A maintenance electrician keeps electrical and electronic equipment in good working order by repairing broken systems, replacing faulty parts, and taking preventive measures. The type of work done on maintenance electrician jobs varies depending on whether the electrician specializes in residential or industrial work. The complexity of the systems used in each differs. The majority of maintenance electricians work for electrical contracting firms, with the remainder working in other industries and only a few working for themselves.
A client may occasionally request that an electrician working in a residential setting also perform some minor construction and installation work. A maintenance electrician may be called upon to repair or install new lighting, to simply repair or replace an old or faulty fuse box, or to completely rewire a home. When working in an industrial setting, a maintenance electrician is frequently tasked with overseeing much more complex systems. He or she may be responsible for maintaining an office building’s lighting and air conditioning systems, or he or she may work in a factory, repairing generators and transformers or overseeing the electrical network that supplies power to industrial robots.
Maintenance Electricians must be able to diagnose any given electrical problem and provide an accurate assessment of the damage done as well as the time and effort required to fix it. To minimize any inconvenience, the electrician must think quickly and apply his or her extensive knowledge of the systems involved to solve the problem in a cost- and time-effective manner. The amount of responsibility increases in a situation where complex systems are involved and a large number of people spend their day. If a workplace becomes too dangerous due to an electrical problem, the electrician working in any of these environments is responsible for informing management.
A maintenance electrician’s education is a four-year process involving a paid apprenticeship program that focuses on both on-the-job and classroom experience. Apprentices begin their on-the-job training by practicing basic techniques like anchoring and connecting conduits under the supervision of an experienced electrician. They eventually progress to intermediate-level tasks such as complete conduit, outlet, and switch installation and testing, as well as learning to diagram electrical systems. Apprentices learn about safety, electrical theory, mathematics, and blueprint reading in the classroom. They will have mastered all non-specific electrical knowledge before the end of their four-year term.