All Member Open Forum

Maintenance professionals, 

I am curious as to your perspective on the technical qualifications and day to day duties of the maintenance manager. 

Every company is different and how the person filling the maintenance manager seat got that position does reflect somewhat on the company culture. For example, I have seen job postings where the maintenance manager position degree requirement could even be a business administration degree (not too much expectation for deep technical knowledge right off the bat for this particular job posting that I saw).. 

And I have seen companies where the production manager ends up becoming the maintenance manager (and vice versa), while in others, companies are looking for a previous mechanic to be the maintenance manager. 

So, some companies tend to view the maintenance manager position not so much as a technical position (akin to a maintenance coach or supervisor/lead role) but more of a strategic and operations oversight (less technical role) while others tend to look at the maint mgr position more so as a technical supervisor role. (perhaps a mismatch in using the word "manager" in that case...).

Anyway, I am curious if anyone has any thoughts on this.

1) What have you seen either in your own company or from afar? Do you find that the maintenance manager position is more so of an administrative/operational/strategic type of role as opposed to a hands on and direct coaching role?

2) Are you expected to be the direct problem solver as opposed to your engineers and mechanics? 

3) Related to #1, if you find that the maint mgr position from what you have seen either directly or from afar is more so the administrative type, how much technical background does that person have? (it appears to me that there is a wide range from people who are very technically inclined to those who are not in the maint manager position)... 

For perspective, there is a lot of freedom in my company for me to dive really deep into a technical situation alongside the mechanics and engineers (which I have done on occasion such as helping out with troubleshooting, defect finding events, or performing installation work with the mechanics etc...), but in my conversations with my plant manager, the general standard is the maint mgr position that I am filling is more of an oversight and administrative role.. not so much a hands-on role... I do have two maintenance supervisor leads for the dept that handles more of the direct coaching and direct floor supervision of the mechanics.. 

Especially with various efforts that I am expected to do such as local expense budgeting, capital project development and management of projects, general oversight of mechanic productivity via the planning and scheduling process, overseeing and conducting RCAs and BDAs, and overseeing and executing my 3 yr TPM PM pillar master plan, you can see that I am expected to be more so doing planning and coordination as opposed to a lot of direct supervision on the floor. 

I still get asked a lot of questions by the production staff regarding very tactical issues and breakdowns on the floor and so I do interact quite frequently with my leads and the mechanics on very tactical issues but I am not expected to necessarily be the one to directly solve the problem at hand.. (which my mechanics and engineers do..)

One previous person that filled my maint manager role acted more like a mechanic and engineer and was ***constantly*** on the floor directly helping the mechanics with particular breakdowns, but did not really focus at all on the larger systems and process issues that were plaguing the maint. dept.

And the other previous person was mainly focused on capital projects and hardly interacted with the maintenance mechanics. Now, to be fair, this person also had the capital manager role, which I dont. But, he also did not develop any real systems for the dept. 

My maintenance lead recently told me that for me being in my position as a manager and handling the things that I do both strategic and tactical, I interact quite frequently with the mechanics, but not in the sense of trying to be a mechanic. (He meant that as a positive).    

Anyway, I am curious as to others' perspective. I know that every company culture is different, which can lead to differences in the expectations and standards for what the maint manager should be doing.

Thanks.

Chris Lee

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Christopher Lee
Maintenance Manager
Ecolab
Martinsburg WV
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Dear All, I take this opportunity to share my thoughts, knowledge and experience on this post. I am a maintenance and Reliability Engineer for the past 42 years. I started my career as a maintenance technician in training (Electrical, Mechanical, Instrumentation etc) in the maintenance department at Amoco. In addition, I was simultaneously assigned to the operation department. Therefore, I am of the firm opinion that if there's an open position to hire a Maintenance Manager/Supervisor, the best fit would be that if someone who has maintenance experience and qualifications together with operational experience.

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Kuarlal Rampersad
Maintenance and Reliability Engineering Consultant.
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Hey Chris,

A great observation and a question alike

From my perspective, a good maintenance manager should ideally be someone who has grown through the ranks and has firsthand experience with maintenance tasks. Understanding how much effort certain jobs take, what kind of spares or tools are required, and what challenges technicians face daily is critical. This practical insight helps in setting realistic expectations, planning resources effectively, and ensuring that maintenance strategies align with actual shop floor realities.

At the same time, the maintenance manager's role should include a strong administrative and strategic component. They need to bring systematic improvements into the workflow, streamline processes, build preventive and predictive maintenance systems, and drive continuous improvement efforts. In short, they serve as the bridge between technical execution and organizational strategy.

Finally, since it's a managerial position, strong people management is essential. Understanding team dynamics, listening to concerns, managing expectations, and keeping the crew motivated are all key to maintaining morale and productivity.

In essence, it's a balanced mix of technical understanding, strategic thinking, and people management.

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Usama Butt
Reliablity Engineer
Mari Energies Limited
ISLAMABAD
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Christopher,  this is a really good question and it seems may be coming from a position of transitioning from a tactical hands on role to a more strategic manager role.   First off I will say,  most people in maintenance would be envious to have a plant manager giving the coaching and direction you are getting.  Most Plant Managers do not understand the basics of maintenance nor do they understand the importance of having firm processes within your maintenance organization to drive improvement.  They continue to undermine the growth of the organization by pushing them back to the reactive mode without even knowing it.   Improvement happens over time with a commitment to lead and change culture.    If you've not studied and taken your CMRP exam I highly encourage you to do so as it will provide that basis for standardized practices.   

As far as the person in that role and their background, I can say that having worked in industry for over 38 years,  in several different companies,  I have seen many people who had backgrounds that were not what you would imagine.  I've seen highly technical people who were great engineers but poor managers because they couldn't inspire and lead.   I've seen mechanics come from the floor who were great leaders and I've seen mechanics who came from the floor who couldn't transition.   I've worked with people who had business degrees or even teaching history and ended up being very technically competent .   At the end of the day,  how you perform is determined by your personal attitude toward the opportunity.   You must have technical skills as a maintenance leader but you must also have the ability to think strategically and guide the team toward improvements in the gaps.   Study your own weaknesses and seek development in those areas and lean on your strengths.  You will have to index toward the strategic but be hands on to understand the progress and gaps with implementation.

Great question and one that I hear often with the teams I've managed in the past.

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Mark Pospisil
Program Manager Maintenance Excellence AN Division
Abbott Laboratories
Sunbury OH
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Thanks, everyone for your thoughts... 

Really great perspective... Mark, yes, I am studying for the CMRP. I am planning on taking it on Nov 21... I bought the sample questions from the SMRP website and did one practice test so far (175 questions)... My score was high enough to pass but I need to improve so that I can definitely crush the exam on Nov 21.  

Chris Lee

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Christopher Lee
Maintenance Manager
Ecolab
Martinsburg WV
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-03-2025 08:35 AM
From: Mark Pospisil
Subject: Perspective on maintenance manager qualifications and duties

Christopher,  this is a really good question and it seems may be coming from a position of transitioning from a tactical hands on role to a more strategic manager role.   First off I will say,  most people in maintenance would be envious to have a plant manager giving the coaching and direction you are getting.  Most Plant Managers do not understand the basics of maintenance nor do they understand the importance of having firm processes within your maintenance organization to drive improvement.  They continue to undermine the growth of the organization by pushing them back to the reactive mode without even knowing it.   Improvement happens over time with a commitment to lead and change culture.    If you've not studied and taken your CMRP exam I highly encourage you to do so as it will provide that basis for standardized practices.   

As far as the person in that role and their background, I can say that having worked in industry for over 38 years,  in several different companies,  I have seen many people who had backgrounds that were not what you would imagine.  I've seen highly technical people who were great engineers but poor managers because they couldn't inspire and lead.   I've seen mechanics come from the floor who were great leaders and I've seen mechanics who came from the floor who couldn't transition.   I've worked with people who had business degrees or even teaching history and ended up being very technically competent .   At the end of the day,  how you perform is determined by your personal attitude toward the opportunity.   You must have technical skills as a maintenance leader but you must also have the ability to think strategically and guide the team toward improvements in the gaps.   Study your own weaknesses and seek development in those areas and lean on your strengths.  You will have to index toward the strategic but be hands on to understand the progress and gaps with implementation.

Great question and one that I hear often with the teams I've managed in the past.

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Mark Pospisil
Program Manager Maintenance Excellence AN Division
Abbott Laboratories
Sunbury OH
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