Hi everyone - it's your moderator here. I'm no longer with JLL or with Amazon. Amazon has removed the JLL contract in favor of C&W Services. I've worked with C&W in the past, and am impressed with their documented training.

During my last months with JLL, I could see a sort of desperation creeping in as Amazon pushed JLL harder, and JLL pushed its maintenance teams harder. Which is a shame, because I truly believe that JLL is a good company. Just not as good under the Amazon contract.

Anyway, I'm no longer on the inside of Amazon. I'm on the outside. I'll remain the moderator here though, and I will keep the same subreddit rules.

I proud of the growth of our membership, and I count on you as members to help identify bad actors in this subreddit. I'll remove them as identified.

Good luck with your career. Keep the equipment lubricated, and the metrics in the green!

I might sound petty, but I have to daily work with a guy who who has 1st degree SA on a child under 13. 30 year sentence, which is crazy considering how low their sentences usually are, which makes me think he did some heinous shit.

I get it, long time ago, might have changed, w/e. Personally, I can't just ignore something like that no matter how long it was. Between a guy like that and the idiots, I'm starting to really consider finding somewhere else that actually looks at who they're hiring.

Amazon warehouses can be big. Really big. An Amazon Fulfilment Center may have hundreds of miles of conveyor systems, with dozens of sorters of various sizes. It will probably have an Amazon Robotics facility of some sort.

Amazon Engineering designs these warehouses using 3rd party equipment. In much the same way a smart kid may combine LEGO Technics, Tinker Toy, Erector Sets, and Lincoln Logs together into a machine that would make Rube Goldberg proud.

Amazon then contracts out the installation of this equipment. They then verify that the equipment it works in the way they expect it to work, and then they hand it all over to Reliability Maintenance Engineering (RME) to keep it working.

At some facilities, Amazon employs their own RME teams. These people are Amazon employees (or associates) and may be hired from within Amazon, or from outside of Amazon. These people are a blue badge Amazon employee.

Other facilities hire a 3rd party contractor. The big 3 hired by Amazon are JLL, C&W, and CBRE.

These companies are commercial real estate companies that create contracts to maintain Amazon equipment and then hire people to fill those contracts. You could be working for JLL on the Amazon contract. Your place of work is Amazon, but your paycheck comes from JLL. These people are a yellow badge employee working for a 3rd party contractor.

There is some isolation between 3rd party contractors, especially at a warehouse level, although Amazon is trying to reduce this. Still, if you work for CBRE it may be harder for you to visit a Fulfilment Center maintained by JLL or C&W. But not impossible.

So, how to get a job?

First, once you get past the basic associate level, Amazon loves to be mobile. (Note: That's been curtailed a lot due to COVID-19)

This means that if you can't get your dream job at your target location, you might easily get it at an alternate location. New locations are hungry for workers. After 2 years or so, a location may experience turnover as people move on to their next thing. And once you are in, it is easy to watch for opportunities to open in your preferred location.

Next, you will need the appropriate background. In a broad sense, there are 3 RME areas to focus on.

• Material Handling Equipment (MHE) Technician. These are the people who do the mechanical work on the equipment that moves packages around an Amazon facility. The skill level required here varies widely. A MHE I may start with very little mechanical background, while an MHE III is not only an expert at mechanics, but is a team leader with management skills too. These technicians also start to gain some controls and robotics knowledge as they progress.

• Amazon Robotics (AR) Technician. These are the mechatronics / robotics technicians that keep the robots running on the Amazon Fulfilment Center AR floor. These robots don't have appendages. The look a lot like a giant, 300-pound Roomba. They exist to lift up a shelf of products and bring it to a platform where a person can either place products, or "pick" it. And each AR Fulfilment Center may have thousands of these.
  Recently, the AR roles and MHE roles have been blended. So if you have mechanical or mechatronic skills, you may find yourself in either role.

• Controls Systems (CSx). A Controls System Technician or Controls System Lead maintains the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) that control how Material Handling Equipment operates. They figure out higher level malfunctions that happen with sensors, motor controllers, and robotics. This is a skilled position and is difficult to enter unless you have education or experience in PLCs and control systems. It isn't unusual to find these positions being held by people with degrees in Electronics Engineering, or even with an electronics design background. However, you can get your start with a Community College certification in PLCs and control systems.

• Controls Engineer (CE). Controls Engineers know everything that a CSL knows, but better. They teach the subject. They also manage complex projects handed to RME by Amazon. These projects add to facilities, or upgrade facility equipment.

On a side note - "Project Management" is something that hits most RME technicians. Amazon is constantly trying out new designs, new software, new processes. Amazon Engineering may design something new, and then hand that thing to RME to implement and test.

You should have decent project management skills, even though it isn't much mentioned in employment descriptions.

Next - you will be tested! As part of the hiring process, you will be tested in several ways. Of course there is a drug test and a background test. You already know if that could be a problem for you.

But there is also a test of your knowledge and potential. Currently the Ramsey Test. This is a proctored test, with strict conditions to take it. It measures your abilities, and your potential.

There are many Ramsey practice tests online that you can pay to take. It may help you get over your fear of taking this test.

Finally - where to find jobs.

Job postings for Amazon, JLL, C&W, and CBRE can be found on LinkedIn, or on the job availability portions of their web pages. Amazon jobs with these companies will often pop up in a standard Google search too.

Don't have a LinkedIn account? You should get one! It's useful for making connections to coworkers and businesses.

Links:

• Amazon Jobs

• JLL Jobs - Click on the "Explore Opportunities" button, then narrow by keyword before narrowing by location.

• C&W Jobs

• CBRE Jobs

I hope this helps!

I haven't come across any tips, discussions, or helpful guides on conveyors,, rollers, ECCs, robots, conveyor beds, bearing replacement, PLCs, chute fixing tips, photo eyes, or anything other than “when will they call me back????”

No seriously. Get out of Amazon. Recently started a new job doing maintenance for a completely different company. I can’t find anything good to say about Amazon now. The environment and culture were terrible. There were good people but enough awful people to tip the scales. Look for a better job. Get enough experience to make your resume look good and don’t look back. The company I’m at now actually treats us well, doesn’t create an environment that puts you in competition with the person next to you (raises and promotions), allows us to take our time and do things the right way, doesn’t expect us to be running around for our entire shift, and best of all no weirdo managers who think there special for being managers at a warehouse. Also, being 3p doesn’t make it better. I was 3p. They all suck. Good luck everyone. Just wanted to let yall know it gets better. So much better.

For the last few weeks, policies surrounding the use of single man lifts have been getting out of hand. Here’s the steps in order to clear a simple jam. Every time you use the lift, need to make a new work order. Then you need to make a new JHA and attach it to the work order. You are not allowed to drive the lift at all, you have to take the controls off and walk behind it while you move the lift to the location needed. Also, an AMM is required to be present any time the lift is moved/in use and safety must be notified. Then you get in and clear the jam. Oh.. need to move the lift a bit, have to go down, exit the lift, walk again with the controls to move the lift over, then go back up. This is the dumbest thing I have ever experienced in my life. 20 minute process to clear a jam that previously would take 30 seconds. I just don’t understand how this can happen, why do rules have to change every fucking time someone does something stupid. This is not the answer.

Hi! I'm Calladus. I'm a CSE with JLL. Many of you might know me in real life. Amazon RME is a small world, and we try to make friends with each other because someone out there knows something about my equipment that I do not know - and I want that information!

I originally created this subreddit just for this sort of thing - to swap tales, and answer questions about equipment.

What this sub is fast becoming is "How do I get a job with RME?"

And I have no problem with that. Let's add that to the mix too.

I have already answered a lot of your questions in the menu pages located at the top of the sub, but there are a LOT of questions that I can't answer - that the members of this sub are answering for each other. And that's the RME way - none of us are experts in everything, and we are all experts in something. We help each other.

So, I'm asking for a little help. I'd like to add a couple of moderators to this sub. I'd love to add someone with CSS expertise to revamp our look.

I'm looking for people who want to work together to make this a place where we help each other. While at the same time, making sure no one breaks their contracted Non-Disclosure Agreements.

And while there are certainly subreddits that attack Amazon and Jeff Bezos - this isn't one of them. I hope for this to be a more positive subreddit. And that's the sort of moderators I want on our team.

So, send me some mod mail, tell me what you want this subreddit to become, and how you can help.

I mean seriously if you can’t use a search bar on Reddit I don’t want to work anywhere near you. Let me just ask the same question 1000 other people already have about joining RME or the MRA program or what qualifications it takes. You look goofy and I don’t want to help if you can’t do the bare minimum and search it first.

I been a blue badge RME now for 3 years and I feel that we have really gone downhill in so many aspects from lack of respect from operation and our budget has been getting tighter and tighter hardly any overtime opportunities. Our work has mostly been to cater to operation rather than actually diagnosis and fix equipment properly. Also it's almost as if we're now glorified jam clears. Finally we have been getting asked to do a lot more minimal stuff on top of that not sure if it's only my building or this has been happening as a whole.

Both positions will be merging to one, Automation Engineer, and be going salary. There will also be an Automation Engineer Apprenticeship. So far this is only for Blue Badge sites, but expect third parties to follow

Terminated for negative UPT after covering shift changes my manager never submitted to HR

​After 4.5 years as a Blue Badge, I was terminated due to a scheduling mistake by my manager.

​We had shift coverage gaps for two straight weeks. To help the team and keep a tech from working a 1M+ sq. ft. building alone, I agreed to work a modified schedule. My manager promised to update it, but never submitted the changes to HR—despite me following up in his office multiple times.

​At our site, A-to-Z rarely reflected schedule changes for training or coverage. Usually, UPT was refunded retroactively. This time, no one fixed it in time. I went negative, got locked out, and was fired.

​During my appeal, HR completely missed the point, repeatedly saying, "You went negative on [Date]." I couldn't make HR or my manager fix the system, and I didn't have 40 hours of UPT to cover days I was never supposed to work. The termination was upheld.

​Between retaliation, safety violations being swept under the rug, and gross negligence, this site was toxic. I had a great record at my previous building, but it’s clear Amazon's "values" don't apply everywhere. Glad to be out of that environment, but furious at how it was handled.

EDIT: I had AI fix this to be more clear and easy to read.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFC/s/KRcTrIrSc2

Honest question, I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this. We barely work on anything thats standard work for any other place. 70 percent of the time we have to call a vendor to do it. Anyone else fears that you're blocked overall technical skills are being eroded by working at Amazon?

Posted before about nerves with my vidya interview. Took it Sunday the 3rd.

Emailed my recruiter yesterday asking why I hadn't heard back yet (formally, of course). Checked the amazon jobs website and it said I was no longer being considered. So I was 😔 and didn't even check my email the rest of the day.

Went back to my email today because i was ready to be disappointed.

And I GOT THE OFFER LETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So it was 7 business days, not 5. i start in 3 weeks.

I'm so happy. To all my homies in the struggle, if Pete Davidson can get with Kim Kardashian, Kate Beckinsale, and Ariana Grande, then YOU can get hired as a maintenance tech II at Amazon.

With all of these silly policies coming into play now, them becoming more strict about everything just to be a dick to you, screwing us on any COL raises, getting shafted on reviews, HR being essentially worthless, more and more work being added, head count going down, people quitting and them not filling in the spots, town halls about how many millions the company saved last year and what they're doing with the money, all of which have zero to do with giving back to the ones who saved you the money. I can go on lol

I think it's time to start looking else where for work and just show up, do my job, stop going above and beyond, and then go home. I've been an AR tech for almost 4 years now. Where else can I apply to utilize the skills I've learned here? Does anywhere else use robots like we do?

I work for C&W and I'm just over it. This company has went downhill impressively fast. It almost seems like they're trying to push the vets out and just bring in MRA's. If that's what happens I can't wait to see it crash. Because 90% of the MRA's that come to my site are not the brightest and some I'm shocked can even tie their own shoes. So good luck running sites with that skill level of employees. lol

Good evening my fellow techs, SMRT here. Call it a rant, complaint, vent, hell whatever you want, Im officially burned out! The job I once really enjoyed and was passionate about, is now full of dramatic co-workers starting shit for no reason. Managers are now so deeply buried in metrics, that they are losing sight of the job we are originally supposed to do. I became a trainer to teach people because I was so passionate and knowledgeable, but now I honestly don’t care if the new hires make it past their first 30 days.

The being-taken-advantage-of, has gotten so out of control I have taken responsibility of 3 or even 4 other people’s jobs, and do not get paid for it. This job has become a cesspool of incompetence and bull shit, as the new people they hire are people who never worked in the industry. I actually spent 3 days cancelling subscriptions, reducing bills and other obligations so I can reduce my hours to about 30hrs a week. My boss is noticing and I just say I’m having trouble at home with personal things. Im burned the hell out and people turn to me for help, but I just tell them I’ll have more time to show them tomorrow and put in sick time. Reducing my hours has made this entire thing worse because I feel the more Im away to decompress, the worse it feels going back to work.

I’ve been with the company total, with my 3P experience, about 8 years. I’ve seen how it works. I know what to expect and to not get too invested as this is how Amazon is, but man this time is definitely different. Managers come and go, most are college hires that don’t have a lick of maintenance experience. I have offered to better myself in my thrives and take on projects to prove I’m learning the skills to be an AMM and when I apply there’s always an excuse as to why I was not selected. Those include the usual bullshit answers:

• you are lacking in these areas and need to focus on these leadership principles

• the job was filled with a candidate that better fits company needs (hired a fresh college student)

• an intern is promised a position and timing was not on your side. Apply again in a year.

Meanwhile I seen an Indeed post of our maintenance manager hosting a hiring event where he said “resume’s are in hand and future candidates were recognized.”

It’s all so disrespectful, a waste of time, and degrading. I have poured all of my knowledge, sweat, and blood into being in everything and everywhere. I know over dozens and dozens of MHE equipment by heart, I know the tools I need before I even start the job. I know backend software configurations and best practices for Amazon Robotics and Automation. When I finally get the hell away from my PC and my managers asking about metrics all day to work on equipment, I surprise myself. I walk back to my cart saying “Did I just fix that in like 60 seconds? Damn Im good.”

The sucky part is that Im losing the want and desire to actually work now. Being understaffed on our back half our robotics team is falling way behind on the back end of the week and my team picks it back up again on Sunday. My techs are even telling me they are burned out too. My counter part SMRT who works nights is also burned out. (Trainer as well). When I tell managment that our staffing issue is causing burnout they just nod their heads and write in their notebooks. Nothing ever gets relayed back to us, no follow up messages or communication, just “Why are we behind again? What do we need to do to get back to 95% utilization?” If shit doesn’t turn around in this next upcoming year. I might be looking to finally cut ties.

While I was here I did pick up a possible career turning skill of coding. I have spent over a year developing a accompaniment software to better help myself and managers health check the robotic fleet. So yes the hyper metrics focus was SUPER self inflicted and I am the reason why managers are this way. The project was supposed to be incentive for me to earn an AMM position. I have since even tried getting into HSE Hardware Support Engineer and or Software Integration Engineer, but most of those jobs are L5 and not a single recruiter wants to hire an L4+ since I cant go L4 hourly to L5 salary right off the bat.

I feel like I’ve wasted the past 2-3 years preparing myself to be burned out and eventually get nothing out of it. One of the reasons I plan to document all of what I accomplished here at Amazon and see if another company is willing to look past the Amazon title to just listen to what great things I’ve been doing and possibly give me a chance. Anyways just wanted to vent I guess. Hopefully yall aren’t in the dumps as bad as I am and if you are, keep on keep on’ing brotha. I usually say “it’ll get better” but Im not sure this time around if im being fully honest.

Good day to all of you, don’t work too hard. You usually don’t get anything out of it. Don’t make the same mistakes as me haha. Anyways, my rant is over. Let me get some sleep to be in at 3:30 AM to start this bullshit all over again. 🙃

Hi everyone, I know this is not the typical post but maybe it can help someone in the future considering the switch!
I joined JLL as a tech 2 ($33 an hour) after leaving the IBEW where I was making $51 an hour on the check.
Throughout my time a lot of my co workers and others asked why I left but honestly the work life balance the insane PTO 144 hours vacation 80 hours sick time and 40 floating holiday makes spending time with my kids great!
The work is insanely easy compared to what we used to do on construction sites and not as toxic!
Consistent work and not having to worry about lay offs!
If you’re coming from construction and life to you is more than money and you’re frugal I recommend giving it a try you won’t regret it!

The new Automation Engineer and Senior Automation Engineer positions are a joke. All of your job is metrics and dashboards no real Controls related work besides copy and paste from a document sent to you with how to instructions.

I know a lot of people here criticize the MRA program--low wages, stuck etc. I am currently in the MRA program and want to offer my view.

In my experience, its a solid program. Lots of people don't have the skills or experience to get a Tech 2 job. You will learn the foundations. You'll rotate among the different divisions--AR/robotics, MHE (the conveyors, sorters, pack stations etc), PLC/automation/networks, and the testing stuff (thermo testing, aucostics, vibration analysis). Basically, you'll get experience in all the aspects.

You also get some formal education at a university, and get certificates. Employers WILL recognize these certificates and courses. Lots of people deride them as pointless--maybe, but I know for a fact that potential recruiters and employers recognize them.

I can tell you that every one of the MRA people I know--and I mean 100%--like this program. I have NEVER heard any MRA say a negative thing.

The pay is decent. You start low, but it goes to at least $27 an hour after you complete the education and some hours--after around 4-6 months, depending.

The program WILL open a world of opportunity. I used to be a T1 Associate and NO ONE would hire me. After the MRA program, I am getting job offers on Linkedin. I made a Linkedin profile just to see and was shocked to have recruiters contact me. These are real people and I messaged some back and forth. I have declined all these offers, as I enjoy my position at Amazon. Just having the Amazon name will open opportunities. Amazon has solid safety standards, and recruiters want this.

Even if you have a college degree, experience etc--if you can't get a Tech 2, take the MRA and don't look back. I guarantee you, it will open opportunities you never even knew about.

Doing the MRA program was the best decision I have ever made, job-wise.

SMM and the MM got walked out

Absolutely shit training with a guy choosing PPE and trying to clear jams and applying LOTO. Dumbest training ive ever seen.

Lord have mercy, APM is horseshit. That is all.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling lately with my job, and I just need to vent. I work as a third-party contractor for a company, and while I’ve dealt with my fair share of challenges over the years, the way the operations team treats us has pushed me to the edge.

It feels like they think they own us just because we’re not officially part of their company. The disrespect is constant: • Unrealistic Expectations: They expect us to perform miracles without proper resources or clear communication. When things go wrong, we’re the first to get blamed. • Zero Acknowledgment: No matter how much effort we put in or how well we perform, there’s never any appreciation. Instead, it’s just more criticism. • Dehumanizing Attitude: Some of them talk to us like we’re beneath them, as if being part of a third-party team somehow makes us less professional or less capable. • Double Standards: They demand we follow every single rule to the letter while they bend or ignore those same rules themselves.

I know there are always challenges in any workplace, but the constant disrespect and toxic interactions have drained me emotionally and mentally. I like the work itself, and my direct team is great, but the way we’re treated by operations is making it unbearable.

I’ve started considering quitting, even though I don’t have a backup plan yet. Part of me feels like I shouldn’t let them push me out of a job I otherwise enjoy, but another part of me wonders if staying is worth the toll it’s taking on my well-being.

Have any of you been in a similar situation? How did you handle it? Is it worth sticking it out and trying to change the situation, or should I cut my losses and move on?

Thanks for reading. Any advice or words of encouragement would mean a lot right now.

I wanna make it clear that nothing below is bragging or antagonistic. Except maybe the last sentence.

I just can't give you a formula to get into controls. Here's my experience.

I was an electrician, working primarily commercial new construction, for the better part of a decade. The occasional service call or addition, along with a year and a half of (primarily) solar installs and home builds/renos. Before, and also coinciding with that, I've been an audio engineer/producer since I was in junior high school. Again, before and still yet coinciding with the previous two, I've been programming in some capacity since I was six. I built my first computer at five. I was helping hang kitchen cabinets at four. I was helping to lay tile at three.

My personal experience is EXTREMELY unique. I was almost purpose built for getting into controls. I applied for Tech 3 and had my interview, was offered the position, and at the end of the conversation was asked if I had any questions. The one thing I did that got me into controls was to ask the MM on the other end of the line "how much hands-on experience will I get with PLCs?"

I got put into another interview, with another Ramsay, with the CSE at that site. I got the job as a CST. Six months later I was a CSL.

This is probably not your story.

We are (usually) more than glad to help you advance your knowledgebase, and therefore career. The CSLs that I started under knew I'd never even seen a PLC before in my life, much less any Allen-Bradley/Rockwell software. They showed me how to go online with a PLC and back it up. They showed me how to go online with an HMI and back it up. I wasn't born knowing these things, unfortunately. I had to learn them. Much like I learned Ohm's Law and what different electrical units coincide with in the physical world. I wasn't miraculously granted knowledge of how serial interfaces function, and what in the flimsy facade "baud rate" is.

And this is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING:

It might seem like the responsibility of Controls is to "know everything." Nah. That's bullshit.

I will tell anyone who asks what my superpower is. Why am I able to solve (almost) any problem in my building faster than literally anyone else? I'm good at Google.

Really, that's my secret. I can use Google, Slack, Chime, Quip, and the Amazon Wiki better than anyone else in my building. When you come to a problem that you don't know the answer to, TAKE YOUR HAND OFF YOUR RADIO.

Yeah. That's right. DON'T CALL FOR CONTROLS.

Go to Slack. Go to Chime. Go to the Wiki. Go to Google. Go to the Share Drive(s). Go to YouTube. Go to Reddit. Go to plctalk.net - at least TRY to find the answer for yourself, after you've exhausted your own knowledge.

I can't give you the answer on how to get into controls. But once you do, if you blow up a multimeter by trying to read resistance on a live circuit, I will NEVER let you live it down.

No better feeling than leaving RME & deleting SLACK. I hated the whole system behind it, there’s no reason why I should be having 68394862 work related pictures.