industrial maintenance techs not required tp supply own tools

[Kracin]

I will be handling all the equipment. From PMS to plcs.

I know what to bring on the electric side. The mechanical side is going to be the challenge

Thanks for the reaponse

you'll be able to get by with the bare minimum at first until you run into special situations.

good sets of sockets 1/4 drive up to 1/2 drive. good ratchets, adapters for impacts (sae and metric, a lot of factories have equipment from the us and foreign)

impact driver for self tapping screws

good set of easy outs

brass hammer and regular of your preferred weight

minisledge for anchor driving

wrench sets in sae and metric from 1/4" up to 1-1/2"

good set of standard allen keys (bondhus gorilla proof are great) sae and metric

set of screwdrivers from wera, felo, wiha, etc all sizes you can think of including down to #00 (if doing plc and electrical you may run into tiny torx also)

set of bits that is going to run the gamit of everything from torx to securities.

good meter, the one that can get you by cheap for industrial type work is a fluke 114 (not the best, but has amp clamp and regular functions, spring for more expensive if you feel like that has better ranges, depends on what they want you to do).

get a set of long and short allen sockets with ball ends in sae and metric if you want to speed the work up.

good pairs of diagonal cutter and different sizes of knipex/channellock pliers to fit the need

levels, squares, chalk string, plumb bob, etc etc etc. theres a ton of stuff you'll need if taking care of all sorts of things.

 

[davewo]

I'm a machinist and am not allowed to bring in my own tools, but we have a very healthy, almost no-questions-asked, tooling budget. Simply put, line items over $500 need approval and orders exceeding $5000 get "audited." I don't order much, I don't see the point in pushing it and possibly losing this privilege.

 

[dodgejunkie]

I supplied my maintenance techs everything they needed! Proto roll cab, with Proto tools! They signed a contract that they were inventoried monthly, and if something was missing it was subtracted from their check and replaced! After 7 years it was theirs to take, free and clear. About 10k worth. Worked great, and never had a complaint.

Before that we had a lot of trouble with missing tools, and tons of tools probably stolen!

 

[AL`]

It's sad to read of all the theft in this thread.

 

[Wes J]

As said above, industrial guys can get by with surprisingly few tools. I worked in a large corn processing plant for a while. The mechanics there each had a 2 wheel hand truck and a 5 gallon bucket with a "bucket boss" organizer that they worked out of 90% of the time. They had wrenches, ratchets, sockets, pliers, hammers, etc. The company bought the tools and they took care of them. They had a locker to lock them up when they left.

For larger stuff, there was a central tool crib and tools were checked out and returned. Things got broken or lost, but no problems with theft that I knew of. These guys were excellent mechanics and did amazing work with very few tools.

I work as a CNC and machine tool field engineer. I supply my own tools for everything. I also work as an independent contractor, so I need to have my own tools to distinguish me from a regular employee. I really prefer it since I am very fussy about my tools and I like having the things I want.

The automotive guys with $50,000 in tools are a mystery to me. My dad is one of the best mechanics I know. He mostly works on ag equipment. He just upgraded his old Snap-On single bay roller and Waterloo top box this year after 40 years. I never saw anything he couldn't fix with what he had.

I work on everything from antique American made grinders to $1 million + Japanese machining cells. I have a Kennedy 1022 cantilever box with enough tools to do 95% of repairs. I do carry 3/4 drive and a few bigger hammers and bars, and some indicators and machinist tools, but most of what I really need fit easily in that box.

 

[Katodog]

Theft happens, nothing you can do about it. We had a guy grabbing stuff on the sly, didn't realize until after he quit just how much was missing. We had another guy quit, and his entire tool bag and other stuff went with him. Was gonna tear-down his stuff and put it in the tool box or give it to the other guys, only to be surprised when I went to his bench and found it clean.


Can't chase after him, can't accuse him, just gotta eat it. That's why my stuff is all locked up. When I com ein and a lock is broken then it's go-time.

 

[Kracin]

Theft happens, nothing you can do about it. We had a guy grabbing stuff on the sly, didn't realize until after he quit just how much was missing. We had another guy quit, and his entire tool bag and other stuff went with him. Was gonna tear-down his stuff and put it in the tool box or give it to the other guys, only to be surprised when I went to his bench and found it clean.


Can't chase after him, can't accuse him, just gotta eat it. That's why my stuff is all locked up. When I com ein and a lock is broken then it's go-time.

pretty much this, locks are just deterrents when you work in a shop with saws, grinders, chain cutting snips and torches. if someone goes the extra mile to steal stuff, either the company makes good on getting you your stuff replaced with modern equivalents, or you leave and try to get your stuff through legal means.

 

[tlpatter]

I've been in the corrugated paper industry for 8 years. I switch over to the maintenance side last August. I have supplied 95% of my tools. I have more tools than the techs that have been there for 18 years because I just like having my own stuff. I have a little over 10k invested right now and I am still buying more because I don't like borrowing and I like to be prepared for any situation. My boss is actually a good friend of mine. He buys stuff for the guys in the shop even now and then but it's not a common occurrence. If we break something then the company replaces it. We have a lot of contractors that come in and do work. A lot of times they come and ask me to borrow stuff because they know that I will have one. I don't mind if they borrow but like I told my boss if something gets broken I expect it to be replaced with the same exact thing. If this doesn't happen then I stop loaning out period. The shop has supplied me with and m18 impact, Starrett caliper, basic fluke meter, and a wiha multi bit screwdriver.

 

[B_Bimmer]

I supplied my maintenance techs everything they needed! Proto roll cab, with Proto tools! They signed a contract that they were inventoried monthly, and if something was missing it was subtracted from their check and replaced! After 7 years it was theirs to take, free and clear. About 10k worth. Worked great, and never had a complaint.

Before that we had a lot of trouble with missing tools, and tons of tools probably stolen!

Everything about this is a great idea.

 

[rslaback]

I wouldn't worry about taking anything with you on your first day. I'd be very surprised if you even got to touch a machine that day. Your company will let you know how they handle tools in due time.

 

[pepi]

We tried that at one of our plants that had about 70 mechanics. Brought in SnapOn to set up rolling toolboards. Spent a TON of money on the project and everybody liked the idea. Within a few months, most of the tools were stolen. End of project.

It might work in a smaller operation with people that aren't jackasses.

*** hats everywhere, same mind set destroyed the company car programs

 

[racinfarmer]

It's sad to read of all the theft in this thread.

It is a reason they get good tools to start, and the cheapest **** they can find after the good stuff is stolen.

They do need to self police and have some responsibility of trying to prevent production from lifting their tools too.

 

[maintguy]

Update and bump

Well after 2 days. I am not happy with some the **** they provide.

I spent 15 minutes searching for a 3/8 nut driver. Only to be told we don't have any. Come on we change out fans daily these are needed. With that said my set is being packed and will have to come home with me daily Or stay in my truck.

The multi meter is also lacking. A fluke t5 is a Good basic tester. But leaves a lot to be desired on industrial environments at times

Rant over thanks for reading

 

[bonneyman]

Tools are a big bone of contention with us. Every year we have a Gallop poll, and every year "I have the tool I need to do my job" is one of the top problems within our department. The other thing that always scores really low is "There is an element of trust within our department."

I don't think it is a coincidence that those two things are at the top of our list of concerns, and we have a thief that management refuses to acknowledge. He works weekends when no one else is around, and steals whatever isn't locked up. They don't want to do anything about it because finding an electrician that will accept weekends as his regular schedule is next to impossible.

We have submitted an employee tool allowance program as part of our collective bargaining agreement. If it were to go through, employees would get $50 every 2 weeks in tool allowance, as well as a bonus every month that goes by without having a time loss injury. It will be interesting to see if it goes through or not.

Dang, that *****! How bad must the rest of the guys feel that the boss will knowingly keep a thief because of a scheduling problem? No wonder there's a morale problem.

 

[Mr. T]

Just out of curiosity, what machines do work on? Manufacturer, size, how many?

 

[maintguy]

Just out of curiosity, what machines do work on? Manufacturer, size, how many?

All plastic molding related machines.

Rotational
Thermo forming
CNC routers
Injection
Simple operator cooling fans
Misc air tool rebuilds

Place is 5 buildings covering 6 acres

 

[jteck75]

I've been an industrial maintenance tech for 17 years, my current employer (last 10 years) supplies all my tools. Before that I was on my own for tools. We get to pretty much spec our own tools as long as it comes from MSC, McMaster Carr, or Grainger. They have a good selection of high quality stuff. I usually specify Armstrong because over the years they have proven themselves as reliable and tough. But I also like Proto, and I have a few Williams. Most all my power tools are cordless Milwaukee M18 and M12. I love the M12 stuff I use the 1/4" M12 ratchet almost daily. The M12 porta-band has been a lifesaver too! All of my impact sockets are Gray Pneumatic.

 

[maintguy]

Company issued tool boxes are stocked with kt pro tools. With some westward and grip.

 

[Wes J]

The M12 porta-band has been a lifesaver too!

I don't know if they changed it, but Milwaukee used to make a cordless bandsaw that would not fit in the case unless you removed the battery.

Handy as hell for running conduit though.

 

[jeepboy4life]

I am a maintenance tech (among other things) in a custom stone shop, all of my tools are provided to me. I had a cheap lowes box (pro steel) filled with Kobolt Taiwan and channel lock and a VERY cheap multi meter. I have bought my own box to use (hf 5 drawer cart) the tools are fine and actually dont mind the Kobolt tools would like better quality USA tools but for now this is what I have. As for the multi meter having the cheap one is good enough for the little bit of electrical trouble shooting I do. Most of the electrical we have a contractor come in and do as I am still learning the PLC trouble shooting. We have a huge problem with theft at our shop, when our last maitnace tech left before me the company had a tool box filled with most of the tools you would need to do basic repairs, withing 3 weeks it was totally empty. Management refuses to ackowlagde it so any tools I bring from home go with me every day.

 

[Jim Diesel]

In the workshop im currently working in, all the specialist tools and 3/4 to inch gear is supplied through the tool store. If something breaks that the shop owns its replaced with minimal fuss. If a tradie requires a particular tool it will be purchased by the shop also. That being said we do not recieve any form of tool allowance. And privately purchased equipment damaged or lost is on the individual to replace which is fair IMO.

 

[dodgejunkie]

Everything about this is a great idea.

Bump!

Been busy! I did this to develop long-term employees, and to give the people some pride in ownership!

It worked great on both accounts, until I left then the ownership decided to lose all the contracts and tried screwing the maintenance staff! Guess what happened? Yep, lost all the long-term employees, and all the tools too. Last I heard "maintenance" at that place is calling in millwrights to fix and lube everything! Not very budget friendly.

 

[coonhunter]

At my last job our crews were not allowed to have their own tools and we supplied everything. The thought was that it would help to prevent accidents if the employees were using quality tools, and not making due with the cheap tools. If an employee was to leave the company, his toolbox stayed at the company and the employee was expected to pay for any missing tools. This kept everyone honest and made the employees much more likely to keep up with their tools and keep their toolboxes locked. The fun part as a supervisor was that I had a blank check for tools. If I wanted to try a certain tool that I saw on the garage journal, I bought some, handed them out to my crews and asked them to try them out and let me know what they thought. My guys loved it because they always had the best and coolest tools around, the salesmen loved to bring new tools buy to show off, and I got good tool reviews from the guys. I have since moved on to another company where the employees supply their own tools and the company replaces any that break, with equal or better tools (usually proto). I see the benefits to both ways of doing things. I bet since the oil prices have dropped the company that I left is not buying near as many tools these days.