Contractor Embedding Workers with Customers ?

TwoBlocked

Senior Member
Location
Bradford County, PA
Occupation
Industrial Electrician
I've seen this done, and it has been done to me. Some think it's great, I did not and it was a main reason for leaving that job (that and duplicated, stupid computer work). I am talking about when you work for a contractor and they make an agreement with a customer for you to work exclusively for them, but you still get paid by the contractor and they continue to provide regular benefits. Some guys in the shop are embedded, others are not. I can see it happening to me.

I think I'll keep my opinions to myself and just ask what you fine folks think of it.
 
I spent over half of my career working for one client at their industrial plant. Often had 4 or 5 additional electricians working for me, and a few times up to 40. This was for the most part all new work, not maintenance type work, with the exception of replacing a few 5 kV feeder cables in underground duct banks, on an emergency basis.
 
I’ve worked for several companies that have done that. One that we had a guy over there 40 hours a week doing small stuff, basically a maintenance man, anything he couldn’t handle, would be bid. Another company the same thing until he hit the emergency purge valve on the chiller…….he had it made, doing virtually nothing all day, which he liked. That’s why we put him out there.
 
Now that I am retired, I do some part time consulting for that plant I spend many years at, because of the turnover in engineering staff, I know more about their electrical systems than most of the people they have on site.
 
I spent over half of my career working for one client at their industrial plant. Often had 4 or 5 additional electricians working for me, and a few times up to 40. This was for the most part all new work, not maintenance type work, with the exception of replacing a few 5 kV feeder cables in underground duct banks, on an emergency basis.
Were you the contractor or did you work for a contractor but spent most or all your time working for one client?

If working for another contractor did that contractor provide the extra helpers when needed, as in pulling them from other crews or were they basically temp employees? Or did the client provide some of this help in some way?
 
We had contracts with Hospitals, Paper Mills, and Textile Mill. Each had the same lead men and crews for 20+ years. The Hospitals and Paper Mill were continuously doing additions and remodels.
 
We had contracts with Hospitals, Paper Mills, and Textile Mill. Each had the same lead men and crews for 20+ years. The Hospitals and Paper Mill were continuously doing additions and remodels.
What are your views of the advantages and the disadvantages for both the customer and for the contractor in those arrangements?
 
What are your views of the advantages and the disadvantages for both the customer and for the contractor in those arrangements?
The customer gets what they want with a familiar person and crew and the contractor has job security. We still had to competitively bid their large projects but had some what of an advantage knowing things that others might not.
 
The customer gets what they want with a familiar person and crew and the contractor has job security. We still had to competitively bid their large projects but had some what of an advantage knowing things that others might not.
Thanks! And disadvantages? Maybe to the workers?
 
I have a brother in law that from my understanding works for a third party but is a groundskeeper on a college campus. He gets many the same advantages as other employees of the college including reduced tuition rates for two of his kids that attend there.

He also drives bus for sports and other activities, not sure if that is a separate deal with the college or through his other employer. AFAIK it is more or less a separate job from his other job though, yet they work with him on hours as sometimes they go on rather long trips where he can't be around to do his other job during that absence.

He is also alumni, his father was alumni and many of his siblings were as well and it is somewhat of a smaller college.
 
Were you the contractor or did you work for a contractor but spent most or all your time working for one client?

If working for another contractor did that contractor provide the extra helpers when needed, as in pulling them from other crews or were they basically temp employees? Or did the client provide some of this help in some way?
I worked for a contractor, but it was more like, I was the contractor...all the main office did was to collect the money, pay for the material, and pay the guys. They would also send me guys from other projects or from the union hall when I needed more help. Typically I had 4 to 6 electricians with me all the time.

All the client did was to tell me what they wanted done, and issue the POs. In many cases I was working for chemical engineers, so they did not provide any electrical details. The told me what size motors went where, and what instruments would be installed and what PLC or DCS would control the equipment. I did the design, provided the drawings, and provided them the costs.

From 1973 to 1995, I was in and out of that plant based on the work load, working under the GF for that site for the same contractor. Probably a total of 4 or 5 years at that site. In 95 that GF retired and I took his place until I retired in 2014.
 
We don't have that as an actual policy or standard practice, but some of our clients are so large that we semi-dedicate a technician to them. They'll have 30-50 buildings on a campus, and they have various fire systems that require annual, semi-annual, quarterly and even monthly inspections. That's enough to keep one or two techs busy for the whole year.
 
Our largest customer (Gas Industry) just issued an RFQ for what I understand is an embedded electrician position on their "Water Team". This would include VFD, PLCs, HMIs. It probably reads much like my resume, but there would be a learning curve on specific equipment. I haven't dealt with Allen-Bradley PLCs, for instance.

Being embedded on a "Team" of regular employees gives me pause. This customer is the result of a recent merger, and I can only assume there is still some jockeying for position going on. As an outsider, am wondering if I'll be more like a Water Boy...

Anyhoo, I'll have to read the RFQ and see what I think.
 
I have multiple industrial customers that we keep the same people at every day. We also do the project work for those customers when they deem its to much for our couple in house guys to handle.
 
I was embedded with a customer for about a year. Mostly good, was close to home & shop. I did find it hard to stay out of their internal politics. Lots of squabbles got going between departments and stuffed shirts, lots of attitudes, personalities and egos.
 
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