By Andrew P. McCoy and Fred Sargent
Published On June 15, 2024
“Breaking news!” is not usually a headline about electrical equipment maintenance.
But in late February 2024, “breaking news!” deserved to be shouted from the rooftop of every building containing electrical equipment that is now subject to the mandates of the National Fire Prevention Association standard 70B.
A new verification program
On Feb. 25, the InterNational Electrical Testing Association (NETA) made a precedent-shattering announcement that it has launched a brand-new program to verify the performance qualifications of electrical equipment maintenance contractors and their electricians.
This comes at a time when the demands of the marketplace for quality-assured testing that will fulfill the requirements of NFPA 70B promise only to become greater.
To give a new bent to the traditional schoolroom electricity-is-like-water model, you could say that fielding new inquiries for 70B-related maintenance in coming months may seem to electrical service contractors like drinking out of a fire hose.
In the meantime, as insurance companies for the first time are now asking facility owners about their compliance with NFPA 70B, facility owners will be seeking electrical service contractors they can rely on.
NETA’s new program, which drills down into details on the qualifications of contractors and electricians alike, is a godsend for everyone involved.
Capable electrical maintenance contractors will see it as a rock-solid source of competitive advantage. Their NETA-verified qualifications will clearly set them apart.
This new NETA initiative is unique in the way that it combines investigation into the background of the electrical maintenance contractor with testing the knowledge of the company’s maintenance electricians—in a two-step process beginning with a thorough check on the company’s bonafides.
QEMC and QEMW
To become a qualified electrical equipment maintenance contractor (QEMC), a company must submit a comprehensive application with a broad view of its maintenance capabilities, including confirmation of its safety practices, verification of equipment calibration program, history of equipment maintenance experience and professionalism in business operations.
In addition, a contractor must present a roster of equipment maintenance electricians as candidates for becoming a qualified electrical equipment maintenance worker (QEMW), who will be subject to examination and testing that begins in June. As prerequisites, a QEMW must be a second-year electrical apprentice completing at least one year of electrical apprenticeship, along with NFPA 70E safety training.
To maintain its position as a QEMC, a company must always employ at least one electrician who has earned and maintained the status of QEMW.
We have barely skimmed the surface of everything that comprises the NETA-administered QEMC and QEMW program. We urge capable contractors interested in pursuing work opportunities that NFPA 70B now presents to go the extra mile to become a QEMC.
No matter what any company self-proclaims in the taglines of its website or the on the side of its vehicles, nothing matches a third-party endorsement from an organization that carries the level of respect throughout its industry as NETA does.
When we first learned the “breaking news” about this program, we went to the best source of information on it, Amy Williams, director of membership at NETA. While the electrical contractors qualified under the QEMC program are not NETA-accredited companies recognized as members, Williams will oversee the QEMC application process for the association and is poised to help any electrical maintenance contractor interested in qualifying. Reach her at AWilliams@netaworld.org.
The vetting process for this new program is detailed and comprehensive. But for any service and maintenance contractor looking forward to meeting the demands of NFPA 70B, the QEMC and QEMW qualifications will set your company apart and give it a competitive edge.