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SPECIALIST

THE LIFE OF A MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SPECIALIST 7

THE COLLEGE QUESTION You do not need a college degree to enter one of many potential careers in machine maintenance and repair. You do, however, need specialized training. Vocational school s and community colleges are your best bet to get the training needed to enter the job market and get your career going. Apprenticeship programs give you the education, training, and skills needed to succeed as a machinery maintenance and repair specialist. In addition to vocational training, classes that teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) help you to better understand the underlying principles of machinery maintenance and repair. Machinery mechanics, maintenance workers, and millwrights who have careers in machinery maintenance and repair generally do the following tasks: • Reading technical manuals to understand equipment and their controls. • Testing malfunctioning equipment to learn where repairs are needed. • Disassembling machinery and diagnosing problems that arise.

Specialized training is required for those starting in a career working with machinery.

8 CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL: MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

You can get an early start on a career in machinery maintenance and repair by enrolling in vocational education programs offered through your local school district. Vocational courses and others that will help give you a head start include: • Welding • Precision metalworking • Auto repair • Small engine repair • Electrical • Drafting • Computer technology

• Repairing and replacing faulty parts and other components. • Performing machinery tests and initial runs to affirm that all is well again. • Adjusting equipment as needed to ensure top performance. • Doing general preventive maintenance to prevent shutdowns. Many local community colleges provide certification programs that help students enter careers in machinery maintenance and repair. Some unions also provide certification programs. Many of the programs last only a few months and just require you to pass their training courses. A certification program is not a degree program. Instead, it is an advanced vocational program. You complete certain training classes that usually use a simple pass-or-fail system. When you successfully finish one training course, you go on to the next one. If you do not pass a section with the minimum score

THE LIFE OF A MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SPECIALIST 9

allowed, you will usually get a second chance to get it right. That helps to teach you to learn from your mistakes, and that hard work can pay off in the end. Like college classes, many certification programs offer student financial aid to cover costs. A lot of workers complete the programs through employer apprenticeship programs. That makes it free for you to learn a valuable skill. Once you become good enough, you also can transition from an apprenticeship to a training position for more pay. You also can enjoy a long and fun career working on machines and always learning the next great thing. LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM Mike Edwards is a happy camper. He grew up riding motorcycles as a boy and started driving cars in high school. His love of riding motorcycles and driving cars led him to learn how to maintain and fix them. The more Edwards learned how to work on his own bikes and cars, the more he developed his understanding of mechanical principles. That led to an interest in careers that would let him use his love of mechanical things and keeping them running their best. “I like to go out on a long motorcycle ride and know my bike is in perfect condition,” Edwards says. “That gives me the most fun while making the bike as

Millwrights, industrial machinery mechanics, and maintenance workers careers.

10 CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL: MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

safe as possible. I also know it isn’t going to break down. That is because I turned every nut and bolt on it, and know everything is exactly as it should be when I head out on a long ride.” His interest in maintaining and repairing his own motorcycles and cars helped lead Edwards into a career in machinery maintenance and repair. Now he works for a mining company in northern Michigan that extracts copper and other minerals from the earth. Edwards says he gets to work on a lot of different things and always learns something new. That is because his job changes with the machinery, but the basic skills needed to do it well mostly stay the same.

Many people who are good at fixing machines are often interested engineering in general.

“I like how the work always changes. Some things will be the same, like torqueing a nut or bolt,” Edwards explains. “But the way machines are made, how they work, and the technology that goes into them always changes. That means I have to learn new things all the time to adapt to the new technology and ways that machines are built and run.” Edwards points out one of the most amazing things about machinery maintenance and repair: the work undergoes constant change. As technology improves, the machinery alters. As it’s revised, you need to learn the new systems and how to maintain and repair them. By contrast, a medical doctor learns the human body and how to treat it. For the most part, the human body does not change. Advancement within the industry is very rapid, with technology its prime driver. As new technologies make it possible to improve how things are made at the industrial level, machinery adapts. Machinery maintenance and repair specialists need to learn and grow with those changes.

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Edwards says he kept pace with job changes while working. For his employer to stay competitive, Edwards, his coworkers, and his bosses all needed to learn how to handle major upgrades. As new machines and systems adopt new technologies, they need to learn how to maintain and repair those systems. “A lot of the time, we had experts come in and work with us to teach us the new systems. Sometimes we took training classes at our local community college,” Edwards said. “When something new comes along, we have to learn how it affects the job and alters how we do our work.” Edwards says the chance to learn new things while getting paid is one of the best parts of his job. Instead of running up student loan debt, he learned how to do a job that takes a lot of skill andmechanical smarts to do correctly. He got paid while learning to do a job that continues to grow in demand and pays well. He has a highly marketable skill with lots of experience. That makes it possible for him to go almost anywhere and find a job with excellent pay. It also means he always can find work that he likes to do and that will keep his interest every day. That is because there is nothing boring about working on large machinery.

All the members of machinery maintenance staff are vital to the smooth running of industry. They understand the importance of their tasks for the day ahead.

12 CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL: MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

Machinery maintenance workers require regular training so that they can keep up with new systems and technologies.

RESEARCH PROJECT

Find out about at least one job that machinery maintenance and repair people do where you live. Describe how the machinery is maintained and repaired. How important is that machinery?

TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS

1.

How do vocational schools prepare you for a possible career in machinery maintenance and repair?

2. 3.

Why are STEM subjects important?

What are three ways to complete a certification program?

THE LIFE OF A MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SPECIALIST 13

Most machinery is made up of many moving parts, all of which suffer wear and tear. A good tool kit is an essential item for all machinery maintenance workers.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

preventive maintenance: when workers anticipate possible problems, such as breakdowns, and take steps to prevent them manufacturing: a process by which raw materials are made into goods by people and machines wear and tear: a process by which moving parts suffer minor damage over a long period of use. When the wear and tear become too much, the part stops working

14 CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL: MACHINERY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR