Maintenance Electricians are responsible for making sure that the electrical equipment and power systems used by facilities, buildings, businesses or homes are operating in top condition.
They are often employed during construction works in buildings and remain to maintain electrical systems and equipment when the building starts its operations. Maintenance electricians follow building codes implemented by the state and local government in repairing or maintaining electrical equipment.
Nature of Work
Maintenance electricians maintain and repair electrical equipment like circuit breakers and switches when they breakdown or are in need of repairs. They track down electrical short circuits; do regular inspection and testing of electrical systems, recommend strategies to replace or fix electrical problems; and generally make sure that all electrical systems of the building they are assigned to work are performing as required. They can be assigned to work outdoors or indoors as determined by the project they working on. They can be required to lift heavy objects, bend electrical conduits and use equipment to work on hard-to-reach spaces. Maintenance electricians are expected to follow safety protocols strictly especially when working in high-voltage areas in potentially deadly environment. They must be able to do repairs and perform different testing procedures to determine precise origin of electrical problems. Maintenance electricians make adjustments and perform calibrations on electrical equipment; perform preventive maintenance as directed.
Qualifications
Many maintenance electricians have learned their trade through on the job training, apprenticeship and classroom instructions. They should have broad knowledge of standard electrical systems used in buildings. The job usually requires that they possess a high level of physical fitness and manual dexterity. Since typical electrical wires are color coded, good color recognition is a must. Maintenance electricians must also have good communication skills and ability to read and understand instructions. They must possess excellent ability in troubleshooting techniques for electrical system problems.