Most contractors and integrators leave the subsequent maintenance plan in the hands of the facility’s owners and managers once a building automation, fire alarm or other low-voltage-based system is in place. However, a few low-voltage electrical contractors (ECs) provide their own maintenance services, and the regular revenue stream from these jobs can make the effort well worth it. Whether they offer communication, fire alarm, security or building automation systems, the companies that have been in the low-voltage business the longest are most likely to offer maintenance programs, said Jim Simpson, curriculum specialist at the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.


Most customers still opt to manage the work of testing, maintaining and servicing their systems on their own or go to manufacturers for the services. However, a growing number are open to a bid job that includes not only the initial installation with a building’s construction or renovation but also year-round maintenance. 


For ECs, maintenance and service ensures a more reliable income and allows them to demonstrate a level of credibility for creditors and investors. The customer benefits as well by reducing the incidence of false alarms and cutting the frequency of failures in an automation or telecommunications system. This is, in large part, because most customers who take on the system maintenance themselves don’t provide the service as often as manufacturers or regulatory bodies recommend. ECs that build such services into the contract also tend to have the most knowledge related to standards and safety requirements, which can be valuable to customers.


In addition, building owners have indicated that they see a connection between the reliability of a maintenance program they coordinate with a contractor or other third party and the ultimate performance and reliability of the building automation, fire alarm or other low-voltage system. As the economy has improved and building and renovation projects increased over the past year, more contractors are getting into the low-voltage business, and those companies now have the opportunity for new maintenance programs as well. 


Electrical contractors with a low-voltage service department most often serve universities, hospitals and large commercial facilities. They are able to provide voice/data/video structured cabling management and technology infrastructure audits as well as oversee the testing and maintenance of access control, Internet protocol (IP) video systems and fire alarm systems. 


These ECs have also found that maintenance contracts provide an opportunity to generate business they might otherwise miss. Because they visit sites regularly, they can check the overall status of the customer’s system. In some cases, contractors have developed a two-tier service contract that differentiates between basic service and the various special problems they diagnosed during regular visits. That second tier would then be billed separately for labor and materials as the incidents occurred.


“A steady stream of electrical contractors have figured out that, instead of making a sale, realizing their profit and saying goodbye, they can opt for a recurring revenue model to build equity in their business,” said Kenneth Kirschenbaum, a Garden City, N.Y., contract attorney for low-voltage contractors. Without such contracts, he said, “When it comes time to sell the business, there’s nothing … while recurring revenue is like gold bars.” 


Alarm and security companies and manufacturers already seek out maintenance contracts at the time of installation, and, although contractors are poised to do the same when they bring the equipment into a construction project, most still don’t. Kirschenbaum said maintenance-contract-seekers are broadening their reach.


Contractors can provide a thorough knowledge of standards, such as NFPA 70B, which focuses on preventive maintenance for electrical and low-voltage communication systems and equipment in commercial buildings. The standard is not intended to supersede instructions from systems manufacturers but provides a root standard to follow for commercial or large multifamily residential complexes. The standard explains how to schedule maintenance, equipment cleaning tips and special handling and disposal considerations, testing and test methods for switches, fuses and emergency systems. 


Maintenance program safety


When it comes to low-voltage work, installers and users tend not to worry about safety. However, even in low-voltage maintenance, a contractor with personnel trained in proper safety procedures has an advantage. Hazards are often overlooked or not fully understood in the realm of low-voltage maintenance because many incorrectly assume that low voltage may not present a risk of shock or causes only a minor risk of electrical arcs. 


Dennis Neitzel, director emeritus at AVO Training Institute, urges contractors to learn about safety issues and what is and is not required. He said the contractors who are doing maintenance work for low-voltage (as well as medium- and high-voltage) jobs often take shortcuts when it comes to electrical safety procedures. Many contractors, especially the larger companies, have enough different fleets of staff members around the country that may not be getting the safety procedures for maintenance work before each job.


“From what I’ve seen, not everyone has the procedures in place,” Neitzel said. 


Safety precautions need to be in place even for 120 volts, which falls within the category of low-voltage by most definitions, including control and signaling circuits. 


Other opportunities


Providing commissioning services is another option for contractors. Data centers are a growing market in which building owners often wish to do their own commissioning, something that may not always be the wisest choice. Electrical contractors who install the system may be the best source of proper commissioning, since they installed the system and understand how it should work. The need for a third party sometimes leads the facility owners to employ another contractor to undertake the commissioning work, and that contractor earns the preventive maintenance program. No matter what option the customer chooses, they must be made aware that commissioning must take place pre-energization. 


Opportunity also comes from a continuing trend toward open standards in building automation systems that are replacing the proprietary systems. The old systems would have required technology companies to also provide any maintenance service contract.


Whether a proprietary or open system, according to the NFPA 70B, electrical equipment deterioration is normal. As soon as new equipment is installed, a process of normal deterioration begins. Without the regular testing and maintenance advised by a manufacturer, the deterioration process eventually leads to malfunction or an electrical failure. But equipment failure is not inevitable. Whoever is providing the maintenance knows that deterioration can be accelerated by factors such as a hostile environment, overload or severe duty cycle. 
An effective maintenance program would recognize and identify these risks and would provide the measures used for coping with them. 


A knowledgeable approach about liability is another factor that all too often contractors ignore. 


“The security industry has embraced the right to limit liability,” Kirschenbaum said. 


Meanwhile, contractors have not. Most still use general contractor-based contracts in which the electrical contractor can unknowingly assume full liability if something goes wrong. When it comes to security and fire alarm systems, no one involved in maintenance wants to be held responsible for a fire or other breach because the technology failed to prevent that event. Kirschenbaum suggested ECs read his daily newsletter on the subject at www.kirschenbaumesq.com.