PSM & Utility Manager
Posted Aug 21, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about an ammonia release or near miss you were involved in. What happened in the first ten minutes, and what changed afterward?
What they are checking: How they act under real pressure with a toxic chemical, and whether they learn from incidents rather than just closing them.
You manage the utilities maintenance staff. Tell me about a time you had to change how a crew worked, not just what they worked on.
What they are checking: Their ability to lead cultural change on the floor, which the posting names as a core part of this job.
When you write or update an SOP for a utility system, how do you make sure the people on nights actually follow it?
What they are checking: Whether they know that a procedure no one reads is a hazard, and how they close that gap.
Tell me about a project where you cut water, energy or refrigerant use at a plant. How did you measure the savings?
What they are checking: Whether resource conservation is something they have delivered with numbers, not just talked about.
What would you do
A boiler trips in the middle of a production run and the plant manager wants it back now. How do you handle the next hour?
What they are checking: Whether they can restore service fast without skipping the safety checks that keep people alive.
How would you train a newer technician to safely work on the ammonia system without slowing down the rest of the crew?
What they are checking: Whether they treat training as a real safety control rather than a box to check before someone works alone.
How do you report utility status, workloads and schedule slips to plant leadership so they can make decisions with it?
What they are checking: Whether they communicate risk and tradeoffs clearly to people who do not run the equipment themselves.
A management of change request comes in for a small piping tweak that production needs this week. How do you handle it?
What they are checking: Whether they hold the line on MOC for small changes, which is where many PSM failures start.
About the work
Walk me through the fourteen elements of PSM as they apply to an ammonia refrigeration system. Which ones do plants most often fall short on?
What they are checking: Whether they have actually run a PSM program or only sat through the training on it.
How do you run a mechanical integrity program for ammonia piping, vessels and relief valves so it holds up in an OSHA or EPA audit?
What they are checking: Whether their inspection and documentation habits would survive an outside auditor reading the records.
How do you decide what goes on the preventive maintenance schedule for chillers, cooling towers and air compressors, and how often?
What they are checking: Whether they plan maintenance from failure history and manufacturer data instead of habit or guesswork.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Land O'Lakes.