Electrical Report, what’s next?

gazza — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 23:00:00 +0000

gazza Fri, 25/10/2013

Your insurance company wants you to have a report carried out on your electrical installation. You contact three companies to get competitive quotes. You accept and the work is carried out, report submitted and invoice paid. Six months later you get a knock on the door by the HSE and now you find that you are being prosecuted. What went wrong? Your insurance company is happy, you’ve have had your electrical report carried out. So why are you being handed improvement notices?
The reason for this is that with many people having these services carried out, once the report has been completed they simply file it away at the bottom of a draw and never act upon the recommendations inside. The report could have a thousand observations on it but you could probably put money on them never being touched, the faults highlighted staying put for the next time the building is tested and the report never seeing the light of day. I say time and time again, “A report does not make your complaint, it is what you do with it afterwards that matters the most.” With all reporting services they are the first step to ensuring a safe working environment, not the final stage.
Once the inspection has been completed the real work begins.
It is good at this stage of the article to highlight what an electrical condition report is not. It is not a certificate. It never has been, it does not certify that the installation is safe for continued use; it does not absolve you of all sin and is not the answer to all your prayers. I have had countless people over the years ask that when the corrective works have been completed after the initial condition report was carried out, they would like me to re issue a satisfactory certificate? My answer is no, it is not a certificate. It is a report.
As mentioned above, the electrical installation condition report is the first step to a continued program of maintenance that ensures safety, not the final stage, but the first step. While this is done by periodically testing and inspecting the property, it is the production of the report, its contents and subsequent actions which are important
Condition reporting is a two stage process
1) You have your report carried out, this will require a test engineer to inspect and test a percentage of your installation in order to provide you with a report including any recommendations found at the time of test.
2) All corrective works that are carried out are supported with the relevant certificate or work sheets.
With the initial report and the supplementary minor works documentation this is more than sufficient to highlight to the HSE that you are fulfilling your duty in ensuring a safe working environment.
While many get bogged down in testing specifications, testing percentages, rolling programs and so on, just remember that the percentage of the installation inspected and tested is not as important as the report itself. Guidance note three of the Wiring Regulations 3.8.4 states “that the inspector must be familiar with setting sample sizes as carrying out 100% inspection and testing in installations is unrealistic, uneconomical and unachievable”
Failure to address these issues will result in prosecution as was the case with Keighley Lighting, a West Yorkshire firm prosecuted over unacceptable working conditions by the HSE http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-yh-13612.htm#!
In this instance, the HSE found during their inspection an electrical report that had been left to one side for a considerable amount of time and on investigation it was determined that there were over 70 items highlighted which had not been dealt with.
Keylighting Ltd, of North Brook Works, Alincote Street, Keighley, was prosecuted by HSE for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 between 25 May 2010 and 25 January 2011. The company pleaded guilty and was fined £8,000 with £20,000 to pay in costs
This and other examples of work place negligence go a long way in helping raise awareness and helping create safer working environments for all Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states: ‘It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the
health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees’. And while electrical inspection and testing is not a statutory requirement, the statement above is and is quite frequently enforced So how can you protect yourself?
It is pretty simple, whoever you have dealing with your inspection. Ask them for two things
a) A quotation to correct the works highlighted.
b) A proposed program to highlight when and how the work is to be done.
This will show that you have been inspected and there is evidence to prove that you are serious in keeping your work place safe.
There has been a great deal of conversation regarding having different companies carry out corrective works and testing. In short that is a decision for you to take; while it be advantageous for a company to maintain an element of commercial impartiality, it is not vital. As long as the work carried out is certified at the end that should be enough.
We have come across testing companies who insist that should work be carried out by another company, you must have the initial testers return to certify their work. Let me assure you that this is completely false. No matter how big or small the works are, the contractor is required to certify their work with the production of the appropriate certification. Claiming that their report will be void should anyone else touch your site is just plain incorrect and should be dismissed outright.
It can be however, more effective to have the same testing company carry out the remedial works as they will have a better understanding of the environment, however if you have your own spark then get them to do it. Why pay more?
Prior to the introduction of the new electrical installation condition reports, many a client would dismiss reports recommendations as being silly and trivial in their findings, and to be honest they were. One of the main problems encountered with periodic inspections were that they became blank cheques for contractors to drum up additional work in the form of remedial actions.
The new reporting format was designed to eradicate that and bring a sense of trust and honesty back into the market. Multiple circuits protected by one device, untraced circuits, screw missing, was to be removed from the condition reports as while they may not comply with regulations, they do not in many cases impair the integrity and safety of the installation.
Having a good understanding of both the client’s requirements and that of the wiring regulations is essential in order to approach an installation in a much more measured fashion.
We may be slowly coming out of this recession, however the main aim of any credible compliance company should be to help their clients stay as safe and as compliant as they can, without spending a penny more than they necessarily have to. I think this and dedication to service delivery should be the fundamental principles of any good company wishing to build trust and credibility within the workplace environment.
The important thing is, get your property checked properly and more than that, act upon the recommendation made after the testers leave and go home.
By following this simple rule you should always be ready should the HSE come knocking.

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Electrical Inspection