Maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) contractors face a growing challenge: as automation expands across factories, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities, the scope of an electrical contractor's work is expanding alongside it. Safety and control equipment — often overlooked in favor of familiar power distribution work — represents a significant opportunity to add value for customers and reduce risk on the job.

Contractors can leverage superior serviceability and upgradability, according to Thomas Chrysler, product marketing manager for ABB. Whether electricians are conducting emergency repairs or planned maintenance upgrades, safety and control equipment can both streamline compliance and reduce callbacks.

“MRO contractors need to think beyond power distribution to control and safety because it’s adjacent to what they’re doing every day,” he said. “If they can provide new value to their end users, that’s only going to make their service contacts more valuable in the eyes of their customers.” 

While electrical contractors are often very familiar with power distribution — comprising devices such as safety switches, lighting and power panelboards, switchboards, and motor control centers — they also need to think about the actual equipment on the plant floor.

“There’s a lot of equipment that’s being optimized or is having automation added to it, so there’s a lot of upgradeability and serviceability,” Chrysler said. “For example, we have a lot of products people aren’t as familiar with because they always think power distribution, but there’s growing demand with control and safety in this current environment.”

Protecting Both Workers and the Machines

To meet the demand for increased efficiency, owners are adding automation to factories, manufacturing facilities, and warehouses. In turn, MRO contractors must confront the challenge of increased power density. 

“A lot of times, businesses are upgrading existing facilities to bring automation in place, and electrical rooms are not expanding,” he said. “So, if you’re going from using fewer loads that are higher current to more loads that are lower current, and you’re trying to do it in the same footprint, it translates into more product in the same space. This can often lead to heat considerations or concerns.” 

For example, MRO contractors must find ways to properly protect workers from the high voltage in charging areas as more autonomous vehicles become battery-operated. They must also consider how to implement safety measures without impeding productivity. 

Increasing Safety and Efficiency

When performing upgrades, Chrysler said it’s very important to not only maintain safety but also optimize efficiency. One way they can accomplish their mission of safety and efficiency is by installing a safety light curtain from ABB's Jokab Safety Range.

Traditionally, if a worker had to enter a space to load equipment, they had to stop their forklift, turn a key to open the locked entrance, unload the equipment, and then back out and secure the space. Today, they can simply drive through a light curtain, saving time and increasing productivity.

Another consideration is that while the fundamental product functionality is still the same, the connectivity to it has changed, and the power density has increased. 

“If you’re trying to put more product into an existing space, you need to be concerned with ampacity increases and corresponding temperature rise,” he said. 

Building in Flexibility for the Future

Contractors and customers are also looking for ways to future-proof their installations for upcoming enhancements. One way they can build this flexibility on the upgrade and automation side is through DIN rail products, which are easy to install and snap into place. They can also opt for push-in terminals, rather than ones that screw in, to expedite wire installation.

“If the contractor is doing an upgrade, they can install the product and wire it up much faster than traditional screw terminals,” he said. “The other benefit for a contractor is that a push-in terminal is a spring, so it keeps constant pressure and has a tight connection on the wire.”

On the power distribution side, miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) can plug into bus bar systems, which makes it easier to balance loads. Single-phase loads can be easily balanced on a three-phase system by changing the phase connection from an A to a B to a C without any tools.

Beyond breakers, other products also interconnect in the ABB line. For example, contactors connect easily with manual motor starters to make combination motor controllers or with overload relays to make starters.

“The technology that enables faster installation and servicing a product has advanced significantly,” Chrysler said. “It provides excellent robustness and security in connection while speeding up installation and servicing.”

Performing a Risk Assessment

To provide the highest level of service and protection to their customers, electrical contractors need to know what equipment to specify and install within an MRO environment. For example, ABB offers risk assessment, machine safety training, and safety system design for its clients. Through the service division, ABB can send out personnel to perform an on-site assessment.

“They can see if there are risks or if your systems are not up to code and need some machine guarding, lockout/tagout devices, MKeys, pull stops, or E-stops,” he said. “It’s a complete overview of the system and your environment, and it’s unique to your individual facility — not a generic evaluation. It provides great value to the contractor to be able to provide service and value to the end user.”

Maintaining Flexibility in the Stock Room

Electrical contractors can also save both time and money through ABB’s stock availability and flexibility. For example, rather than having multiple contactors for each ampacity based on the coil voltage, just 4 wide-band AC/DC coils to cover from 24V to 500V!

“This means contractors can have one or two contactors on the shelf or on their truck. Same goes for distributor flexibility,” he said. “They don’t need to have a large number of different products. This flexibility is a huge benefit.”

Some of the products themselves, like circuit breakers with Ekip trip units, offer adjustability as well. For example, a 100 A breaker can be dialed down to 60 A, which offers a lot of flexibility.

“It makes contractors’ time more efficient because it reduces the amount of time they need to go back to their truck and offers savings in product and time when it comes to installation,” he said.

To keep their service calls short and their contracts long, contractors can source a full line of products from a single trusted provider. That way, they’re not having to operate and maintain products from several different manufacturers on the plant floor, which streamlines troubleshooting. For example, ABB offers a broad portfolio of products, which all work together, so MRO contractors no longer need to worry about product integration. 

For MRO contractors, protecting workers and equipment doesn’t have to come at the expense of productivity. ABB brings together machine safety, control, and power distribution solutions — along with risk assessment and safety expertise — to help contractors simplify upgrades, streamline service, and deliver greater value to customers. Explore ABB’s MRO solutions at electrification.us.abb.com