If your company needs to hire an electrical engineering company, there are several considerations to make before finalizing your decision. In addition to choosing a company that has the right expertise and the best service quality, it also pays to choose one that offers additional services that are valuable to the upkeep of your equipment. Below, we list some considerations for choosing the best engineering services company in terms of expertise, service quality, and additional services.
1. Expertise
The first step in choosing the right company involves choosing one that specializes in your building type. For example, if you operate a medical facility, you should hire a company that specializes in electrical infrastructure for hospitals and other medical facilities. Otherwise, your building could have code violations that lead to expensive fines and rework. Some companies specialize in multiple types of facilities, especially if they implement a particular type of equipment, such as emergency generators.
2. Service quality
Assessing the service quality of a company could take several paths, but two things that always reveal a company's customer service quality are extended client references and its record at the Better Business Bureau (BBB). When assessing company references, the best practice is to request a total of 8-12 references instead of the standard 3-4. This allows you to hear from clients whose experiences with the company may not be as stellar as the experiences of their preferred references. If a company's extended references give a good report, consider it a feather in their cap.
When checking a company's record at the BBB, it's important to look at its rating's explanation if the rating is less than perfect. In some cases, companies receive less than perfect ratings for issues that don't directly affect customers, while in others a poor rating is tied directly to poor service. Hiring a company with a less than perfect rating doesn't ensure bad service, but be careful to base your decision on the rating's explanation.
3. Additional services
Once you have your equipment installed, you need to keep it in working order and protect your investment, a process that may involve more than one form of maintenance, such as generator, transfer switch, and switch gear maintenance. While all electrical engineering companies are familiar with these and other forms of maintenance, and may offer them through a maintenance contract proceeding installation, companies that offer them on a permanent basis often advertise specific practices that support them, such as infrared scanning, arc flash analysis, retrofitting, and refurbishing, to name a few. Before hiring a company, always ask whether it offers equipment maintenance as a core practice.
