Maintenance Supervisor
Skilled Trades
Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of mechanics, installers, and repairers. May also advise customers on recommended services. Excludes team or work leaders.
You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.
What you'd do all day
The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.
- 1Inspect, test, and measure completed work, using devices such as hand tools or gauges to verify conformance to standards or repair requirements.
- 2Inspect and monitor work areas, examine tools and equipment, and provide employee safety training to prevent, detect, and correct unsafe conditions or violations of procedures and safety rules.
- 3Monitor employees' work levels and review work performance.
- 4Interpret specifications, blueprints, or job orders to construct templates and lay out reference points for workers.
- 5Perform skilled repair or maintenance operations, using equipment such as hand or power tools, hydraulic presses or shears, or welding equipment.
- 6Participate in budget preparation and administration, coordinating purchasing and documentation and monitoring departmental expenditures.
- 7Compute estimates and actual costs of factors such as materials, labor, or outside contractors.
- 8Monitor tool and part inventories and the condition and maintenance of shops to ensure adequate working conditions.
- 9Requisition materials and supplies, such as tools, equipment, or replacement parts.
- 10Confer with personnel, such as management, engineering, quality control, customer, or union workers' representatives, to coordinate work activities, resolve employee grievances, or identify and review resource needs.
- 11Determine schedules, sequences, and assignments for work activities, based on work priority, quantity of equipment, and skill of personnel.
- 12Examine objects, systems, or facilities and analyze information to determine needed installations, services, or repairs.
- 13Counsel employees about work-related issues and assist employees to correct job-skill deficiencies.
- 14Recommend or initiate personnel actions, such as hires, promotions, transfers, discharges, or disciplinary measures.
- 15Review, evaluate, accept, and coordinate completion of work bid from contractors.
- 16Investigate accidents or injuries and prepare reports of findings.
- 17Compile operational or personnel records, such as time and production records, inventory data, repair or maintenance statistics, or test results.
- 18Conduct or arrange for worker training in safety, repair, or maintenance techniques, operational procedures, or equipment use.
- 19Develop, implement, or evaluate maintenance policies and procedures.
- 20Meet with vendors or suppliers to discuss products used in repair work.
- 21Develop or implement electronic maintenance programs or computer information management systems.
- 22Design equipment configurations to meet personnel needs.
Also known as
What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.
- Grip Boss
- Wire Chief
- Rig Manager
- Shop Foreman
- Shop Manager
- AC Supervisor
- Garage Manager
- PM Coordinator
- Repeater Chief
- HVAC Supervisor
How far is this from you?
Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.
1
Entry straight after SPM
2
SPM + sijil / short TVET course
Typical entry
Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)
4
Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)
5
Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route
Subjects that matter here
The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.
What you'd need to know
The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.
- Administration and Management79%
BusinessEconomics
- Mechanical77%
Mechanical Engineering StudiesPhysicsDesign & Technology (RBT)
- Customer and Personal Service74%
- Administrative67%
Business
- English Language64%
English
- Personnel and Human Resources64%
Business
Tools you'd use
Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.
What the work feels like
Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.
- Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
- Contact with other peopleConstant contact
- Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
- Leading or coordinating othersVery high
- Handling conflict situationsRarely
- Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
- Noisy environmentEvery day
- Time spent sittingA little
AI and demand for this job
A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.
Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)
This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.
Pay in Malaysia
We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.
Where to check:
- JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
- DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
- SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
Check what you may qualify for
Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.
How to get here
Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.
Related careers
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About this information
This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.
O*NET occupation: First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org