how to control the maintenance man
 

I have a maintenance guy working for me in a manufacturing facility. He is a sharp guy who has been here many years longer than me. I'm sure he knows how to repair just about everything in the place. That part is good.

The difficulty is that he has an odd personality, where he takes everything very personally if you question anything he does, which makes it difficult to deal with him or even get him to explain what he is doing or why he is doing it. He gets very defensive very quickly. It's to a point where his immediate supervisor doesn't like to get involved. The guy comes and goes as he pleases, starts early and racks up the OT whenever he wants (although always has a good reason when I question it), and doesn't currently report to anyone.

I don't doubt his abilities but his coworkers are telling tales about him. They paint a picture that he may not be as hardworking as he seems. I have come to the conclusion that I need to keep better track of what he spends his time on and how he decides what the priorities are.

I assume that the maintenance dept in most plants actually follow rules and protocols of some sort. Perhaps a system of work orders? A time card?

Can someone in the know explain to me how such a system would work and how I might go about setting it up? Any thoughts appreciated.

Nice forum by the way. Been about for a while.

Make him keep a log. Either that, or you will need someone to shadow him, and that is probably not going to work out all that well.
I would be happy to have a guy that I could trust to keep the place running, that is reliable, dependable, and knows every intricacy of the place.
I always hated it when I had a direct boss who was not a mechanic, or even remotely mechanically inclined. These were the guys who were always asking " why is it taking so long?" My canned response was always. " I can get it done quick, or I can get it done right, what do you want me to do?"
Welcome to the forum .

I'd be over the moon with that too. I thought that's what we had, but more and more I hear he is busy making puppies. Meanwhile it's difficult for me to do anything but trust what he tells me. After all, what do I know about these things.....?

As time goes by though, I see he is not reporting to anyone, he makes his own schedule and books all his hours to "maintenance". He has free reign which would be great if it turns out he's a stand up guy.

Just wondered how a normal maintenance guy spends his day and how his hours are allocated. Perhaps there is a system that a maintenance dept would follow....?

A normal maintenance would be to work repair tickets(WRT) and do scheduled preventative maintenance ( PM).

The WRT would usually be made out by the supervisor on the floor or person in charge to repair anything that comes up out of the normal. Time arrived and completed would be noted and signed off by both the repairman and ticket issuer.

PM's would be scheduled and performed on an as required time frame...i.e--belt changes, fluid changes...etc. These would have a pre determined time interval and time needed to complete. Also logged time in and completed.

This guy has free reign. If he is charging OT without any controls or documentation of performed activities.....he is screwing you.

Make him salaried?

Does he do a good job of keeping the place running? Are folks happy with his work and his response and turn around times? If so, you have to ask what all of that is worth to you and your company. I can see wanting to get a handle on what he does if he is doing a poor job, but that does not sound like the case. Do you want him filling out paperwork that is meant to track what he does and justify his time, or do you want him fixing things? Do you feel like you have to "manage" him because, well... because you are a "manager", and that's what you guys do? Sometimes I think the most difficult thing on earth for a "manager" is not meddling in something that's working...

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We actually had an engineer here named Michael Bolton.

Well, you asked for it...You sound like a clueless manager :rolleyes:

create a new SOP for the maintenance dept.

scheduled PM on equipment with dated checklists and repairs have a ticket submitted and signed when completed-

or hire a maintenance manager to oversee the dept.

or make him salary-

a person will tend not to milk the clock on salary as the clock belongs to them-

Two posts to his name, and in this thread? WTF?

For the most part.

Sometimes, not always.

Not in the slightest. I have a million things to do and I've got no desire to get involved in this guys work day.

The difficulty is, if he really is busy making puppies and the other guys see it and tell me, it's a problem if they see me ignore it. One bad apple and all that. They are going to start asking themselves why they work hard when this guy gets paid to screw around.

not sure if thats fair but whatever you wish.

I considered this but the flip side is that a guy can take advantage and keep leaving for middle of the day doc appointments etc etc.. whereas before he would have made the appointment in the end or beginning of the day.

I've spent time on this forum before, just never bothered posting. For the most part this is a pretty good bunch of people and I know many of you are owners, managers etc etc and may have experiences that could help me figure out how to move forward without upsetting the guy.

you could give him someone to manage-

Do the above or get him a new boss. Transfer his duties to a different department and have that department head lay the law down to him. "The old way was fine, but I do not do things the old way. We want to keep you but things are going to change a bit in the way its run"...

Do agree with the Salary bit... that would stop the OT.

he may only be the maintenance guy...
but he does have you & management figured out...
does as he pleases..
your afraid of him.
sounds like a boss..
promote him...
or leave him be..
he's a survivor...
he dines on folks like yourself...
seems you amuse him...


Rika

I am guessing he can't work on a running machine
or at least do much in normal hours

so early before the machines start running
or later after then workers leave

if the shop is smoothly running
clean jobs up to date
do not be a control freak
you may ''save a few hours'' on his pay
but it may cost lost production time far in excess of savings

if things are not running well
then you need to do something

Sounds like you have arrived at an answer. Maybe you "have a million things to do" because you are already taking this level of interest in too many things already.

I'm not trying to bust your balls or anything, but just how long have you been managing at your current level? I assume you are a second or third level manager (from your reference to his "immediate supervisor"). What is your background prior to this position? Specifically, were you working in or around any of these shops in this manufacturing facility it sounds like you are now managing?

You have to understand that coworkers "telling tales" of one anothers' time wasting, screwing off, "cheating" the company, and on and on is part and parcel of how all such facilities operate. Everyone is a first team all star in their own book, while all of their coworkers are lazy, inattentive louts whose work only gets done thanks to the particular hero with whom you are currently speaking. You need to learn to seperate the wheat from the chaff. Often the guy who gets the most done, and has therefor earned the most leeway in how he gets it done, is the one they gripe about the most.

Do an unoffical audit. You must have an idea of what parts are purchased and can find out who your suppliers are and what the bits cost. Even if he is scamming an extra hour or two here and there it is cheaper than getting an engineer in for this and a different engineer in for that.


Edit: A trick I used to do to get onside with people like this would be to approch him and say "I appreciate the skills and knowledge you have in this field and I wonder if you could help me. Upper mamagement has asked me to cut costs in maintenance and expenditure so could you show me around and tell me what you have planned so I can back you up if they start making demands."

This is a simple one to fix:

Make a WOMAN his boss. She will ride his azz all day, everyday. Problem fixed. SmileWavy

I read the OP a few time to make sure I didn't miss anything. So far, Higgins has the best insight and fairest assessment of the situation. But no solution as to what to do about the lack of control over the maintenance guy's MO.

Some changes in this guy's MO would be in order. Thing is, from what I read, he is going to be highly resistant to any change. I would do 2 things: explain in no uncertain terms why any changes are going to take place, and make those changes slight and a little at a time until you are satisfied that this employee is benevolent for your company.

Total objectivity is paramount here. Forget about hearsay. I would also ask the maintenance guy for suggestions as a way to get him vested in your objectives. And remember your position at all times. Sometimes you have authority over subordinates but you don't have seniority.

Thats really not the case - I'm being honest.

I've only been managing for a couple of years. Prior to that I was always in the same field and even at this business, but not in a management role. I understand the business but I'm on a steep learning curve when it comes to managing people. That's why I'm trying to find out about how other plants run their maintenance dept. I've never had to before, nor do I have any experience, there has never been a proper system here. Perhaps that's how it should stay too.

I try to keep my eyes and ears open and learn a little each day from the guys who actually do the work, but I have to be careful not be taken advantage of though and separate the crap from the truth.

I've been learning this for a while now. Best paragraph so far I'd say. I've been adopting a policy of taking everything with a massive grain of salt and trying to really think things through before acting. I'd be the first t admit it's a steep learning curve, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Damn, thats cold man.

This is exactly the situation. He's been operating like this for years. Long before I got here. Very difficult to talk to about his day to day operations, immediately on the defensive even though no one is on the offensive.

There are two questions really. Does he need controlling and how to do it if that is the case.

What are you manufacturing?

Question: If the plant goes down due to something that should be on a regular Preventative Maintenance cycle and you have no proof whether it was performed or not since there is no accountability, whose a$$ is going to be in the sling? Yours or his?

Yours.

You are not controlling him, you a managing your plant.

Mine ultimately.

Manage processes, lead people.

Let someone else take this one on. But, yeah, most people are accountable.

There is a guy like this at my wife's work. He's in the Longshore union but all he does is clean bathrooms and sweep. Comes in a couple hours before the gangs and goes home after 8 hours. He's got a steady 5 day/wk gig whereas the Longshores may work almost anytime, mostly day and evening shifts and not too many weekends.

This guy is hardly seen. He's got some kind of forklift he drives with a bin on the front with a broom, rake and shovel. I guess he gets the big stuff but the pier he takes care of along with the facilities is a half mile long and 500' wide. He's supposed to keep the weeds in check along the fences and keep stuff out of the storm drains. He's marginal at best on that. He really can't get in any trouble for his performance because he is union. No one but union can clean or pick up any trash. The large open areas in and out of the warehouses are done by a street sweeper. Another union guy with an equipment operator license. But he'll go within 6' of a fence, equipment, pallets, etc. leaving a lot of perimeter to maintain.

I don't know what the basic pay scale is, but the cleaner/sweeper makes $70,000 a year, I'm sure, with vacation and all the trimmings. You talk about protective of his job.

Maybe your first problem to deal with is "how to control the immediate supervisor, who doesn't like to get involved (WTF? :rolleyes:), whose job, I would think, is to be involved and responsible to you for getting the answers to the questions you have about the maintenance man.

There's some wisdom for ya...

Nope, just as bad as the OP's thread title and his very first post imo :(. I agree the "immediate supervisor" is an issue, but as far as CONTROL goes...well, there is the horse he rode in on :)

I don't think you're being very helpful KC. Control is the wrong word admittedly, but you are being awful judgmental. Whats the right word then?

The intent of the original post, was to find out how a maintenance department or maintenance worker's time is allocated, documented and accounted for. Thanks for your help so far.

OK, I'll back off...it's not about the "word", it's your attitude and approach, and I'd bet the maintenance guy feels about the same way I did upon reading your initial post...think about it. Good luck (seriously)!!!

How big is this company and what does it do?

Sounds like there are more things lacking at the company than the maintenance guy. Unless you run a hair salon, any manufacturing business should have a PM schedule, a spare parts system and work orders.

G

Jeff Higgins made a good point in "if it ain't broke then don't fix it".
Having dealt with over-management I tend to agree.

But since this seems like a larger institution where a great number of money/jobs depends on a single person without any type of accountability....

Where is the backup plan?

If that single maintenance guy is "down for the count", and equipment breaks, what are the options?
Lay everyone off?
Who else knows what parts to order, from where, and how to install them?

That seems to go against the nature of business.

The thing that rings out for me from the original post was only touched on by one follow-up post: this guy has YOU afraid to talk to him. I don't know, did you say he cannot be fired? Because if he can be, that is the ultimate leverage you have over him and that should inform and empower you whenever you are dealing with issues regarding him. If you are talking to his direct supervisor, it should be at the back of your mind. When you are talking to him, it should be at the back of your mind. Until you get used to really being the boss you are going to have to force yourself to remember who fires whom!

Trust me, fire a couple of people when you are justified in doing so, and people will respect you. The trick is to be justified in doing so. That is accomplished by two things: having a track record that is visible to the entire staff that you are unassailable (you are hardworking, honest, and care only about the company -- first in, last to go, that kind of thing). In that regard, it wouldn't hurt for you to learn more about his job. This may mean you have to work harder and longer hours to get a better understanding of what he does (and other employees, too). But you said yourself that you are on a steep learning curve: you may not make it up that curve without putting in a lot of extra effort.

Secondly, the employee must be truly in violation of a company policy or a standard that you have set. Remember to publicize the firing -- don't be afraid to yell at the guy in front of other staff if he gets out of line. When he gets released -- people will already know the explanation!

I am a mild-mannered gentleman and as part of my maturity running my own businesses I learned that there were times when drama was in order. I had to become an actor to get my job done. There is A LOT of good advice in this thread, including specific advice on how to run a maintenance department, and "tricks" to get this guy to tow the line. Don't forget that it's not just a line from a movie: keep your friends close and your enemies closer!;)

wow!:eek: guess it's who's askin around here more than what's being asked... certain folk around here throw out career/work issues, or that they scream like a girl and they get 5 pages....

lighten up on the guy, maybe jus a lil?

as suggested implement a new documentation plan in small increments. if the plan is implemented, EVERYONE does clocks their hours spent on task. don't single out a person.

don't say that you're trying to find out how many hours HE spends on a task. rather, you're implementing a system to prioritize tasks and get a hold of how many hours the each department that the employee is fixing stuff for is using the employee's time.