What does a plant electrician do?
Plant electricians are electrical professionals who are responsible for maintaining equipment used in production or to generate electricity in industrial plants and factories. These electricians are required to maintain electrical equipment while providing routine repairs on their electrical components to ensure proper performance. They must inspect the electrical systems and equipment throughout the plant to identify hazards and defects. Plant electricians must also implement maintenance programs that are used to test equipment and diagnose an isolated system malfunction.
Plant electrician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real plant electrician resumes:
- Lead team to retrofit outdate piece of CNC machinery to allow usage for production personnel on a new design part.
- Train other maintenance personnel on proper electrical safety, troubleshooting, and NEC compliant wiring methods.
- Work with high and low voltage DC.
- Perform inspections on high voltage switches and transformers.
- Assist in mining process by operating shuttle cars and scoops.
- Complete jobs in a safely manner in accordance with OSHA standards.
- Operate heavy equipment, including powershoves, hoisting evinces and winches.
- Perform troubleshooting on panels on scoops, shield haulers, and mantrips.
- Operate heavy equipment, including power shoves, hoisting evinces and winches.
- Work perform electrically energize using PPE following the NFPA 70E and OSHA regulations.
- Calibrate, troubleshot and repair uninterrupted power system (dc batteries) for consoles.
- Perform load calculations, design and install systems according to the NEC and IEC necessary to utilize 11kv at 230v.
- Used an array of tools and devices to service and install electrical parts (switches, outlets, etc).
- Process control instrumentation, PLC troubleshooting, motor/gearbox alignment.
- Diagnose and repair all electric equipment including PLC control robotic systems, motor drives for industrial packaging and processing equipment.
Plant electrician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Plant Electricians are proficient in PLC, Electrical Equipment, and Hand Tools. They’re also known for soft skills such as Color vision, Communication skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Plant Electricians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PLC, 8%
Worked with PLC's, AC/DC Drives and ran various types of Equipment and worked on computers and Lab Equipment.
- Electrical Equipment, 7%
Performed complex wiring assignments and repairs on electrical equipment and control panels.
- Hand Tools, 4%
Adjusted functional parts of devices and control instruments by using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs and straightedges.
- NEC, 4%
Complied with all NEC, safety procedures, OSHA and job specs.
- Electrical Schematics, 4%
Use of AutoCAD to draw electrical schematics for documentation in manufacturing areas.
- OSHA, 3%
Build and Install new controls for old polishing equipment * Install safety controls for company to be in compliance with OSHA
Common skills that a plant electrician uses to do their job include "plc," "electrical equipment," and "hand tools." You can find details on the most important plant electrician responsibilities below.
Color vision. One of the key soft skills for a plant electrician to have is color vision. You can see how this relates to what plant electricians do because "electricians must identify electrical wires by color." Additionally, a plant electrician resume shows how plant electricians use color vision: "performed plant maintenance and troubleshooting of industrial equipment and the supervision thereof"
Physical strength. plant electricians are also known for physical strength, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to plant electrician responsibilities, because "electricians need to be strong enough to move heavy components, which may weigh up to 50 pounds." A plant electrician resume example shows how physical strength is used in the workplace: "installed physical structures, pipe, and electrical systems in the office, and production area following specifications. "
Troubleshooting skills. plant electrician responsibilities often require "troubleshooting skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "electricians find, diagnose, and repair problems." This resume example shows what plant electricians do with troubleshooting skills on a typical day: "provide technical and electrical troubleshooting support to plant production maintenance personnel. "
Customer-service skills. Another crucial skill for a plant electrician to carry out their responsibilities is "customer-service skills." A big part of what plant electricians relies on this skill, since "electricians work with people on a regular basis." How this skill relates to plant electrician duties can be seen in an example from a plant electrician resume snippet: "control systems of anderson, anderson, sc 2004-2005 control panel electrician build machine control panels to the customer specifications. "
The three companies that hire the most plant electricians are:
- Abbott12 plant electricians jobs
- Cummins6 plant electricians jobs
- RWJBarnabas Health6 plant electricians jobs
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Compare different plant electricians
Plant electrician vs. Journeyman ironworker
An apprentice is responsible for learning specialized tasks on their chosen field through actual job training under the supervision of tenured staff. An apprentice's duties include performing administrative tasks as needed, creating observation reports of daily operations, providing possible recommendations on improving productivity, and adhering to the business' safety standards and regulatory procedures. An apprentice must be detail-oriented, fast-learner, and enthusiastic. An apprentice should also know how to accept constructive criticisms and feedback to improve performance and skill development.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between plant electricians and journeyman ironworker. For instance, plant electrician responsibilities require skills such as "plc," "electrical equipment," "hand tools," and "nec." Whereas a journeyman ironworker is skilled in "bars," "hoisting," "rebar," and "steel beams." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that journeyman ironworkers earn slightly differ from plant electricians. In particular, journeyman ironworkers are 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a plant electrician. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Plant electrician vs. Apprentice
An electrical maintenance technician is primarily in charge of installing and repairing electrical systems. Their responsibilities often revolve around liaising with clients to identify their needs, examining electrical damages or defects on houses or establishments, troubleshooting, and performing fixes and replacements as needed. Aside from providing technical support, an electrical maintenance technician may also train junior technicians and monitor their progress. Furthermore, in a company setting, one must conduct regular maintenance checks on electrical systems to ensure a safe and efficient work environment.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real plant electrician resumes. While plant electrician responsibilities can utilize skills like "hand tools," "electrical schematics," "osha," and "preventive maintenance," apprentices use skills like "pet," "customer service," "basic math," and "apprenticeship."
Apprentices earn a lower average salary than plant electricians. But apprentices earn the highest pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $44,876. Additionally, plant electricians earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $60,696 annually.apprentices earn similar levels of education than plant electricians in general. They're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Plant electrician vs. Electrical maintenance technician
An industrial maintenance technician is responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing commercial and industrial machinery in a building or a manufacturing plant. You will perform typical duties that include ensuring all machines function properly through preventative maintenance service, conducting tests to ensure production machinery functions properly, and performing safety checks and routine maintenance. Other duties include collaborating with the production team, preparing maintenance reports, and instructing and guiding new employees. An industrial maintenance technician also assesses the machinery's functionality and fabricates parts for machine upgrades and repair.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, plant electricians are more likely to have skills like "loto," "electrical safety," "fire protection," and "nfpa." But a electrical maintenance technician is more likely to have skills like "electrical systems," "control systems," "mechanical systems," and "electrical controls."
Electrical maintenance technicians earn the highest salary when working in the hospitality industry, where they receive an average salary of $61,573. Comparatively, plant electricians have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $60,696.electrical maintenance technicians typically earn similar educational levels compared to plant electricians. Specifically, they're 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Plant electrician vs. Industrial maintenance technician
Types of plant electrician
Updated January 8, 2025
