Building operator monitors the monitors

Career Mirror - by Mark Sproxton

As the building operator pounds away on his computer keyboard the stack of paper he has to deal with continues to grow. Everything he does, or has people do requires paper, whether it's a manual on how to replace a part or paperwork showing maintenance work has been completed. For the hundreds of pieces of equipment in this downtown high rise, everything from boilers to refrigeration machines, to pumps and coils and exhaust fans, there are 1,000 planned visits each year. And if anything goes wrong there's additional visits tacked on top.

Welcome to the busy work-world of power engineer Les Anderson who works as a building operator for Oxford Properties. "You make sure the building is running well and there is scheduled maintenance on each piece of equipment," he explains. "Most buildings are run by computers, so computer skills and being able to determine the operations via computer is fairly critical."

Despite working in a control room and constantly monitoring hundreds of different types of machinery, mechanical and computer skills are only part of the job requirements. "You're dealing a lot with people in this type of job, the people who pay the rent. You're running the building for them. You have to be a people-person." Dealing with the rent-payers is not all. Building operators also work in a team environment calling on a host of other tradespeople, such as electrical engineers or plumbers, to help ensure the building's equipment works as expected.

"You have to maintain equipment based on the manufacturer specifications," Anderson said. "You do the greasing, the changing of the belts and the making sure the maintenance is being done. There's a lot of support you have to draw from. You've got to bring in contractors when you've reached the limits of your abilities."

To some extent, those abilities will be shaped by the type of training and education you have. Five levels of certification are available in power engineering. Experience helps too. Anderson has worked in building maintenance for 20 years after moving from the oil and gas industry where he performed similar duties.

While Anderson enjoys the complexity of the work and the fact no two days are ever alike, he said there are small drawbacks. "No one ever tells you you're doing well," he said. As most of this work in building maintenance takes place downtown there can be trouble finding parking as well. In addition to high rises, building operators may work in strip malls, commercial buildings, oil and gas plants or large shopping centres.

Most of the work takes place Monday to Friday. But operators are also required to be on call in the evening and on weekends meaning a typical eight hour shift can last 10 or 12 hours if there's an equipment malfunction. Some buildings may also require operators to work shifts meaning start and end times of the work day will vary considerably. Anderson said operators will enter the workforce earning around $35,000 a year and can work up to around $70,000 a year.

For those with problem solving abilities, mechanical skills and sound people skills, Anderson said there are many opportunities available. "The future of the work is great. There's a big shortage of operators."