Most companies use the standard appraisal form for all employees, which is better than doing no appraisals at all but with the average maintenance employee being a little different (as most of you know) than most other employees it is important to have an appraisal form that relates to the job requirements and descriptions. This form was put together years ago when I was in manufacturing so it is designed for the production environment. The principles of the form are the same for facilities. You may want to modify or adjust them a little but it will give you a good idea of the direction you should be headed.
This form takes into consideration the following topics and components:
- Safety
- Quality of Work
- Productivity
- Training Performance
- Technical Skills
- Attendance
- Working with Team Skills
- Job Opportunities
- Job Safety Analysis Review
- Employee Reaction and Comments
The key differences in this form are that you dig a little deeper into the performance in each section.
Safety, attendance, and working with team skills are pretty much like a normal appraisal and the maintenance goals and performance should not be too much different than other employees. The areas you want to focus on are Productivity, Training, Quality of Work, and Technical Skills. So let's discuss each of those in more detail.
Productivity - of the maintenance craftsman should be monitored and compared back to the work plan and also the weekly work schedule. The key here is to improve the productivity of the craftsman by improving the quality of the work plan and schedule that the planner/scheduler and supervisor have developed. If the craftsman does not follow and adhere to the plan and schedule without good reason, this could be a performance issue. Actual man-hours charged against work orders should be compared to planned hours and major discrepancies should be evaluated.
Training - Maintenance departments should have an ongoing training program with both volunteer and mandatory training scheduled for all maintenance technicians. The job description should describe the expected amount of both kinds of training. Maintenance knowledge is not a stagnate thing, it is always changing and should be pursued aggressively. A technician's lack of training should be documented and reflected in the annual performance appraisal.
Quality of Work - of all technicians should be monitored on a regular basis. I recommend that all maintenance work should be audited on a regular basis by randomly selecting completed work and having a group of managers, planners, or even peers inspect previously completed work for all aspects of quality. This includes the quality of the actual repair work plus the paper work documentation and the work-site cleanup. In addition, request for return work within a week or two should be measured to ensure the job was completed and the original problem was solved.
Technical Skills - are closely tied to the training item above but is a little different. What you want to try to measure is the ability of each technician to properly and timely complete the assigned tasks. The key here is to be able to rate the skill level of the employee compared to what you expect them to be able to do for the current pay and wage slot position.
So the bottom-line is to have an appraisal that fits the job requirements for maintenance employees. Remember you are messing with employee's pay, personal lives, and their future. Keep it fair and honest.
Here is a link so you can download the complete appraisal form for you review and use, feel free to modify it so it meets you needs. Note there are some built-in formulas.
Generic Maintenance Appraisal Form 
