Electrical installations should not be left without any attention for the periods of years that are normally allowed between formal electrical testing. In domestic and also commercial premises it is presumed that the occupier will soon notice any breakages or excessive wear and arrange for precautions to be taken and repairs to be carried out. In other situations, there must be arrangements made for initiating reports to ascertain the condition of the installation. This should be supplemented by routine checks.
Before we start the electrical testing, it is essential that we know the extent of the installation to be inspected and any criteria regarding the limit of the inspection. This will be recorded on the report. Any diagrams, design criteria, charts or tables should be provided where possible to indicate the type and composition of circuits. Previous test results should be made available where possible to compare results. All these factors will help the electrical testing process and determine any weakness within the installation.
Where diagrams, charts or tables are not available, a degree of exploratory work may be necessary so that inspection and testing cab be carried out safely and effectively. A survey may be necessary to identify switchgear, control gear, and circuits they control.
The requirements for fixed installation testing are contained within the Institution of Electrical Engineers 17th Edition, Wiring Regulations (BS 7671). Depending upon the type of establishment, the frequency of the inspection and testing will vary. However, all electrical installations require testing to meet the requirements of the IEE Wiring Regulations.
The Health And Safety Executive (HSE) do recommend that to comply with their regulations, an electrical inspection and testing schedule should be put in place at all places of work. Electrical Periodic Inspection and Testing is necessary because all electrical installations are compromised due to a number of factors such as damage, wear, tear, corrosion, excessive electrical loading, ageing and environmental influences.
Installations have electrical installation testing conducted periodically to ensure they are still in a safe operating condition. All electrical installations deteriorate after a length of time so it is very important that an in depth survey is carried out and a report written to comment on any fault s found and ways to solve them. All faults found are given a code. There are 4 codes: code 1 immediately dangerous. Code 2 could be dangerous under fault conditions. Codes 3 & 4 are recommendations as they do not comply with the current regulations. Only code 1 & 2 faults will fail the certificate. If any faults are found we will input them on page 2 of the NICEIC report and give them a code which will identify how serious it is.
The installation will have a full visual check. This will involve looking at the condition of the distribution board, cables, fittings and accessories. We will be looking for signs of overloading, heat damage and compliance of the installation in accordance with the BS 7671 electrical regulations. Live and dead testing will be carried out to determine the soundness of the cables and connections. All results are input into the report and any deviations from the regs are logged with comments.
After the electrical installation testing is complete we will go through the faults with the client and try to find the easiest (in most cases) & cheapest solution to fix them and then issue a satisfactory certificate. Most installation require an inspection every 5 years, but some situations require one every year or so depending on the use and premises.
As the electrical installation testing procedure requires both live and dead tests, in most cases this is not an issue, but where certain equipment cannot be shut down in the day time, we are able to work at night to minimise disruption.
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