Building Maintenance
Building Maintenance Tech Career Overview
The field of Building Maintenance offers excellent opportunities for people who enjoy having and applying a wide range of practical and mechanical knowledge and skills in their work.
Anyone interested in these careers should, of course, have an aptitude for maintaining and repairing mechanical systems. Building Maintenance Technician jobs also require very good problem-solving skills, with the ability to think and apply knowledge quickly to solve mechanical problems.
Most of these jobs also require experience with computers and basic word processing and spreadsheet applications. Management positions often require some additional attributes, such as personal transport and a clean driving record.
Building Maintenance Tech Training
Traditionally these jobs have not required any type of higher education—a high school diploma, GED and several years’ worth of experience in relevant jobs is usually sufficient.
While formal higher education is not strictly required, it definitely gives an applicant a competitive edge to obtain a degree in Building Maintenance. As the job marketplace becomes more competitive, many new Building Maintenance and Management jobs now require degrees in Facility Management, Building Maintenance or other related fields.
Building Maintenance Tech Career & Salary
The outlook for these careers is excellent, particularly for those who have an Associate’s degree or higher. Many companies are starting to prefer hiring people with a broad range of skills rather than skills in just one or two trades, so there are good opportunities for people with wide skill-sets.
Salary expectations for Building Maintenance jobs are mostly related to the amount of experience the applicant has. The starting salary for non-managerial positions typically ranges between $30,000 and $35,000. The salary for managerial positions such as Health Facilities Manager and Chief Engineer vary widely with experience. Starting salary typically ranges between $55,000 and $95,000 depending on the experience and qualifications of the application.
Career Fields/Specializations
Building Maintenance Technician Career
The role of a Building Maintenance Technician includes a variety of different aspects. They’re responsible for a wide range of different tasks in building maintenance, and their knowledge must be both broad and specific. A Building Maintenance Technician might be required to have knowledge of the:
- operation and maintenance of boilers
- heating and refrigeration systems
- plumbing and water treatment
- electrical and lighting systems
In addition, they’ll also generally need a wide variety of general repair and maintenance skills, such as painting, lock installation, glass repair and replacement, and operation of a comprehensive range of hand tools. They may also be responsible for maintaining inventory of maintenance tools and supplies, and completing and reviewing reports, manuals, and operation guides.
Because their work is often highly physical in nature, a Building Maintenance Technician should be physically fit, and have excellent vision (including color vision) and hearing. They do not necessarily have to have excellent people skills, but technicians will often work with contracted building repair and maintenance specialists as well as employees and supervisors, and therefore should be able to work well with others.
Facility Coordinator Career
A Facility Coordinator has an equally varied assortment of tasks; however they tend to focus less on technical aspects of building maintenance, and do not usually need as much practical knowledge. Where the Building Maintenance Technician focuses on carrying out repair and maintenance tasks, the role of the Facility Coordinator is to organize long-term and day-to-day maintenance.
The Facility Coordinator is also often responsible for organization the duties of support and maintenance staff, coordinating security and safety procedures, monitoring the efficacy of current plumbing, lighting and other systems, and determining how the needs of the building will change over time. They will also often serve as a point of contact between building staff and contracted workers.
Facility coordinators should have good time management and organizational skills, be able to work well independently and be comfortable with using their professional judgment without supervision. They should have good written and verbal communication skills, and also have good interpersonal skills. Because they are involved with both long-term and every-day maintenance, they should also have a good eye for detail, and also possess the ability to see the “big pictureâ€.
Facilities Manager Career
The role of a Facilities Manager is to make sure that all services, equipment and systems in a building work properly, and enable the staff of the building to do their jobs. They typically play a very important role in influencing the quality of the building environment.
The Facilities Manager is responsible for overseeing a wide range of building services, which are divided into two main categories. Hard services are systems such as air conditioning and heating, while soft services include cleaning and maintenance work. The Facilities Manager may be required to oversee a variety of operations relating to
- both hard and soft services
- ncluding hiring contractual workers and service providers
- preparing and reviewing facility operating budgets
- managing the building maintenance team
- coordinating space management and accommodation for new hires
- overseeing janitorial services
- health and safety procedures
- general building maintenance
With such a varied job description, a Facilities Manager needs an equally wide variety of skills. They should be able to work with a strong focus on customer service, have good problem-solving skills, be adept at written and verbal communication, and have excellent organization skills.
Chief Engineer Career
A Chief Engineer has a range of responsibilities relating to the management of building operation systems and to the staff who maintain the building and grounds. Their job description resembles that of the Facilities Manager, but the Chief Engineer also has an important administrative role in addition to other duties such as overseeing the operation of building systems and maintaining safety protocols within the building.
The Chief Engineer must also ensure that all building systems conform to regulatory and safety guidelines, develop plans for building modifications and upgrades, and keep records of all systems and maintenance operations within the building. They are also responsible for hiring, training and supervising the work of the technicians and engineers who are part of their team.
A Chief Engineer should have a variety of skills, including good written and verbal communication skills, good customer service skills, and familiarity with a wide variety of building systems and equipment. They may also need some important qualifications, such as an Operating Engineer’s license (or equivalent) and certification as a Universal Technician for CFCs.
Health Facilities Management Career
A career in Health Facilities Management involves many of the aspects of managerial positions in building maintenance, with the added difference that the place of work is a health facility such as a clinic, hospital or laboratory.
The role of the Health Facilities Manager lies mainly in building management, overseeing operation systems, coordinating safety and security procedures, and supervising building maintenance staff and housekeeping staff.
They’ll also often be required to take a hands-on approach and assist with repair and maintenance work around the facility. However, they must also carry out these duties with an increased focus on customer service, and customer safety as well as employee safety.
A Health Facilities Manager should have good written and verbal communication skills, as well as some computer skills. They should also have great customer service skills, be able to work well in a team or alone, and have good problem-solving skills.
