Plant Services circulated its third Electrical Safety Survey in 2025 to more than 150 industry professionals earlier this year. Respondents answered 23 questions about training and certifications, time between electrical incidents, near-miss reporting and what kinds of tools and PPE are currently being used. There were even questions about smart tools—the devices that collect and process data in real-time and offer actionable suggestions.

Some of the key insights revealed in the full survey report include:

• The industry is gaining younger workers, but they lack experience and advanced training. The number of respondents with five years or less experience increased by almost 70% from the previous survey in 2020. However, the largest segment of the workforce has at least 16 years of experience.
• The number of workers with key higher-level certifications, including the CMRP, CEI and CESW, was up—but so was the number of workers with no professional certifications at all (an increase from 40.9% to 49.0% since the 2020 survey).

When it comes to electrical safety challenges at manufacturing facilities, four were prominent: poor/ineffective equipment maintenance (37.0%); poor/ineffective training (36.6%); poor/ineffective incident reporting (23.5%); and slips, trips and falls (22.9%).

The good news is that more than 78% of respondents thought their facility was up to code, which is the highest level in 7 years. Other critical improvements include:

• An increase in the average time between electrical incidents. Almost 50% of respondents noted that it has been more than a year between incidents. Although more respondents have been part of an OSHA investigation since 2018 (37.2%), the number involved in arc flash incidents or who know someone involved in one has decreased from 60% to 52%.
• An increase in near-miss reporting plans at facilities (89%), although only two-thirds use formal reporting systems.
• An increase in the number of people trained on the latest version of NFPA 70E since 2020 (17.7%), but the number of people who admit they have not been trained at all increased in 2025 to 47.8%.

Poor maintenance and training are still threats to electrical safety on plant floors, but electrical contractors can help identify and mitigate electrical safety risks.

When asked about their attitude toward smart tools, 60% of respondents expressed interest in them, with almost 70% saying they believe these tools could improve electrical safety, job efficiency, and productivity, accuracy and troubleshooting. 

One section of the survey focused on the types of electrical work that are commonly contracted out. Answers were fairly consistent with previous survey results: the percentage of respondents who contract installation was 71.9%, repairs were 67.9% and condition monitoring was 37.3%. Testing was 67.0%, an increase from 2020 data.

The last question inquired about planned technology investments to enhance electrical safety. Responses collected before the tariffs were announced listed switches (limit and interlock), single-function relays, PLCs and overcurrent protection devices as the most-deployed technologies. Last on the list were IR windows and viewports and motion control devices.