What Does an Industrial Electrician Do? MCCs, Drives and Plant Maintenance Explained
Industrial · Electrical Maintenance · Plant and Process
An industrial electrician installs, maintains and repairs the electrical systems that run plant and process equipment, including motor control centres, variable speed drives, three phase distribution, machinery connections and control circuits. The work is planned around production, because on an industrial site an electrical fault stops the line. Indigi Power and Cooling provides industrial electrical maintenance across Brisbane, Ipswich, the Gold Coast and the Western Corridor.
A commercial electrician mostly looks after lighting, power and switchboards in buildings where people work. An industrial electrician looks after the electrical systems that make things: motors, drives, conveyors, pumps, compressors and the control systems that tie them together. The equipment is different, and so is the cost of getting it wrong.
| Commercial electrician | Industrial electrician | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical equipment | Lighting, power outlets, switchboards, RCDs | MCCs, VSDs, soft starters, three phase plant, control circuits |
| Cost of a fault | Lost comfort and convenience | Lost production and sometimes a lost batch |
| Scheduling | Business hours or after hours | Around production, shutdowns and changeovers |
| Key skills | Installation, fault finding, compliance testing | Motor control, drives, protection settings, process interfaces |
Motor control centre maintenance
A motor control centre groups the starters, contactors and overloads for a plant's motors. Maintenance covers contactor and overload inspection, thermal scanning under real load, busbar condition and, often overlooked, checking that protection settings still suit the motors they protect. After a decade of equipment changes, many of them no longer do.
Variable speed drive maintenance
- Clean filters and cooling fans, and inspect the heatsink and airflow path
- Check DC bus capacitor condition, which ages with heat and time
- Torque check power terminals
- Review the fault log for patterns
- Back up drive parameters, so a failed drive is a parts swap rather than a recommissioning job
Phase balance and three phase distribution
Unbalanced loading across the three phases quietly wastes energy and overheats neutrals. It rarely shows up until something fails, so phase balance checks and thermal imaging of distribution boards are a standard part of an industrial program.
How often should industrial electrical equipment be maintained?
Most sites run an annual full inspection with quarterly or six monthly thermal imaging on heavily loaded boards and MCCs. Continuous processes, high duty cycle plant and dusty or corrosive environments justify the shorter interval. Inspection and scanning happen while the plant runs; work that needs isolation is grouped into as few planned shutdowns as possible. See our industrial electrical maintenance page for how programs are built around a production calendar.
Where we work
Indigi Power and Cooling delivers this work across South East Queensland from our Tingalpa head office, covering Brisbane, Ipswich and the Western Corridor, the Gold Coast and Yatala, Logan, Redlands and Bayside, Moreton Bay, the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba.
Frequently asked questions
What does an industrial electrician do?
An industrial electrician installs, maintains and repairs the electrical systems that run plant and process equipment, including motor control centres, variable speed drives, three phase distribution, machinery connections, isolators, emergency stops, control circuits and motor protection settings. Work is usually scheduled around production.
What is the difference between an industrial and a commercial electrician?
A commercial electrician mainly works on lighting, power, switchboards and compliance testing in buildings such as offices and retail. An industrial electrician works on motors, drives, motor control centres and process control in factories, plants and processing sites, where faults stop production.
How often should industrial electrical equipment be maintained?
Most industrial sites run an annual full inspection with quarterly or six monthly thermal imaging of heavily loaded switchboards and motor control centres. The interval is set by the consequence of failure rather than equipment age.
Why back up variable speed drive parameters?
If a drive fails without a saved configuration, the replacement has to be set up from scratch, turning a quick parts swap into a commissioning job and extending downtime. Parameter backup is a standard part of drive maintenance.
Related services
- Industrial electrical maintenance
- Switchboard and MCC thermal imaging
- Switchroom and MCC room cooling
- Industrial and manufacturing sector
- Commercial and industrial electrical and HVAC maintenance
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Plan an electrical program around your shutdowns Tell us what plant you run and your shutdown calendar. We will survey the site and build a program that works around production. Indigi Power and Cooling is an Indigenous and Veteran owned business, Supply Nation and ICN Gateway registered. Call 1800 046 344. Discuss a plant program |
