6 Essential Tips To Help Your Choose the Right Commercial Electrician

Electrical work in a commercial setting is different and distinct from domestic electrical work, and therefore requires an experienced electrician. Correctly functioning and safe electrics are essential to your business, workplace, warehouse or store, so choosing the right commercial electrician is key.  A high quality commercial electrician can not only be useful to establishing functioning electrics at your business or workplace, but can also be an essential business resource to keep you up and running when electrical faults arise. Here we look at 6 of the most important things to look for when choosing a commercial electrician, so you can make the right choice for your business.

Choose An Experienced and Knowledgeable Electrician

Because commercial electric work can be both unique and complex, it’s important to work with an experienced and well trained electrician for commercial projects. Commercial electrics is much more than just domestic or residential electrics on a larger scale, it is a completely unique system with its own features and nuances. To ensure the highest quality result, and safety for you and your business, always choose a fully trained, experienced and knowledgeable commercial electrician. Ask your electrician about their commercial experience and training, as well as whether they have proper licensing. This ensures you work with the best quality commercial electrician and always receive high quality and reliable results.

Can They Meet Commercial Demands?

It is essential that your commercial electrician is able to meet the demands of commercial electric work both in terms of knowledge and practical capability. Commercial electrical work requires the versatility to excel in rapidly changing and diverse settings, and the flexibility to work well with both the design and installations as well as repairs and maintenance. A good commercial electrician should also be able to work with a team of construction professionals on a project, so it may be advisable to check your electrician’s past experience, particularly in terms of communication and working with others.

Confirm Licensing and Insurance

Of course, when choosing a commercial electrician, it is absolutely essential that they hold the proper licensing and insurance for the work they will undertake. Choosing a licensed electrician means you avoid being liable for paying worker’s compensation if the electrician accidentally suffers any accident or injury on the worksite. Likewise, electrician insurance provides coverage to pay for damages if something goes wrong, while bonding (another form of insurance) provides coverage if your electrician disappears before the project is completed.

If any other workers join your commercial electrician to provide assistance on the job, make sure that the lead electrician has these workers on their payroll. This means that these additional workers will be covered by the electrician’s workers compensation should anything go wrong, and you won’t be left liable.

Check Reviews and References

You want to learn as much as you can about your commercial electrician before your hire them, to ensure you’re making the right choice. While word of mouth and recommendations were previously the best way to learn about an electrical contractor, now with online reviews, websites and references, you can easily learn even more about your electrician’s past projects, their client’s reviews and work portfolio. Check online reviews of your electrical contractor’s commercial work to assess how they completed their projects in the past. To get more specific feedback, you can also contact your commercial electrician directly to ask for references from past commercial projects that are similar to the current project you are undertaking. This can allow you to get a clear idea of the way your electrical contractor works on commercial projects and even give you the chance to speak directly with a past client.

Communication and Teamwork

As previously mentioned, it is important that your commercial electrical contractor is able to successfully communicate and work with a varied and diverse team. Commercial construction projects often involve a number of different contractors and building professionals working together to achieve a common goal. As a part of commercial construction, it’s necessary for commercial electricians and other building professionals to effectively communicate and work together harmoniously to produce the ideal outcome. Assessing your electrical contractor’s ability to communicate and work as part of a team is an important aspect of choosing the right commercial electrician.

Look For Versatility and Resourcefulness

A commercial construction site is a busy place where the environment is rapidly shifting and changing. In order to adapt and work in this type of environment, your commercial electrician should be versatile and resourceful, able to work effectively in any situation. Changes in a commercial worksite are a day to day challenge, and a commercial electrician requires tenacity and creativity to make this changing environment work for them. While many electricians are familiar with the issues that might arise in a residential setting, the issues in commercial settings such as building sites, house and land development sites and in high-rise construction, are usually somewhat different and unique.

As a commercial electrician, the ability to adapt and alter plans is crucial to success. That’s one of the reasons commercial electrical work is so interesting, because it requires both experience and ingenuity. Choose a commercial electrician who can bring these qualities to your project for greater versatility and success.

Assess Credentials and Training

While experience is a great indicator of capability and an essential requirement, it can also be useful to assess the training and credentials of a commercial electrician as well. Certain accreditations such as Diamond Certification can be an indicator that a contractor is well trained, highly rated and a leader in their field. At the minimum, you should ensure your electricians have industry appropriate training, as well as proper licensing, insurance and bonding. Above and beyond that, an exemplary electrician will have achieved further accreditation such as Diamond Certification and other industry and field specific recognition.

Choosing the right electrical contractor for a commercial project, installation or electrical repair can seem like a challenging task, but with these 6 essential tips, you can easily recognize the best electrician for your commercial job.