Maintenance Assistant, Painter - Multiple Positions

Distinguishing Characteristics

Maintenance Assistant (Painter): non-competitive; as a semiskilled employee, performs interior and exterior painting, generally not requiring fine finish or the mixing of paints and matching of colors to decorate interiors of structures. Generally, Maintenance Assistants (Painter) work under the supervision of a skilled trades or supervisory maintenance position; in turn, they may supervise Facility Operations Assistants 1 and other relatively unskilled workers in performing manual tasks involving elementary skills.

Related Classes

• Carpenter
• Plumber and Steamfitter
• Electrician
• Mason and Plasterer

Critical Distinctions

• Trades Specialist (Painter) is responsible for supervising a crew of Facility Operations Assistants 1 and occasionally other Trades Specialists (Painter) on a project basis performing interior and exterior painting at a State facility, and for estimating the quantity and quality of paint and other materials required to complete a job.
• Trades Specialist (Painter) may work independently on painting projects requiring special surface preparation, remixing of paints to match specified colors, and painting requiring fine finish and decorative treatment.

Illustrative Tasks

• Prepares and applies protective and decorative coats of paint to interior and exterior surfaces of buildings, furniture, equipment, guiderails, fences and like surfaces.
• Arranges, assembles, and erects scaffolds and ladders at work site.
• Places drop cloths over shrubbery, furniture or floors to avoid paint splattering.
• Moves furniture and moveable equipment from area to be painted.
• Prepares surfaces for painting by such methods as washing surfaces with soap and water, the use of paint remover, blowtorch, wire brush, or chipping hammer to remove all paint, and by sanding surfaces to smooth them.
• Removes electrical wall plates prior to painting and replaces when job completed.
• Fills cracks, crevices and holes with putty, plaster, or other materials.
• Mixes paints following standard proportions to achieve desired color.
• Paints surfaces usually not requiring fine finish, using brush, spray gun, paint roller, or mittens following oral or written instructions.
• Mixes paste, brushes on back of wall covering, and places and smooths strips on wall.

Independence of Operation

• Maintenance Assistants (Painter) are usually supervised by a higher-level trades position, such as Trades Specialist (Painter) who determine work priorities, define the nature and extent of work to be performed, provide instructions and direction, provide resources for work projects, layout and plan projects, assist in performing the more difficult tasks, train staff in skilled work, activities, evaluate performance, and inspect work in progress and upon completion.
• Maintenance Assistants (Painter) may perform the activities of this class with considerable independence when supervision is not available and are expected to perform routine activities with considerable independence.

Communication

• The nature of a Maintenance Assistant’s (Painter) activities generally restricts relationships to oral communications with employees working within the same organizational unit and to individuals for whom the State has custody or responsibility assigned to projects or work units.
• Such relationships are characterized by frequent oral and written communication in assigning work, providing instructions, and exchanging information.
• Written and oral communications with the general public are not typical of this class.

Supervision Exercised

• A Maintenance Assistant (Painter) may supervise work crews of relatively unskilled workers and/or individuals for whom the State has custody or responsibility by making assignments, giving instructions, and aiding in performing tasks.