How to Choose the Right Industrial Electrical Contractor
This step-by-step guide to choosing an electrical contractor for your ongoing maintenance needs or next big electrical industrial project will help you to make a more confident decision about choosing a team of electricians you can trust for best advice, relevant experience and industry expertise.
How Important is Choosing the Right Industrial Electrical Company?
A better question is to ask: how important is it for your business to work seamlessly, efficiently and safely?
If breakdowns and inefficiency impact on your productivity and people, that also has an impact on your bottom line. And if you don’t keep your promises to your customers, you could also suffer reputational damage that affects your standing in the marketplace.
A good industrial electrical contractor can help you to avoid all of that, ensuring that your electrical systems function optimally and prioritising safety protocols and industry standards, while delivering within budget and timelines. A proactive one will also help you not only to survive but thrive, helping to inform your operations and shape a strategy for growth.
If you’re already in business and need maintenance support, we can help with that too!
Find out more about Crafting a Total Maintenance Support Plan here.
So, it’s not a stretch to say that an electrical contractor can be a huge asset in determining the success, safety and financial health of your business.
Whether you’re setting up new plant and machinery, upgrading facilities or keeping maintenance in check, the expertise and experience of your electrical contractor can be make or break for your business in all of these areas:
Project Success
The choice of an electrical contractor directly influences the project’s overall success from the outset. The earlier you get your electrical contractor involved, the more confident you can be in every aspect from efficient installation and functionality, through meeting project milestones to achieving all quality standards.
Safety
Prioritising safety through rigorous adherence to safety protocols and industry regulations reduces the risk of accidents, injuries, and potential legal liabilities, safeguarding both workers and the project’s long-term integrity. Safety is also key to compliance and being covered should the worst happen.
Financial Implications
A reputable, trusted electrical contractor will help you to make the best, most cost-effective decisions about the right solution for you, budget accurately and minimise unforeseen expenses, ultimately contributing to the project’s financial health and profitability.
Choose an electrical contractor that ticks all these boxes…
Use this article as your guide to asking all the right questions when choosing an industrial electrical company to partner your business success. Start with the information you have and ask as many questions as you can – a good electrical contractor will help you to fill in the blanks and consider elements you haven’t thought about.
Define the Project
This can be as simple as starting with the information you have: knowing what you want to achieve will help the contractor to see what you need.
The things a contractor will be interested in knowing are project timelines and expected outcomes:
Scope and Scale – this will help contractors to understand if they have the required experience and capabilities.
Specialisations – different contractors may specialise in specific areas of electrical work – it’s important that their expertise matches with your project requirements.
Make a Proposal
Once you’ve had that initial chat, it’s time to get into the details!
You’ll know what you want – a good industrial electrical company will know how to deliver that, along with a solid idea of materials, costs and project timelines.
If you’re approaching several contractors, you can begin with an initial request for proposals: this means outlining the challenge or project and asking how they would address or approach it. Your initial request should include:
- An introduction outlining your project’s background, objectives, and expectations. Include details about your company, project location, and any specific requirements or challenges.
- Scope of Work: Clearly define the scope of work, outlining the tasks, deliverables, and any special considerations or industry standards that must be adhered to.
- Submission Guidelines: Provide clear instructions on proposal format, submission deadline, and any supporting documents or references required.
If you have a clearer idea of what the project entails, you could provide a detailed scope of work. This would include:
- Requesting a task breakdown that indicates what will be done, by whom, and when. This helps you understand the contractor’s approach to completing the project.
- Asking for a project timeline with key milestones, deadlines, and a project schedule. This provides insights into the contractor’s planning and time management skills.
- Specifying any quality standards, regulations, or certifications that must be met, ensuring compliance and adherence to industry best practices.
If staying on budget is important, now is a good time to also ask for budget and cost estimates. These can include:
- A detailed cost breakdown that includes labor, materials, equipment, and any other expenses. This helps you understand how the budget is allocated.
- Payment Terms – these can include schedules and any upfront costs or deposits required.
- Contingency plans or provisions for unexpected costs or changes in scope, ensuring transparency and financial preparedness.
Evaluating proposals or bids on a like for like basis is essential.
Commercial Industries
Machine
breakdown?
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Manufacturers & Operators
Installation, maintenance
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Compare Like for Like
Asking for proposals and bids in a format as above allows you to compare them more easily – you can cross reference not only on cost but value for money, quality of materials, the contractor’s approach and their attention to detail.
Here are some tips on how to effectively compare bids:
Evaluate Value
While monetary cost is an important factor, you should be looking at value. A higher-priced bid may offer better quality, expertise, and service, providing better long-term value.
Consider Inclusions and Exclusions
Make sure to check what is included and excluded in each bid. Some bids may include extras while others don’t even have the basics. If you have a core, key list of must haves, compare those: ensuring that all necessary services, materials, and tasks are covered will avoid unexpected costs later on.
Assess Materials Quality
Check the specifications and brands of materials proposed in each bid. Higher-quality materials may have a longer lifespan, require less maintenance, and offer better performance.
Check Warranties and Guarantees
Ask if these apply to both materials and workmanship. A contractor confident
in their work and materials will often provide longer warranties, indicating reliability and quality.
Is Sustainability Built-in?
If sustainability is a priority for your project, evaluate if the materials proposed are eco-friendly, energy-efficient, or comply with green building standards.
If you’re serious about maximising efficiencies and minimising costs, you really should think about solar energy. We can help with that too!
Commercial, large scale solar PV & maintenance for warehouse and industry.
Plan the Project
Excellent communication and project management skills are key to the success of your project.
In terms of communication, agree with your contractor on frequency and style of communications throughout the project, from planning to completion. This is also key to maintaining momentum and achieving stated outcomes.
You can also ask them to outline their approach to project management, execution and monitoring. For example, how they manage timelines and reporting, or how they would handle any issues that arise.
A good way to gauge their approach to communications and level of professionalism is to be watchful of response times: observe how promptly they respond to your enquiries. And pay attention to how clearly the contractor communicates during initial discussions. They should demonstrate a clear understanding of your project’s requirements and objectives.
Do Your Research
You can do some desk research (Google it!) to find contractors with experience of comparable scope and scale. Visit their website to see if they have any case studies that you can relate to. The best kind of research is word of mouth and that’s easy to check through Google too. Ask others in your industry who they would recommend.
Then get in touch – clear communication is key to getting a sense of how well you would work together, how much they understand your needs and how accurately they can provide a realistic proposal.
This kind of clarity upfront minimises misunderstandings and sets the stage for a successful partnership.
Check Their Credentials
When you’re doing your research, there are some specific things to look for:
Experience and Reputation
Have they worked in your sector? Do they know the compliance issues and regulations in your industry?
Certifications and Qualifications
Ask if and how your electrical contractor is qualified. There are industry standard qualifications and there are specialist certifications. You can check these with the industry body or local government website.
The Randoll team are approved by:
NICEIC
ECA
IPAF
MCS
IET
HIES
And, we’re working towards our ISO accreditation.
Safety Records
A good safety record is the reflection of the protocols the contractor has in place to avoid accidents and issues. A good contractor will be more than happy to share their safety procedures, demonstrate their professionalism and commitment to protecting workers and their integrity.
You can also evaluate their technical competence and resources by asking about how they comply with regulations and if they are experienced in using the latest technology.
Talk About Their Team
Defining a project is one thing: finding out how the electrical contractor will complete it is another.
Ask if they have access to all the resources they need to complete the project on time and in budget – both in terms of equipment and an expert, experienced team.
Find out more about the Randoll Industrial team’s qualifications, credentials and experience here.
Ask About Insurance
A professional, responsible and reliable industrial electrical contractor will have all of their paperwork in order. You are entitled to see that they have adequate and appropriate insurance coverage. This should include liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance, to properly protect your business from potential claims.
Look into the Future: Post-Project Support
If you find an industrial electrical contractor you can trust for good advice and rely on to be there when you need them, don’t let them go!
Build your relationship into a partnership and ask about post-project support, maintenance services, or training provided by the contractor. Ongoing support ensures the longevity and performance of the project.
A good electrical contractor will also offer value-added services such as design consultation, project management, or innovative solutions that enhance project quality and efficiency.
They’ll also prove themselves to be flexible and adaptable, working around you to accommodate changes, address challenges, and meet evolving project needs.
Find out how we worked proactively with Christina May to solve their production issues:
“Randoll have undertaken projects many electricians before have been unable to undertake.”
If You’re Still Unsure, Ask Us!
We’re so confident that we can help you to successfully deliver you project or provide flexible maintenance support that we’d be happy to chat with you about all of the above and answer your questions.
Just get in touch.
