INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE

ASSOCIATE IN APPLIED SCIENCE

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

The heart and soul of any facility is the equipment that keeps it running. Whether it is the production machinery of an industrial manufacturer, the heating and cooling systems of a school or the mechanical and distribution structures of a hospital, no institution could operate without these basic mechanical systems.

And from installation to replacement, to preventative maintenance and repair, every facility needs skilled maintenance mechanics. The highly trained workers who can service and maintain these systems are a commodity that is integral to the operation of any size facility and a human resource none could be without. Working in a career that is everything but boring, the maintenance mechanic of today is at the center of the industrialized, skilled workforce.

The industrial maintenance program at the M-TEC at Kirtland-Gaylord is designed to give you the skills and training you need to pursue such a career, maintaining and repairing those systems that keep our economy rolling.

M-TEC’s industry-trained and experienced instructors, in a combination of classroom and lab studies, will guide you through five levels of training that will provide you the solid foundation for a career in industrial maintenance, an exciting skilled trades profession that will serve you for a lifetime, locally or anywhere you want to go.

THE BASICS

As in all of M-TEC’s programs, the industrial maintenance program begins by giving you important knowledge of basic skills. Your customized training begins with personal protection —proper cleanliness, housekeeping and workplace safety. You will learn the rules and regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as the “workers right to know” laws that apply to your profession, skills necessary to help keep you and co-workers safe from preventable, job-related injury.

This industry-specific, safety-minded core training will familiarize you with the hand- and power-operated “tools of the trade.” To further your confidence and promote your comfort in an industrial setting, you will learn ladder and scaffold safety, electrical lock-out and safety regulations, and receive training in fire prevention and extinguishing skills which will become immediately invaluable, not only to yourself but to future employers as well.

It will be upon these basic but necessary skills which M-TEC instructors will work as a team, guiding you at your own pace and helping you to acquire the knowledge you need to become a skilled, competent professional in a job that will never be mundane.

VARIETY

Who knows what systems you will encounter as you advance in your industrial maintenance career?

Modern mechanical and industrial machinery, whether it is for production or for daily operation, can use a wide range of means to complete a task. In the real world you may work on the mechanical drive of a production machine this morning and replace the seals in a hydraulic press this afternoon. Tomorrow you may perform maintenance on the mechanical components of a heating unit or repair faulty electrical controls in an industrial chiller.

Variety is central to the skills and abilities of today’s maintenance mechanic. This fact is not only recognized by the program directors at M-TEC, but will be the focus of your diverse training in this skilled trade.

Beginning in the classroom, you will garner knowledge of electrical theory allowing you to be safe, competent and comfort-able testing and trouble-shooting electrical wiring and controls. M-TEC’s labs have all the machinery you will likely encounter in today’s modern factories, hospitals and schools. It is in those labs that you will use hands-on learning methods to become acquaint-ed with the operation, repair and maintenance of electrical motors and controls.

And M-TEC strives to remain state of the art. Solid-state and computerized systems that were only dreamed of yesterday, are on the scene and working hard today. Here at M-TEC, you will the discover the newest and most up-to-date equipment. You will study and learn the components integral to the proper function of mechanical systems. To sharpen your edge in the job market you will also learn to read electrical schematics and blueprints—specific and sought after skills needed to maintain, trouble-shoot and prevent problems in all mechanical and industrial systems.

No operation, from the largest industrial complex to the smallest school, is without heating and cooling systems; they are central to the operation and comfort of all facilities. At M-TEC, you will learn to maintain, diagnose and repair these systems which allow all industry and business to function. From industrial chillers and air conditioners, to heating and boiler systems, you will be taught the basics of how these systems operate. And here again, starting in an interactive classroom that combines textbook and computers, you will advance to real-time training in a lab that contains true-to-life equipment—equipment that you will likely encounter and need to service, once you’re out on the job.

COVERING ALL THE BASES

At M-TEC you will become fully aware and proficient in hydraulic, pneumatic and mechanical theory. Individualized training will take you from lubrication and bearings, to pulleys and gearboxes, to belt and chain alignment. You will learn how the power of these systems is harnessed, controlled and used by industrial machinery to complete a huge range of different functions. As part of your study of these systems, you will become expert in the maintenance, servicing and repair of compressors, motors and pumps, including their different styles, their purpose and their common uses—all highly saleable skills that are at the core of a stimulating profession.

Boredom will never be a factor as a maintenance mechanic, nor will it ever be a part of your individualized M-TEC training. Your industrial maintenance education will be broad-based and wide-ranging, encompassing many related disciplines. Welder, millwright, pipe-fitter and electrician—you will share knowledge with all these trades and more, once you have completed your education.

Students who continue toward their associate’s degree also receive graphics and computer-aided drafting training, as well as general education classes—additional education to boost their general knowledge or to use for transfer to a four-year university.

Whether you graduate from M-TEC with an associate’s degree or a certificate, you will be taking from here all the skills and knowledge necessary to begin an exciting and challenging career.

What are you waiting for? Contact M-TEC today. Your future begins right now.

WHAT DO I NEED TO BE A MAINTENANCE MECHANIC?

The following skills and traits will lend themselves well to a career in mechanical maintenance:

• The ability to keep accurate records and deliver legible reports.
• A desire to acquire a broad range of skills and knowledge.
• A mechanical aptitude and a desire to work with machinery.
• Good hand-eye coordination and good or correctable vision.
• The ability to concentrate on different things at once.
• The ability to work safely around large equipment and to remain aware of your surroundings. 

Favorable job prospects are forecast for workers with a broad range of skills such as you will acquire at M-TEC and, while occupational employment is projected to grow at a pace less than that of other fields overall, the maintenance field is considered less seasonal than that of many other occupations. Women workers are still non-traditional in the maintenance field, but it is one in which they are successful and their numbers continue to increase.

For more information about our programs, contact the M-TEC at Kirtland-Gaylord at 989-705-3600 or email us at mtec@kirtland.edu.