Job Details
Description
A Maintenance Apprentice is an intermediate-level maintenance position. Employees in this job have generalized maintenance skills and apply those skills to the continuing operation and repair of equipment and facilities at Mid South Extrusion. Maintenance Apprentice employees gain additional skills through on-the-job experience and through assigned training specific to tasks required for the ongoing operation of the extrusion lines. A Maintenance Apprentice will assist in the diagnosis of malfunctions in production machinery and equipment, and the repair and maintenance of machinery and equipment in accordance with blueprints, schematic drawings, operations manuals, and manufacturer's specifications. In support of such activities a Maintenance Apprentice may set up and operate metal working machinery and tools, such as lathes, drill presses, and grinders to make and repair parts. Maintenance Apprentices may assist in performing preventive maintenance on all the plastic extrusion lines and related equipment. Maintenance Apprentices normally work with and at the direction of more senior Maintenance employees; however, depending on the skill levels of the individual and the needs of the operation, a Maintenance Apprentice may at times work independently.
Requirements
Essential Functions
Essential functions for Maintenance Apprentice employees include the following:
- Participates in the rotating "call out" schedule for the Maintenance Department.
- With other Maintenance employees or with Production employees, diagnoses and effects basic mechanical and electrical problems on the extrusion lines. Confers with Operators and observes, tests, and evaluates the operation of machinery and equipment to diagnose the cause of the malfunction.
- Disassembles machinery and equipment to remove parts and make repairs.
- Examines parts and identifies defects such as breakage and excessive wear.
- Repairs and replaces broken or malfunctioning components of machinery and equipment.
- Cleans, lubricates, adjusts, and aligns parts, equipment, and machinery as needed to ensure continued operation.
- With the assistance of other trained Maintenance or with trained Production personnel, test-runs repaired machinery and equipment to verify the adequacy of repairs.
- Repairs, fabricates, and/or installs replacement electrical wiring or wiring harnesses as needed.
- Welds to repair broken metal parts and/or fabricates new metal parts.
- Orders or requisitions parts and materials.
- Documents repairs and maintenance performed on assigned work orders, listing parts used and time dedicated to the work at hand.
- Keeps maintenance department clear and organized by replacing used tools and equipment.
- Performs routine maintenance on equipment, as assigned, and determines when and what kind of maintenance is needed. Communicates such determinations to the Maintenance Manager for further actions.
- Installs or assists with the installation of new or used equipment, machines, wiring, or programs.
- Understands and conforms with the requirements for food safety that are specific to Maintenance. Such requirements include hand washing prior to entry, hair and beard nets, release of area after Maintenance activities, and all required documentation related to food safety.
- Conforms with PPE requirements and Safety Rules.
PPE requirements and Safety Rules- Eye protection is required everywhere in the plant.
- Hearing protection is required when crossing the blue lines that are painted on the floors, heading toward the machines.
- Safety-toe shoes or boots are required everywhere in the plant.
- Equipment must be properly locked out to prevent exposure to hazardous energy.
- Fall protection equipment must be worn when there is exposure to fall potential.
- Cut gloves are required to be worn on the opposite hand you use to hold a knife when cutting.
- Maximum weight allowed to be lifted by one person is 80 pounds. Anything heavier requires aid from another person, a forklift, a Big Joe, or the roll handlers.
- Face shields are required to be worn anytime you are over the die during start-up.
- Each machine is equipped with multiple safety switches and devices. Although the features are not the same for each machine, they all have safety devices in place to help protect you. These include pressure sensitive mats, light curtains, pull cords, and emergency stop buttons.
Core Competencies- Basic mechanical skills that center around the use of hand and power tools to disassemble, repair, and reassemble machines and equipment.
- Basic electrical skills that include the ability to trace circuits, pull wires, fabricate and replace simple wiring harnesses, and diagnose simple electrical problems associated with equipment.
- Basic metal working skills, including the ability to weld, use a cutting torch, fabricate tube & beam structures, and bend or repair simple metal duct or flashing.
- Reaction Time- The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Manual Dexterity- The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Control Precision- The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Finger Dexterity- The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness- The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Near Vision- The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Supervisory Responsibility This position has no supervisory responsibility.
Work Environment This position operates primarily in a manufacturing/warehousing environment. This position is routinely exposed to a variety of extreme conditions such as elevated (or very low) temperatures, high humidity, and high noise levels. Depending on the required work area, the noise level in the work environment may be very loud. Maintenance employees at all levels within the department may work at elevated heights, both indoors and outside. Occasional work may be required from equipment such as manlift baskets or other approved personnel lifting devices. Exposure to weather conditions such as high heat, intense sunshine, rain, snow, sleet, or ice may sometimes be required.
Physical Demands A Maintenance Apprentice must be able to lift up to 80 pounds. Employees in this position must be capable of reaching overhead approximately 10% of the day, squatting, kneeling, bending, walking, lifting, pulling, pushing, and/or standing as much as 80% of the day, and sitting as much as 20% of the day. Sitting occurs while working on the computer with parts listing, entering records, and performing other maintenance work.
This position must be able to climb onto and operate a forklift reaching pedals and controls with both hands and feet. A Maintenance Apprentice must be capable of operating hand controls for equipment such as chain hoists and other equipment requiring the use of hand and finger dexterity. The ability to climb stairs to access the tops of the extrusion towers is essential to this role as is the capacity to work at elevated heights while standing on open grating work platforms.
Persons in a Maintenance Apprentice role must be able to see, hear, and speak with reasonable clarity.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work This is a full-time position. The staffing for this position is separated into two different categories. General hours of work for the day shift employees are 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employees may be assigned to production shifts and work monthly, rotating schedules with hours consisting of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., three and four days per week, respectively. This position is part of a seven-day rotating schedule.
Education and Experience High School Diploma or GED; Post-Secondary Certificate-awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in Personnel Services, Engineering-related Technologies, Vocational Home Economics, Construction Trades, Mechanics and Repairers, Precision Production Trades): Over two years and up to and including four years.
Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, and responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Reasonable accommodations can be made for Qualified ADA disabilities if they assist in enabling the employee to perform the essential functions and duties of this position.
*Mid-South is an equal opportunities employer. We want applicants of diverse backgrounds and hire without regard to race, color, gender, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law.