How companies can effectively organize responsibilities by engaging an external chief responsible electrical specialist, free up internal resources, and create sustainable structures.
External CRES: When It’s Appropriate and How to Use It Effectively
An external chief responsible electrical specialist (CRES) is often viewed as a sort of stopgap solution. The previous chief responsible electrical specialist is leaving the company, no one can be found to succeed them on short notice, and so someone from outside the company must step in. However, companies often find that they have grown to the point where a gap has gradually emerged—a gap that now needs to be filled with a qualified chief responsible electrical specialist.
An external chief responsible electrical specialist can also serve as part of a standard organizational model and professionally fill this gap without diverting urgently needed resources to other tasks. It is important to always keep in mind that the chosen solution must work within your own organizational structure. After all, electrical safety is not improved simply because the name of the person in charge appears on the company’s payroll.
What matters most are expertise, actual capacity to act, clear lines of responsibility, and an organizational structure in which the responsibilities assigned can actually be carried out.
When an External CRES May Be Appropriate
The most obvious case is when there is no suitable person within the company who can assume responsibility.
It is important to emphasize the word “suitable” here. An experienced electrical specialist is not automatically the right chief responsible electrical specialist. In addition to the required technical expertise, the person in question must also be able to design systems, make decisions, advocate for requirements vis-à-vis other departments, and exercise technical supervision within their area of responsibility.
Above all, however, she must also be willing to take on this task.
Appointing someone as the chief responsible electrical specialist simply because their name fits best in the organizational chart is not a particularly sound organizational decision.
Another classic scenario for an external solution arises when a current chief responsible electrical specialist leaves the company. Companies cannot always plan for such personnel changes well in advance. At the same time, organizational responsibility does not simply disappear along with the previous employee when they leave. An external CRES can provide the necessary continuity in this situation.
The situation is similar when it comes to new locations, production lines, projects, or business units. Especially during periods of growth, electrical engineering can sometimes change faster than the existing organizational structure can keep up. New facilities are added, areas of responsibility shift, additional electrical specialists are brought on board, and structures that were previously functioning well suddenly reach their limits.
For this reason, a restructuring can also be a good opportunity for an external CRES. Not necessarily because everything went wrong before. An organization that worked exceptionally well for five electrical specialists and a manageable production facility isn’t automatically suited for three locations and multiple departments.
Another scenario pertains specifically to small and medium-sized businesses. While they must fulfill this responsibility just as thoroughly, the actual scope of the work may not justify a dedicated full-time position. It would make little sense to automatically conclude that the organizational need for a role necessitates a full-time position. Furthermore, even if a company has suitable in-house staff, it must ask itself whether this is the most sensible use of this potentially highly valuable resource. Am I perhaps robbing my company of some of the energy that makes my products so incredibly ingenious by saddling my people with this task as well?
And finally, an outside perspective can be particularly helpful. Anyone who has worked within an existing organization for many years knows it inside and out. While this is an advantage, it can sometimes lead to established structures being taken for granted. An external chief responsible electrical specialist inevitably brings a different perspective and needs to have it explained to them why things are regulated the way they are. These questions alone can already be extremely valuable.
Temporary or permanent external?
Not every external CRES performs the same role. For an interim CRES, the focus is generally on a time-limited task. This may involve filling a gap that has arisen, establishing a new division, or restructuring an existing organization. This means that, from the outset, there is a point at which responsibility is to be handed back over.
However, that does not mean that electrical safety itself is a temporary project. It is not. Electrical safety remains an ongoing responsibility as long as the relevant hazards, systems, and electrical work exist.
The only thing that is time-limited is the employment of the person in question.
A permanent external CRES takes a different approach. In this case, a conscious decision is made to fill the position externally on a long-term basis. This can be advisable, for example, when the actual scope of the role does not justify an internal full-time position, or when suitable internal specialists are expected to continue performing their regular operational duties.
In between, there is a rather interesting hybrid model: A chief responsible electrical specialist initially assumes responsibility, establishes or consolidates the necessary structures, and simultaneously develops a suitable internal successor.
The external solution thus not only serves as a stopgap measure, but also paves the way for its own replacement.
Which model is the right one depends on the organization. Factors such as size, number, and type of locations; electrical hazards; available personnel; and, last but not least, the current state of the organization’s CRES management all play a role here. Therefore, there is no single “right” external CRES solution for every company.
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What an external CRES is actually required to do
The appointment alone accomplishes little, even though it is an important step. First, it must be clearly defined exactly which area of responsibility the external chief responsible electrical specialist will assume. Such an area could be an entire location, a business unit, specific systems, or several clearly delineated units.
This distinction must be clear. And not only to management and the CRES itself, but especially to those who work within this structure.
Equally important are the necessary authorities. Those who bear responsibility must be able to make professional decisions within their area of responsibility. Delegating responsibility while continuing to have decisions made elsewhere makes no sense from an organizational standpoint.
This also includes clearly defined responsibilities. Who decides when to assign an qualified electrical specialist? Who is responsible for the electrical system? Who is authorized to approve work? What information must be made available to the chief responsible electrical specialist, and for what changes must they be consulted?
The larger the company grows, the more important these questions—which may sound trivial at first—become.
The CRES must also ensure that inspections, certifications, training, and risk assessments are not carried out as separate, independent tasks in different parts of the company. These activities belong within a single, integrated framework.
Documentation, in particular, must not be allowed to become mere paperwork.
Of course, documentation is necessary. But a folder full of appointments, inspection reports, and training records does not in itself make for good electrical safety management. Rather, useful documentation must show the person in charge where action is needed.
Which certification is about to expire? Which electrical specialists need to update their qualifications? Where have responsibilities not yet been clearly defined? Which risk assessments need to be reviewed due to a change? That’s when documentation transforms from mere proof of compliance into a management tool.
A CRES on paper isn’t enough
An external CRES becomes particularly problematic when its primary purpose is simply to enter a name somewhere in an organizational chart.
A chief responsible electrical specialist who lacks sufficient authority cannot reasonably fulfill their responsibilities. The same applies to an area of responsibility whose boundaries no one knows exactly or that is simply so large that effective technical supervision is practically impossible.
An external CRES must also have access to the necessary information. It should not learn about facilities, personnel, organizational changes, planned work, and identified deficiencies only by chance. This requires cooperation.
For this reason, the external chief responsible electrical specialist must not be treated like a service provider whom one calls occasionally when an electrical problem arises. They are part of the company’s electrical organizational structure and require clearly defined communication channels to senior management, supervisors, and the electrical specialists working on the front lines.
Above all, however, a CRES is not a tool that simply shifts responsibility out of the company. Rather, it is a tool that management can use to fulfill its responsibilities.
How to Effectively Implement an External CRES
An external chief responsible electrical specialist should therefore not start by signing a purchase order, but rather by asking what the actual goal is.
A logical workflow might look something like this, for example:
- Define the current situation and the goal.
Why should an external CRES be used? Is it a temporary measure, a rebuilding effort, the consolidation of existing structures, or a permanent external solution? - Define areas of responsibility, authority, and points of contact.
It must be clear what the chief responsible electrical specialist is in charge of, what decisions they can make, and which functions within the company they collaborate with. - Assess and prioritize the existing electrical engineering infrastructure.
Existing structures should not be replaced on a whim. First, determine what is working, where gaps exist, and which issues actually require urgent action. - Establish, maintain, or consolidate the operational structure.
Responsibilities, workforce organization, inspections, qualifications, hazard assessments, work procedures, and documentation must all work together effectively. Not every organization needs the same system. - Establish communication and effectiveness monitoring.
A structure, once established, does not automatically remain effective. Regular communication with senior management, supervisors, and electrical specialists is just as important as verifying whether the established procedures actually work in day-to-day operations. - When working on an interim assignment, plan for the handover from the very beginning.
If an internal successor is planned, they should not be introduced only two weeks before the end of the interim assignment. A successful handover begins well in advance and gradually integrates the future chief responsible electrical specialist into decision-making and organizational structures.
This also makes it clear what criteria should be used to evaluate a functional external CRES solution.
It’s not about how many documents were created. It’s not about how often the external chief responsible electrical specialist was on site at the company. And it’s not just about the fact that a formally correct order exists.
The key factor is whether an electrical engineering organization has been established or is being maintained in which responsibilities are clearly defined, the right people are assigned the appropriate tasks, and safety-related decisions can be made in a timely manner.
Whether the person at the head of this functional structure is an internal employee or an external contractor, however, is just one of several organizational decisions.
Conclusion
An external chief responsible electrical specialist is much more than just a solution for a short-term staffing gap. When used correctly, they establish clear lines of responsibility, strengthen the electrical engineering organization, and allow valuable internal expertise to remain where it benefits the company the most. Whether this is an interim solution, a permanent arrangement, or intended to lead to a future internal handover is of secondary importance. What matters most is that areas of responsibility, authority, and interfaces are clearly defined and that the external CRES is actually capable of fulfilling their duties. A good external CRES, therefore, isn’t just a name on the organizational chart. They ensure that electrical safety within the company functions in a structured, effective, and sustainable manner.
If you’re interested in an external CRES, we’d be happy to help (click)!
If you’d like to learn more about the different roles, I recommend that you Our Publications, such as the audiobook “The chief responsible electrical specialist: VEFK Structure and Electrical Safety in the Workplace for Business Owners, Specialists, and Managers”. Information and sources of supply can be found on the usual audio book portals as well as on the homepage tcs-engineering.de
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