Working around trading hours
A retailer can’t afford to lose a day’s trade because the lights are being changed or a circuit is being added. Most of our maintenance and refit work in operating stores is done early in the morning, after close or overnight, with the power only isolated for the circuits we’re working on.
When a shutdown is unavoidable, we plan it with you in advance, keep it as short as possible and test everything before we leave so the store opens normally. Refrigeration, POS and security systems are identified before any isolation, so nothing is left off by accident.
Shopping centre rules and centre management
Shopping centres have their own approvals process for tenancy works. Before we start, centre management usually wants insurance certificates, licence details, a SWMS for the works, and sometimes a work permit or hot works permit booked for each shift.
Centres also control access to base building services. Tapping into a centre’s main switchroom, fire system interface or sub-metering usually needs the centre’s own electrician or approval from centre management. We work within those arrangements, book isolations through the right people and follow the loading dock, noise and after-hours access rules for each centre.
Shop fit-out design packages
Retail brands usually supply a fit-out design package with lighting layouts, power and data points, signage requirements and equipment schedules. Our job is to turn that package into a compliant installation that fits the tenancy’s actual supply and the centre’s tenancy design guidelines.
For a typical commercial fit-out in a retail space we cover:
- Tenancy distribution board and sub-metering to centre requirements
- Track lighting, display lighting and shopfront signage circuits
- Power and data for POS, back-of-house and security systems
- Emergency and exit lighting for the tenancy layout
- Connection of fit-out equipment and coolrooms where required
We read the design package against the tenancy’s available supply early. If the design needs more capacity than the tenancy has, it’s better to raise it with the centre and the designer before the shopfitter is on site. Our fit-out checklist covers the common gaps.
Lighting that sells stock
Lighting does a lot of work in retail. It needs to show the product accurately, draw people into the store and keep running costs down. We install and upgrade LED track, linear and display lighting and can advise on colour temperature and colour rendering for the type of stock you sell.
Older stores with fluorescent or halogen lighting often see a noticeable drop in energy use and heat after an upgrade. See our commercial lighting page for what’s involved.
Compliance and ongoing maintenance
Retail tenancies carry the same obligations as any workplace. Emergency and exit lighting needs regular testing to AS/NZS 2293, and portable appliances in back-of-house areas and staff rooms should be tested and tagged at intervals that suit the environment. Many centres ask tenants to provide these records.
We offer emergency lighting testing and test and tag as one-off visits or as part of a maintenance agreement, with the paperwork kept on file so it’s easy to hand to centre management when asked.
Common problems in older tenancies
When a retailer takes over an existing tenancy, the electrical installation left behind by the previous tenant is often a mixed bag. We regularly find undocumented circuits, overloaded boards, redundant cabling in the ceiling and emergency fittings that no longer suit the layout.
Before a refit, we inspect the existing installation and tell you what can be reused and what needs replacing. That avoids paying to work around old wiring that should come out, and it gives the shopfitter a clean starting point. Make-good works at the end of a lease can be handled the same way, stripping out the fit-out back to the condition the lease requires.
What we need from you
For a fit-out, send us the design package, the centre’s tenancy design guidelines if available, the handover date from the centre and your target opening date. For maintenance or repairs in an operating store, let us know your trading hours, access arrangements and who can approve an isolation. We’ll come back with an upfront written quote and a work plan that suits your trading.