Commercial & site work

Commercial electrical maintenance

Commercial electrical maintenance is the routine work that keeps the installation in a shop, office or managed building safe and in use: repairing faults as they appear, replacing failed fittings and controls, testing emergency lighting and inspecting the installation when its last report says it is due. It can be a single repair or a schedule of planned visits.

Request a quote 020 3883 1321

Covers: Planned visits, one-off repairs, inspection and testing
Service levels: Only what is agreed in writing in your quote
You receive: A certificate or report where the work calls for one

Where every circuit starts. A maintenance visit looks at its condition, labelling and protective devices, and it is usually where circuits are isolated before work.
Ceiling fittings, their drivers and the switches or sensors that control them. Repeated failures in one area can point to a circuit or control problem, not just tired fittings.
Fittings by each exit and along the way out that light the route if the normal lighting fails. They need routine tests, with the results recorded in your logbook.
The fixed socket circuits are covered by periodic inspection and testing. Equipment plugged into them, such as the till, is maintained separately through user checks, visual inspection and, where needed, portable appliance testing.
Lights and illuminated signs on the front of the building, with their supply and controls. Outdoors, they are more exposed to water getting in and to damage than anything inside.

Fig. 1 — A simplified plan of a small shop, numbered to show the parts of the installation a maintenance plan usually covers (Illustration)

Sound familiar?

Reasons businesses get in touch

In a small shop or office, a maintenance plan has five things to look after, numbered on the drawing: the distribution board, the general lighting, the emergency lighting, the socket circuits and what is plugged into them, and anything fixed outside. A larger or multi-let building has more boards and separate supplies to its shared areas, and that is where it starts to matter who is responsible for which part.

Scorching, a burning smell, damaged cables or water getting into lights or sockets should not wait for a planned visit. Keep staff and customers away, do not touch anything hot, scorched or wet, and call us; if there is smoke or fire, call 999. If a circuit trips again after one reset, leave it off. Urgent electrical problems.

Lights failing again and again in the same part of the building
A circuit that trips during the working day, or whenever certain equipment starts
Emergency lighting that failed its monthly test, or a logbook with gaps in it
An inspection report with observations that still need dealing with
An insurer, landlord or fire risk assessor asking for evidence of maintenance
A new layout, counter or piece of equipment that needs power where there is none
Outside lights or a sign that stop working in wet weather
Nobody is sure when the installation was last inspected, or where the records are

Who this helps

Shops, cafés and restaurants

Lighting, power to tills, kitchens and displays, where a fault during opening hours costs you trade.
Offices

Power for desks and IT, lighting and its controls, and alterations when the layout changes.
Managing agents and facilities teams

Communal areas, landlord’s supplies and emergency lighting in multi-let buildings, where it matters what belongs to the landlord and what to each tenant.
Commercial landlords

Inspection between tenancies, repairs after a report, and records to hand on to the next occupier.
Workshops and small industrial units

Lighting and power to machines in a working environment that is harder on cables, plugs and fittings than an office.

Planning

Planning work around your business

A visit causes least disruption when these points are settled beforehand, whether it is a single repair or part of a planned schedule. Tell us about them when you enquire.

Opening hours and access: When you open, your quieter periods, and whether work has to happen before opening or after closing. Deliveries, cleaning and alarm setting times matter too, because they decide when the building is actually free.
Isolation planning: Most work needs a circuit switched off, and some needs the whole supply off for a time. Agreeing in advance which areas lose power, and when, means nobody is caught out.
What must stay on: Refrigeration, servers, tills and anything partway through a process. A monitored fire or intruder alarm may report the loss of power, so its monitoring company may need to be told before the visit.
Keys and site rules: Who holds keys to the store, riser or plant room, who signs contractors in, and whether the building has inductions, permits to work or restricted areas.
Records: Previous inspection reports, certificates, emergency lighting logbooks and circuit charts show what is due and what is outstanding, and stop work being repeated.
Telling your staff: Let staff know when power will be off and which areas are affected, and that anything switched off for the work stays off until the electrician says otherwise.

Step by step

How the work is done

Before we quote

A one-off repair can sometimes be priced from a description and photos, as long as the photos are taken without opening or removing any covers. Planned maintenance is different: the price depends on how much is installed, what condition it is in and what records exist, so we normally need to see the premises first.

After that visit, we agree what a planned visit covers, how often visits happen and what is quoted separately, so the scope is in writing before any work starts.

Step 1:Survey and records

We look at the distribution boards, general and emergency lighting and anything outside, ask how and when the premises are used, and read previous reports, certificates and logbooks to see what is due or outstanding.
Step 2:Written scope and quote

The quote sets out what planned visits include, how repairs found during a visit are approved before they go ahead, and anything agreed about timing.
Step 3:Before each visit

The date, access arrangements and which areas will lose power, and for how long, are agreed with you beforehand, along with anything that must stay on.
Step 4:Planned visits

Routine work, such as emergency lighting tests and replacing failed fittings, is carried out at the agreed times, and test results are recorded.
Step 5:Repairs between visits

When something fails, you report it and we tell you whether and when we can attend. Work outside the agreed scope is quoted, or approved by you, before it goes ahead.
Step 6:Testing and certificates

BS 7671 requires new or altered work to be inspected and tested before it is put into use. You receive the certificate or report the work calls for, to keep in your maintenance file.

Planned or one-off

Kept safe, and kept in use.

Faults repaired as they appear, failed fittings and controls replaced, emergency lighting tested, and the installation inspected when its last report says it is due: as a single repair or a schedule of planned visits.

Scope

What is included

Included

Agreeing access, working times and site rules before each visit
Repairs to lighting, socket circuits and fixed electrical equipment
Replacing failed fittings, switches, sensors and accessories
Emergency lighting testing and repairs, with the results recorded
Periodic inspection and testing, with remedial work quoted separately
A certificate, report or test record wherever the work calls for one

Depends on what we find

How often planned visits are worth having, which depends on the size of the premises, how hard the installation is used and what needs regular testing
Whether a repair can be done while you are open, or needs a circuit or the whole supply switched off
Whether a repeated fault needs further investigation rather than another replacement part
Whether older fittings or boards are worth repairing, or replacing them is the better option

Afterwards

Keep certificates, reports and emergency lighting records in one maintenance file, so they can be produced when someone asks to see them
Keep up the checks your own staff are responsible for between visits, such as monthly emergency lighting tests if you do them in-house
Tell us before changing the layout or adding equipment, so the circuits can be checked for the extra load

Not covered by this service: Servicing mechanical plant such as air conditioning, lifts and gas heating, which needs its own engineers; Fire risk assessments and fire alarm systems, which need a competent fire risk assessor and a fire alarm specialist; Portable appliance testing, which is quoted as a separate service.

The paperwork you may receive

Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate

Small additions and alterations that do not add a new circuit, such as an extra socket on an existing circuit.
- A description of the work
- Test results for the circuit that was altered
- The signature of the person responsible
Electrical Installation Certificate

New installations, rewires and new circuits.
- What was installed and the design details
- A schedule of test results for each circuit
- Signatures for design, installation and inspection
Electrical Installation Condition Report

Periodic inspection and testing of an existing installation.
- Observations coded C1, C2, C3 or FI
- A schedule of test results
- An overall assessment and the recommended date of the next inspection
Emergency lighting test record

Installation, testing and repair of emergency lighting.
- Which luminaires were tested and how
- Faults found and work done
- Dates for your fire safety logbook

Simplified outline, not a real certificate (Illustration)

Standards and regulations

We are a NICEIC Approved Contractor, registration number 619998000, and fully insured. How to check our registration and insurance.

REFRepairs, alterations and periodic inspection and testing to the current edition of BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations
REFUnder the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, electrical systems at work must be maintained so as to prevent danger, so far as is reasonably practicable. A maintenance file of inspection reports, test records and repairs helps show how that duty is being met
REFUnder the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, where it is needed to keep people safe, the responsible person must make sure fire safety equipment provided under the Order, including emergency lighting, is covered by a suitable system of maintenance and kept in efficient working order and good repair
REFBS 5266-1, the code of practice for emergency lighting, for the routine of functional and full-duration tests and the records kept of them

Questions

Questions about commercial maintenance

Can the work be done outside our opening hours?

Tell us your hours and when the building is free, and we confirm in writing what we can arrange before you accept a quote. If working outside your hours changes the price, the quote says so. Work that needs the whole supply switched off is usually easiest to plan for when you are closed.

Do we need a maintenance contract, or can we just call when something breaks?

Either works. You can ask us about individual repairs as they come up, or ask us to quote for a schedule of planned visits. A schedule tends to suit premises with emergency lighting that needs regular testing, a large number of light fittings, or several units to look after.

Will you commit to a response time?

Not unless a response time has been agreed and written into your quote; we do not assume one. If something urgent happens, call us and we will tell you honestly whether and when we can attend.

How often should a commercial installation be inspected?

For most commercial premises the law does not set a single interval. Your last inspection report recommends when the next one is due, based on the type of premises, how it is used and the condition found, and insurers or landlords may set their own requirements. With no report at all, an inspection is the place to start.

Do we have to close while you work?

Not usually. Only the circuit being worked on is normally switched off, so the rest of the premises can carry on. Work at the distribution board can need the whole supply off for a time, and we agree when that happens before the visit.

What happens if you find something dangerous during a visit?

We tell you straight away and explain the risk. Where there is immediate danger, the affected circuit or equipment is normally made safe before we leave, which can mean it stays switched off. Any repair beyond that is agreed with you before it goes ahead.

Who is responsible for the electrics in a let commercial unit?

It depends on the lease. Often the tenant looks after the installation inside their unit and the landlord looks after landlord’s supplies and shared areas, but leases differ, so check yours or ask your managing agent. When you enquire, tell us who is instructing the work and who should receive the paperwork.

Can you take over from our previous electrician?

Yes. Send whatever records they left, especially the last inspection report, certificates for recent work and the emergency lighting logbook. If records are missing, the first visit may need to establish what is installed and what is due before planned visits can be priced.

Next step

Tell us how your premises run

Whether it is one light that keeps failing or a building that needs a schedule of visits, the details listed below help us price it. We will ask for anything else we need, and the written quote sets out what is covered before anything is booked.

What to send us

The type of premises, the postcode and roughly how big it is
Whether you need a one-off repair, planned visits or both
Your opening hours, and when work could be done
The last inspection report and emergency lighting logbook, if you have them
Anything that must not lose power, even briefly
Who arranges access, and any site rules or induction to follow

An enquiry is not a booking: we contact you first, and you see a written quote before anything goes ahead.

We list towns in London and surrounding areas, Kent, Essex, East Sussex and West Sussex. Check your postcode.

Call or email us for a free quote

Tell us the postcode and a little about the job. We will contact you to discuss it, and you get a written quote before any work starts. Quotes are free. Some survey or diagnostic visits may be charged: ask when you book.

Call 020 3883 1321 Email us

Our email address: support@dualcurrent.co.uk

Helpful to include

The postcode of the property
What the job is, or what is going wrong
Photos, if you have them, taken without removing any covers