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Thread: electrical maintenance contract

  1. #1
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    electrical maintenance contract

    i am busy putting a document together to outline a proceedure which my company will introduce to all my regular customers and any new customers...let me know what you think and if there are any improvements i can make.

    my plan...is to improve the electrical standards at all the sites i work and to encourage other to do the same.

    firstly a site layout will be drawn with the location of every single electrical component

    which will include a legend of dbs and equipment...a list with a description of all components and location...then the legends will be installed in the DBs and relevant room.

    all components to be identified and labelled correctly...this is one of the biggest challenges in factories and commercial buildings.

    a full design check will be conducted...to verify that the cables and circuit breaker are suitable for their application...fault levels at the DB...arc flash risks...etc...with a label indicating the information...for example

    fed from
    supply cable size and distance
    fault level
    ip rating

    an energy review will be included to determine if there are ways to reduce energy consumption.

    areas classified for hazardous locations...spray booths...flamable liquids etc.

    arc flash assessments for companies which require it.

    then introduce a duplicate service sheet book to record all work carried out on any part of the electrical installation...be it a gate repair person...aircon tech...etc...detailing work carried out or repaired with the company and persons name and date.

    a periodic inspection report will be introduced and repeated at regular intervals...1 to 2 years or less depending on the site...some sites will require more frequent inspections because of the heavy industrial conditions...a list of faults with the relavant regulation indicating the fault and the severity of it from 1-5...so the company can include repair imediatley or or to budget for the repair.

    the periodic inspection report will include

    a visual inspection for damaged equipment and basically all the tests carried out for the COC...i have come up with an improved inspection report which will be attached to the exsisting coc if one is required and include a thermal report and power report.

    a full thermal scan on all electrical components including motors...DBs etc...after a review of critical equipment.

    power quality report recorded at the main DB over a 7 day period or one bussiness cycle to include power factor...harmonics...dips and swells...kw...kva...etc

    the benefits for my customers

    if they want to purchase more machines or fit additional aircons or expand offices etc...they will have an idea of how much power they have available or not.

    if they decide to sell the building...they dont have to worry about a huge bill to bring the building up to standard in a once off payment.

    reduced fire risk

    reduced electricity bill if they introduce energy efficient equipment

    improved safety for employees

    reduce downtime while fault finding

    look forward to your input

  2. #2
    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    I particularly like the idea of a log of repairs and changes.

    I think you're onto something here, Murdock. It could become a standard for best practice.

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    this was detected during an arc flash assessment in a factory on friday...there are 3 maintenance electrician and a MIE on site my point is not to have a dig at the site electricians...merly to point out the importance of routine visual inspections...i was burnt badly and almost blinded from a wire which burnt like this...the 3 phases shorted out and tripped a 1500 amp breaker in the sub...hopefully we saved this one just in time.

    dave the idea of the log is make a person think before they do work on the site if they are not suitably qualified...the log will include name and id number...so that checks can be done to ensure they have the correct qualification to be doing the work to begin with...this would be in the customers best interest because checks can be done on the person working on the site and the company to verify qualifications and registerations...i am surprised insurance companies havent insisted on this at all sites...like they are doing with thermal inspections.

    another big problem on site is who did what and when...by doing an inspection report before i start working on a site the customer will have a list of all the faults...bad workmanship will be recorded...so they can budget for it and also know what has been done up to that point...any work after that will be recorded...this will also protect me the contractor...because i cannot be blamned for somthing i didnt do which was done before my time.

    i had a problem like this a couple of years ago...i did all the elctrical work on site for about 4 years then the manager changed so he got his mate to do the work...then major alterations were carried out and the building contractor ued his electrician...then a bout a year later i was called back to the site....%^&*%$ you must see the workmanship joints in the 110% overloaded trunking...electrical in the battery room at the incorrect hieght...light fitting hanging on the wires because they were not correctly selected for the application...normal light fittings in the pit...etc etc anyway the joke was a new electrician has taken over because i was too busy to help out a couple of months ago...this bright spark called me and started telling me what a kak electricain i am...i just shook my head and told him where to go ^&*%$ himself and if he was so sure about himself to take me to court...never heard from him again...but i can just imagine how he is slating my bussiness...if a log was kept then all stages of the electrical installation and alterations would be recorded and the crimminals who did the alteration could be held accountable.

    so now you know why a log is so important.
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    another reason why this needs to be carried out...owners renting out properties.

    i believe every time a tenant moves out the house a periodic inspection should be carried out...or alternatively every 1 year a periodic inspection should be carried out...by doing this the owners property is looked after and the tenant pays for damaged fittings etc...but at the same time creates a safe enviroment for the tenat.

    i went to a property to change the electrical meter to a pre-paid...well after doing a quick visual inspection noticed parts which required urgent attention...required improvements and a few violations of the sabs code...enough to warrant a full inspection report/investigation.

    problem which really concern me a re things like the swimming pool db had no cover...creating a dangerous enviroment for small children...just the right height for them to get in with both hands

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    the most important factor to this whole idea is to actually carryout an inspection....which seems to be a big problem...ever house or property i inspect...i get told the same thing...gee why all the tests...the last electrician who did the test didnt do all the things you are doing...and was only here for 10 minutes...if they actually bother going to site...so just sign off the COC in the office knowing nothing will happen to them...so it is just a money making ratchet.

    the problem in the electrical industry is if you report one of the contractors you become the bad egg and are frowned upon not the crimminal who is doing the bad workmanship and until that changes there is not much hope for this industry.

    this whole electrical inspector...inspection proceedure must be changed to make it more practicle and more difficult for any person to sign over a coc...there must always be random checks on COC submitted and the electrical contractors board should have a data base with records of every single COC issued...spot checks should be done on the COC...to make sure the applicant has filled it in correctly...by just doing this you will pick out the pirates...then those COC especially can be checked...the AIA doesnt seem to be working there is a small handful of people in fact only 2 registered AIA in south africa at present...there are more than 900 registered electrical contractor in durban along and not even 1 AIA....mmmmm sad.

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