They also record relevant events and facts concerning operation and maintenance in an equipment log. On steam boilers, for example, they observe, control and record steam pressure, temperature, water level and chemistry, power output, fuel consumption and emissions. They watch and listen to machinery and routinely check safety devices, identifying and correcting any trouble that develops. Industrial machinery mechanics or maintenance machinists , maintain and repair machinery found in a plant or factory. Equipment cleaners clean machinery, storage tanks, pipelines, and similar equipment using water and other cleaning agents, vacuums, hoses, brushes, cloths and other cleaning equipment.
Mechanical engineers plan and design tools, engines, machines and other mechanical equipment.
They design and develop power-producing machines such as internal combustion engines, steam and gas turbines, and jet and rocket engines. Mechanical engineering technicians help engineers design, develop, test and manufacture industrial machinery, mechanical parts and other equipment. They may assist in the testing of a guided missile, or in the planning and design of an electric power generation plant. They make sketches and rough layouts, record data, make computations, analyze results and write reports. When planning production, mechanical engineering technicians prepare layouts and drawings of the assembly process and of parts to be manufactured.