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What does a maintenance person do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a maintenance person do

The duties of a maintenance person depend on one's line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting regular inspections within an establishment, performing necessary repairs and corrective measures on wirings or machines, installing devices, and responding to any inquiries or concerns. Moreover, there are also instances where they have to clean their work areas, organize their tools and equipment, and diagnose issues. Should there be any problems, it is essential to report to the manager or supervisor right away.

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Maintenance person responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real maintenance person resumes:

  • Conduct operation procedures and manage cleanliness.
  • Assist management in achieving and maintaining outstanding interior and exterior restaurant cleanliness and maintaining restaurant equipment.
  • Demonstrate and enforce knowledge of OSHA standards and safety requirements relate to the installation of electrical systems.
  • Process and respond to maintenance requests, and escalate specialized requests to electrical, plumbing, and HVAC technicians.
  • Coordinate projects include laminate work, framing, trim work, and sheetrock.
  • Maintain the entire grounds (mowing in the summer to plowing in the winter).
  • Mill shop carpenter, patch & paint sheetrock, ceiling tile and other relate duties.
  • Plant or maintain vegetation through activities such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, and mowing.
  • Perform electrical works such as replacing ballasts, switches, and all kinds of indoor and outdoor lights.
  • Operate vehicles or power equipment, such as mowers, tractors, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.
  • Complete understanding of OSHA safety requirements.
  • Operate heavy machinery; including industrial mowers and chainsaws.
  • Provide preventive maintenance and repair for electrical and plumbing components.
  • Provide individualized service to resident facilities; initiate electrical, plumbing and painting repairs as needed.
  • Perform additional miscellaneous maintenance including high-end furniture deliveries

Maintenance person skills and personality traits

We calculated that 39% of Maintenance People are proficient in Cleanliness, HVAC, and Delivery Truck. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Dexterity, and Troubleshooting skills.

We break down the percentage of Maintenance People that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Cleanliness, 39%

    Maintained cleanliness of recreational parks.

  • HVAC, 33%

    Assist maintenance technician in the repair and replacement of electrical, plumbing and HVAC appliances.

  • Delivery Truck, 11%

    Loaded/unloaded delivery trucks to allow merchandise organization and efficient stocking.

  • Fryers, 9%

    Drained cleaned and refilled fryers, unloaded trucks, swepted and moped playhouse and kitchen.

  • Light Bulbs, 7%

    Performed minor electrical work not requiring a licensed electrician such as replacing light bulbs and fuses.

  • Plumbing, 0%

    Provided individualized service to resident facilities; initiated electrical, plumbing and painting repairs as needed.

Most maintenance people use their skills in "cleanliness," "hvac," and "delivery truck" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential maintenance person responsibilities here:

Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a maintenance person to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what maintenance people do because "these workers interact with customers on a regular basis." Additionally, a maintenance person resume shows how maintenance people use customer-service skills: "prepared food for customers cleaned and organized restaurant to ensure cleanliness and customer safety"

Dexterity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling maintenance person duties is dexterity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "many repair and maintenance tasks, such as repairing small devices, connecting or attaching components, and using hand tools, require a steady hand and good hand–eye coordination." According to a maintenance person resume, here's how maintenance people can utilize dexterity in their job responsibilities: "fix and clean machines operate forklift maintain warehouse cleanliness. "

Troubleshooting skills. This is an important skill for maintenance people to perform their duties. For an example of how maintenance person responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "workers find, diagnose, and repair problems." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a maintenance person: "performed maintenance, troubleshooting, repaired or replacements of electrical systems. ".

Most common maintenance person skills

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Compare different maintenance people

Maintenance person vs. Groundskeeping maintenance

A Groundskeeping Maintenance Worker performs several skilled and semi-skilled tasks in grounds keeping and building trade areas. They maintain turf places, including weed control and Integrated Pest Management. They also cut and install window glass. These professionals replace broken pipes, replace gaskets, replace washers, replace faucets, flush sewer lines, and clean clogged drains. A Groundskeepipng Maintenance Worker must know how to operate hand equipment and power tools and identify and repair minor roof leaks.

We looked at the average maintenance person salary and compared it with the wages of a groundskeeping maintenance. Generally speaking, groundskeeping maintenances are paid $3,144 lower than maintenance people per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between maintenance people and groundskeeping maintenances are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like cleanliness, hvac, and fryers.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between maintenance people and groundskeeping maintenance. For instance, maintenance person responsibilities require skills such as "delivery truck," "good communication," "hand tools," and "osha." Whereas a groundskeeping maintenance is skilled in "grass," "pet," "pest control," and "diggers." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Groundskeeping maintenances earn the highest salaries when working in the real estate industry, with an average yearly salary of $32,000. On the other hand, maintenance people are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $41,323.The education levels that groundskeeping maintenances earn slightly differ from maintenance people. In particular, groundskeeping maintenances are 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a maintenance person. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Maintenance person vs. Preventive maintenance technician

A preventive maintenance technician performs routine facility maintenance to prevent possible mechanical failure. The technicians change worn out machine parts before they can cause mechanical damage. They keep the facility operating. It is their job to conduct quality assessments, maintain inventory, and schedule repairs. Also, they see to it that machines are up and running at all times. They are expected to be equipped with skills in customer service, problem-solving, reading comprehension, business operation, and mechanical aptitude.

A career as a preventive maintenance technician brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a maintenance person. In fact, preventive maintenance technicians salary is $7,279 higher than the salary of maintenance people per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Maintenance people and preventive maintenance technicians both require similar skills like "hvac," "fryers," and "plumbing" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that maintenance person responsibilities requires skills like "cleanliness," "delivery truck," "light bulbs," and "good communication." But a preventive maintenance technician might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "dishwashers," "water filters," "routine maintenance," and "cnc."

Preventive maintenance technicians earn a higher average salary than maintenance people. But preventive maintenance technicians earn the highest pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $47,655. Additionally, maintenance people earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $41,323 annually.In general, preventive maintenance technicians achieve similar levels of education than maintenance people. They're 0.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Maintenance person vs. Building maintenance technician

A building maintenance technician is an individual who takes responsibility for keeping the repair tools and other supplies in good condition. Building maintenance technicians make sure that a facility operates pretty well. The technicians need to familiarize the security of the buildings. They maintain buildings through repairs and safety checks. It is their job to care for industrial and commercial facilities and determine maintenance needs. Some of them are in charge of the landscape and perform primary janitorial work.

On average, building maintenance technicians earn higher salaries than maintenance people, with a $6,409 difference per year.maintenance people and building maintenance technicians both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "cleanliness," "hvac," and "light bulbs," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a maintenance person is likely to be skilled in "delivery truck," "fryers," "good communication," and "custodial maintenance," while a typical building maintenance technician is skilled in "dexterity," "equipment maintenance," "troubleshoot," and "roofing."

Building maintenance technicians make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $42,815. On the other hand, maintenance people are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $41,323.Most building maintenance technicians achieve a similar degree level compared to maintenance people. For example, they're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Maintenance person vs. Facility maintenance technician

A facility maintenance technician is responsible for inspecting the safety and security of the facilities, including the operational tools, equipment, and machinery, to avoid potential hazards in the production area and maintain timely project deliverables. Facility maintenance technicians perform a regular check on the equipment, identifying glitches and inconsistencies, and repairing defective components to avoid delays in operation. They also install and assemble new machines, requiring them to have comprehensive knowledge of reading schematics and blueprints. A facility maintenance technician records incident reports and suggests immediate safety actions to management.

Facility maintenance technicians typically earn higher pay than maintenance people. On average, facility maintenance technicians earn a $5,919 higher salary per year.While their salaries may vary, maintenance people and facility maintenance technicians both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "cleanliness," "hvac," and "light bulbs. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A maintenance person uses "delivery truck," "fryers," "clean windows," and "general upkeep." Facility maintenance technicians are more likely to have duties that require skills in "minor maintenance," "safety procedures," "facility equipment," and "boilers. "The manufacturing industry tends to pay the highest salaries for facility maintenance technicians, with average annual pay of $45,090. Comparatively, the highest maintenance person annual salary comes from the technology industry.facility maintenance technicians reach similar levels of education compared to maintenance people, in general. The difference is that they're 0.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of maintenance person

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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