Electrical Maintenance Program (EMP) & Plan: A Guide

What is An Electrical Maintenance Program?

An electrical maintenance program (EMP) is a document listing all the procedures required to keep electrical systems safe and functional.

EMPs are essential electrical contractor forms, just like estimates, contracts, and invoices.

According to Jaime DiDomenico, president of Cool Today: “People are willing to pay for peace of mind. [...] If you’ve got preventative maintenance, you know that if it gets hot and the air conditioning breaks down, we’ll be there to fix it.”

As of 2023, all electrical maintenance programs must comply with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70B standard.

Based on NFPA 70B, an EMP should include the following:

• An electrical safety program that focuses on assessing the maintenance condition.

• Clear identification of who is responsible for each part of the EMP.

• Surveys and analyses of electrical systems to determine what needs maintenance and which tasks should be prioritized.

• Specific maintenance procedures for all equipment covered by the EMP.

• A schedule for inspections, servicing, and testing.

• A policy for keeping detailed records of maintenance activities, equipment, and personnel.

• A process for identifying, carrying out, and recording corrective actions based on collected data.

• A plan for incorporating design principles that make electrical installations easier to maintain.

• A process for reviewing and updating the EMP, using failures and findings to improve.

This extensive list of procedures makes it difficult to track each task and stage manually.

However, you can automate this process using Service Titan’s electrical software.

Blake Wiltshire, the Director of Residential Services at Althoff Industries, shares his experience with Service Titan: “We're able to do all the reports and satisfy all those requirements that we're supposed to. And honestly, the technicians find it better because they're clocking in and out based on when they're getting to the jobs and leaving the jobs.”

To create an EMP, you must be aware of the different types of electrical maintenance.

What Are The Different Types of Electrical Maintenance?

Any electrician must be aware of the most common types of electrical maintenance clients require:

Likewise, whenever you look to expand your team, we recommend asking potential maintenance electricians interview questions about these practices.

Here’s a quick rundown of the main types of maintenance.

1. Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance refers to the regular maintenance work performed to prevent future electrical issues.

This maintenance type includes everything from electrical panel inspections and relay testing to cleaning or replacing electrical parts.

During this stage, you must use all your electrician tools to identify and address any minor electrical issues to prevent them from escalating.

2. Predictive maintenance

Predictive maintenance uses advanced diagnostic tools to determine when electrical systems and equipment might fail.

It usually involves:

• Condition monitoring, which collects data on the condition of electrical equipment using sensors.

• Failure analysis, which analyzes system failures to determine the cause and prevent future failures.

• Prognostics, which analyzes the data collected through the first two procedures to determine when the equipment or system will probably fail.

Based on all this data, you can schedule maintenance works only when necessary to reduce downtime and disruptions.

Likewise, predictive maintenance can extend the lifespan of electrical systems and equipment.

3. Corrective maintenance

Corrective maintenance involves fixing what is broken.

Namely, if you identify any electrical system flaws or failures during monitoring or inspections, this is the time to repair them.

All repair works must be done as soon as possible, in compliance with electrical standards, to avoid escalation and repeat repairs.

This type of maintenance keeps electrical systems in good working order.

4. Emergency maintenance

Emergency maintenance refers to addressing unforeseen and sudden electrical issues.

After all, despite all your best efforts, electrical systems and equipment can still fail occasionally, without warning.

In this case, your job is to provide immediate support and fix the issue as soon as possible.

By doing so, you can prevent major safety hazards and reduce downtime.

5. Failure-finding maintenance

Failure-finding maintenance aims to identify potential problems in safety and backup systems, like generators.

Since your clients use these backup systems when their main electrical systems fail, they must be operational.

Unfortunately, your clients will not know if their backup generator is not working until they need it, which will be too late.

Therefore, it is your responsibility to inspect these safety systems and detect any potential defects regularly.

If you find a system flaw, notify the client immediately and schedule corrective maintenance.

Now that you understand the services you should offer your clients let us show you how to create a comprehensive EMP.

How Can You Create an Electrical Maintenance Plan?

To create an electrical maintenance plan, you should follow these seven essential steps.

Next, we’ll explain each of these steps and show you how electrical software, like ServiceTitan, can help.

1. Analyze the assets

The first step in creating an EMP is assessing the current condition of the entire electrical system.

To this end, you need to conduct a thorough inspection that will help you identify the most important assets and any existing or potential problems.

We recommend:

• Looking for signs of wear and tear, like corroded connections, damaged electrical panels, or frayed wires.

• Identifying potential safety risks, like outdated electrical systems or overloaded circuits.

• Checking compliance with electrical standards and regulations.

Any issues identified during this inspection should be addressed in the electrical maintenance plan.

For an organized and detailed tracking of all your clients’ electrical assets, you can use ServiceTitan’s Service Agreement Software.

You can use the Service Agreement Dashboard to get a general overview of a client’s agreement details, past and future visits, and billing status.

However, the best feature is the Service Agreement Equipment section, where you can add detailed information about your client’s electrical equipment.

This information can include everything from the equipment type and model to its location, installation date, and status.

You can even use this asset overview to predict when certain equipment might fail.

2. Understand which failures can be prevented

Understanding which failures can be prevented helps you create a more effective and safe electrical maintenance plan.

Here are some of the benefits:

• Avoids premature equipment wear by preventing overheating, corrosion, or mechanical wear.

• Improves personnel and property safety by reducing the risk of electrical accidents, like fires, shocks, or explosions.

• Minimizes downtime by resolving electrical issues before they escalate into major problems that require more time to fix.

• Reduces client costs by helping them avoid expensive emergency repairs or equipment replacement.

3. Create downtime reports

Any type of electrical maintenance requires temporarily shutting down certain equipment.

To minimize the subsequent disruption of daily operations, you should provide your clients with downtime reports.

Work with your team to determine how much downtime is required to perform maintenance work on each electrical asset.

Then, talk with your clients and schedule the best maintenance dates and times.

Use ServiceTitan’s Electrician Scheduling Software to simplify and improve the scheduling process.

This electrician scheduling app can automatically assign specific jobs to certain electricians on your team with the right skill set.

Moreover, the software features advanced capacity planning, allowing you to set availability parameters for certain jobs depending on profitability.

For instance, you can leave more room for non-priority maintenance during slow times of the year. Meanwhile, during peak season, you can create more availability for jobs that bring high revenue.

Therefore, this software feature can help you grow your electrical business.

4. Assess your team’s capabilities

Before creating an EMP, you need to assess your team’s skills and expertise.

That will help you determine which maintenance tasks they can effectively handle and which should be outsourced.

You’ll also be able to accurately estimate how much time each team member will require to complete a specific activity.

Thus, you can assign each task to the most qualified personnel, improving work quality and productivity.

By distributing the workload evenly, based on capabilities, you’ll avoid overwhelming your team and prevent burnout.

5. Prepare BOMs

A bill of materials (BOM) lists all the necessary materials, tools, and components to complete a specific maintenance task.

You can use BOMs to manage your inventory effectively, ensuring you always have what you need in stock.

Therefore, you’ll avoid last-minute orders that can cause delays in maintenance and longer downtimes.

Having a detailed list of all the materials needed also helps you set realistic budgets and make accurate cost estimates for clients.

ServiceTitan’s Service Agreement Software also features a Materials tab where you can keep track of all the materials you need for each visit and their cost.

Furthermore, each material you add will automatically be included in the job invoice upon booking, simplifying the process.

6. Keep the relevant documents in your CMMS

Keeping all important documents in a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) helps you stay organized.

You can access any document you need at any given moment, and so can your authorized team members.

Likewise, you can update documents when needed so that all team members work with the same information.

All this reduces the risk of errors and promotes work consistency.

The good news is that you won’t need a separate CMMS if you use ServiceTitan’s versatile Service Agreement Software.

You can use it to keep track of your service agreements, financials, operations, and more.

7. Train your team

Any type of electrical maintenance has safety risks.

That’s why it is your legal and moral duty to provide proper training to your staff.

Training helps reduce accidents, improve performance, and ensure compliance with legal standards and regulations.

You should also provide training on new industry developments and trends and any software you implement.

For instance, you can train your team to use ServiceTitan’s Field Service App.

Your electricians can install this app on their phones or tablets and have instant access to all the job information they need before arriving at the location.

Moreover, they can access the client’s history, including recurring services and existing electrical equipment, to be better prepared and offer excellent customer service.

Lastly, when creating an EMP, you should also consider maintenance frequency.

How Often Should You Conduct Electrical Maintenance?

Electrical maintenance frequency varies widely depending on the electrical system or equipment.

Therefore, you should check the manufacturer’s guidelines, which overrule any other recommendations.

Without manufacturer guidelines, you can turn to the NFPA 70B standard.

A table provides maintenance interval recommendations for standard electrical equipment based on product type and condition.

As a general rule, most electrical assets require maintenance at least once every 12 months.

However, some systems might require more inspections because of their environment and frequency of use.

For instance, a very humid or dusty environment can damage electrical equipment faster, so it should be monitored more closely.

To Sum Things Up

With all our insights, you can start developing comprehensive electrical maintenance programs.

Well-planned EMPs can ensure the safe and proper operation of your client’s electrical assets, increasing customer satisfaction.

If you want to take this to the next level, book a demo with ServiceTitan to find out more about our electrical software.

ServiceTitan is a versatile software solution that helps electrical professionals simplify their workflow, improve customer service, and grow their business. You can use it to manage your maintenance service agreements, operations, financials, and more.