The electrical engineers install, maintain, and service electrical equipment and systems. The difference between a standard electrical contractor and an industrial electrical contractor is one of scale. Industrial electrical contractors work on large projects, anything from enormous data centers to factories to mines to power grids.
The industrial electrical contractor works with the facility manager and other interested parties to make sure that the facility, plant, or equipment is running at peak performance. The industrial electrical contractor makes sure that everything is running efficiently, operating smoothly, and always with safety in mind. In addition, it’s part of the industrial elecitrical contractor’s role to make sure that the site is environmentally friendly.
All Buildings Need Electrical Contractors
From the smallest outbuilding to the largest hundred-acre factories, all structures are going to need electrical contractors to make sure that they’re operating well. But just as you wouldn’t ask a crossing guard to be in charge of the city’s traffic light system, you wouldn’t ask a residential electrical contractor to try to work out the planning and design of a high-powered facility.
These skilled contractors are involved in the planning and design of the facility, getting started in the process in the very earliest stages of the proposed building to assess its needs and to design a plan that will meet those needs.
Later, the industrial electrical contractor manages the project, overseeing the implementation of the plan as the construction progresses and making sure that everything is up to code and adjusting for contingencies as they become apparent. When the project is completed, the contractor performs quality checks to ensure that all is functioning as it should be, that everything is following the appropriate building codes, and that all safety metrics are being tracked, monitored and–as needed–addressed.
Types of Industrial Electrical Contractors
As being an industrial electrical contractor is such a large job, not everything can fall on the shoulders of one man or woman. There will, of course, be someone overseeing the project as a whole, but there are subspecialties that aid the industrial electrical contractor in their work. These are:
- Line Electrical Contractors: These contractors work with the high-voltage and low-voltage transmission lines and distribution lines that come in and out of the facility. These contractors work together with substations to ensure that the proper amount of power is available and flowing to the facility in adequate and safe quantities.
- Inside Electrical Contractors: This refers to an industrial electrical contractor who is working on-site (whether “inside” or “outside” the physical building. They may work on anything from design and installation to maintenance, to repair and rewiring. Their work can be focused on large-scale machinery, or on something as relatively small as outdoor lighting.
- Voice/Data/Video Electrical Contractors: This type of industrial electrical contractor works with the fiber optics, the phone systems, the wireless networks, security systems, and more of the inside-the-building projects.
