This Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician job description sets out the main duties, qualifications, skills and measures of success for the role, which is also known as Electrical Maintenance Engineer, Maintenance Electrician, Electrical Fitter or Multi-Skilled Engineer (Electrical). Download it free as a Word or PDF template and adapt it for your own vacancy.
| Job title | Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician |
| Also known as | Electrical Maintenance Engineer, Maintenance Electrician, Electrical Fitter, Multi-Skilled Engineer (Electrical) |
| Department | Dairy engineering and maintenance |
| Reports to | Maintenance Team Leader |
| Direct reports | None |
What does a Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician do?
Keeps electrical, instrumentation and control equipment running across a dairy processing site, from utilities and milk reception to processing, drying and packing. Completes planned maintenance and breakdown repairs safely and on time so the plant stays available and food safe.
Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician duties and responsibilities
Planned maintenance
- Carry out preventive maintenance on electrical equipment across utilities, processing, drying, packing and mobile plant
- Complete routine service tasks at every interval on schedule
- Inspect and test switchboards, motor control centres, motors, drives and distribution systems
- Calibrate and maintain instruments, sensors and analysers
- Record work, findings and parts used accurately in the CMMS
Breakdowns and fault-finding
- Respond quickly to breakdowns and restore plant safely
- Find faults on electrical circuits, variable speed drives, PLC inputs and outputs and field devices
- Use control system diagnostics and electrical drawings to trace faults
- Identify repeat faults and propose permanent fixes
- Take part in the on-call or shift breakdown rota
Improvement and spares
- Report stock levels and usage of critical electrical spares
- Suggest and help deliver plant and process improvements
- Install and commission new electrical equipment and modifications
- Update electrical drawings and records after every change
Food safety and quality
- Follow HACCP, good manufacturing practice and hygiene rules when working in production areas
- Control tools, parts and materials to prevent foreign body contamination
- Support calibration of CCP and quality-critical instruments
- Hand equipment back to production clean and ready for use
Health, safety and compliance
- Apply isolation, lockout and permit-to-work procedures on every job
- Work to current electrical regulations and wiring standards
- Help with contractor inductions and permits
- Report hazards, near misses and compliance risks promptly
- Support environmental controls on effluent and emissions
Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician qualifications and experience
Essential
- Qualified electrician with a recognised electrical trade qualification or registration
- Experience maintaining electrical equipment in a manufacturing or process plant
- Fault-finding experience on motors, drives and control circuits
- Experience using a CMMS
- Understanding of food safety and hygiene standards in food manufacture
Desirable
- Dairy or food processing experience
- Instrumentation or PLC experience
- Hazardous area competency, for example for dust zones around dryers
- High-voltage or switching authorisation
Skills and attributes
- Logical fault-finding
- Safe working and attention to detail
- Teamwork with production and mechanical staff
- Clear record keeping
- Staying calm under pressure during breakdowns
- Willingness to learn new technology
How success is measured
- Planned maintenance completed on time
- Breakdown response and repair times
- Fewer repeat electrical faults
- Accurate and complete CMMS records
- No safety incidents or food safety breaches caused by maintenance work
Working conditions and safety
Hands-on, site-based role in a food production environment, including work at height and in confined spaces, with PPE and hygiene controls. Usually includes shift work or an on-call breakdown rota.
- Follow health and safety rules and safe systems of work, and wear the correct PPE
- Follow food safety, hygiene, HACCP and quality procedures at all times
- Report hazards, accidents, near misses and concerns promptly
Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician interview questions
Use these questions to assess candidates for a Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician role. Each one includes what a good answer shows.
- How would you fault-find a motor that keeps tripping on overload?
What a good answer shows: Works logically through load, supply, drive settings, insulation and mechanical condition, using test equipment and drawings. - Talk me through how you would replace and set up a variable speed drive.
What a good answer shows: Isolates safely, matches ratings, transfers parameters, checks wiring and rotation, tests under load and updates records. - How would you trace a fault on a PLC input that is not changing state?
What a good answer shows: Checks the field device, wiring, power supply and input card in sequence, using drawings and control system diagnostics. - How do you calibrate a temperature or pressure instrument, and what do you record?
What a good answer shows: Uses traceable reference equipment, checks across the range, adjusts within tolerance and records results in the CMMS. - A pasteuriser temperature probe reads differently from the reference thermometer. What do you do?
What a good answer shows: Treats it as a food safety issue, checks and calibrates the instrument, and involves quality before production continues. - The same drive fault has caused three call-outs this month. What would you do?
What a good answer shows: Looks beyond resetting, analyses fault history and operating conditions, and proposes a permanent fix. - Describe your isolation procedure before working inside a motor control centre.
What a good answer shows: Follows lockout, permits and prove-dead testing with a proven tester, and never assumes a circuit is dead. - How do you control tools and parts when working in a food production area?
What a good answer shows: Checks tools in and out, avoids loose items, cleans down and hands equipment back clean and ready for use. - How do you work with operators during a breakdown when they want the line back quickly?
What a good answer shows: Communicates clearly on progress and timings, stays safe under pressure and explains what caused the fault. - How do you share what you learned from a difficult fault with the rest of the team?
What a good answer shows: Records the fault and fix clearly in the CMMS, explains it to colleagues and updates drawings or procedures.
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Frequently asked questions
Keeps electrical, instrumentation and control equipment running across a dairy processing site, from utilities and milk reception to processing, drying and packing. Completes planned maintenance and breakdown repairs safely and on time so the plant stays available and food safe.
Employers usually look for: qualified electrician with a recognised electrical trade qualification or registration; experience maintaining electrical equipment in a manufacturing or process plant; fault-finding experience on motors, drives and control circuits.
A Dairy Electrical Maintenance Technician usually reports to the Maintenance Team Leader.
Yes. Download the free Word template, add your location, contract and salary details, and adapt the duties to your site. You can then advertise the role on Dairy Jobs.
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