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Business Equipment Technician

Also known as Business Equipment Serviceperson and Business Machine Mechanic.

Business equipment technicians install, commission, maintain, repair and service computers, document centres, fax machines, photocopiers, cash registers and other electronic commercial and office machines. They may also undertake networking of devices.

Business equipment technicians work in repair workshops or travel to clients' offices.

They may need to lift heavy equipment.

TASKS

Business equipment technicians may perform the following tasks:

carry out regular inspections and maintenance of machines to prevent breakdowns
refer to manufacturers' service manuals
talk to machine operators to assess faults
find faults in electrical and electronic machines by using special instruments such as voltmeters, resistance meters and oscilloscopes, and repair or replace faulty parts or wiring
reassemble equipment and test it to determine whether it is working properly
advise users of correct operating methods to prevent breakdowns
keep accurate records and documentation as required

PERSONAL REQUIREMENTS

enjoy working with electrical, electronic and mechanical systems
enjoy solving practical problems
good hand-eye coordination
good eyesight (may be corrected) and normal colour vision
good communication skills
enjoy customer service
enjoy working with computers
attention to detail

Interest Area

SPECIALISATIONS

Computer Hardware Service Technician - installs, maintains, adjusts and repairs computer hardware and related equipment, such as disk drives, printers, visual display units, CD-ROMs, DVD drives and interfacing equipment.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

To become a business equipment technician you usually have to complete an apprenticeship or traineeship in Business Equipment or Electronics.

Entry requirements may vary, but employers generally require Year 10.

Additional Information

Once you are employed, you may be able to develop, and have recognised, additional skills under the Electrotechnology Training Package that will expand your career opportunities within this industry.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Business equipment technicians work for business machine and equipment manufacturing, sales, hire or service firms. They may also work for independent providers of machine maintenance service.

Depending on the employing company, business equipment technicians may also enter into electronics work or other mechanical servicing occupations. They may also move to the sales side of a business machine company. Promotion to service management and training is possible, and technicians may transfer to computer servicing.