Maintenance-related communities on the web, part 1: Reddit.

Published 2024-05-24 by Rui Alves (a 3.9 minute read) | Back to the main page

In work as in life, sharing is caring. With that in mind, what follows is a list of great online resources where you can access technical information and people that go through what you go through all day, every day. We'll focus on Reddit this time and see if this post has any traction. If so, we'll expand this to include Web forums, Facebook and LinkedIn.

If you have a technical or organizational issue, you can be sure someone has dealt with it. If you have something to share that you think will benefit others, you definitely should! Use these resources if you need help, recommendations or even a "virtual" shoulder to cry on, go help and get help and everybody wins.

Although there may be a bias on this list for industrial topics, remember that a lot of the items are common wherever equipment operates and needs to be maintained (looking at you, entertainment and attraction venues).

Let's get on with it:

#1 Reddit

Where communities are called subreddits. Here you can find fantastic resources and people that mostly know what they are talking about. Personally, I think this is the best place to consume information of this type on the internet, because it is still mostly unpolluted and the moderators of these communities are very much interested in keeping it that way - the information is valuable and to the point.

Breaking and fixing your factory! (reddit.com) r/IndustrialMaintenance - Ask and answer questions about industrial equipment. Piggyback on the experience of others to solve your issues faster!

Water & Wastewater Treatment (reddit.com) r/Wastewater - Yes, most content specific to that industry, but if you've got pumps and motors and PLCs (and other industrial equipment) you'll still be right at home and can get a lot from this community.

The ME Hang Out (reddit.com) r/MechanicalEngineering - For questions and answers related to mechanical engineering. Sometimes it is a bit generic and academic but that's a good thing!

Electrical Engineering (reddit.com) r/ElectricalEngineering - The same comment as for the mechanical engineering community but for sparkies. Deep, valuable knowledge here. A place to ask questions, discuss topics and share projects related to Electrical Engineering.

Industrial Engineering (reddit.com) r/IndustrialEngineering - Industrial Engineering focuses on optimizing processes of technology and people, often in manufacturing settings. Different disciplines include human factors, supply chain and logistics, production planning, mathematical optimization, LEAN 6 Sigma, and more.

News from the manufacturing industry (reddit.com) r/Manufacturing - A subreddit for anyone in the manufacturing industry. Content is very diverse: you'll find videos, articles and self-posts just to name a few.

Engineering Porn (reddit.com) r/EngineeringPorn - Just fantastic equipment and machinery in service around the world. If you like machines of any type, you'll like this. Not so much a "questions and answers" community, this is for your free time.

Manufacturing Porn - How Things Are Manufactured (reddit.com) r/ManufacturingPorn - Everything related that serves your obsession for manufacturing and industrial process. Inspired by Discovery Network's "How It's Made".

AskEngineers: Stop nodding, start asking questions. (reddit.com) r/AskEngineers - A forum for questions about the technologies, standards, and processes used to design & build everything from electronics to buildings. Also use for questions about the engineering profession and its many disciplines.

CMMSforSME (reddit.com) r/CMMSforSME - Our own subreddit where we post everything that has to do with machines and the tech that supports industrial maintenance on those machines.

#2 Facebook

Coming. There's a lot of garbage to filter through on Facebook.

#3 LinkedIn

Coming. Expect some great resources from LinkedIn.

# Websites

Coming. Some very good resources here too.