Engineering capacity when you need it.
Without the recruitment headache.
A large network of pre-vetted electrical, mechanical and multi-skilled contractors, available for short-term cover, long-term placements and project engineering. Faster than recruitment. More reliable than agencies. Backed by ECS.
Seven reasons manufacturers use Shift Hero.
The most effective use of Shift Hero is planned rather than reactive, building it into your operational model before the gap appears, not after.
An engineer calls in sick. Your line needs cover today.
Unexpected absence is the scenario that keeps maintenance managers up at night. You can't plan for it, but you can have a system in place that responds to it. Shift Hero's pre-vetted network means the right engineer is available faster than any traditional route.
The summer rota has gaps. They need filling before August.
Holiday cover is predictable, but still difficult to fill at the right skill level through traditional routes. Shift Hero lets you book verified engineers in advance for defined holiday periods, with the confidence that they've been assessed and matched to your requirements.
Christmas is coming. You need 40% more engineering capacity for 8 weeks.
Food, FMCG and packaging manufacturers all face it. The peak season arrives, production volumes surge, and your permanent team can't cover the additional demand. Shift Hero scales your engineering capacity up for the peak and back down once it's over, with no permanent headcount and no redundancy risk.
Annual shutdown in 6 weeks. You need specialists for the full scope.
Planned shutdowns require a specific mix of skills for a defined window. Your permanent team handles day-to-day, but the shutdown scope needs additional resource, often with specialist equipment knowledge. Shift Hero matches engineers to the skills your shutdown actually requires.
You have the headcount. You don't have the right expertise.
A new piece of equipment. A Mitsubishi servo system your team hasn't worked with before. A safety system that needs a specialist to commission correctly. Shift Hero puts the right specialist alongside your team for the task, without a permanent hire you'll only need for three months.
Installation, upgrade or commissioning. You need skilled hands for the duration.
Line upgrades, new equipment installation, control system migrations. Project work needs a different level of engineering engagement than shift cover. Shift Hero supplies project engineers for the full project duration, with the skills matched to what you're actually building.
A permanent maintenance team is expensive. A flexible one isn't.
For some manufacturers, the most cost-effective maintenance model isn't a full permanent team. It's a smaller core team supplemented by flexible Shift Hero capacity. You get coverage without the full employment overhead, the management burden of permanent headcount, or the risk of overstaffing in quieter periods.
Not an agency. An engineering capacity platform.
The word "agency" implies a recruiter matching a CV to a job description. Shift Hero is an engineer-led platform with technical vetting, real-time matching, and compliance built into every deployment. The difference is significant.
Engineers vetted by engineers. Not recruiters.
Every engineer on the Shift Hero network is assessed by experienced automation and maintenance professionals. Not a CV screen. Not a phone screen with a recruiter who has never been on a factory floor. A technical competency assessment by people who know what right looks like.
IR35-aware by design. Compliance managed. Audit ready.
Shift Hero is structured as a managed engineering service, not a traditional recruitment placement. Every engineer operates as a sole trader or limited company. Public and product liability insurance verified. Right to work confirmed. Safe Contractor accredited. Designed to reduce IR35 exposure compared with direct contractor recruitment.
Same-day availability. Not next-week availability.
The Shift Hero platform matches your request against available, verified engineers in your area in real time. No waiting for an agency to work through their database. No callbacks tomorrow. The right engineer, with the right skills, confirmed fast.
No long-term contracts. Pay for what you use.
Shift Hero is contract-free. You request cover when you need it, whether that is a single shift, a planned shutdown or a two-week project. Scale up during peak periods, scale back when it's quiet. No retainers, no minimum commitments, no agency mark-up on headcount you don't need.
A managed platform. Not a phone number.
Every shift is managed in the Shift Hero platform: booking, compliance, geo-tagging and clock-in, timesheet approval, transparent spend tracking. You can see exactly who is on your site, when they arrived, and what it's costing. No surprises on the invoice.
Backed by ECS. Connected to Command Centre.
Shift Hero isn't a standalone staffing product. It's part of the ECS production resilience system. Engineers deployed to a Command Centre-enabled site can access the relevant device records and documentation before they arrive. They don't turn up cold.
Managed engineering cover.
Not traditional recruitment.
Shift Hero is structured as a managed engineering service rather than a standard recruitment placement. The distinction matters for IR35 purposes and for the quality of engineering you receive on site.
Discuss engineering cover →- CV sent, you manage the contractor directly
- IR35 determination left to you
- Engineer may never have seen your equipment
- No vetting by engineers, only by HR
- Fill time: 1–3 weeks
- Managed service, with ECS accountable throughout
- Designed to reduce IR35 exposure vs direct engagement
- Engineers briefed on your site before arrival
- Vetted by ECS engineers, not generalists
- Fill time: days, not weeks
Shift Hero is structured to reduce IR35 risk compared with direct contractor recruitment. We recommend taking independent legal advice for your specific circumstances. ECS can provide supporting documentation on how the service is structured.
Request to deployed. In six steps.
From the moment you submit a request to the moment the engineer clocks in, everything is managed in the Shift Hero platform. No phone tag. No paperwork chasing. No guessing.
Submit your request.
Tell us what you need: the skills required, when, where and for how long. Shift Hero matches your request against available, verified engineers in your area in real time.
Engineer matched and confirmed.
The platform surfaces the right engineer, skill-matched, compliance-verified and available. You see who they are before they arrive. No surprises.
Site induction and risk assessment.
Before the engineer steps on your floor, site-specific induction and risk assessment documentation is completed in-platform. Everything logged, everything compliant.
Engineer on site. Tracked and visible.
Geo-tagging confirms arrival. Clock-in is app-based. You can see exactly when they arrived, where they are, and what shift they're covering, all in real time.
Shift complete. Timesheet approved.
Hours worked are recorded in-platform. You approve the timesheet digitally. Transparent spend tracking means no invoice surprises. Everything is auditable.
Work documented. Knowledge retained.
For Command Centre-enabled sites, the engineer's work can be logged against the relevant device record. The knowledge doesn't leave when the engineer does.
Everything managed in one place.
Shift Hero is a platform that manages the entire engagement, not simply a network of engineers. Booking, compliance, timekeeping, spend. All of it, in one dashboard.
Skill, availability, compliance status and location are matched instantly, with no agency admin and no waiting for callbacks.
App-based location tracking confirms arrival and departure. Accurate timekeeping, reliable audit trail.
Risk assessments, inductions, right to work and insurance are all handled and documented in-platform before the shift starts.
Every hour worked, every engineer deployed and every pound spent is visible in real time, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
This is what Shift Hero looks like in operation.
A managed platform rather than a phone number. Real-time engineer visibility, structured competency assessment, and a shift management system running across multiple sites simultaneously.
Engineers who don't reach the standard don't join the network.
Competency and safety are assessed separately, so you know exactly what they have been tested on.
Not a recruiter. Someone who knows what the job actually requires.
£5m public and product liability confirmed before activation. Right to work confirmed.
Illustrative interface using sample data. Sites, devices and engineers shown are examples, not live customer information.
Read how Shift Hero covered a ten-week peak with zero safety incidents in the packaging case study.
Breath of fresh air. The management through to the workforce are very professional with a fantastic skill set. Positive, can-do attitude thrives in this company with top quality standards to match. Second best does not even reach the agenda.
Finally, no more engineers turning up unprepared. Shift Hero engineers turn up with the skills, experience and knowledge to get the job done without extra input from me.
Shift Hero have a multiskilled professional team, which makes working with them easy. Good people, great company.
The right engineer for your environment. Every time.
Fast-moving consumer goods production. High-volume, continuous operation. Shift Hero keeps the line moving.
Food-safe environments, hygiene compliance, specialist packaging and processing equipment. Our engineers know the environment.
Cleanroom experience, compliance-focused, validated systems. Engineers vetted for regulated manufacturing environments.
Robotics-heavy, cycle-time critical, multi-skilled requirements. High-pressure environments where downtime is unacceptable.
ATEX and hazardous environments, safety-critical systems. Engineers with the right certifications and experience.
Flow-wrappers, sealers, palletisers, conveyor systems. The engineers who know the machines.
Join 100s of engineers earning on their own terms. Flexible shifts, project work, weekly pay. You choose where you work and when.
Your next shift gap is already coming.
Be ready for it.
Every manufacturer running shifts will face a gap they didn't plan for. Shift Hero means that gap doesn't become a production problem. Book a demo and see the platform in action.