Electricians are responsible for installing new electrical infrastructure, while keeping the wiring and equipment in existing buildings and power grids in top condition. Since modern society depends on electricity to operate, the electrical profession can be very rewarding. According to the US Department of Labor, the average annual wage for electricians in 2016 exceeded $56,000, and in specialized sectors such as oil and gas it is even possible to make a six-figure income. Emergencymelbourneelectrician.com.au is a company with years of experience providing high-quality 24 hr electricians Melbourne, wiring and cabling for Melbourne homes and businesses alike.

This article will provide an overview of the process required to obtain a master electrician license in the USA. Keep in mind this is a general overview, and there are specific requirements that vary by state.
Step 01 – Meet the Minimum Requirements to Receive Training

The electrical profession requires ample training to learn about its technical aspects and construction practices, while gaining awareness of the risks it involves. However, the following requirements must be met before embarking on the learning process:

• A minimum age of 18.
• Obtaining a high-school diploma.
• Passing an aptitude test.
• Passing a substance abuse test.

Step 02 – Receive Training as an Electrician Apprentice

If you meet the minimum requirements you can start receiving training to become an electrician, and generally there are two paths available, which take from 4 to 5 years.

Apprenticeship programs are normally managed by electrician trade unions or the government, and you are trained in the electrical trade by working under the supervision of licensed electricians. This is a “learning by doing” approach with relatively little classroom learning, where you start with basic tasks and are given more responsibility as you acquire knowledge and experience.

Trade schools provide an approach with a higher focus on classroom learning, where you are then required to work for a minimum number of hours that is specified by state.

Of course, a mixed approach is also possible: many electricians start in trade schools and then complete the required work-hours in apprenticeship programs. Keep in mind that there are many sub-fields in the electrical trade; for example, working on residential installations is very different from working on transmission and distribution lines. If you would like to specialize in one area, it is recommended that you look for an apprenticeship with a company that works in that business sector.
Step 03 – Become a Journeyman Electrician

Regardless of whether you entered an apprenticeship or attended a trade school, you will eventually become eligible to take the journeyman electrician test. The requirement is completing an apprenticeship, or the combination of a trade school program and a work-hour quota. You become a Journeyman Electrician after passing the test.

After becoming a Journeyman Electrician, you can legally work in residential, commercial, industrial and utility settings, either as an independent technician or as a contractor’s employee.

Although Journeyman Electricians hold a license, there is a higher qualification available: the Master Electrician License. If you earn one, your professional field broadens and you can also expect a higher income.
Step 04 – Obtain Experience as a Journeyman Electrician

Becoming a Master Electrician just after becoming a Journeyman is not possible, since there are work experience requirements before being eligible for the test. However, Journeyman Electricians have much more options than apprentices with regards to their work, and their license gives them independence.

An Electrical Engineer may also be eligible for the Master Electrician test, depending on the type and amount of experience he or she has accumulated.
Step 05 – Obtain a Master Electrician License

Once you are a highly experienced Journeyman Electrician, you become eligible to take the Master Electrician test. Keep in mind, however, that there may be state-specific requirements to meet. Master Electricians can charge more for their services due to their experience and qualifications, and are also allowed to become contractors, starting their own company and hiring other electricians.

Pink Slime (and its “buddy” White water mold) is a newer problem facing swimming pool owners over the past 10 – 20 years. They are naturally occurring and are caused only by a lack of proper pool maintenance and water chemistry. In fact, even non-pool owners struggle with the pink slime in bathrooms, kitchens, and washrooms. Ever notice that pink ring around the basin? That’s pink slime. With our swimming pool removal Sydney service, we can bring back a garden or play area that once existed in your yard.

Let’s define what pink slime is. Pink slime is a naturally occurring bacterium (of the newly formed genus Methylobacterium). Pink Lime is NOT a form of Algae, it is animal not vegetable. It is pink- or red-pigmented and forms a heavy, protective slime coating which provides the organism with an unusually high level of protection. Pink slime consumes methanol (a waste gas) and it is oftentimes found WITH White Water Mold. This organism is very resilient and resistant against halogen-based (chlorine or bromine) as well as non-halogen sanitizers or germicides and can remain a contaminant even after treatment.

Although initially found in swimming pools being treated with biguanides (Baquacil, Soft Swim, Polyclear, etc.), it is now seen in any and all swimming pool environments. This is NOT a biguanide problem ONLY nor is it CAUSED by the use of biguanides.

The pink slime bacterium has an affinity for the matrix that exists on the surface of PVC plastics; it will attach itself to & inside of the matrix, allowing it to re-contaminate long after it appears that it has been seemingly “destroyed” (includes pool toys, floats, ladders, steps, fountains, automatic pool cleaner parts, skimmer baskets, weirs, directional fittings, garden hoses, etc.). Small quantities of pink slime can lead to a re-establishment of the problem. It is caused by improper water & pool maintenance, environmental factors and poor circulation. Pink slime prefers areas that are “dark” (not exposed to direct sunlight) & with “slow moving” water. In another industry, medical technology, this bacterium occurs regularly in laboratory tubin.

Look for pink slime under ladder treads, behind the skimmer weir, on the undersides skimmer baskets, pool directional returns, underwater pool light niches and light housings. If you find that the pool just isn’t holding chlorine, bromine, or even hydrogen peroxide used in biguanide treated pools, look for pink slime.

After regular tracking of homeowners swimming pools affected by pink slime, here are some commonalities:

Many, but not all, affected pools have “smaller (under) sized” cartridge filters. (i.e. using a 75 sq ft filter on a 24 ft Rnd aboveground pool or a 90 sq ft filter on a 15 x 30 inground pool).
Affected pools get 6 hours or less of direct sunlight on the pool surfaces.
Pool owners always leave the solar blanket on AND don’t chemically clean the blanket the recommended 2 times per year to remove the accumulated biofilm.
“Shocking” or oxidizing of the pool water is not done with the recommended label instructions. For example, rather than shocking the pool every week or two, that task is neglected because the water “looks fine.”
Rainy pool seasons see a dramatic rise in the cases of pink slime.
Customers regularly add fresh water from their tap without letting the hose-water run for a couple of minutes (the pink slime is already present in the garden hose and is transferred to the pool).
Pools with sand filters are not changing the sand every 2 to 3 years AND not chemically cleaning the filter sand 3 times a season (once every 6 to 8 weeks).
Newer observation: Most of the affected seem to use publicly treated drinking water. Pools filled with well water appear to be not as severely affected.
Affected pools are not as fastidiously maintained chemically (water balance, use of borate additives such as BioGuard Optimizer Plus or Proteam Supreme, regular shocking), as clean pools.

Another observation is that many water companies across the country, in partial response to “consumer calls” to “get rid of chlorine in the drinking water” are now using mono-chloramines to treat the water (over the past 15 to 20 years). Mono-chloramines do an essentially good job at treating pathogens in the drinking water, however, some of the non-pathogenic organisms may indeed be getting by. Unfortunately, there is only experiential or anecdotal evidence.

Prevention of “pink slime” is preferred over treatment. Follow these steps to help prevent pink slime:

1. Physically brush & clean ALL Pool surfaces weekly, including ladder steps (especially underneath each step) & rails
2. Expose ALL pool surfaces to as much sunlight as possible (sunlight & UV are natural oxidizers)
3. Remove the lid from the skimmer to allow sunlight into the basket for several hours each day ** INGROUND POOLS MUST USE EXTREME CAUTION in doing this in order to avoid a person falling into or otherwise injuring themselves due to an open skimmer.
4. Regularly add oxidizing chemicals into the skimmer to purge & clean the filtration lines of any bio-film (use extreme caution if doing this. Add chemicals slowly and remove ANY and ALL objects, including slow dissolving chlorine tablets or sticks, to avoid a potential chemical reaction such as explosion.
5. When adding make-up water from the garden hose, allow the water to run for 2 to 3 minutes before putting the hose into the pool.
   Regularly clean pool toys & floats (use BioGuard Stow Away acting as a mildewcide)
6. Regularly clean pool solar blanket (use BioGuard Stow Away)
7. Chemically clean the pool filter every 4 to 6 weeks (use Strip Kwik, Kleen It or Soft Swim® Filter Cleaner). This is a very important step regardless of the filter type; sand, DE or Cartridge.
8. Add regular Maintenance dosages of “Shock” & Algicide every 1 to 2 weeks as prescribed (3 to 4 weeks in bguanide pools).
9. Use borate products such as BioGuard Optimizer Plus as a preventative measure (borates, when used properly at a rate of 50 – 80 ppm, allow the sanitizer to sanitize rather than sanitize and prevent algae growth).
10. Run the filter a minimum of 12 hours daily to prevent “dead spots” in the pool.
11. Remember to clean & rinse the brushes, hoses & vacuums that you use to clean the pool
12. Leave as much of your pool equipment exposed to the sun (sunlight is a natural oxidizer)

Keep the water balanced at all times. Recheck after heavy usage or rain or large “top-offs” of new water. Water balance refers to Free Available Sanitizer level, pH, Total Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness.

Treatment of “pink slime” MUST BE QUICK AND TOTAL! DON’T SKIMP!

Clean all pool & affected surfaces as prescribed above.

Physically clean & remove all visible “pink slime”

Add an initial dosage of algicide to the pool

“Shock” the pool with a triple or quadruple dose

Run filter 24 hours daily until water is clear & halogen or peroxide levels are maintained at a “higher” level

Chemically clean the filter. Simple rinsing or backwashing of the filter will not remove the greases, oils & other accumulated contaminant from the filter and filter tank.

Have the pool water professionally tested & analyzed. Look for a pool company that knows what they are talking about and isn’t afraid to tell you the truth about problem.

Maintain Optimizer Plus (or other borate product) levels

Maintain good water balance of pH, Total Alkalinity & Calcium Hardness

The longer that you allow the pink slime to remain, the more difficult it will be to cure.

http://www.parpools.com

http://www.parpools.com/BioGuard-Pool-Chemicals.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ronald_Parrs/48704

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1302592

Reliability, hiring and termination costs are persistent problems in the electrical contracting industry. Thorough screening, testing and interviewing techniques can help prevent reliability issues. The question is, do you have time to do all of these things and maintain focus on the job site? If you deal with Sphere Electrician Northcote you will be definitely satisfied with the quality of electrician’s work.

First review a list of functions your company must do to hire, maintain and retain an employee. Place a cost on each item using the time value of the person who must handle each separate item. For example and simplification, your office manager earns $15.00/hour and spends a half-hour a day dealing with employee issues. The time value is $7.50 to perform that function. Do this for each item listed below and come up with a daily total amount. Divide the total by 8 and determine if you are performing the functions cheaper than the staffing company can. Most electrical contractors can not because they are set up operationally, not administratively.

If you need a guideline to compare costs, most staffing companies charge a very small amount on top of each hour billed; use 5-7% as a general rule. Keep in mind this includes all labor burden costs including state/federal payroll taxes, worker’s com, liability insurance, payroll processing, etc (see list for the rest).

Outsourcing your human resources function eliminates the need for:

Placing job ads, handling phone calls from ads, processing job applications,checking references,performing criminal background checks, scheduling and paying for drug testing (if required), scheduling and conducting interviews, controlling Worker’s compensation insurance costs, maintaining liability insurance on employees, paying for office staff human resources training,
employee handbook development, safety program development, administration and injury reporting, payroll administration, mailing checks and setting up direct deposit accounts, payroll tax accounting – weekly payroll and annual mailing of W-2’s,
time tracking of field employees (electricians), offering and administering health and savings plans, worker’s compensation claims processing, processing unemployment claims, handling court ordered garnishments, paying attorney’s fees if a suit is filed against your company, addressing and processing NLRB issues, dealing with and paying for other post-employment obligations (wrongful termination suits, HIPPA notifications, etc)…and all of the other time consuming costs not mentioned above that chew into your bottom line!

What many electrical contractors do not take into consideration is the amount of time away from production and the amount of time their office staff devotes to recruiting, hiring and maintaining each employee on the payroll. This is a variable cost outsourcing labor solves.

Going back to the numbers, variable costs are costs that can be varied flexibly as conditions change; like the number of electricians you need to carry on your payroll at any given time. The point made here is that labor is a much more flexible resource than capital investment. Outsourcing labor provides you and your staff with freedom away from time consuming human resource functions. The time you save is better spent marketing, dealing with customers, suppliers, and focusing on the work at your project site.

Spend time to add up the time and cost of the listed functions involved in hiring and retaining electricians. Ask a staffing company to provide you with a cost breakdown of their hourly charge for each electrician’s skill level. Keep in mind staffing companies cover all the costs you would and charge a nominal account administration fee (the fee is normally much less than what companies spend on the list of HR functions). Compare the costs. Remember to consider the intangible benefits of reduced liability, time savings and increased freedom to focus on your customer.

Most contractors will agree that for any given electrical contracting project, outsourcing is cost effective. One key point that must be emphasized is outsourcing labor is not a “one size fits all” solution to controlling variable costs. Businesses that are comfortable where they are do not make good candidates. On the other hand, a business that wants to grow while maintaining tight control over variable costs makes an excellent fit.

We can never predict when an employee will decide to leave a company but, we can control what it will cost to replace that person using effective outsourcing strategies. Keeping the right mix of permanent and temporary employees is the key to controlling the priciest variable costs in our industry – labor. Outsourcing electricians allows you to control variable costs that are discussed in the next few paragraphs.

As you are aware, variable costs are the costs directly linked to the tempo of operations in electrical contracting. They are called variable because they vary with the size and workload of the business. This means that the more projects bid and won; the more labor, material, etc. costs will rise. The more labor costs rise, the more employee-related administration costs go up.

This, of course, is in contrast with fixed or overhead costs. These costs are those that are incurred regardless of whether or not your company works one or ten projects. These costs do not vary as the pace and size of your operations change unless a dramatic change is made. Variable costs are project specific, whereas, fixed costs are associated with the entire company. Office leases/mortgages have to be paid no matter what is produced or in what numbers. Hence rent or a mortgage is a fixed cost.

Consider a situation where you determine your electrical contracting service yields a 25% contribution margin. Your figure can then be used to determine whether variable costs for your project(s) can be reduced. You can choose to bump up the price of materials and/or reduce your labor costs.

Material pricing adjustments is the easy part. Labor costs are not. To attract and retain quality electricians, you must pay more than the competition, offer benefits and training.

Remember your bottom line or net profit is determined by how you decide to spend each penny of your contribution margin on fixed costs. We know you can control your fixed costs by deciding on how much to spend on vehicles, equipment, tools, phone service and all the rest of your business needs

But, what is the true cost to attract, hire, manage and retain a qualified electrician for a three month project and what is the cost to hire a permanent/full-time employee? You probably know the answer, the cost is the same. It is the replacement cost of the employee that will eat into your bottom line after you conduct all of your human resource or human capital management functions in-house. And what price do you place on the expenditure to bring someone new into your company? And what does it really cost to replace that person? The answer is simply the cost of time – your time, your staff’s time and all time removed from project related activities.

Learn more about outsourcing electricians [http://www.strategy-construction.com] at Strategy Construction’s Web Site.

Mike Widner is Director of Strategy Construction Company in Colorado Springs, CO. His background is in manpower management and human resources management in the construction industry. Over eight years, Mike performed several personnel realignment projects for the US Air Force and currently focuses on helping electrical contractors control labor costs using outsourcing techniques.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mike_Widner/29255

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/159138