Your company
How Sample Electric & Generator works, in Tony's words.
Welcome aboard. Your first months you're with Dwayne on every job. Nobody expects you to know how we do things yet, so ask. Calling Dwayne or me is never the wrong move.
Tony, owner
Tony's rules
- Shoe covers on before you walk into any house. Every house, every time.
- Photos of every panel, door open, before and after, and the panel label.
- Never quote a price. Panels, generators and EV chargers get an estimate from me; service calls price off the book in Housecall Pro.
- You don't open a panel cover. Ever. That's Dwayne's or mine.
- No smoking or vaping on a customer's property.
- Pick up every scrap of wire and every knockout slug before you leave.
What we expect on every job
- Text the customer from Housecall Pro when you're on the way, with a time you can keep.
- Explain what you found in plain words, and show the photo.
- Leave the work area cleaner than you found it.
- Notes and photos go in the job before you leave the driveway.
- Ask for the review before you pull away. Same ask, every customer.
- You work on your own only when Dwayne and Tony say so, task by task.
What to wear
- Company shirt, clean every morning. Kim orders more when you need them.
- Work pants, no shorts on a job.
- The boots Dwayne okays on your first day.
- No rings, watches or chains on the job.
- Shoe covers in your pocket before you knock.
Your schedule
- Monday to Friday. Meet at the shop at 7:00; first call by 8:00.
- Storm weeks run long and include weekends. Tony tells you as soon as a storm is named.
- Generator service season is busiest in May and June.
- Time off: ask Kim a week ahead, by text so it's written down.
Who to call
- Kim · Office managera schedule change, a parts order, or a customer's bill(504) 555-0160 · 7:30 to 1, Monday to Friday
- Dwayne · Lead electriciana technical question on a job, or anything on the stop-and-call list(504) 555-0161 · any time you're on a job
- Tony · Owneran injury, damage at a customer's house, or a customer who's upset(504) 555-0162 · any time
How a call gets booked
- A customer calls or texts. Kim answers 7:30 to 1; after that it rings Tony's cell.
- Kim books it in Housecall Pro with the address, the problem and the best phone number.
- Panels, generators and EV chargers get a free estimate visit with Tony first.
- It shows in your Housecall Pro schedule, or Kim texts you a same-day add.
- Read the notes before you drive, then send the on-my-way text.
- Photos and notes go in the job before you leave.
- The customer pays by card on the tablet, and you ask for the review.
The truck checklist
Every morning before the first job. Ticks stay on this phone until you clear them.
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead electrician.
Meet the system: the service, the panel and one circuit
Draft: waiting on a licensed electrician to check it for this shop
Tap a part to see what it does, what fails and what you look at. Look, don't touch. Electrical safety training comes from your shop and licensed electricians, not from this page. The panel is drawn with its cover off only so you can see in; on a job the cover stays on.
Service drop (or underground lateral)
- What it does
- The utility's wires from the pole to the house. Some houses are fed underground instead, by a lateral that comes up into the meter base from below.
- What fails
- A drop sagging low, rubbing a tree or a roof edge, torn down or pulled loose by a storm or a falling limb.
- What you look at
- Look from the ground only. A low, damaged or down line: stay well away, keep everyone back, and tell the office. Shop rule: Kim or Tony calls the utility. You never call them yourself. The drop belongs to the utility; nobody on the crew touches it.
Weatherhead and mast
- What it does
- The pipe up the outside wall that carries the service wires up to where the drop connects, with a hood on top (the weatherhead) that keeps rain out. The wires hang in a loop (the drip loop) before they go in, so water runs off instead of in.
- What fails
- A mast bent or pulled off the wall, a cracked or missing weatherhead, a loose strap, a roof boot leaking around the pipe.
- What you look at
- Look from the ground. A bent mast or anything pulled loose up there is a call, not a fix: the utility's drop connects to it.
Meter and meter base (the utility's)
- What it does
- The meter counts the power the house uses. It plugs into the meter base, a box on the outside wall, and the utility seals it.
- What fails
- Broken glass or a dark display, a cut or missing seal, rust or water in the base, heat marks, a base that buzzes.
- What you look at
- Look, don't touch. The meter, its seal and everything inside the base belong to the utility. Anything wrong there goes to the office. Shop rule: Kim or Tony calls the utility. You never call them yourself.
Main breaker (main disconnect)
- What it does
- The big breaker that shuts off power to everything after it. In some houses it sits at the top of the panel; in others it's outside, at or next to the meter.
- What fails
- A main that has tripped, one that is hot or discolored, a handle that won't stay put.
- What you look at
- Know where it is on every job. The wires coming into it from the meter stay live with the main off. Shop rule: only Dwayne or Tony switches a main.
Panel (load center)
- What it does
- The metal box where the power is split into branch circuits. It has a door and, behind the door, a cover (the dead front). Behind the cover are the bus bars, the breakers and the bars where the white and bare wires land.
- What fails
- Rust, water stains or scorch marks, a missing cover or an open knockout, a panel brand the shop has rules about, a label that's wrong or missing.
- What you look at
- Look at the outside, the door and the label. The cover stays on: what's behind it is for qualified electricians. This drawing leaves the cover off only so you can see in.
Bus bars
- What it does
- The metal bars down the middle of the panel that carry power from the main breaker to every branch breaker. Breakers clip or bolt onto them.
- What fails
- Burn marks or pitting where a breaker sits, a loose breaker that heats its spot on the bus.
- What you look at
- Treat them as live, always. You only look at them when the lead electrician has the cover off and shows you.
Branch breakers
- What it does
- Each breaker feeds one circuit and shuts it off on its own when the circuit draws too much or shorts. The panel label says which breaker feeds what.
- What fails
- A tripped breaker (its handle out of line with the rest, or in the middle), one that trips again right away, a breaker that's hot, buzzing or scorched.
- What you look at
- Look at the handles through the panel door, not behind the cover. A tripped breaker means something tripped it. Shop rule: only Dwayne or Tony resets a breaker. You note it and tell them.
GFCI breaker
- What it does
- A breaker that also shuts off when current leaks to ground, the kind of leak that can shock a person. It has a test button and a white wire (the pigtail) that lands on the neutral bar.
- What fails
- Trips when water gets into an outdoor or wet-room circuit, or from a worn-out appliance; won't reset; a test button that does nothing.
- What you look at
- Spot the test button. A GFCI breaker that trips again and again is telling you something: note what's on it and call.
AFCI or dual-function breaker
- What it does
- A breaker that watches for the sparking (arcing) of a damaged cord or a loose connection, and shuts off. A dual-function breaker does the AFCI job and the GFCI job in one. It also has a test button and a pigtail to the neutral bar.
- What fails
- Trips on a damaged cord, a loose connection in a box, a nail through a cable, or some appliances; trips that keep coming back.
- What you look at
- Note which one tripped and what was running when it did. A repeat trip is a call, not a retry.
Neutral bar
- What it does
- The bar where the white (neutral) wires land. It carries the current back to the service.
- What fails
- Loose wires, wires doubled up under one screw, heat marks, corrosion.
- What you look at
- A neutral can carry current: treat it as live like everything else behind the cover. Look only when you're shown.
Ground bar
- What it does
- The bar where the bare or green equipment ground wires land. A ground gives a fault a path, so the breaker trips instead of a metal case staying live.
- What fails
- Loose wires, missing grounds, corrosion.
- What you look at
- Look only when the cover is off and the lead electrician shows you. A missing or cut ground anywhere goes in your notes.
Main bonding jumper
- What it does
- The screw or strap that joins the neutral bar to the panel's metal case at one place, in the main panel. It is part of what lets a fault trip the breaker.
- What fails
- Missing where it belongs, or added where it doesn't (a sub-panel): both are problems for a licensed electrician to sort out.
- What you look at
- Learn to recognize it when it's shown to you. Whether a panel should have one is the lead electrician's call, never a guess.
Grounding electrode conductor
- What it does
- The heavy copper wire from the panel (or the meter base) out to the ground rod. It ties the electrical system to the earth.
- What fails
- Cut, unclamped, corroded, or broken by a mower, a string trimmer or a dig.
- What you look at
- Follow it with your eyes from the panel to the rod. A cut or loose ground wire is a call: don't reconnect it yourself.
Ground rod and clamp
- What it does
- A metal rod driven into the earth by the house, with a clamp that holds the grounding electrode conductor. Some houses have other electrodes too, such as a metal water pipe or the steel in the footing.
- What fails
- A clamp loose or rusted, a rod bent over, buried, paved over or missing.
- What you look at
- Know where it is. Look at the clamp; don't loosen it or dig around it.
Branch circuit
- What it does
- The wires from one breaker out to the receptacles, lights or appliance it feeds: a hot, a neutral and a ground, in a cable or in conduit.
- What fails
- A nail or screw through a cable, a loose connection at a box, a cable crushed, chewed or overheated.
- What you look at
- Follow it with your eyes from its breaker to the boxes on it. Every splice belongs in a box with a cover; an open splice or a bare wire is a call.
Junction box
- What it does
- A box with a cover where wires are joined. Every splice belongs inside a box that can be reached later.
- What fails
- A missing cover, loose connectors, a box buried behind drywall, heat marks.
- What you look at
- A box without its cover, or a splice outside a box, goes in your notes and to the lead electrician. You open a box only after the circuit is locked out and proven dead by the person qualified to test it.
GFCI receptacle
- What it does
- An outlet with test and reset buttons that shuts off when current leaks to ground. One GFCI can protect the regular outlets after it on the same circuit, so a tripped GFCI in one room can leave outlets dead in another.
- What fails
- Tripped (the reset button popped out), won't reset, worn out, water in an outdoor box.
- What you look at
- On a dead-outlet call, look for a GFCI upstream: kitchen, baths, garage, outside, laundry. Shop rule: you may press reset on a GFCI receptacle once, with the customer's OK. If it trips again or won't reset, stop and call Dwayne.
Receptacle (outlet)
- What it does
- Where cords plug in. A regular duplex receptacle has two outlets behind a cover plate; some are switched from a wall switch.
- What fails
- Worn (plugs fall out), cracked, scorched or melted, warm; a dead outlet that's really on a tripped GFCI or a switch that's off.
- What you look at
- Look at the face and the plate. Scorched, melted or warm: stop and call.
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead electrician.
Safety stops
Draft: waiting on a licensed electrician to check it for this shop
In this order, every time. The drawing shows each stop; tap a step to see it.
Treat every wire, terminal, box and panel as live until the person qualified to test it has tested it, per [the shop's rule: who tests for voltage, and how] · not filled in yet. A switch that's off, a breaker that's off or a light that's dark proves nothing on its own.
The drop or lateral, the meter, its seal and the meter base belong to the utility. Never touch, pull or cut any of them. Anything wrong there goes to the office. Shop rule: Kim or Tony calls the utility. You never call them yourself.
Never take off a panel cover or put hands or tools in a panel unless Tony and Dwayne have signed you off for that task in writing and the lead electrician is there. Opening the panel door to look at breaker handles is as far as a helper goes.
Before anyone works on a circuit, it's locked out and tagged per [your shop's lockout rule] · not filled in yet. Never remove someone else's lock or tag, and never switch on anything that's tagged.
Water on the floor near a panel, water in or on a box, or you standing wet: stop, step back, and call. Don't reach into a wet box or touch a panel in standing water.
Electrical equipment can fault with a flash and a blast, without anyone touching a wire. Wear the gear [the shop's arc-flash and PPE rule] · not filled in yet calls for, and stand where the lead electrician tells you whenever equipment is switched or opened.
Look up before you carry or raise a ladder. Keep the ladder, your tools and yourself well away from the drop and any overhead line, and use the ladder [the shop's ladder rule] · not filled in yet calls for. How close is too close comes from the shop and the utility, not from a guess.
Don't touch a person who may still be in contact with the power. Follow [the shop's emergency plan: who shuts the power off, and when to call emergency services] · not filled in yet, then call the office.
This shop's lockout rule
[Your shop's lockout and tagout rule, written with a licensed electrician: who carries locks and tags, who applies them, what the tag says, who proves the circuit dead and how, and who may remove a lock.] · not filled in yet
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead electrician.
No power to part of the house: what to look at before you call
Draft: waiting on a licensed electrician to check it for this shop
Most calls that feel stuck end at one of these. Go in order, and stop at anything on the stop-and-call list.
Ask: which rooms, outlets or lights are out, and did anything happen when they went out (a storm, an appliance plugged in, a pop or a smell)? A smell, smoke or a scorch mark: stop here, that's on the stop-and-call list. If the whole house is out, go to the last check.
Open only the panel door, never the cover. Look for a handle that sits out of line with the rest or in the middle, and note which breaker it is from the label. Don't touch it. Shop rule: only Dwayne or Tony resets a breaker. You note it and tell them. A GFCI or AFCI breaker that tripped: note its test button and what was running.
Dead outlets in a kitchen, bath, garage, laundry or outside are often fed through a GFCI receptacle somewhere else, sometimes in another room. Look for one with its reset button popped out. Shop rule: you may press reset on a GFCI receptacle once, with the customer's OK. If it trips again or won't reset, stop and call Dwayne.
Some outlets are turned on and off by a wall switch. Ask the customer, and look for a switch by the door of that room. A lamp that's dead on a switched outlet may just be switched off.
If everything is dark, look from the ground: are the neighbors out too? Don't touch the meter or the base. A whole-house outage goes to the office first. Shop rule: Kim or Tony calls the utility. You never call them yourself.
Stop and call: don't fix these yourself
- A burning smell, smoke, or a scorched, melted or discolored receptacle, switch, cover or breaker
- Heat coming off the panel, a breaker or a receptacle
- Buzzing, crackling or sizzling at the panel, a box or an outlet
- Water in or near the panel, a box or an outlet
- Aluminum branch wiring noted (silver-colored wire on outlets and switches)
- Anything at the meter, the meter base, the drop or the weatherhead
- A breaker or GFCI that trips again after a reset, or anyone who got a shock or a tingle
- Anything outside your training
How to reach the office
Have the address, what you checked and your photos ready.
- Kim · Office managera schedule change, a parts order, or a customer's bill(504) 555-0160 · 7:30 to 1, Monday to Friday
- Dwayne · Lead electriciana technical question on a job, or anything on the stop-and-call list(504) 555-0161 · any time you're on a job
- Tony · Owneran injury, damage at a customer's house, or a customer who's upset(504) 555-0162 · any time
Check yourself
Tap an answer to see the shop's answer. Nothing is saved or sent, and nobody sees what you picked. Talk any surprise through with your lead electrician.
Sign-off
The owner or lead electrician ticks each section after going through it with the new electrician's helper: watched, understood, signed off by a name on a date. It stays on this device; print it for the file.
Nobody is scored or ranked. The sign-off is a person's judgment after a conversation, not a test result.