Electrical maintenance is about knowing the condition of your installation and acting before problems become failures. For businesses and landlords, it is also about being able to show that the installation has been maintained.
What a maintenance programme includes
- Periodic inspection and testing (EICRs) at the interval recommended for your premises
- Emergency lighting functional tests and annual full-duration tests, with logbook entries
- RCD testing and checks on critical circuits
- Remedial work identified by inspections, prioritised by risk and quoted item by item
- Records kept together, with a programme of what is due next
Why planned maintenance
Unplanned shutdowns cost more than planned ones. Inspections find loose connections, damaged cables and overloaded circuits before they cause a failure, and work can be scheduled when it suits the business.
Insurers, landlords and enforcing authorities may ask for evidence that the electrical installation has been inspected and maintained. A maintenance programme gives you that evidence in one place.
For landlords
Private landlords in England must have the electrical installation in rented homes inspected at least every five years, and supply reports to tenants. See electrical testing and EICRs for details. For portfolios, a single programme keeps every property in date.