If you are a main contractor, your electrical subcontractor either makes the programme or wrecks it. You need someone who prices properly, turns up when they say they will, works around the other trades and hands over paperwork that does not come back at you three months later.
Econ Electrical are commercial and industrial electrical contractors based in Wakefield, and a good share of our work is subcontract packages for main contractors. We work across Yorkshire and on sites the length of the country. This is what we take on and how we run it.
What We Take On
The short answer is the whole electrical package. In practice that usually means some combination of:
- Containment: galvanised ladder, tray, basket and trunking, at high level or buried in ducts
- LV cabling: supplies from the panel board out to wherever they are needed, pulled, dressed and terminated
- Distribution: new boards, submains, isolators, RCBO protection and surge protection
- Power: three phase and single phase supplies, machine and plant connections, socket outlets
- Lighting: high bay, office, external and emergency lighting, with the design if you need it
- EV charging: Econ Electrical install AC and DC chargers, from a handful of staff bays to depot scale fleet charging
- Solar PV and battery storage: roof mounted arrays, inverters and storage, with MCS certification
- Testing and certification: inspection, testing and the certificates to go in the handover file
Some packages are one of those. Most are several. We would rather take the lot than pick off the easy bits and leave you chasing somebody else for the rest.
We Self Manage
On most of our subcontract work we are left to get on with it, which is the point of bringing someone in. We price from the drawings, agree the programme with you, supply our own labour, plant and access equipment, and manage our section of the job day to day.
Where a shutdown is needed we arrange it directly with the end client and plan it around their operation, including evenings and weekends. On a recent bus depot fleet charging package in London we worked through a depot that kept running services the entire time, staging the work section by section so buses were never off the road because of us. We did the same again at a second depot in Scotland for the same main contractor.
Working Around Other Trades
Nobody has the site to themselves. We are used to sequencing first fix around steelwork, blockwork and mechanical, and second fix around flooring, racking and fit out. If the programme moves, we would rather be told early and replan than quietly fall behind and hand you a problem.
Paperwork That Does Not Come Back
We are NICEIC approved, with MCS and SafeContractor accreditation. You get RAMS before we start, and on completion the correct certification for the work, whether that is an Electrical Installation Certificate, a Minor Works Certificate or an EICR, along with test results and a handover pack.
For solar PV we issue the MCS certificate as well, which the end client will need if they want Smart Export Guarantee payments.
Recent Subcontract Packages
- Fleet charging at bus depots in London and Scotland: containment, LV cabling and charger installation
- DC chargers in Reading: supply cabling from the main panel board through ducts to the external positions
- A logistics depot: a DC charger for the overnight truck fleet and four AC chargers for staff cars
- Workshop and warehouse fit outs: containment, power, lighting and distribution from a bare shell
You can see more of these on our projects page.
Where We Work
We are based in Wakefield and a lot of our work is across West Yorkshire, but we travel. The bus depot packages above were in London and Scotland, and we regularly work on sites across England and Wales. If the job is worth doing we will come to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you price from drawings and specifications?
Yes. Send us the drawings, specification and programme and we will come back with a priced, itemised package so you can see exactly what is and is not included.
Can you supply materials as well as labour?
Both. We can price supply and install, or labour only if you are supplying the materials. Tell us which suits the job.
Do you provide your own access equipment?
Yes. We provide MEWPs, towers and whatever else the work needs, and our team hold the relevant tickets for it.
Can you work evenings and weekends?
Yes, and on a lot of live sites that is the only way to do it. We plan shutdowns around the end client so their operation keeps running.
How quickly can you get to site?
It depends what is already in the diary, but we will tell you honestly when we can start rather than take the job and let it slip.
Need an electrical subcontractor who can take the whole package? Contact Econ Electrical with your drawings and programme and we will price it.
