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• Job Description And Responsibilities Of An Electrician
• Guide For Staying Healthy On The Job for Electricians
• How To Find A Good Reliable Electrician
• Health And Hazard Issues For Electricians
• The Important Questions You Should Ask An Electrician
• Some Interesting Facts About Electricians
• Why You Should Hire An Electrician
• Electricians' Most-Used Tools

What Do Electricians Do?

Electricians are trained professionals who are well versed in the theoretical as well as practical aspects of everything concerning electricity. They can read blue prints of diagrams for the wiring of any premises and safely install wiring and outlets as per the plans. They are trained to fix problems in our homes and places of work. Without them, we will find it difficult to install and look after our lights, computers, TVs etc either in out homes or in our places of work.

The job of electricians begins when the construction of the building is nearing completion and before the finishing touches are put in. They will follow the blueprints to put in wiring, outlets for plugs, lamps and other fittings. They would normally do this by installing conduit pipes behind the plastering and draw the wires through them. At predetermined intervals, they will install boxes for junction boxes as well as for fittings and outlets. If they have to, they can draw blue prints too. The path that the wires follow is called the circuit.

The wiring has to take into account different quantities of power at various points to accommodate different fittings and appliances. By using equipment like ohmmeters, voltmeters and oscilloscopes, they measure the electricity that will be needed and make the necessary arrangements at different places, besides keeping the current running throughout the house under control. The latter is effected by the use of circuit breakers transformers etc.

In a fully built and lived in premises, they can install additional wiring for telephones, computers, security apparatus etc. They can also repair faults in the wiring and replace or repair outlets and fittings and fuse-boxes. Some can even repair non-performing appliances. When more appliances are added, they will upgrade the current flow to a higher capacity, by modifying the wiring or the fuse-boxes or whatever.

In factories, industrial electricians will maintain and repair at need, motors, generators, and other industrial electrical equipments. They carry out preventive maintenance by regularly inspecting and taking preventive measures before breakdowns occur. By liaising with their managers, they arrange for replacement of defective electric equipment and install replacements when received. They make effective and regular use of tools such as wire strippers, knives, hacksaws and several power tools. They are always on the move, or standing and working or bending down to fix something or the other, climbing ladders to reach points on ceilings and top-level wall mounted equipment. They work under all kinds of temperature and weather conditions indoor or outdoor. Their working conditions vary from the very dirty to the very clean, very hot to comfortable conditions.

They have to be highly alert to avoid falls, injury and most important, electric shocks. They have to agile, nimble and healthy. They have to possess normal eyesight capable of differentiating between colors for the wires are always color-coded. They often travel long distances and some times work shifts too, working on weekends and holidays when emergencies require their expertise.