Rig Electrician: The backbone of power system

“I think it is a mistake for any lad to do electrical work pure and simple, he should start by obtaining a thorough grounding in Mechanical Engineering and specialise afterwards if he thinks proper—really electrical matters to my mind consist of about 75% Mechanical Engineering, 20% common sense and 5% purely electrical work.” – George Hughes

Job of a Rig Electrician

Rig Electricians working on the oil rig oversee repairing and maintaining of all the rig equipment and tools. They are expected to install, repair, troubleshoot and constantly monitor the electrical equipment and systems on an oil rig. Usually, the demand for a Rig Electrician remains high on an Oil rig. Their job is similar to any other industrial electrician, the only difference being that the working hours on the site is cumbersome and erratic throughout the year. Rig electricians are usually on a roster system; they are often supposed to work outdoors in all types of weather, sometimes even underground, and are a vital part of the crew. A Rig electrician or a rig sparky, as they are often referred to as, are employed by the maintenance department of the oil rig. Most of the Rig electricians escalate in the ranks with experience and additional licensing exams.

Here are some of the responsibilities carried out by a Rig Electrician:

• They make sure that all the equipment are well maintained and follow the company’s regulations for health and safety.
• Rig Electricians ensure that there are always enough tools, parts and consumables required to maintain the power system.
• They keep the spare parts for the equipment of their responsibility and maintaining stock levels, for nay shortage they are expected to report to the supervisor.
• Conducting maintenance checks for all the automation PC systems and controlling the I/O servers.
• They also update all P & ID drawing to conform to actual site equipment for control and safety systems.
• A rig electrician reports any kind of misuse of equipment to senior manager.
• Furthermore, they often collaborate with the maintenance manager to discuss the maintenance issues, repairs and planning ahead in order to avoid the risk of delay of the work due to the breakdown of any equipment.
• Lastly, they also supply any sort of information required to update the sketches, drawings of the replacement components.

Let us take a look at few of the skills and abilities that have become a must for most of the Rig Electrician:

• All the Rig Electricians need to have a degree or at least a diploma in Electrical Engineering.
• It is always preferred for them to have four to five years of working experience as a professional industrial electrician.
• Rig Electricians should be mentally and physically be able to tolerate any harsh conditions or irregular working hours.
• Good communication skills are also required in order to instruct the workers to help with equipment maintenance.

Health and safety certifications courses taken

A job like Rig Electrician which requires extreme caution at the workplace at almost all the times requires mandatory completion of few health and safety courses. The employers and companies expect you to obtain certifications like OSHA (Occupational safety and health administration), there are OSHA 10 hour and 30-hour courses. To know more about these courses https://www.energydais.com/imperial-international-safety-services/osha-courses-8143/.  Additionally, all the rig electricians working offshores need to complete BOSIET (Basic Offshore and Safety Induction and Emergency Training) Visit https://insights.energydais.com/category/learning-resources/career-help/ to know more about this course. HAZWOPER 40 hour is another course taken by a Rig electrician since the working environment often involves hazardous materials and their disposal.

Salary insights and Job search

The discussions above tell us that Rig Electricians are an integral part of the Oil rig crew and are often expected to work in 12-hour shifts. The average salary for them is about $63,000 annually with chief electricians earning up to $83,000. According to Rigworker, electrical technicians make an average of $74,000 per year. With companies offering variable salaries, get the best results at https://user.energydais.com/. Energy Dais is a centralized platform for the world of Oil and Gas. Register free of cost and upload your resume to get your skill sets matched for the jobs you are best suited for. With 5000+ job postings and a user-friendly interface, it is Oil and Gas Industry’s first full-stream online portal! Get the latest industry insights, career help and jobs only at this amazing global platform.