Commercial

Let’s cut to the chase…

Your commercial electrical system is gross. As someone that has worked in dirt mining and oil & gas, that’s saying a lot. Chances are, your system is starting to age and the components are rarely (if ever) maintained. It’s also probably covered in years of dust, dirt, and the droppings of whatever critters have moved into those electrical spaces over time. I can already hear those of you that have a new-ish building beginning to pipe up, but let me ask you: “Did contractor with the HIGHEST bid win, or was it the lowest bid? And was it a larger contractor, who tries to maximize profit by adhering to the Colorado legal maximum of 3 apprentices per 1 journeyman?”

Ok, ok, that’s enough finger wagging. Business is complicated, budgets are complicated, and there’s never enough time, personnel or money to take care of everything all the time. Totally understandable. Optim is here to do you guys a favor and give you some good practices that you don’t even need an electrician for, and I’ll break them down into rough categories to get you going.

Single-Electrical Room, Smaller buildings or Single-storefront spaces

STOP STACKING THINGS IN FRONT OF THE ELECTRICAL GEAR! (I’m looking at you, Retail businesses) Electrical equipment generate heat; putting a bunch of stuff all around your panels and transformers make them even hotter. Heat is bad. Each situation will be slightly different, but 36″ of space in front and 12″ space to the sides will get you close. As well, in the case of an emergency or an electrician coming to do some work, clear space in front of your equipment saves time and lives.
Vacuum. Vacuum the floors, but also vacuum on top of all the equipment where all the pipes are probably coming out of. Dust and dirt settle here… it’s a potential fire and arc hazard, it’s gross, just vacuum it. (special note: do take a look on top of the equipment, if there are ANY kinds of holes/gaps where the dust/dirt can fall into the equipment, leave it for an electrician.) Special kudos to anyone that wipes the surfaces and tops (post-vacuuming) of the equipment. No spraying directly on the equipment, wipe-down only.
Listen to the noise. A gentle-hum from a transformer is normal. Think of the volume of a purring cat on your lap, and that’s a fine noise level. If you need to raise your voice in anyway to be heard in the same room as the transformer, it’s probably time to have someone check it out.
Again, heat is bad. If you still have an infra-red thermometer gun from the Covid days, you can put it back to use here (or get one for $25 on Amazon). You’ll need to keep a record of your measurements for this to be effective, because what you’re looking for is heat RISE. Only a true thermo-graphic test will give you workable information in a single-test, but you can track if something is changing. Point the thermometer at a consistent point, from a consistent distance, on consistent days/times on the outside surface only of your equipment once a month. Track your results. Call someone if you’re getting consistent escalating readings.

Multiple-Electrical Rooms, Multiple floors, Larger buildings or complexes

All the things from the list above.
Back to heat again, if there is separate thermostat control for the electrical room, set it as low as you’re willing to. Yes, you will spend a few more dollars on the electrical bill, but you will extend the lifespan of whatever equipment is in that room.
Have a set of building plans or blueprints readily available, and insist any new work be red-lined on those plans as soon as it is finished.
It is good practice to make sure all outlets, light switches, or boxes are labeled with the circuit number and panel. If this isn’t already done at your facility, just make it one of the tasks to be completed over time as the correct circuit is determined. (It’s not recommended to go switching breakers on and off just for the purpose of completing this, as it increases the chance you inadvertently shut off power to some critical equipment).
Be vigilant of things that need to be serviced at some point, but you think are low priority, and write a list. Does it look like water is leaking into any pipes or equipment? Are there burned parts of wall receptacles? Are there open holes in any of the electrical gear or boxes? Etc. Then, on the next service call for something more urgent, have the electrician take care of your low-priority list. It will certainly be cheaper than having individual calls for those items, so you’ll save a couple bucks that way. Just make sure the little things get done eventually.

That’s all, Folks!

First and foremost, please do not put any personnel that are not qualified and competent in a position where they are exposed to live electricity. The list above has plenty of things that un-licensed people can do safely to great positive benefit for your electrical system. The estimate is that there are upwards of 30,000 injuries and deaths from electricity each year, and there’s no need for your business to add to that number.

This list is of course not exhaustive. For a well-qualified electrician, preventive maintenance has many steps. Some of these are more or less uniform from across all industries, and others involve having a deep understanding of the electrical trade itself as well as the ability to identify the critical components that are unique to any one facility. A thorough Preventive Maintenance Plan can give you the blueprint to safety and reliability for many decades to come. Click the link in the footer to contact us today to schedule a consultation and move YOU closer towards YOUR OWN custom Preventive Maintenance Plan.