The 9 Key Elements of an Electrical Maintenance Program

When it comes to electrical safety and reliability on our solar and storage sites, having a well-structured maintenance program is more than just good practice—it’s required by the new National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70B: Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance. This standard outlines nine critical elements that form the backbone of an effective Electrical Maintenance Program (EMP), each playing an important role in ensuring the safety, efficiency, and longevity of electrical systems.

From identifying personnel responsible to documenting maintenance procedures, these elements work together to create a solid framework for electrical system maintenance. As many folks in the industry have found, understanding and implementing these requirements can be difficult to interpret and apply to your portfolio of projects.

That’s why the NFPA 70B: A New Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance course was created by Brian Mehalic and Alex Jahp. Here’s an excerpt from the course where they explore each of these nine crucial elements. 

Transcript below.

An electrical maintenance program (EMP) has nine key elements according to NFPA 70B, all of which are going to be discussed in more detail throughout the rest of this class.

Each of these elements involves processes that need to be developed and documented. 

#1

An EMP requires a safety program that addresses the condition of maintenance. This means that the physical condition and potential safety and operational risks for a piece of equipment or system are taken into consideration.

#2

Personnel need to be identified and be made responsible for administering and executing each element of the program. 

#3

The equipment itself and its associated documentation must be examined to determine maintenance requirements and to prioritize them. 

#4

And not surprisingly, these maintenance procedures must be developed and documented. 

#5

The plan must address inspections, servicing, and testing.  

#6

Documents and records need to be retained to support program continuity and evolution.

#7

There need to be processes for when to perform and document reactive or corrective maintenance that are based upon data. 

#8

An EMP isn’t just about preventive maintenance. It must also include a process to incorporate designing the electrical system for maintainability, meaning that systems should be analyzed for ways to change them so that maintenance activities can be performed more safely and effectively.  

#9

And finally, there need to be processes for reviewing and revising the EMP based upon maintenance results and failures to support its continuous improvement.

For those looking to dive deeper and learn how to implement this standard to your sites, be sure to enroll in the comprehensive NFPA 70B: A New Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance course.