Tag: industrial electrician

  • Variable Speed Drives in Food and Beverage Plants: Where They Pay and Where They Bite

    Variable Speed Drives in Food and Beverage Plants: Where They Pay and Where They Bite

    The Most Useful Box in the Switchroom, and the Most Misunderstood

    Variable speed drives have transformed production plants. A conveyor that once ran at one speed now follows the filler ahead of it. A pump that once ran flat out against a throttled valve now delivers exactly what the process needs. Drives save energy, reduce mechanical wear and give control that fixed speed motors cannot.

    They also bring problems that fixed speed motors never had, and plants that install them without understanding those problems pay for it in failed bearings, tripped capacitor banks and unexplained faults. This guide covers where variable speed drives earn their keep in a food or beverage plant and where they bite.

    What a Drive Does

    A variable speed drive, also called a variable frequency drive or VSD, sits between the supply and a motor. It converts the incoming supply to direct current and then builds a new output whose frequency and voltage it controls. Since the speed of an induction motor follows the frequency it is fed, the drive controls speed.

    That gives three things at once: adjustable speed, controlled acceleration and deceleration, and a low starting current. A drive can bring a loaded motor up to speed smoothly while drawing no more than about its normal running current from the supply.

    Where They Pay: The Affinity Laws

    The strongest case for a drive is on centrifugal pumps and fans, and the reason is a set of relationships known as the affinity laws. For these loads, flow is proportional to speed, pressure is proportional to the square of speed and power is proportional to the cube of speed.

    The cube is what matters. Slow a fan or pump to 80 per cent of full speed and it delivers 80 per cent of the flow, but the power required falls to about 51 per cent. At 90 per cent speed, power is about 73 per cent.

    Many pumps and fans are sized for a peak that rarely occurs and are then throttled with a valve or damper for the rest of the time. Throttling wastes the energy the motor has already consumed. A drive achieves the same reduced flow by slowing the motor, and the saving is often large.

    Good candidates in a beverage plant include cooling tower and condenser fans, glycol and chilled water circulation pumps, CIP supply pumps, ventilation and extraction fans, and process pumps whose demand varies through the day.

    Where They Pay: Control

    On conveyors and many process machines the load is not centrifugal, the cube law does not apply and the energy saving is modest. The value of the drive is control.

    Speeds can be matched along a line so that product neither gaps nor backs up. Starts and stops are gentle, so containers do not topple and belts and chains last longer. A recipe can set speeds for each product at changeover. Mixers and agitators can run at the speed the product needs and start against a heavy load.

    Where They Do Not Pay

    A drive is not free to run. It has losses of its own, typically a few per cent of the power passing through it. A motor that runs at full speed and full load all the time will use slightly more energy with a drive than without one. If the only requirement is a gentle start, a soft starter does that job for less money and with no running losses once it is bypassed.

    The test is simple. Does the speed need to change, or would the process benefit if it could? If not, a drive is probably the wrong tool.

    Where They Bite: Harmonics

    Drives draw current from the supply in pulses and not as a smooth wave, which creates harmonic currents. In a plant with a few small drives this is unnoticeable. As the proportion of load on drives grows, the distortion grows with it.

    The symptoms are overheated neutrals and transformers, nuisance tripping and interference with sensitive equipment. The most expensive symptom involves power factor correction. Capacitor banks can resonate with the supply at a harmonic frequency, amplifying the distortion and destroying the capacitors. Any site with both drives and correction equipment should have harmonics measured, and correction equipment should be of the detuned type, with reactors fitted, where the measurements call for it.

    Harmonics can be reduced at the drive with line reactors or filters, and by specifying low harmonic drives for large installations.

    Where They Bite: Bearing Currents

    The fast switching inside a drive induces a voltage on the motor shaft. That voltage can discharge through the bearings, and each discharge leaves a microscopic pit in the bearing race. Over months the pitting forms a washboard pattern, the bearing becomes noisy and then fails.

    This is a common cause of repeated bearing failures on motors retrofitted with drives, and it is often misdiagnosed as a lubrication or alignment problem. The remedies are shaft grounding rings, insulated bearings on larger motors, correct earthing and proper motor cable. If a motor on a drive is on its second or third set of bearings, look here.

    Where They Bite: Cable Length and Motor Insulation

    The output of a drive is a series of very fast voltage pulses. On a long cable run those pulses reflect at the motor terminals, and the peaks can reach well above the nominal voltage. Older motors, and motors not designed for drive duty, can suffer insulation breakdown as a result.

    The risk rises with cable length. Where a drive is in a switchroom and its motor is a long way down the plant, check the drive manufacturer’s limits and fit an output reactor or filter where they are exceeded. When retrofitting a drive to an old motor, check that the motor is suitable.

    Where They Bite: Heat, Water and Dust

    Drives are electronic equipment and heat shortens their life. They need clean, cool air. In a food plant that is a real constraint. A drive mounted on a machine in a washdown area needs an enclosure rated for it, and an enclosure tight enough to keep water out also keeps heat in. Blocked filters and failed cooling fans are behind a large share of drive failures. Drive filters and fans belong on the maintenance schedule.

    Other Things to Get Right

    Cabling and earthing. Drives generate electrical noise. Screened motor cable, terminated correctly at both ends, and separation from signal cables prevent interference with sensors and instruments.

    Motor cooling at low speed. A standard motor is cooled by a fan on its own shaft. Run slowly under load for long periods, it may overheat. Some applications need a separately driven cooling fan.

    Parameters. A drive has dozens or hundreds of settings. Back them up. A replacement drive fitted at three in the morning with factory defaults will not run the machine.

    Safety functions. Many drives offer safe torque off, which is useful in a properly designed safety system. It is a control function and not electrical isolation. Maintenance still requires the supply to be isolated and locked.

    Bypass. For critical equipment such as refrigeration, consider whether the motor needs a way to run if the drive fails.

    A Note on Motor Efficiency Rules

    Australia sets minimum energy performance standards for three phase electric motors, and those requirements have been under review. If you are buying motors as part of a drive project, confirm the requirements in force at the time of purchase instead of relying on older guidance.

    Checklist Before You Fit a Drive

    Will the speed actually vary? Is the load centrifugal, where the saving is large, or constant torque, where the benefit is control? Is the motor suitable for drive duty? How long is the cable run? Where will the drive sit, and how will it be kept cool and dry? What harmonics are already on site, and is there power factor correction? How will it be controlled, and who will hold the parameter backup? Has the safety design been considered?

    Where BevTech Fits

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians install, commission and fault find variable speed drives on conveyors, pumps, fans and refrigeration plant, and our automation engineers integrate them with Allen Bradley and Siemens control systems, as on a Siemens S7-1500 project controlling glycol refrigeration for beer tank temperatures. Because our mechanical trades and machine shop are in the same business, a bearing problem on a driven motor gets looked at from both sides.

    If you are considering drives for a pump or fan system, or have drives that keep causing trouble, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

    The figures in this article are illustrative. Actual savings depend on the system and how it is operated, so have the application assessed before committing to a project.

  • Arc Flash in Food and Beverage Plants: What Queensland Manufacturers Need to Know

    Arc Flash in Food and Beverage Plants: What Queensland Manufacturers Need to Know

    The Electrical Hazard That Does Not Need Contact

    Most people think of electrical danger as electric shock: touch something live and current passes through you. Arc flash is different, and in an industrial plant it can be worse. An arc flash is an explosive release of energy when current jumps through the air between conductors or from a conductor to earth. It produces intense heat, a blast of pressure, molten metal and blinding light, and it can cause severe burns to someone standing in front of a switchboard who has touched nothing.

    This guide explains how arc flash arises in food and beverage plants, what the current Australian standards and Queensland rules say, and how to reduce the risk in ways that go well beyond protective clothing.

    What Causes an Arc Flash

    An arc starts when the insulation or air gap between energised parts breaks down. Common triggers include a dropped tool or loose hardware bridging conductors, a failed component, contamination and moisture, corrosion, loose connections that overheat, vermin, and switching or racking equipment that is worn or faulty.

    Three things decide how severe the event is. The first is the fault current available at that point in the system. The second is how long the protection takes to clear the fault. The third is how far away the person is. The energy a person receives rises with fault current and with clearing time, and falls quickly with distance.

    The middle factor surprises people. A slow protective device on a moderate fault can produce more energy than a fast one on a larger fault. Much of the engineering work on arc flash is about clearing time.

    Where the Risk Sits in a Food or Beverage Plant

    The highest energy is generally found closest to the supply: main switchboards, the incoming sections of motor control centres and large distribution boards. Risk rises during particular tasks, including switching and racking circuit breakers, removing and fitting covers, fault finding on energised equipment and working near exposed busbars.

    Food and beverage sites add conditions of their own. Washdown and humidity find their way into enclosures. Sugar, flour and product dust settle on insulation. Caustic and acid cleaning chemicals attack metalwork. Many plants have grown in stages, with switchboards extended and loaded beyond what the original design allowed and protection settings that nobody has reviewed since.

    The Standards That Apply

    AS/NZS 4836:2023 is the current standard for safe working on or near low voltage and extra low voltage electrical installations and equipment. It supersedes the 2011 edition, which is still quoted in many site procedures. The 2023 edition expanded its guidance on personal protective equipment and added a PPE selection table, Table 11.2. It also provides that an arc fault study may supersede the guidance in that table, which means a site that has calculated its actual incident energy can base its PPE on those results.

    AS/NZS 3000:2018, the Wiring Rules, governs the installation itself.

    ENA NENS 09-2014 is the national guideline for the selection, use and maintenance of personal protective equipment for electrical arc hazards.

    IEEE 1584-2018 is the internationally used method for calculating arc flash incident energy and is the basis of most arc flash studies.

    If your site procedures refer to AS/NZS 4836:2011, they are out of date and should be reviewed against the current edition.

    What Queensland Law Says About Live Work

    The most effective arc flash control is to work on equipment that is not energised, and Queensland’s rules start from that position. Under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 and the Electrical Safety Regulation 2026, electrical work on or near energised electrical equipment is generally prohibited. Near means within 3 metres of an exposed energised part.

    There are four circumstances in which energised work is permitted: where it is necessary in the interests of health and safety, where the equipment must be energised for the work to be carried out properly, where testing is needed to determine whether the equipment is energised, and where there is no reasonable alternative.

    Production pressure is not on that list. A line that needs to keep running does not make live work lawful.

    Where energised work is permitted, conditions apply. They include a risk assessment, a safe work method statement, testing by a competent person, control of the work area, appropriate protective equipment, tools and test instruments, consultation with the person who manages or controls the workplace, and a safety observer unless the work is testing only and the risk assessment shows no serious risk.

    The regulation was restructured in 2026 and its section numbers changed, although the Electrical Safety Office has said the obligations themselves did not. Site documents that quote sections of the 2013 regulation need updating.

    What an Arc Flash Study Involves

    An arc flash study replaces assumptions with numbers. It has five stages.

    Data collection. The single line diagram is verified against the site, and details are gathered for the supply, transformers, cables and every protective device with its settings.

    Fault level calculation. The prospective fault current is calculated at each switchboard.

    Protection review. The time each protective device would take to clear an arcing fault is determined, and coordination between devices is checked.

    Incident energy calculation. The energy a person would receive at a working distance is calculated for each location, along with the boundary inside which protection is needed.

    Labels and recommendations. Each switchboard is labelled with its incident energy and PPE requirement, and the report recommends changes that would reduce the energy.

    The last stage is the most valuable. A good study does not only tell you what to wear. It tells you which protection settings to change so that you need to wear less.

    Reducing the Risk, in Order of Effectiveness

    Eliminate. De-energise before work. Plan maintenance so that switchboard work is done in shutdowns with the supply isolated.

    Reduce the energy by design. Review protection settings so faults clear faster. Fit maintenance mode switches that temporarily speed up protection while people are working. Consider arc flash detection relays that sense light and trip in milliseconds. Specify arc fault contained switchgear for new and replacement boards.

    Increase the distance. Remote switching and remote racking move the person out of the blast zone entirely.

    Maintain the equipment. Thermal imaging, cleaning, checking terminations and keeping enclosures sealed against moisture and dust remove many of the triggers.

    Administer. Labels, procedures, training, permits and exclusion zones.

    Protect the person. Arc rated clothing, face protection and gloves selected for the incident energy at that location. PPE is the last line and it limits injury. It does not prevent the event.

    Questions to Ask About Your Own Site

    Do we have a current single line diagram? Has the fault level at our main switchboards been calculated since the last supply upgrade? When were protection settings last reviewed? Are our switchboards labelled with arc flash information? Do our procedures cite the 2023 edition of AS/NZS 4836 and the 2026 regulation? How often is live work done here, and under which of the four exceptions? Is the PPE on site matched to calculated energy, or chosen by habit?

    If several of those cannot be answered, the plant does not know its arc flash risk, and the place to start is the single line diagram.

    Where BevTech Fits

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians carry out condition audits of site electrical systems, switchboard modifications and electrical installations to AS/NZS 3000, and we produce the electrical drawings that any study depends on. We plan switchboard work into shutdowns so that it is done with the supply isolated, and we provide 24/7 breakdown support across Brisbane and South East Queensland.

    If your site has no current single line diagram or you are unsure what state your switchboards are in, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

    This article is a general guide current as at October 2026 and is not a substitute for a site specific assessment. Confirm the requirements for energised work with the Electrical Safety Office.

  • Power Factor Correction: Cutting Demand Charges in a Queensland Plant

    Power Factor Correction: Cutting Demand Charges in a Queensland Plant

    Paying for Power You Do Not Use

    Most plant managers watch their electricity consumption. Fewer look closely at how their site draws that power, and for larger Queensland businesses that is where a good part of the network bill is decided. A plant with poor power factor pays demand charges for capacity that does no useful work. Correcting it is one of the few energy projects that reduces cost without changing anything about how the plant operates.

    This guide explains what power factor is, how Queensland’s network tariffs turn it into money, how correction works and the traps to avoid in a plant full of variable speed drives.

    Power Factor in Plain Terms

    Three quantities describe the power a site draws.

    Real power, measured in kilowatts or kW, does the work: turning motors, heating and lighting.

    Reactive power, measured in kVAr, sustains the magnetic fields in motors and transformers. It does no useful work, but the network still has to carry it.

    Apparent power, measured in kVA, is the combination of the two, and it is what the supply cables and transformers actually have to deliver.

    Power factor is real power divided by apparent power. A power factor of 1.0 means every kVA supplied is doing work. A power factor of 0.75 means a quarter of the capacity being supplied is carrying reactive power around the system.

    Why Plants Have Poor Power Factor

    Induction motors are the main cause, and factories are full of them. A motor draws reactive power to magnetise itself whether it is loaded or not, so motors that are oversized or running lightly loaded have particularly poor power factor. Transformers, older lighting and welding equipment add to it.

    A typical uncorrected manufacturing site sits somewhere between 0.7 and 0.85. That is normal, and it is expensive.

    How Queensland Tariffs Turn It Into Money

    Large business customers in Queensland have been moving to network tariffs based on kVA since 1 July 2021. Under these tariffs demand is measured in kVA and not in kW, which means poor power factor shows up directly in the demand charge.

    In South East Queensland the default tariff for large businesses is Energex’s Large Time of Use Demand and Energy tariff, network tariff code 7200. Demand is measured as the single highest 30 minute kVA demand within the charging window each month, and charged per kVA.

    The time windows matter. The peak window is 5pm to 8pm on weekdays. The shoulder window is 1pm to 5pm and 8pm to 11am on weekdays, and 1pm to 11am on weekends. Off peak is 11am to 1pm every day.

    Two features of this structure are worth understanding. First, a single half hour sets the demand charge for the whole month. One coincidence of large motors starting can cost as much as a month of steady running. Second, Queensland demand resets every month, unlike networks that carry a peak forward for a year, so an improvement made this month shows on the next bill.

    A Worked Example

    Take a plant whose real load in its peak half hour is 375 kW.

    At a power factor of 0.75, apparent power is 375 divided by 0.75, which is 500 kVA. That is what the demand charge is calculated on.

    Correct the power factor to 0.98 and the same 375 kW requires 375 divided by 0.98, which is 383 kVA.

    The difference is 117 kVA, a reduction of about 23 per cent in billed demand, with no change to production, hours or output. Multiply that by the per kVA rate on your own bill and by twelve months to see what it is worth to your site.

    This article deliberately quotes no dollar rate. Network prices are published in the distributor’s price list, change every July and are passed through by retailers in different ways. Use your own invoices.

    How Correction Works

    Capacitors supply reactive power locally, so the motors draw it from the capacitor bank and not from the network. The plant’s kW stays the same and its kVA falls.

    Central automatic correction. A capacitor bank at the main switchboard, switched in steps by a controller that follows the load. This is the usual solution for a plant with varying load.

    Group correction. Smaller banks at distribution boards or motor control centres. This also frees capacity in the cables between the main switchboard and the load.

    Fixed correction at a motor. A capacitor connected with one large, steadily running motor.

    The target is usually around 0.95 to 0.98. Chasing 1.0 costs more than it returns, and over correction creates problems of its own. Too much capacitance at light load pushes the power factor leading, which can raise voltage and may itself increase kVA.

    The Harmonics Trap

    This is where correction projects go wrong in modern plants. Variable speed drives, switch mode power supplies and LED lighting draw current in a distorted pattern and produce harmonics. Capacitors and the inductance of the supply system form a circuit that can resonate at a harmonic frequency. When that happens, harmonic currents are amplified, capacitors overheat and fail, fuses blow and drives trip.

    The solution is detuned correction. Reactors are fitted in series with the capacitors so that the bank cannot resonate at the harmonics present on the site. It costs more than a plain capacitor bank and it is the difference between a system that lasts and one that fails within a year or two.

    No correction equipment should be specified for a plant with a significant drive population until harmonics have been measured.

    Drives Change the Picture

    A motor fed through a variable speed drive presents a good power factor to the supply at the fundamental frequency, because the drive supplies the motor’s reactive power from its own circuitry. As a plant adds drives, its need for correction on those motors falls while its harmonic levels rise. A correction system sized years ago for a plant of direct on line motors may now be oversized, mistuned or both.

    Demand Is Also About Timing

    Power factor reduces the kVA of whatever load is running. The other lever is how much is running at once. Because one half hour sets the monthly charge, it is worth looking at what happens in your peak window. Staggering the start of large motors, shifting a batch process or a CIP heating cycle away from the 5pm to 8pm peak, and avoiding simultaneous restarts after a stoppage can all trim the peak at no capital cost.

    Capacitor Banks Need Maintenance

    Correction equipment is often installed and forgotten. Capacitors lose capacity with age and heat, fuses fail and contactors wear, and a bank can quietly drop to half its rating while the plant goes on paying for demand it thought it had removed. Check the power factor on the bill, inspect the bank annually and include it in thermal imaging surveys.

    Steps to a Decision

    Get twelve months of interval data from your retailer or meter provider. Identify your tariff and how demand is measured. Find your monthly peak kVA and the power factor at the time of each peak. Have power quality measured at the main switchboard, including harmonics. Size the correction and choose detuned equipment where harmonics require it. Compare the installed cost with the annual demand saving. For a plant at 0.75 to 0.8 on a kVA tariff, payback is often short, but it should be calculated and not assumed.

    Where BevTech Fits

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians carry out electrical condition audits, switchboard modifications and installations to AS/NZS 3000, and install and commission variable speed drives on Allen Bradley and Siemens controlled lines. We can inspect and maintain existing correction equipment as part of a planned maintenance visit, and help you establish what your site is actually drawing before you spend money on new equipment.

    If your demand charges look high for what your plant produces, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

    This article is a general guide current as at October 2026. Tariff structures and windows are set by the distributor and can change, so confirm the details that apply to your connection with your retailer.

  • Industrial Electrician: What They Do and How to Engage One for Your Plant

    Industrial Electrician: What They Do and How to Engage One for Your Plant

    The Trade Your Production Line Depends On

    Most plant managers only think hard about industrial electricians at two moments: when a line is down and nobody on site can find the fault, and when a new machine arrives and somebody has to connect it. In between, the electrical side of a plant tends to run on habit and on whoever answered the phone last time.

    That is a missed opportunity. An industrial electrician who knows your site is one of the cheapest forms of downtime insurance a manufacturer can buy. This guide explains what an industrial electrician actually does in a manufacturing plant, the ways you can engage one, what to ask before you do and what you should have in your hand when the job is finished.

    What an Industrial Electrician Does

    An industrial electrician holds the same Queensland electrical work licence as the electrician who wires a house. The difference is in what they have spent their career working on. In a food, beverage or FMCG plant the work falls into a handful of areas.

    Power distribution. Main switchboards, motor control centres, distribution boards, sub mains and the cable systems that carry three phase power to every machine on the floor.

    Motors and drives. Starters, soft starters and variable speed drives for conveyors, pumps, fans, compressors and mixers, along with the protection that stops a motor destroying itself.

    Control systems. PLCs, HMIs, sensors, valves and field wiring. On most modern lines a fault that looks mechanical turns out to be a sensor, a cable or a line of logic.

    Machine safety. Guard interlocks, light curtains, safety relays and emergency stop circuits, which must work every time and must be proven to work after any change.

    Installation and commissioning. Bringing new and relocated machines into service, from the cable tray to the first good product off the line.

    What ties these together is the environment. Industrial electricians work around moving machinery, washdown areas, food safety rules and a production schedule that does not stop because someone needs a panel open.

    When You Need One, and When You Do Not

    A commercial electrician is a perfectly good choice for office lighting, power points in the warehouse, data cabling and the amenities block. You need an industrial electrician when the work touches production equipment, three phase motor circuits, control panels, safety systems or anything connected to a PLC. A useful test is consequence. If a mistake would stop a line, damage a machine or put someone at risk from moving plant, the job needs industrial experience.

    Five Ways to Engage an Industrial Electrician

    Breakdown callout. You ring when something fails. It is the most common arrangement and the most expensive per hour of value, because the electrician arrives knowing nothing about your site.

    Scheduled maintenance. Regular visits to inspect, test and repair to a plan. Faults are found on your timetable and the electrician builds knowledge of the plant.

    Shift cover. An electrician rostered on your site during production hours, or on call for it. Plants that run around the clock use this to guarantee that someone who knows the line is always within reach.

    Project work. A quoted scope for an installation, an upgrade or a line modification, usually with design drawings and commissioning included.

    Shutdown crews. A larger team for a fixed window, working through a list that has been planned for months.

    Most plants end up with a mix. The pattern that works is to give one provider enough routine work that they know the site before the breakdown call comes.

    Checks to Make Before Anyone Starts

    In Queensland a business that performs electrical work for others must hold an electrical contractor licence. This is separate from the licence held by the individual electrician. Contractor licences are issued for one year at a time, so one that was current at the last job may not be current now. The Electrical Safety Office provides a public search where you can check any contractor or worker licence in a couple of minutes.

    The regulation also requires contractors to hold insurance with a limit of indemnity of at least $5,000,000. Ask for the certificate of currency. For a manufacturing site you will usually want to see it anyway as part of contractor induction.

    Ten Questions Worth Asking

    The licence tells you a business is allowed to do the work. These questions tell you whether it can do yours.

    Which PLC platforms do your electricians work on, and can they go online with ours? Have you worked in food or beverage plants, and what do you do differently in a hygiene area? What is your response time after hours, and who answers the phone? Will the same people come each time? Do you provide design drawings and update our existing ones? How do you handle fault finding on energised equipment? Who validates a safety circuit after you change it? What do you leave behind when a job is finished? Can you support the mechanical side of a job, or will we need a second contractor? And who do we call if the person we normally deal with is on leave?

    The answers that matter most are the specific ones. A provider that names the software, describes its isolation procedure and shows you a sample handover pack is a safer choice than one that says it can do everything.

    What You Should Receive When the Job Is Done

    Queensland law requires a licensed electrical contractor to give the person the work was done for a certificate once it is complete. For work on an electrical installation it is a certificate of testing and compliance. For work on electrical equipment it is a certificate of testing and safety. Each records what was tested, the date and the contractor’s licence number.

    A good industrial electrician goes further. Expect updated drawings where circuits have changed, a backup of any PLC or HMI program that was modified, test results for safety functions and a short note on anything they saw that will need attention soon. That last item is often the most valuable thing on the page.

    Working on Live Equipment

    One point surprises some plant managers. In Queensland, electrical work on or near energised equipment is generally prohibited, and near means within 3 metres of an exposed energised part. There are narrow exceptions, including testing and situations where there is no reasonable alternative, and they come with conditions such as a risk assessment and a safe work method statement.

    In practice this means a competent industrial electrician will ask to isolate equipment that you would prefer to keep running. Production pressure is not one of the exceptions. An electrician who insists on isolation is protecting your people and your business, and one who never asks should worry you.

    Why Site Knowledge Is Worth Paying For

    The first hour of most breakdowns is spent learning the machine: finding the drawings, working out which panel feeds what, discovering that the labels are wrong. An electrician who has been through your plant before skips that hour. Over a year of breakdowns the saving is far larger than the cost of the routine visits that built the knowledge.

    Industrial Electricians for Brisbane Manufacturers

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians work across Brisbane and South East Queensland on fillers, seamers, cappers, labellers, conveyors, motor control centres, refrigeration and CIP systems, on both Allen Bradley and Siemens platforms. We provide 24/7 shift coverage and breakdown support, and we take projects from design drawings through installation, testing and handover.

    Because our automation engineers, TUV certified functional safety engineers, mechanical trades and machine shop are in the same business, a job that turns out to need a machined part or a safety assessment does not need a second contractor. If you would like to talk through how your plant is covered, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

    This article is a general guide current as at October 2026. Confirm licensing and safety requirements for your own site with the Electrical Safety Office.

  • Industrial Electrical Contractors: How to Choose One for a Manufacturing Site

    Industrial Electrical Contractors: How to Choose One for a Manufacturing Site

    A Decision That Is Usually Made in a Hurry

    Few manufacturers choose an industrial electrical contractor through a considered process. A line goes down, someone remembers a name, the contractor fixes the problem and from then on they are the site’s electricians. Sometimes that works out well. Sometimes a plant discovers two years later that it has no current drawings, no PLC backups and a contractor who cannot support the control system it has just bought.

    Choosing deliberately is not difficult. It takes an afternoon of checks and one honest conversation. This guide sets out what to verify, what to ask for and the warning signs that tell you to keep looking.

    Start With the Licence

    In Queensland, a business needs an electrical contractor licence to perform electrical work for others, whether it trades as a sole trader, a partnership or a company. That requirement comes from the Electrical Safety Act 2002 and it is separate from the electrical work licence held by each individual electrician.

    Three details are worth knowing. First, electrical contractor licences are issued for one year, so currency needs checking every year and not only at onboarding. Second, every contractor must nominate a qualified technical person who performs or supervises the electrical work, and a qualified business person. If the technical person leaves the business, the contractor has a problem and so, potentially, do you. Third, the Electrical Safety Office runs a public licence search. Search for the legal entity named on the quote and confirm the licence is active.

    Confirm the Insurance

    The Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 requires contractors to hold an insurance policy with a limit of indemnity of at least $5,000,000, together with consumer protection insurance of at least $50,000. The policy must extend to liability arising from testing and certifying, faulty design work and incorrect advice.

    That is the legal minimum, and it was not written with a high speed production line in mind. Ask for a certificate of currency and consider whether the limit is adequate for the equipment the contractor will be working on. If the work includes design, check that the policy wording reflects it.

    Match the Experience to Your Plant

    A licence says nothing about what kind of work a contractor is good at. Most of the electrical contracting industry does domestic and commercial work. A much smaller part does industrial work, and a smaller part again knows food and beverage production.

    Equipment. Ask what machines they have worked on. Fillers, seamers, cappers, labellers, palletisers and CIP systems each have their own habits. A contractor who has seen yours before diagnoses faster.

    Control platforms. Ask which PLC and drive platforms their people are trained on, and whether they hold the software to go online. A contractor who cannot connect to your controller can only swap parts and hope.

    Hygiene and food safety. Ask how they work in a production area: tool control, cable gland selection, enclosure ratings for washdown, and what they do with swarf and offcuts. The answer tells you quickly whether they have done it before.

    Machine safety. Ask who assesses and validates a safety function after it has been modified. If the answer is that it gets tested by pressing the emergency stop, keep looking.

    Ask How They Handle Live Work

    In Queensland, electrical work on or near energised equipment is generally prohibited. The exceptions are narrow: where it is necessary for health and safety, where the equipment must be energised for the work to be carried out properly, where testing is needed to determine whether equipment is energised, and where there is no reasonable alternative. Even then the contractor must carry out a risk assessment, work to a safe work method statement and consult the person who manages or controls the workplace, which is you.

    A contractor’s answer to this question is a good guide to its culture. You are looking for a clear isolation procedure, a described process for energised fault finding and a willingness to say no to a production supervisor. You are also looking for evidence that they will involve you, because the regulation expects them to.

    Look at What They Hand Over

    Ask for a sample handover pack from a recent job. A contractor who takes documentation seriously will have one to hand. It should include the following.

    Certificates. A certificate of testing and compliance for installation work, or a certificate of testing and safety for work on equipment. The contractor must give these to the person the work was done for and must keep its own copy for at least five years.

    Drawings. New electrical drawings for new work and marked up or redrawn as-builts for modifications. Drawings that do not match the panel are worse than none.

    Software. Backups of every PLC, HMI and drive parameter set that was changed, with a note of what changed and why.

    Test records. Insulation resistance, earth continuity, safety function tests and anything else that proves the work was verified.

    Test the After Hours Promise

    Every contractor’s website says 24/7. Find out what it means. Who answers at two in the morning, a tradesperson or a call centre? How many electricians are on the roster? Where do they travel from? What happens when two customers call at once? Ask for an honest response time to your suburb and not a best case.

    If your plant runs continuously, a callout arrangement may not be enough. Rostered shift cover or a guaranteed on call arrangement costs more and removes the uncertainty.

    One Contractor or Several

    Many faults on a production line are not purely electrical. A jammed conveyor trips an overload. A worn change part causes a sensor to miss. A failed bearing overheats a motor. If your electrical contractor has to stop and wait for a fitter from another business, you pay for both of them to stand around.

    A contractor with in-house mechanical trades, machining and automation engineers can finish the job in one visit. It also removes the argument about whose fault the problem is.

    Seven Warning Signs

    No written quote or scope for anything beyond a callout. Reluctance to provide a licence number or certificate of currency. No certificate issued after the last job. A different face every visit. No questions about isolation or site rules on arrival. Modifications made to a PLC program without a backup being taken first. And a habit of resetting a fault and leaving without finding out why it happened.

    Any one of these is worth a conversation. Several together are a reason to change.

    A Practical Way to Decide

    Shortlist two or three contractors. Run the licence and insurance checks. Walk each of them through the plant and listen to the questions they ask, because good contractors ask a lot. Then give your preferred choice a small planned job, such as an audit of one line or a set of drawings for one machine, and judge them on the result before the next breakdown forces the decision.

    How BevTech Works

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians work on Allen Bradley and Siemens systems, supported by automation engineers, TUV certified functional safety engineers, mechanical trades and our own machine shop. We provide electrical design drawings for new work and as-built updates for changes, and we offer 24/7 shift coverage and breakdown support across Brisbane and South East Queensland.

    We are happy to be checked. Search our licence, ask for our insurance and ask to see a handover pack. If you would like us to walk your plant, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

    This article is a general guide current as at October 2026 and is not legal advice. Confirm licensing and insurance requirements with the Electrical Safety Office.

  • Industrial Electrical Services Explained: From Installation to Shutdown Support

    Industrial Electrical Services Explained: From Installation to Shutdown Support

    More Than Fixing What Is Broken

    Ask ten plant managers what industrial electrical services means and most will describe breakdown repairs. That is the visible part. Behind it sits a range of work that decides how often breakdowns happen in the first place, how long they last and whether the plant can prove it is safe and compliant.

    This guide walks through the eight services that make up industrial electrical work in a manufacturing plant, what each one involves, when you need it and what a good result looks like. It is written for people who buy these services and want to buy them well.

    1. Electrical Installations

    Installation covers new power supplies for machines, cable trays and cable systems, switchboard modifications and extensions to the plant. All of it is carried out to the Wiring Rules, AS/NZS 3000.

    In a production environment the standard is only the starting point. Cable routes have to stay clear of forklift paths and washdown zones. Enclosures need the right rating for the area they sit in. Glands and conduit entries must not create places where product or water can collect. A good installation looks as though it was designed with the cleaning crew in mind, because it was.

    Ask for: a defined scope, a certificate of testing and compliance on completion, and drawings that show what was installed.

    2. Machine Installation and Commissioning

    New and relocated machines arrive with a manual and a connection point. Turning that into a working part of the line means power, control wiring, network connections, safety circuits and integration with the equipment either side.

    Commissioning is where the time goes. Inputs and outputs are checked one at a time, motors are proved for direction, interlocks are tested and the machine is run in stages until it handles product at rate. Imported machines add their own complications, including different supply voltages and frequencies and safety designs that need checking against Australian requirements.

    Ask for: a commissioning plan, input and output check sheets, and a clear handover point where the machine becomes production’s responsibility.

    3. Production Fault Finding and Repairs

    This is the service everyone knows. A line stops, and someone has to work out why and get it going again. The skill is in the method: reading the diagnostics, narrowing the fault logically and proving the cause before replacing anything.

    The difference between a repair and a reset matters here. A reset gets the line running. A repair removes the reason it stopped. Recurring faults that have been reset twenty times are among the most expensive problems in manufacturing.

    Ask for: a short written note after each attendance stating what was found, what was done and whether the root cause is fixed.

    4. Machine Safety System Upgrades

    Guard interlocks, light curtains, safety relays, safety PLCs and emergency stop circuits protect people from machinery. Older lines often have safety systems that were acceptable when installed and have since been modified, bypassed or simply outgrown.

    An upgrade starts with a risk assessment, moves to a design with a defined performance target and ends with validation, which is documented proof that each safety function does what it is supposed to. The electrical installation is only the middle step. Without the assessment and the validation, new safety hardware gives a false sense of security.

    Ask for: the risk assessment, the safety design and signed validation records. BevTech’s functional safety engineers are TUV certified, which is the kind of credential to look for.

    5. Automation and Electrical Integration

    Modern production lines are run by PLCs, operated through HMIs and connected over industrial networks. Integration work joins machines from different suppliers into one line that starts, stops and recovers in an orderly way.

    Typical jobs include adding a machine to an existing line, linking conveyors so that product does not pile up at a stopped filler, bringing production data to a screen in the office and replacing an obsolete controller. BevTech has delivered projects of this kind using a Siemens S7-1500 to control glycol refrigeration for beer tank temperatures, and a Siemens S7-1200 to run a hot water rinse process on a can seamer.

    Ask for: a functional description you can read, commented code, and backups handed to you and not held only by the supplier.

    6. Electrical Design and Drafting

    Drawings are the most undervalued electrical service. Every hour spent fault finding without accurate schematics is partly wasted, and every modification made without updating them makes the next job slower.

    Design work covers single line diagrams, schematics, panel layouts, cable schedules and input and output lists for new work. As-built drafting brings existing drawings back into line with what is actually in the panel. For plants that have lost their drawings entirely, reverse engineering one machine at a time is slow and worth it.

    Ask for: native drawing files as well as PDFs, a revision history, and a copy kept in the panel.

    7. Electrical Maintenance and Audits

    Planned electrical maintenance finds problems while they are still cheap. It includes the inspections and tests the regulations require, such as testing and tagging of portable equipment and periodic testing of safety switches, together with work that is simply good practice: thermal imaging of switchboards, checking terminations, cleaning drive filters and testing motor insulation.

    An electrical audit is the natural starting point. It is a condition survey of the site’s electrical equipment that produces a ranked list of what needs attention and when. It turns a vague worry about ageing equipment into a plan and a budget.

    Ask for: a report with photographs and priorities, not a list of everything that is less than perfect.

    8. Shutdown Support

    Annual shutdowns compress months of work into days. The electrical scope typically includes switchboard maintenance that needs the power off, replacement of worn components, upgrades that could not be done during production and the installation of new equipment.

    Success depends on planning. Parts are ordered weeks ahead, isolations are agreed, the sequence is set so that trades do not block each other, and time is left at the end for recommissioning. The most common failure is a list that is too long for the window.

    Ask for: involvement in planning well before the shutdown, and a named person running the electrical work during it.

    How the Services Fit Together

    These are not eight separate purchases. An audit feeds the maintenance plan. Maintenance findings feed the shutdown list. Fault finding reveals where drawings are missing and where safety systems have been altered. Projects create the documentation that makes the next breakdown shorter.

    Plants that buy each service from a different provider lose those connections. The knowledge gained on one job is not available on the next. Plants that work with one provider across the range get a team that understands the site, and that understanding is where most of the value lies.

    How Work Is Usually Scoped

    Breakdowns and small repairs are normally charged by the hour, with after hours rates for nights and weekends. Defined jobs such as installations, upgrades and drafting are quoted as a fixed scope. Ongoing arrangements such as shift cover and maintenance are agreed as a regular commitment. When comparing providers, compare what is included: travel, drawings, certificates, software backups and reporting are where quotes differ most.

    Industrial Electrical Services From BevTech

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. We provide every service described here across Brisbane and South East Queensland, with 24/7 shift coverage and breakdown support. Our electricians work on Allen Bradley and Siemens platforms alongside our automation engineers, mechanical trades and in-house machine shop, so mixed electrical and mechanical jobs are handled by one team.

    If you would like to discuss a project, a maintenance arrangement or an audit of your site, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

  • Electrical Fault Finding on Production Lines: A Method That Shortens Downtime

    Electrical Fault Finding on Production Lines: A Method That Shortens Downtime

    Why Some Breakdowns Take Twenty Minutes and Others Take a Shift

    Two production lines stop with the same symptom. On one, the electrician has the line running again in twenty minutes. On the other, six hours and four replaced components later, the fault is still there. The difference is rarely luck and rarely the size of the toolbox. It is method, and it is how well the plant has prepared for the day something fails.

    This guide describes how experienced industrial electricians approach electrical fault finding on production equipment, what the rules in Queensland say about testing live equipment, and what a plant can do in advance to make every fault faster to find.

    Step One: Understand the Symptom

    Good fault finding starts with questions, not a multimeter. What exactly stopped? What was the machine doing at the time? Was there an alarm, and what did it say? Has it happened before, and when? What changed recently: a product changeover, a washdown, a repair, a software edit?

    The operator who was standing there usually holds half the answer. An electrician who walks past the operator to open a panel has already lost time. The most useful habit a plant can build is to have operators write down the alarm text and the time before anyone presses reset.

    Step Two: Read What the Machine Is Telling You

    Modern equipment is generous with information. The HMI alarm history shows what tripped and in what order. Variable speed drives store fault codes with the conditions at the moment of the trip. Safety relays and safety controllers show which channel opened. The PLC itself shows the live state of every input and output.

    The first alarm in the sequence is usually the one that matters. The dozen that follow are consequences. An electrician who can go online with the controller can see in seconds which condition is preventing the machine from running, where an electrician without the software can only guess.

    Step Three: Narrow It Down Logically

    Every control circuit is a chain: a sensor, a cable, an input, logic, an output, a cable and a device. The fault is somewhere in that chain. The efficient approach is to test at the midpoint and discard the half that is working, then repeat. Three or four well chosen tests will isolate a fault that could take thirty random ones.

    Start with the simple and likely causes. Sensors that have been knocked out of position, connectors loosened by vibration, cables damaged where they flex, water in a junction box after washdown and blown fuses account for a large share of production faults. Failed PLC hardware is far less common than people assume.

    Step Four: Prove It Before You Replace It

    Swapping parts until the fault disappears is the most expensive form of fault finding. It consumes spares, it can introduce new faults, and when the machine finally runs nobody knows which change fixed it. Worse, a part that was not faulty goes back on the shelf marked as suspect.

    The discipline is to form a theory, test it, and only then replace the component. If a new sensor fixes the problem, find out why the old one failed. A sensor destroyed by a misaligned guide rail will be destroyed again next week.

    Intermittent Faults

    The hardest faults are the ones that are not present when the electrician arrives. They demand patience and evidence. Useful techniques include trending the suspect signal in the PLC, adding a temporary latch in the logic to capture a momentary drop, logging drive data, and checking whether the fault correlates with heat, vibration, a particular product or a particular time of day.

    Thermal expansion, cables that fail only when a machine is at one end of its travel and electrical noise from a nearby drive are common culprits. With intermittent faults the plant’s records matter more than anything the electrician brings.

    What Queensland Law Says About Testing Live Equipment

    Fault finding often requires measurements on energised circuits, and this is an area where the rules are strict. In Queensland, electrical work on or near energised electrical equipment is generally prohibited. Near means within 3 metres of an exposed energised part.

    Energised work is permitted only in prescribed circumstances, which include testing and situations where there is no reasonable alternative. When it is carried out, the requirements include a risk assessment, a safe work method statement, the use of suitable testing equipment and protective equipment by a competent person, keeping unauthorised people out of the immediate area and consultation with the person who manages or controls the workplace. A safety observer is required unless the work is testing only and the risk assessment shows there is no serious risk.

    For a plant manager this has two practical consequences. First, expect a competent electrician to isolate wherever testing can be done dead, and to take a few minutes over paperwork when it cannot. Second, your site is part of the process. The electrician must consult you, and the pressure to get the line back must not become pressure to skip the controls.

    Reset or Repair

    A reset restores production. A repair removes the cause. Both have their place, because sometimes the right decision is to run until the next planned stop. The mistake is to reset and forget.

    A simple rule works well. Any fault that is reset without a known cause gets written down. Any fault that appears three times gets investigated properly at the next opportunity, with the machine stopped and the time to do it. The list of repeat resets is often the best source of items for a maintenance day or a shutdown.

    What the Plant Can Do in Advance

    Most of the time lost in a breakdown is lost before the fault finding starts. These are the preparations that pay back most.

    Current drawings. Schematics that match the panel, kept where they can be found at night. This is the single biggest factor in fault finding time.

    Software backups. A current copy of every PLC, HMI and drive configuration, stored on site and off it, with the passwords.

    Labelling. Devices, cables and terminals labelled to match the drawings.

    Critical spares. The specific sensors, drives, contactors and power supplies your lines depend on, identified in advance and held where the night shift can reach them.

    A fault log. Date, machine, symptom, cause and fix. After a year it becomes the most useful document in the maintenance office.

    Operator notes. Alarm text and time recorded before reset.

    When to Call for Help

    In-house teams handle most faults well. The time to call for support is when a fault has outlasted the people on shift, when it involves a control platform nobody on site can go online with, when a safety circuit is implicated, or when the same fault keeps returning. Calling early is cheaper than calling after four hours of lost production.

    Fault Finding Support From BevTech

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians provide fast, methodical diagnosis of electrical and control faults during production, working on Allen Bradley and Siemens platforms across fillers, seamers, cappers, labellers, conveyors and CIP systems. We offer 24/7 breakdown support and shift coverage across Brisbane and South East Queensland, and because our mechanical trades and machine shop are part of the same business, a fault that turns out to be mechanical is still our problem to solve.

    If recurring faults are costing you production, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact and we will arrange a time to look at the line.

    This article is a general guide current as at October 2026. Confirm the requirements for energised work at your own site with the Electrical Safety Office.

  • Three Phase Power in Manufacturing Plants: What Plant Managers Need to Know

    Three Phase Power in Manufacturing Plants: What Plant Managers Need to Know

    The Supply Behind Every Machine

    Three phase power is the reason a factory can run a row of large motors from a single supply. Almost every machine on a production floor depends on it, yet for most managers it stays out of sight until something goes wrong: a motor runs backwards after supply work, a new machine arrives rated for a different voltage, or a main breaker trips on the first hot afternoon after a line extension.

    You do not need to be an electrician to make good decisions about your plant’s power. You do need a working picture of how three phase supply behaves and where its limits are. This guide provides one.

    What Three Phase Power Is

    A single phase supply delivers power as one alternating wave. A three phase supply delivers three waves on three conductors, each offset from the others by a third of a cycle. The peaks arrive one after another, so the combined power delivered is smooth instead of pulsing.

    In Australia the nominal supply is 230 volts between any phase and neutral and 400 volts between any two phases, at 50 hertz. The two figures are related by the square root of three: 230 multiplied by 1.732 is approximately 400. Lighting and general power outlets use one phase and neutral. Motors and larger machines use all three.

    Why Factories Use It

    Motors start and run by themselves. Three phases create a rotating magnetic field inside a motor, so a three phase motor needs no starting capacitor or auxiliary winding. That makes it simpler, more robust and more efficient than a single phase motor of the same size.

    More power through less copper. For the same current in each conductor, a three phase supply delivers considerably more power than a single phase one. Cables, switchgear and transformers are smaller for the work done.

    Smoother delivery. Constant power means less vibration in motors and steadier operation of drives and power supplies.

    Phase Rotation

    The three phases reach their peaks in a set order, and that order determines which way a motor turns. Swap any two phases and every motor fed from that point reverses.

    This matters whenever supply work is done: a transformer replacement, a new main switchboard, a temporary generator connection or a repair to an incoming cable. If rotation is not checked before production equipment is energised, pumps run backwards, conveyors feed the wrong way and some machines can be damaged within seconds. Checking rotation takes a few minutes with the right instrument, and it should appear as a line item on any plan that touches the incoming supply.

    Balance, and Why It Matters

    A three phase system works best when each phase carries a similar load. Motors draw from all three equally, but single phase loads such as lighting, heaters and office power sit on one phase each. As a site grows, those loads tend to accumulate unevenly.

    An unbalanced system carries current in the neutral, runs some conductors hotter than others and produces unequal voltages. Motors are particularly sensitive. A small imbalance in voltage produces a much larger imbalance in motor current, which means extra heat and shorter winding life. If motors in one area fail more often than they should, phase balance is worth measuring.

    Losing a Phase

    If one phase is lost through a blown fuse, a failed contactor pole or a loose connection, a running motor will often keep turning on the remaining two. It draws far more current to do so and overheats quickly. A stopped motor will usually hum and refuse to start.

    Modern motor protection detects phase loss and trips before damage is done, but older starters may not. If your plant still has older thermal overloads without phase failure protection on critical motors, that is a modest upgrade with a large payoff.

    How Much Have You Got

    Every site has a limit, set by the size of the supply the distributor has agreed to provide and by the main switchboard and cables behind it. Plants rarely hit that limit in one step. They creep towards it, one machine at a time.

    Before adding significant load, ask for a maximum demand assessment. This looks at what the site actually draws at its busiest, using logged data where possible, and compares it with the capacity available. The answer decides whether the new machine can simply be connected, whether a switchboard needs upgrading, or whether an application to the distributor for a larger supply is needed, which can take months.

    Large Queensland business customers are generally billed on demand measured in kVA, so how the load is drawn affects the bill as well as the capacity. A site with poor power factor pays for capacity it is not turning into useful work, which is one more reason to measure before you add load.

    Imported Machines: Voltage and Frequency

    Beverage and packaging machinery is built all over the world, and not all of it is designed for a 400 volt, 50 hertz supply. Equipment from North America is commonly built for 480 volts at 60 hertz. This catches plants out at installation more often than it should.

    Voltage can be corrected with a transformer. Frequency cannot be changed so easily. A motor designed for 60 hertz and connected directly to a 50 hertz supply turns at five sixths of its design speed, about 17 per cent slower, and may run hotter. Where motors are fed through variable speed drives the problem largely disappears, because the drive creates its own output frequency. Fixed speed motors, transformers, solenoids and some control components need individual checking.

    The time to raise this is before the purchase order is signed. Specify the supply voltage and frequency in writing, ask the supplier to confirm how each motor is fed, and have an electrician review the electrical drawings before the machine ships.

    The Neutral and Harmonics

    In a balanced system with traditional loads, the neutral carries very little current. Modern plants are full of electronic equipment: variable speed drives, switch mode power supplies and LED lighting. These draw current in a distorted pattern and create harmonics, which can add together in the neutral and in transformers and cause heating that the original design never allowed for.

    The symptoms are warm neutrals, transformers running hot at modest load, nuisance tripping and capacitor failures. A power quality survey measures the distortion and shows whether it needs attention.

    Questions to Ask Before Your Next Change

    How much spare capacity does the site have at its peak, based on measurement? Is the load reasonably balanced across the three phases? Do critical motors have phase loss protection? Will phase rotation be checked after any supply work? Does the new machine match our voltage and frequency? Has anyone measured harmonics since the last batch of drives went in? Do we hold a current single line diagram of the site?

    If the answer to several of these is that nobody is sure, an electrical audit will answer all of them in one exercise.

    How BevTech Can Help

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians carry out electrical installations, switchboard modifications and plant extensions to AS/NZS 3000, install and commission new and relocated machines, and conduct condition audits of site electrical systems that find problems before they cause downtime. We work across Brisbane and South East Queensland with 24/7 breakdown support.

    If you are planning a new machine or a line extension and want to know what your supply can take, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

    This article is a general guide. Supply arrangements differ between sites, so have a licensed electrician assess your own installation before making changes.

  • Motor Starters Explained: DOL, Star Delta, Soft Starter or Variable Speed Drive

    Motor Starters Explained: DOL, Star Delta, Soft Starter or Variable Speed Drive

    Four Ways to Start a Motor

    Every electric motor in a plant needs something between it and the supply to start it, stop it and protect it. That something is a motor starter, and the choice of type has a direct effect on energy use, mechanical wear, product handling and the load a site places on its electrical supply.

    There are four main options in industrial use: direct on line, star delta, soft starter and variable speed drive. Each suits a different job. This guide explains how they work, what they cost you in practice and how to decide which belongs on which motor.

    What Every Motor Starter Has to Do

    Whatever the type, a starter has three jobs. It switches the motor on and off, traditionally with a contactor. It protects the motor from overload, so that a jammed conveyor or a seized pump trips the circuit instead of burning out the windings. And it works with upstream protection, a circuit breaker or fuses, that clears a short circuit.

    The four types differ in how they bring the motor up to speed, and that is where the consequences lie.

    Direct on Line

    A direct on line starter, usually shortened to DOL, connects the motor straight across the supply. It is the simplest and cheapest arrangement: a contactor, an overload and little else.

    The cost is in what happens during the first second or two. A motor started direct on line typically draws six to eight times its full load current until it reaches speed, and it delivers its starting torque to the driven equipment as a jolt.

    For small motors neither matters much. For larger ones the current surge can dip the voltage across the site, and the mechanical shock wears couplings, belts, gearboxes and chains. On a conveyor carrying open containers, a DOL start can be enough to tip product.

    Best for: small motors, loads that start easily and equipment that starts infrequently.

    Star Delta

    A star delta starter reduces the surge by starting the motor with its windings connected in star, which applies a lower voltage to each winding, and then switching to delta once the motor is near speed. Starting current and starting torque both fall to about one third of the direct on line values.

    It was the standard solution for larger motors for decades, and many are still in service. It has real limitations. It needs a motor with all six winding ends brought out and wound for delta connection at line voltage. It needs three contactors and a timer. The reduced torque means it will not start a heavily loaded machine. And the changeover from star to delta produces its own current and torque spike, which can be nearly as severe as the one it was meant to avoid if the timing is wrong.

    Best for: existing installations, and loads that start lightly such as fans and unloaded compressors. For new work it has largely been overtaken by the next two options.

    Soft Starter

    A soft starter uses electronic switching to raise the voltage to the motor gradually over a set ramp time. Current is limited to a level you choose, the motor accelerates smoothly and the mechanical shock largely disappears. Most soft starters can also ramp down, which is valuable on pumps because it prevents the water hammer caused by a sudden stop.

    Once the motor is at speed, a bypass contactor usually takes over and the motor runs straight from the supply. There are no ongoing losses and no speed control. A soft starter changes how a motor starts and stops, and nothing about how it runs.

    One point to understand: reducing the voltage reduces torque sharply, in proportion to the square of the voltage. A soft starter set too gently will fail to start a heavy load. Settings need to suit the machine.

    Best for: pumps, fans, compressors and conveyors that run at one speed and benefit from a gentle start and stop.

    Variable Speed Drive

    A variable speed drive controls both the voltage and the frequency supplied to the motor, which gives control of speed across the whole range and not only during starting. It can deliver full torque from standstill while drawing no more than about full load current from the supply.

    That makes it the most capable option and the most complex. A drive lets a conveyor match the speed of the filler ahead of it, lets a pump deliver exactly the flow a process needs and, on fans and pumps, can cut energy use substantially because the power required falls steeply as speed is reduced.

    The trade-offs are real. Drives cost more, generate heat and need clean, cool enclosures. They produce electrical harmonics and noise that must be managed with correct cabling and filtering. Long motor cables and older motors can need extra protection. And a drive has dozens of parameters that must be set correctly and backed up.

    Best for: anything where speed needs to change, where process control matters or where running slower saves energy.

    The Four Compared

    Starting current. DOL is highest at six to eight times full load. Star delta is about a third of that. A soft starter is adjustable, commonly set at around three to four times. A variable speed drive is the lowest, at around full load current.

    Mechanical stress. DOL is the harshest. Star delta is gentler at the start but adds a jolt at changeover. Soft starters and drives are smooth.

    Speed control. Only the variable speed drive provides it.

    Complexity and cost. DOL is lowest, then star delta, then soft starter, with the drive highest.

    Controlled stopping. Soft starters and drives can ramp down. DOL and star delta simply release the motor.

    Choosing for Typical Plant Equipment

    Conveyors. Variable speed drives on anything that carries product between machines, so that speeds can be matched and starts are gentle. Small transfer conveyors can run DOL.

    Pumps. A drive where flow or pressure needs controlling, such as CIP supply and product transfer. A soft starter where the pump runs at one duty and water hammer is the concern.

    Fans and blowers. Drives where airflow varies, because the energy saving is often the strongest of any application. Soft starters for fixed duty.

    Compressors. Follow the manufacturer. Many packaged compressors have their own starting arrangement built in.

    Mixers and agitators. Drives, for speed control and for the high torque needed to start in thick product.

    What It Means for Your Electrical Supply

    Starting current is not only the motor’s problem. A large motor starting direct on line can dip the voltage enough to trip sensitive equipment elsewhere on site, and electricity distributors place limits on the disturbance a customer’s motors may cause on the network. If you are adding a large motor, the starting method needs to be part of the conversation about supply capacity, not an afterthought.

    When to Review Old Starters

    Old starters are worth a second look when a motor or its gearbox fails repeatedly, when lights flicker or drives trip as a large machine starts, when a star delta starter bangs at changeover, when a pump stop shakes the pipework, or when a machine would simply work better at a different speed. Replacing a tired star delta starter with a soft starter or a drive is usually a straightforward job that can be done in a maintenance window.

    Any change to a starter is electrical work and must be done by a licensed electrician. The overload settings, cable sizes and protection all need checking against the new arrangement, and the drawings should be updated to match.

    Motor Control Work From BevTech

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our industrial electricians install, set up and fault find starters, soft starters and variable speed drives on conveyors, fillers, pumps, refrigeration plant and motor control centres, and our automation engineers integrate drives with Allen Bradley and Siemens control systems. Because our mechanical trades and machine shop are in the same business, we can look at the gearbox and the coupling as well as the starter.

    If a motor on your line is starting harder than it should, use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact.

    The figures in this article are typical values for general guidance. Actual starting currents and settings depend on the motor and the load, so have a licensed electrician assess the specific application.

  • Commercial vs Industrial Electrician: Which Does Your Site Need?

    Commercial vs Industrial Electrician: Which Does Your Site Need?

    The Same Licence, Very Different Work

    A manufacturer looking for an electrician will find hundreds of businesses describing themselves as commercial and industrial. The phrase suggests the two are much the same. They are not, and choosing the wrong one for a job is a common and avoidable cause of delay, rework and extended downtime.

    This guide explains the real difference between commercial and industrial electricians, which parts of a manufacturing site suit each, and how to tell which one you are talking to.

    What the Licence Does and Does Not Tell You

    In Queensland both hold the same electrical work licence, and the businesses they work for hold the same electrical contractor licence. The law makes no distinction between commercial and industrial. A licence confirms that a person is permitted to perform electrical work and has been trained to do it safely. It does not tell you what they have spent the last ten years doing.

    The distinction is one of experience. That makes it harder to check and more important to ask about.

    What Commercial Electricians Do

    Commercial electrical work is the electrical fit-out and maintenance of buildings: offices, shops, schools, warehouses, hospitality venues and the like. The typical scope includes lighting and emergency lighting, general power, distribution boards, data and communications cabling, air conditioning supplies, security and access systems, and switchboard upgrades.

    It is skilled work with its own demands. Commercial electricians are good at reading building plans, coordinating with other trades on a construction programme, meeting building compliance requirements and finishing work neatly in spaces the public will see.

    Male electrician uniform working switchboard electricity

    What Industrial Electricians Do

    Industrial electrical work is about machinery and process. The scope includes three phase motor circuits, motor control centres, variable speed drives and soft starters, PLCs and HMIs, sensors and instrumentation, machine safety systems, and the installation and commissioning of production equipment.

    The skills are different. An industrial electrician reads control schematics instead of building plans, fault finds logically through a control system, understands how a machine is meant to behave and works safely around moving plant. In food and beverage plants they also work within hygiene rules and washdown conditions that a commercial electrician may never have met.

    Where the Two Overlap

    The boundary is not a wall. Both install cable tray, terminate switchboards and test installations. Many electricians have done some of each. And every factory contains a good deal of commercial style work: the office, the canteen, the warehouse lighting, the car park.

    The overlap is why the confusion exists. A contractor who has wired a factory building has not necessarily worked on what is inside it.

    Which Does Your Site Need

    For a manufacturing site the answer is usually both, for different things.

    Suited to a commercial electrician: office and amenities power and lighting, warehouse lighting upgrades, data cabling, exit and emergency lighting testing, general building maintenance, car park and external lighting.

    Needing an industrial electrician: anything connected to a production machine, motor starters and drives, control panels, PLC and HMI faults, sensors and instruments, safety interlocks and emergency stops, new machine installation and line modifications.

    Worth thinking about: main switchboard work and power distribution. Either may be capable, but the work has to be planned around production, and an understanding of what each circuit feeds on the factory floor matters a great deal.

    Signs You Have the Wrong One for the Job

    A commercial electrician out of their depth on a production line tends to show it in recognisable ways. They ask where the reset button is. They cannot connect to the PLC and do not own the software. They replace components in turn until the fault goes away. They are uncomfortable isolating part of a machine while the rest runs. They install standard fittings in a washdown area. They finish a job on a safety circuit without testing and recording the safety function.

    None of this reflects on their ability as tradespeople. It reflects a mismatch between the job and their experience. The reverse mismatch exists too. An industrial electrician is rarely the most economical choice for fitting out an office.

    Six Questions That Reveal the Difference

    Because the licence will not tell you, ask.

    What proportion of your work is on production machinery? Which PLC and drive platforms do your electricians work with, and do you hold the software? Can you describe a recent fault you diagnosed on a production line? What do you do differently when working in a food production area? Who validates a safety function after you have modified it? Do you provide electrical drawings and update existing ones?

    An industrial contractor answers these quickly and specifically, with examples. A commercial contractor will often answer honestly that it is not their usual work, which is a useful answer and one to respect.

    Why the Wrong Choice Costs More in a Plant

    In a commercial building a slow diagnosis means a room without lights for a few extra hours. In a plant it means a line standing idle, product at risk in tanks, people paid to wait and orders slipping. Hourly rates are a small part of the cost of a breakdown. The length of the stoppage is the large part, and the length depends on how quickly someone understands the machine.

    There is also a safety dimension. Production machinery can injure people in ways that building services cannot. Work on guards, interlocks and emergency stops calls for people who understand machine safety, and modifications to a machine can carry design responsibilities that a plant should not take on by accident.

    Should You Use One Contractor or Two

    Some manufacturers use a commercial contractor for the building and an industrial one for the plant. That can work well provided the boundary is clear and both know who is responsible for the main switchboard and the distribution system between them.

    Others prefer one provider for everything on site. The advantage is a single team that knows the whole installation, from the incoming supply to the last sensor on the line. If you take this route, make sure the provider is industrial first. An industrial electrician can change a light fitting. The reverse does not always hold.

    Industrial Electricians at BevTech

    BevTech is a family owned engineering business in Richlands, Brisbane, with more than 25 years in beverage and FMCG manufacturing. Our electricians are industrial specialists. They work every day on fillers, seamers, cappers, labellers, conveyors, motor control centres, refrigeration and CIP systems, on Allen Bradley and Siemens control platforms, alongside our automation engineers and TUV certified functional safety engineers. We carry out installations to AS/NZS 3000, machine commissioning, production fault finding, safety system upgrades and electrical design, with 24/7 shift coverage and breakdown support across Brisbane and South East Queensland.

    If you are not sure whether a job on your site needs industrial experience, ask us. Use the contact form at bevtech.com.au/contact and we will give you a straight answer, including when the right answer is a commercial contractor.

    This article is a general guide current as at October 2026. Check any electrician’s licence on the Electrical Safety Office public search before work starts.

@Fd2X@HoSi10178
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