As your company grows, the number of electrical issues you face increases proportionately, and choosing the right kind of electrical contractor for your facilities becomes increasingly important. Have you ever wondered whether it’s best to choose an on-call or on-site maintenance plan for your facility?
Why Use a Dedicated On-Call Electrician?
Having an on-call electrician means that when there’s an issue, a dedicated electrician familiar with your site will arrive quickly — typically within two hours.
A dedicated on-call electrician will know your facility inside out, which leads to a faster problem diagnosis, on average. This also means your electrician can determine if the problem is actually electrical, or if it’s related to something else, like the building management system, or building control software.
Without a dedicated electrician on call, it could be a multi-day process to find and approve a new vendor, and obtain all necessary paperwork like W-9s and insurance certificates.
With an on-call electrician, your problem will be resolved with speed and efficiency. And because rates are all pre-negotiated in advance, you also achieve greater cost certainty.
On-Site Electricians Provide Fast, Site-Specific Responses
Having one or more on-site electricians is typically only advantageous for larger facilities that have enough electrical work to keep at least one full-time electrician occupied.
The cost of having an on-site electrician may be a consideration, but for large facilities, the risk and costs associated with not having an electrician onsite during an emergency is typically much greater.
For example, at a large New York City facility hosting a major event, an electrical cable was accidentally cut by an unrelated construction project. The mishap cut the power to the event, but the on-site electricians responded immediately, repairing it with minimum downtime and little disruption.
Similarly, when setting up temporary power for a show or event, it is wise to keep an electrician on site throughout the event – so that any unforeseen problems like overloaded circuits or cut cables can be addressed immediately. The peace of mind is worth it.
On-site electricians can become part of the fabric of the everyday business, developing familiarity with the operational flow, and the people who make it happen. At the same time, they typically build relationships with other vendors in the building and industry, improving collaboration, while increasing efficiency, and security.
Ready to make a decision regarding on-call or on-site maintenance for your building? Find out more about Unity’s service offerings: Comprehensive Maintenance
