Electrical Preventive Maintenance Checklist for Facilities

Many businesses operate on large electrical systems, and an electrical system failure can disrupt business operations. 

Electrical preventive maintenance can help prevent electrical failures and reduce equipment breakdowns. An electrical preventive maintenance checklist can track electrical maintenance due dates and help you stay on schedule. 

What Is Electrical Preventive Maintenance?

Preventive maintenance is the process of providing proactive upkeep and repairs to assets and equipment, performing maintenance tasks at regular intervals to prevent damage and malfunction to electrical connections and equipment. 

Types of Electrical Equipment

Equipment requiring electrical maintenance includes lighting, electrical distribution systems, HVAC systems, production machines, and computers. Electrical preventive maintenance involves visually inspecting, repairing, and replacing all necessary electrical components, such as transformers, capacitors, motors, wiring, and connectors. 

Preventive Maintenance vs Reactive Maintenance

There’s a sharp contrast between the execution of preventive vs. reactive maintenance. Preventive maintenance identifies potential issues before they become problems, while reactive maintenance is conducted once a problem occurs. 

ServiceChannel offers many insights into the various types of preventive maintenance and how they can benefit your organization.

Creating an Effective Preventive Maintenance Plan

A structured electrical preventive maintenance program can prevent future issues and minimize maintenance costs. From healthcare facilities to restaurants, a preventive maintenance checklist ensures consistency between maintenance teams and reduces the chances of equipment failure. Follow these best practices for effective results in developing an electrical maintenance program:

1. Create an Asset List

Inventory all essential electrical equipment and assets, such as power supply units and critical life support systems. 

2. Identify Priorities by Maintenance Needs

Establish a priority level for all critical assets and essential systems based on the cost of repair or replacement, as well as criticality. 

3. Collect Equipment Data

Verify and record the baseline condition of each asset. A strong facility management software solution such as ServiceChannel can run real-time condition checks and immediately analyze data for more efficient equipment data resolution. 

4. Predict Maintenance Needs

A reliable facility management software platform can look at the current state of electrical assets. Such software can compare current conditions to historical data, enabling the system to predict the most likely maintenance needs and inform maintenance schedules.

5. Create a Preventive Maintenance Schedule

A maintenance schedule outlines time intervals for each maintenance task. Use equipment data and established priority levels to inform a preventive maintenance schedule and establish maintenance timeframes. 

6. Assign Responsibilities

Determine the qualification level needed for each maintenance task and assign it accordingly. Some repair duties may require electrical and electronics engineers to get involved, while others may only require a single electrician to complete them.

7. Review and Improve

Identify gaps or inefficiencies in task completion and adjust each electrical preventive maintenance checklist to improve these shortfalls. 

Electrical Preventive Maintenance Checklist

A preventive maintenance checklist can help you prioritize assets and set suitable intervals for checkups and maintenance tasks. A checklist is necessary to ensure each job is performed on time and everything is remembered.

These are some common tasks you can expect to find on an electrical preventive maintenance checklist. 

1. Inspect Electrical Panels

Examine electrical panels, electrical distribution systems, and circuit breakers for loose connections, frayed wiring, or anything else out of the ordinary. 

2. Calibrate Electrical Devices

Verify that devices are operating within normal parameters. Make necessary adjustments to any electrical components that fall outside of acceptable specifications.

3. Check Bonding Systems

Inspect bonding systems and protective devices to ensure worker safety.

4. Replace Damaged Connections

Tighten loose connections and change out any damaged ones in lighting control wiring, production equipment, and electrical assets.

5. Test Emergency Systems

Verify that emergency shut-offs, first-responder systems, and fire alarms are working properly with monthly or quarterly tests. Shut off main circuit breakers to test dedicated backup generators and alternate power sources to ensure they switch on when needed.

6. Inspect Fire Protection Systems

Regularly check fire suppression and alarm systems to verify that there is no damage since the last inspection.

7. Lubricate Electrical Equipment

Regularly apply appropriate lubricants to electric motors and devices that require them.

8. Replace Unsafe Electrical Equipment

Prioritize facility safety and repair or change any electric equipment that shows any signs of becoming a hazard.

9. Update Electrical Documentation

Whenever you acquire a new electrical asset or adjust a maintenance process, make necessary changes to preventive maintenance checklists and all other associated documentation to reflect the changes.

10. Inspect Surge Protection Systems

Examine all electronic surge protection devices for damage or loose connections. Repair or replace any devices you find in poor condition.

Benefits of Electrical Preventive Maintenance 

Diligent electrical preventive maintenance ensures a safer and more efficient work environment. An effective preventive maintenance plan offers employees and companies alike many advantages. 

Asset Management & Conservation

Electrical preventive maintenance is an asset management element that helps maximize equipment functionality and efficiency. 

Extended Equipment Lifespan

Preventive maintenance can significantly extend electrical asset lifecycles, reducing the total cost of ownership in the long run. Well-maintained electrical equipment will also use less energy, saving the company money. 

Proactively Reduced Downtime

Getting ahead of potential issues before they become problems enhances productivity by preventing unexpected equipment failures and production downtime. In the long run, companies benefit from a more predictable maintenance budget and reduced reactive maintenance costs. 

Enhanced Employee Safety

Short circuits and frayed wires are just a couple of potential employee safety hazards. Preventive maintenance checks for obvious issues such as these, as well as potential problems, and fixes them before they become a risk. Complying with regulatory agencies such as OSHA also ensures a safer work environment. 

Long-Term Savings

The cost of repairing damaged equipment during a breakdown is almost always more than addressing a potential issue before it escalates. Typically, the damage is more severe and requires more resources to resolve the problem. It’s also a good practice to keep more commonly needed backup electrical components and replacement parts in your inventory to prevent the need to shop around and wait for delivery.

How to Measure the ROI of Electrical Preventive Maintenance

For most companies, one of the primary reasons for preventive maintenance is to improve the company’s financial performance. Just as with any investment, you want to ensure a good return. To gauge the ROI of your electrical preventive maintenance program: 

1. Track the cost of your repairs or replacements before and after implementing the program. 

2. Calculate the labor and other savings from reduced downtime. 

3. Add the savings from the reduced repairs and downtime together, then divide by the cost of the preventive maintenance program to calculate the ROI. 

Strategies for Effective Electrical Preventive Maintenance

Planning and execution are crucial when designating duties and allocating maintenance resources. Reflect on these tried and true practices for developing an effective electrical maintenance plan.

Consider Equipment Conditions

Factors such as equipment age, usage patterns, impact on operations, and manufacturer recommendations all play a role in determining electrical maintenance requirements.

Prioritize Critical Electrical Equipment

Equipment with the greatest impact or poses the highest safety risks in the event of a breakdown should take precedence over all other assets when determining maintenance priorities. 

Utilize Technologies and Software Solutions

While it’s possible to use a manual electrical maintenance checklist to track maintenance, preventive maintenance software systems improve workflow and reduce errors. A software solution automates processes, utilizes GPS, and uses other data to ensure efficient task completion. 

Schedule Regular Inspections and Testing

Develop a schedule based on usage patterns, workloads, and manufacturer recommendations to distribute electrical maintenance tasks as evenly as possible over a work year. Perform regular monthly inspections of critical assets to assess any need for unscheduled preventive maintenance.

Document Maintenance Activities

Keep a record of all maintenance activities. A preventive maintenance checklist will typically provide an area for notes to mark down any observations or concerns. Tracking maintenance history in a facility management software system enables an organization to track and predict future needs based on current and historical maintenance data.

Getting Started With Electrical Preventive Maintenance 

Electrical preventive maintenance increases the lifespan and efficiency of systems and equipment, reduces downtime, and improves safety. A checklist is critical to ensuring preventive maintenance tasks are performed on schedule. Preventive maintenance software automates the checklist process, using analytics and other information to generate work orders at the right time for each maintenance task. Setting up your own maintenance checklist can help you achieve the optimum ROI for your electrical preventive maintenance program.

Prioritize Safety and Prevent Maintenance with ServiceChannel

ServiceChannel provides facilities management software to help you develop and implement your electrical preventative maintenance checklist. ServiceChannel can substantially cut your organization’s repair and maintenance costs and boost maintenance task efficiency. Begin enjoying the benefits of an efficient and effective preventive maintenance plan and explore ServiceChannel today.