Whats the difference between Domestic , Commercial and Industrial.?

[paulsmith11]

When it comes to Electrical work.

 

[telectrix]

part pee

 

[malcolmsanford]

Domestic house bashing

Commercial house bashing in an office

Industrial 3 phase house bashing with attitude.

 

[madmac]

When it comes to Electrical work.

Usually domestic is households ( but not always), commercial is shops,ind. estate factories, schools, hospitals prisons etc, industrial is petro chem., oil rigs, ship building, sub-station HV works.
Domestic is covered by 17th wiring regs. and sometimes JIB/NICEIC/NAPIT, but not always??? Commercial is covered by 17th wiring regs. under JIB/SJIB National Agreements, industrial sometimes comes under 17th wiring regs. sometimes under JIB/SJIB but more usually NAECI Agreement and also sometimes under client Agreements.
Confusing isn't it? But you can see why there has to be more emphasis on proper training of apprentices/adult trainees because potentially a newly "qualified electrician" could work in all sectors and in my case I have!!!

 

[DurhamSparky]

commercial and industrial pay more for LESS work and its easier!!

 

[Des 56]

I think calling ourselves "Indomercial" sparks could allay any confusion

 

[telectrix]

or commindestic

 

[malcolmsanford]

Usually domestic is households ( but not always), commercial is shops,ind. estate factories, schools, hospitals prisons etc, industrial is petro chem., oil rigs, ship building, sub-station HV works.
Domestic is covered by 17th wiring regs. and sometimes JIB/NICEIC/NAPIT, but not always??? Commercial is covered by 17th wiring regs. under JIB/SJIB National Agreements, industrial sometimes comes under 17th wiring regs. sometimes under JIB/SJIB but more usually NAECI Agreement and also sometimes under client Agreements.
Confusing isn't it? But you can see why there has to be more emphasis on proper training of apprentices/adult trainees because potentially a newly "qualified electrician" could work in all sectors and in my case I have!!!

Seeing as your the only one out of the rest of us retrobates that gave a sensible answer you do seserve a like

 

[telectrix]

So do you for thinking of him

 

[Engineer54]

commercial and industrial pay more for LESS work and its easier!!

If you honestly believe that daft comment , you have obviously never worked in a Real commercial or Real Industrial environment!!!


One thing to remember here, ...You can take an industrial electrician and and drop him in a domestic environment and with a few pointers here and there would be quite capable of undertaking any work in that category. Try doing that with a domestic electrician and dropping him in a heavy commercial, or industrial surrounding, and see what happens!!!

 

[Guest123]

commercial and industrial pay more for LESS work and its easier!!

April 1st has been & gone mate!!

 

[Knobhead]

Domestic = 2lb hammer
Commercial = 4lb lump hammer
Industrial = 14lb sledge hammer
Heavy industrial = jack hammer (my favourite)

 

[Adam W]

I would have said that generally speaking it's down to how you can run the cables:

Domestic they go in the walls behind capping and plaster and along/through the joists
Commercial they go above an accessible ceiling in trunking/conduit/basket/tie anchors/slung across the ceiling grid
Industrial would be more likely SWA on tray, busbar, steel trunking & conduit.

With commercial work you'd probably come across 3 phase work so you'd need to consider balancing phases; something you'd certainly have to do with industrial.

Domestic is often considered to be 'easier' because to a certain extent you can do it 'parrot fashion' - "this goes here like this, that goes there like that. Why? Because that's how it's done to make it all work." On the other hand you're more likely to come across ingenious little DIY innovations, like a plugtop with the flex tacked to the skirting board and disappearing off somewhere, sockets which you can only use specific equipment on them because running them from the lighting circuit was cheaper/neater/easier or because they're wired in coax/bell wire.

 

[Knobhead]

Balancing loads is always a fun one. Open a dis board and you will find red jammed full, blue not far behind it. Yellow must have the plague, hardly anything on it. I know from the first plants I worked on the old boards had bare bus-bars so the lads avoided yellow as the dodgy one to get at, but it carried on with the new fully insulated boards?
Sorry for using the old colours, I don’t like these new (dangerous) colours.

 

[telectrix]

Sorry for using the old colours, I don’t like these new (dangerous) colours.[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

another good reason to get out of europe. but it's same with our trade. why is it that only the british workers let any tom dick or harry with a suit and a clipboard walk all over us. we should do like the frogs do. .... block the roads, petrol stations, council offices, and any more you can think of, untill someting is done about it.

 

[Paul.M]

Domestic= You get cups of tea from the lady of the house, you wear jeans and trainers.

Commercial = Take a flask, wear dickies pants with knee pads.

Industrial = Canteen on site and you wear a boiler suit and rigger boots.

 

[Spoon]

Industrial = Canteen on site and you wear a boiler suit and rigger boots.

You must be thinking of the good old days mate. We dont have a canteen now, cost cutting....

 

[Paul.M]

You must be thinking of the good old days mate. We dont have a canteen now, cost cutting....

Ok, sarnie van at lunch time.

 

[telectrix]

WOT? you telling me there are sites where you still get a lunch break? how much of the £6/hour do the agencies dock for it?

 

[Knobhead]

WOT? you telling me there are sites where you still get a lunch break? how much of the £6/hour do the agencies dock for it?

Wherever I’ve worked we got paid lunch breaks for the simple reason you couldn’t rely on getting a break. Get a break down and your working through. The up side was you took a break any time you could.

 

[Jazza]

If you honestly believe that daft comment , you have obviously never worked in a Real commercial or Real Industrial environment!!!


One thing to remember here, ...You can take an industrial electrician and and drop him in a domestic environment and with a few pointers here and there would be quite capable of undertaking any work in that category. Try doing that with a domestic electrician and dropping him in a heavy commercial, or industrial surrounding, and see what happens!!!

I see what you mean mate, if you are saying industrial is more technical... But being a domestic spark is quite physical. Try telling a domestic spark who is grafting on an occupied rewire that his job isnt hard. Im pretty sure hed tell you where its at.

 

[SimpleSimon]

This week I've gone from nice bit of domestic house bashing to circuit identification in industrial sectors (would an airport count as industrial?) big difference and I felt a little outta my depth, but when I got there it was a little bitnof heaven to see 99% of things labelled and identified at both ends and dead easy to find. going back next week

 

[telectrix]

give me industrial any time. rarely do chasing, no fibreglass filled attics, no bad knees. more varied skills required. and mostly, appreciation.

 

[Liamsparks]

Ide like to get more experience on the heavy industrial side of things, most ive done was touched on a nuclear power plant for a couple months would of liked to have stayed for the duration of the job. Done quite a few tescos but cannot class that as industrial!

 

[Sparky75]

I see what you mean mate, if you are saying industrial is more technical... But being a domestic spark is quite physical. Try telling a domestic spark who is grafting on an occupied rewire that his job isnt hard. Im pretty sure hed tell you where its at.

And industrial isn't?, ever pulled in 120mm 4c or 240mm 4c swa's and no we don't use cable gangs and haven't seen one of them since 1995, just terminating the buggers is job enough or even getting the drums into place on the cable jacks, get it wrong on a cable pull of that size and someone's going to get hurt.Or try changing out a feeder pillar over a weekend including jointing 240mm Swa's in parallel and tell me which is more physically demanding, I've done both and it ain't house bashing.
Unfortunately I'm in agreement with Engineer54, I've had guys come through in the last 18 months who have been house bashers and the works dried up for them so they have moved into industrial, I have to say some of the things they've tried to do or asked has been a bit scary (and i'm talking C&G qualified guys here not 8 week part p wonders because I check their CV's before they come to site and when they arrive on site for our H&S induction), including putting a 3 Phase mcb on the next available way which was L3 (Blue phase for us that still don't like the changeover) and then L1 and L2 and wiring the phase's to suit!.

 

[raithrovers1]

I like domestic but I also like commericial, which is better - there's only one way to find out -------------
FIIIIGHTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[johnboy6083]

i think all three sectors can be demanding and technical. Ive worked on heavy industrial sites, pulling 6m lengths of uni up the side of a 50m boiler on a rope line. thats hard graft. ive been in houses chasing kitchens by hand with a club hammer and bolster and cold chisel. thats aklso hard graft. ive done shop fiiting whwere everything is to be done yesterday, and thats also hard graft. but also ive worked on substations doing panel wiring, and thats easy. terminate cable 1, core 5 to terminal x21-2. that some of the better paid work about too!
our trade is so varied, that you cant say that one part is easier or harder than something else. wesay that domestic isnt technical, but how many industrial sparks could wire a mulitmillion pound house with power, AV, intelligent lighting, data ect. and do it to the book, and inspect, test and certify it properly?

Not all of us, not without some head scratching, and some intense reading of books.

my 2ps worth

John

 

[Engineer54]

I see what you mean mate, if you are saying industrial is more technical... But being a domestic spark is quite physical. Try telling a domestic spark who is grafting on an occupied rewire that his job isnt hard. Im pretty sure hed tell you where its at.

No-one is saying that any of the different designations isn't hard at times Jazza. Ask any industrial sparky about pulling in and terminating the bigger sized SWA cables to switchgear!!


That i suppose is the physical side of things, there is also the technical aspect of being an industrial electrician too. Process management, and controls is another aspect to an industrial electricians life, which can be very demanding to say the least. In my time it was all hard wired relays and limit switches etc, these days processors and sensors and god knows what else ...lol!!!


On the larger sized commercial projects, Electricians need to be adaptable to all sorts of new technologies, in various area's such as extensive HVAC controls and BMS systems to mention just two.... Like the industrial electrician, they will also be expected to able to cover both LV and MV installations, not so much the maintenance of such installations but certainly the installation and fabrication of such systems...


I've really only scratched the surface here, ...but in all honesty, there really IS a very big difference between an experienced Industrial/commercial electrician and an experienced Domestic electrician. Unfortunately what i can't see happening these days, is the essential training needed to replace and continue the existing requirements to fulfil these specialist electrician roles.....

 

[Engineer54]

i think all three sectors can be demanding and technical. Ive worked on heavy industrial sites, pulling 6m lengths of uni up the side of a 50m boiler on a rope line. thats hard graft. ive been in houses chasing kitchens by hand with a club hammer and bolster and cold chisel. thats aklso hard graft. ive done shop fiiting whwere everything is to be done yesterday, and thats also hard graft. but also ive worked on substations doing panel wiring, and thats easy. terminate cable 1, core 5 to terminal x21-2. that some of the better paid work about too!
our trade is so varied, that you cant say that one part is easier or harder than something else. wesay that domestic isnt technical, but how many industrial sparks could wire a mulitmillion pound house with power, AV, intelligent lighting, data ect. and do it to the book, and inspect, test and certify it properly?

Not all of us, not without some head scratching, and some intense reading of books.

my 2ps worth

John

To be honest here, How many Domestic electricians would be able to design and install such systems??

I'll think you'll find that most industrial electricians use to working on automated systems would stand a far better chance than the general domestic electrician, they may need a few pointers here and there, on the installation methods generally employed in the domestic side of things. But technically, these systems you quoted above shouldn't be too much of a problem for them....

 

[bomjac]

At this moment in time I would be grateful of some nice hard graft domestic or industrial work.

Tomorrows task is phase check and 1st synch on a new 30MW generator to the 13.8kV board. Pre job meetings been and gone, just to do a trial run testing the comms and access, then get a good nights sleep in before tomorrow. Not physically demanding, but all the same its always at the back of your mind what could go wrong despite all the safety precautions in place.