Saving time and money for electricians

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Homes and small businesses are becoming much more connected, using various devices to make owners’ lives easier and help them oversee their property. In a lot of places, these are actually delivered by a local electrician, who can install different electrical devices. But all of this takes time, and the more disparate devices they use, the more they are out of their comfort zone. What about if an end-user requires an integrated solution, for example? Hikvision has designed products to be plug-and-play, easily installed and working seamlessly together for just this purpose. They can be instrumental in saving time for electricians, and allowing them to do more.

Introducing electricians

Electricians make up a large number of ‘installers on the ground’ – for example, in France there are an estimated 100,000, with an industry revenue of €33.9bn1. Many of these are one-man companies, or with a handful of employees. They focus on home installations, and typically specialize in one area – for instance alarm devices. There are also slightly larger companies – 6-10 employees – that also install devices for small business customers.

Electricians need to time a job accurately and move on to the next, if they are to be competitive. This often means they stick to the devices they are used to, and are very experienced in installing. For example, some focus on fitting alarm devices – others may put in video intercom devices. The tried and tested products are easier for them to fit, since they have a lot of experience doing that. It also means they know the potential ‘difficulties’ that can arise, and how to deal with them.

However, this can prove a challenge in the modern markets, with customers wanting more integrated systems, which can include devices they are not familiar with.

Never enough time

The biggest challenge to electricians is time. Wiring can be tricky, especially in older buildings, and figuring out where a problem lies can take a great deal of ‘detective work’, and be time-intensive. They also need to be mindful of safety – both for themselves and end-users. After all high voltages are not to be taken lightly.

The general trend in the electrician world is that fewer and fewer young people are training and apprenticing in this vocation. This skills shortage, and the fact that existing electricians are retiring, put pressure on the whole business. There could be a lot of work to be had, but they need time to pitch for it and do it! It also means there are fewer electricians to carry out emergency work – which adds to their work planning activities. In fact, customers call at all hours of the day and night to state that their job is the most important one on the electrician’s list.

These challenges mean that they tend to install what they are familiar with. They don’t want to risk time delays dealing with problems they cannot quickly fix. This general lack of time also affects the attitude to training in new products – they simply cannot afford the time to do that.

Saving time with smart installation

In a time-pressured world like this, simplicity is key. Hikvision devices are designed to be ‘plug-and-play’, so they can be easily installed right from the box.

While many electricians specialize in alarm installation, the new world of integrated systems provides potential growth for them. A system where users can receive an alert from an alarm product and see the alarmed area using a CCTV camera is very powerful – both for peace of mind and control. However, with the development of network cameras, the perception is that installation of CCTV is more complex. The idea of having to deal with IP addresses, for example, can put electricians who are not familiar with this off.

Hikvision cameras have simple installation instructions, wizards, and other methods to add devices to a system quickly. There are also Kits to make sure everything they need to install a certain system is available in one box.

All of this can be brought together using one platform. The system can be managed by the end user through a mobile app called HikConnect. There is also an app for installers to use – Hik-Partner Pro.

Preparing for a bright future

Another potential threat to electricians is that devices become so easy to install, the majority of homeowners and small business simply do it themselves. This would mean electricians could lose a lot of work. But if they can adapt their offering to encompass a whole, integrated system, they could counter this risk It could also be possible for them to consider offering and ‘after-sales’, maintenance contract to keep an eye on the system. This is now possible, using the Hik-Partner Pro platform and app.

In a time-poor environment, simplicity is King. With the world around electricians changing, and customer expectation shifting towards more connected system in their homes and businesses, they need simple products to offer. Hikvision’s ‘plug-and-play’ devices and simple installation provides a way to expand their product offering without causing delays through complex installation. The platforms used to being all the devices together could also help electricians to find a new business opportunity. All in all, time can be spent much more wisely, and make time work for them, instead of against them.

Click here for Hikvision’s Electrician Quick Guide

¹ Electricians in Netherlands - Industry Statistics | IBISWorld

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