Each year, it is estimated that more than 1500 maintenance technician jobs are not being filled in France. This shortage of technicians is a real problem for the industrial sector as it causes a slowdown in their economy. A shortage that does not seem to decrease over time and that industries have difficulty in resolving, so why is this profession so hard to fill?
The industrial maintenance technician's mission is to keep machines running properly. Their main objective is to avoid equipment breakdowns and production interruptions through preventive maintenance. Since even the smallest technical failure can lead to high additional costs, they regularly check, inspect and maintain the equipment. If a breakdown does occur, it is necessary to react as fast as possible. Using tests and measurements, they make a diagnosis and carries out the necessary work. It is their job to change a defective part, modify settings, correct certain data in the computer program that controls the automated machines and to put them back into service. They are constantly trying to improve the production tool but also to reduce costs. This is a job that requires great analytical skills, adaptability and a good resistance to stress.
At first sight, the job of
maintenance technician has many advantages, particularly economic ones. It is a
stable job where most of the hirings are made on permanent contracts. It is
very rare to be unemployed because the need is high. Maintenance technicians
have many opportunities and often have a wide choice of companies. The
profession adapts to the changes and needs of the industry, so it is a
profession where practices are evolving. In addition, the maintenance
technician can quickly progress within the company and become a team manager. Despite
these benefits, twice as many students would still need to be trained to
compensate for retirements. One of the reasons for this shortage is undoubtedly
the devaluation of technical courses. General courses are still seen as more
prestigious and more lucrative than technical courses.
The job of maintenance
technician, and the industrial sector more generally, is still associated with
physical hardship, heavy and dirty machines that are difficult to handle,
repatitive work and the like.
Although working conditions have
greatly improved since the 1950s, jobs in this sector are still particularly
hazardous today. Indeed, the information collected and analysed by the AFIM
association (French Association of Maintenance Engineers and Managers) has
established a worrying situation in terms of health and safety for maintenance
jobs:
- An occurrence of serious
accidents 3 times higher than the national average,
- An occurrence of illness 6
times higher,
- An occurrence of mortality 8
times higher.
This is due to several factors:
According to an INRS survey, maintenance
workers are much more frequently exposed than other employees to:
- Noise pollution, outdoor work,
bad weather, radiation and irradiation;
- Travelling on foot and in
vehicles;
- Vibrations (working with
vibrating machines and tools);
- Awkward postures and positions:
squatting, lying down, kneeling, arms up, etc.
- Work with poor visibility
(sometimes even no visibility);
- Chemical agents
In addition to the risks
presented by equipment, goods and working environments, maintenance personnel
are also subject to
- Technical and technological
constraints: the systems and equipment to be maintained are increasingly
sophisticated and complex.
- Strong organisational
pressures: time pressure, frequent work interruptions, uncertainties about the
work to be carried out, on-call duty, work on Sundays and public holidays,
psychological pressure linked to the need to ensure productivity, unexpected
maintenance operations, etc. ;
- Important material
restrictions: absence or delays in obtaining spare parts, unsuitable tools,
non-existent or inappropriate means of access and handling, insufficient number
of co-workers, unavailable or non-updated plans of the installations,
insufficient information on the intervention to be carried out.
The technician's job is therefore
a difficult one, and improving working conditions must be a key objective in order
to make this job more attractive.
The prevention of work hazards cannot be the same for preventive maintenance, which is carried out regularly and prepared, or for corrective maintenance, which is carried out unexpectedly: in the first case, individual protection devices can be provided to minimise the risk of accidents or exposure, while in the second case, an analysis of the specific risks must be done before each intervention in order to set up adequate prevention procedures and tools.
The integration of maintenance requirements into the conception of the machines is a necessary step to ensure that the technicians carrying out the maintenance do not have to deal with machines that are too difficult or dangerous to maintain.
By acting on the design of machines, the organisation of maintenance and the protection of workers, it is therefore possible to improve the working conditions of maintenance technicians, who will be able to communicate a more positive image of a profession that has improved and make it more attractive to younger people.
Bibliography:
Protais, M. (2019, 1 février). L’ingénierie française en danger à cause du manque d’ingénieurs et de techniciens. usinenouvelle.com.
Organisation de la maintenance. Expositions aux risques - Risques - INRS. (2022). INRS.fr.
https://www.inrs.fr/risques/maintenance/expositions-risques.html
La prévention des risques en maintenance. (2022). Officiel-Prevention.com.
