For example, repairers may use a screwdriver and wrench to adjust a motor, or a hoist to lift a printing press off the ground. When replacements for broken or defective parts are not readily available, or when a machine must be quickly returned to production, repairers may sketch a part that can be fabricated by the plant's machine shop. Repairers use catalogs to order replacement parts and often follow blueprints and engineering specifications to maintain and fix equipment. Although repairing machines is the most important job of industrial machinery repairers, they also spend much of their time performing preventive maintenance. This includes keeping machines and their parts well oiled, greased, and cleaned.
Repairers regularly inspect machinery and check performance.
For example, they adjust and calibrate automated manufacturing equipment such as industrial robots, and rebuild components of other industrial machinery. Installation of new machinery is another responsibility of industrial machinery repairers. As plants retool and invest in new equipment, they increasingly rely on these workers to properly situate and install the machinery. In many plants, this has traditionally been the job of millwrights. As employers increasingly seek workers who have a variety of skills, industrial machinery repairers are taking on new responsibilities.