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Yearly Archives: 2015

Male connector fitted with exposed terminals

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Can you see a problem with this? Would you spot the dangers of exposed terminals?

The plug, the flex and the three-pin connector all look to be in perfect condition don’t they? However, this lead could quite literally be lethal.

It appears that someone has unwittingly, maybe during a momentary lapse of concentration fitted a “male” connector with exposed terminals on the end of a 13-amp plug, now imagine this plugged into a socket outlet with those exposed terminals at the end and suddenly it no longer looks quite so innocent.

A Veriserv engineer found and removed this from a site this week emphasising the need to be extra vigilant for such seemingly innocent and yet very dangerous pieces of “DIY” equipment.

The IET recommend that formal visual inspections be undertaken periodically by a competent person to identify these hazardous items.

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.

 

 

Information for Reference

IET- Institution for Engineering Technology

Regulations

Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

 

 

Incorrectly installed Ring Circuit

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How can a circuit still be energised when it is clearly switched off? ….Answer ? when it is an incorrectly installed Ring Circuit! This week we have had the not so unusual occurrence of a ring circuit that when installed or modified the conductors have been mixed up with another Ring Circuit. For the circuit to be fully isolated two MCB’s* would be required to be switched off making the protective device ineffective for its purpose.

The Ring Circuit was introduced in the early 1940’s due to its efficient use of copper and its flexibility for installation. It is still the most common circuit used for sockets in the UK to this day! Installed correctly the circuit makes use of two conductors running in parallel for the Line, Neutral and Earth conductors. In the instance of our fault of the week, one single conductor from one leg of the circuit had been mixed up with another leg of a completely different circuit.

A Ring Circuit that has been incorrectly wired in this manner poses a number of hazards. Firstly in the event of a fault to an appliance the circuit protection (MCB) would not operate therefore leading to a possible overload. Also, during maintenance, should **Safe Isolation not be correctly undertaken the circuit would remain live even though appearing switched off to the maintenance personnel.

Veriserv recommend that only competent electricians undertake maintenance work on electrical circuits.

 

Photograph(s)

MCB for the fuseboard that is clearly switched off and the microwave oven that is plugged into the circuit that remains switched on & energised.

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.

References

*MCB- Miniature Circuit Breaker (as shown in the photograph) also referred to as “over-current protective device”

**Safe Isolation- proving dead (not energised) in accordance with Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 regulation 12

Veriserv extends its services to testing in Compex Explosive Atmospheres

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Veriserv would like to congratulate their engineers on the successful completion of the competence validation tests in relation to CompEx. Meaning Veriserv can now test in explosive atmospheres

explosive atmospheres compex

Veriserv’s Senior Electrical Inspection & Testing engineers have extended their qualifications by completing and passing the new modules in Compex environments. The extension to Veriservs’ range of services is specifically for clients who work in areas that contain explosive atmospheres, for example; Gas refineries, petro-chemical, distilleries, pharmaceutical and a wide range of other gas industries.

Our engineers have successfully passed the following units:

EX01  Preparation & Installation of Ex’d’, ‘n’, ‘e’ and ‘p’ electrical equipment

EX02  Maintenance & Inspection of Ex’d’, ‘n’, ‘e’ and ‘p’ electrical equipment

EX03  Preparation & Installation of Ex’i’ equipment and systems

EX04  Maintenance & Inspection of Ex’i’ equipment and systems

All units are based on the IEC Standards 60079: Parts 14 & 17 and the APEA/IP Guide as appropriate 

explosive atmospheres engineer testing

The CompEx Scheme is now the global solution for validating core competency of employees and contract staff of major users in the gas, oil and chemical sectors.

Veriserv are delighted with their engineers achievements and through CompEx, look forward to extending our range of services for clients who operate in environments with explosive atmospheres.

As more companies are required to comply with the ATEX Directive to meet European legislation, Veriserv are perfectly positioned to offer ATEX advice, assessment and certification of your electrical installations.

Our services also include electrical inspections of work carried out by your contractor ensuring compliance to current requirements and regulations.

For more information or a quotation please click here   

The high risk of using a damaged socket extension lead

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You may have heard the old adage of “if it works then there’s no need to fix it” but when an item of portable electrical equipment becomes damaged it should be switched off, disconnected from the supply and taken out of service. Unfortunately, in this instance this damaged socket extension lead was found by a Veriserv engineer to be still in use despite its obvious dangerous condition.

This piece of equipment obviously poses a number of hazards such as electrical shock and the risk of causing a fire. This would pose a high risk to any company and its employees.

All users of portable electrical equipment in the work place should undertake ‘User Checks’ however in this case it seems this piece of equipment has gone unnoticed. Ideally, in this situation as soon as the damage occurred the piece of equipment should have been switched off. It should not be acceptable for a significant defect of this nature to go unnoticed, therefore the IET recommend that formal visual inspections are undertaken periodically by a competent person to identify these hazardous items.

A Veriserv engineer would isolate the equipment at time of the inspection and advise the client of his findings, and assist where possible to get equipment that was connected to the extension lead back on.

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.

 

Information for Reference

IET- Institution for Engineering Technology

Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment Chapter 15.8

Regulations

Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 Regulation 5

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Regulation 4(1)

Fuse replaced with steel rod – Portable Appliance Testing

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This fault of the week underlines the importance of carrying out Portable Appliance Testing.

When a fuse blows you often find yourself hunting around for a suitable replacement. Unfortunately, in this instance, a fuse was not available so an enterprising individual prepared one from a steal rod. It may have even been turned down on a lathe such is the perfect fit!

For the purpose of protecting the appliance and the user in the event of an electrical fault, this item is obviously unsuitable, meaning not only your electrical appliance breaking, but there is a huge potential of a fire risk. Is it really worth it?

All users of portable electrical equipment in the work place should undertake ‘User Checks’. However for non-trained personnel it is recommended that the plug top is not removed.

Unfortunately, this limited inspection may lead to a significant defect of this nature going unnoticed. Therefore the IET recommend that formal visual inspections are undertaken periodically by a competent person to identify these hazardous items.

A Veriserv engineer would replace the fuse during the Portable Appliance Testing and advise the client of his findings. Keeping both the client, and all those around the electrical item, safe and sound.

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.

Information for Reference

IET- Institution for Engineering Technology

Regulations

Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

 

 

C1 electrical defect-Blanks Missing From a Fuse Board

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On the face of it, as a defect,  blanks missing from fuse board, appears as a fairly innocuous fault, however due to the nature of the defect and the fact that direct contact with live parts could be possible, the inspecting engineer would afford the defect a C1 Fail Code*.

C1 electrical defect-Blanks Missing From a Fuse Board – Many reports would have this defect recorded as it is very commonplace. When a new fuse board is installed, often the unit is specified for future extra capacity. Therefore the board would have extra ‘space’ for additional circuits. To avoid the unnecessary expense of fitting Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCB’s) blanking pieces would be fitted instead. Unfortunately over time these ‘blanks’ get lost or broken and lead to the unwanted C1 defect being reported on within the EICR.

Rectification of this defect is usually quite simple with most electrical wholesalers selling either original blank plates or universal items that would fit most boards. As part of any maintenance it is recommended that a competent person replaces these items as and when they are noticed.

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.

Information for Reference
*C1 Fail Code- Danger Present. Risk of injury. Immediate remedial action required.
EICR- Electrical Installation Condition Report.

Regulations
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989-Reg 4(2) “The need for maintenance to be done to ensure safety”
IET Wiring Regulations BS7671:2008 (Amd 3 2015) Reg 416.2.1 Live parts within enclosures providing a degree of protection at least to IP2X (12.5mm dia finger)

 

Thermographic Inspection – Fault of the Week at Veriserv

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In this example of our Veriserv fault of the week a thermographic inspection detects latent defect which could cause failure and/or fire.
A small rise in temperature at an electrical terminal was found while undertaking a thermographic inspection. Not visible to the naked eye, if left unchecked, the termination could undergo a progressive failure that would lead to very high temperatures and could be a likely cause of fire.

A number of causes can give rise to increased heat either at electrical switchgear, terminations or electrical circuits.

In this instance the engineer inspected the electrical connection more closely and noted that the wiring is becoming discoloured due to the heat. This would suggest that even higher temperatures were possibly reached at this point under load conditions.

Identifying ‘hot spots’ in electrical equipment is just the starting point for Veriserv engineers when undertaking thermographic inspections. These ‘hot spots’ or points of interest require careful consideration to identify the root cause. As all inspections are undertaken by electrical engineers, investigating the likely cause of the failure is immediate and speedy rectification is often made.

More information on Thermographic Inspection

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.

Relevant Regulations
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989-Reg 4(2) ‘maintenance to prevent danger’. Reg 10 ‘Connections’
IET Wiring Regulations 2008 (amd 2015): 134.1.4

GEM Award ‘Going the Extra Mile’

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Four times per year, Veriserv present an engineer and staff member with the quarterly GEM ‘Going the Extra Mile’ Award. This is in recognition of employees who have done something extra in their job role to help our clients or the company. Each winner receives £200 and has a framed certificate on our reception wall.

The staff award is based upon nominations by other staff members and the engineer award is drawn out of a hat, which includes all positive customer feedback that has been received in the three month period.

For the past few weeks Veriserv staff have been voting and giving their reasons why they think a certain member of staff  should be presented with the GEM award, and this week was the big reveal.

Veriserv’s Contracts Manager, Phil Minshall MIET received the GEM Award for the 1st quarter of 2015. Phil has gone above and beyond his job role as a Contacts Manager,  he has been working closely with the Fire & Security Contracts Manager by supporting  and successfully project managing a large multi disciplined Authority contact.

Veriserv believe Phil deserves the GEM Award as he has ‘Gone the Extra Mile’

Phil GEM

Veriserv’s Qualifying Supervisor, Michael Briggs was presented with the engineer GEM Award. Kings College London have expressed their appreciation of Micheal’s hard work and competence throughout the contact. The Compliance and contracts Manager from KCL stated;

“All in all no probs this end and the guys have been a credit to your company, if only all company’s I deal with were half as good as you lot things would be a lot better this end”

Michael was the one who supervises this particular job and his name was drawn out of the hat to win the GEM. So credit also goes to all our engineers who worked on this job.

This positive feedback from KCL is another boost to Veriserv and our engineers, reinforcing the great work that our Contract supervisor Justin Livermore has done to make the contract such a success.

Mike Briggs GEM

All engineers do a brilliant job and Veriserv receive numerous emails from clients communicating their gratitude towards Engineers and their hard work. Here are a few examples

“everything went well with the people who tested the equipment being very pleasant and supportive”

“What a fantastic job Leighton Sims did and a credit to the company”

“spoke to Miles Jenner for a rebook and he said that it would be a pleasure to have Tony O’Sullivan back he was the best engineer they had ever seen “a very professional gentleman” ”

“we were very happy with the work undertaken and the engineer was very accommodating of our needs around when we required power”

“just to say a big thank you for a great development and for your efforts in giving us a clean handover. It is appreciated”

Veriserv are extremely proud of all their Staff and Engineers. They work extremely hard and always express enthusiasm and show industrious workmanship throughout all tasks and works. This follows through to providing an excellent service to all our clients.

 

 

Electrical Fuse Protection Compromised By Copper Pipe

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It may be obvious, but fuse protection plays a vital role in the safety of your electrical installation.

Temporary repairs often become permanent fixtures within an electrical installation. With this find in particular revealing a piece of copper tube being used in place of a fuse.

The inspecting engineer identified that the supply authority fuse carrier had seals removed during his inspection. After further investigation, he found that the fuse carrier had indeed been tampered with and the expected fuse has been replaced.

Without suitable fusing at the incoming supply, the installation is vulnerable to fire if a vault was to occur causing excessive current to flow. Putting yourself and anyone around the electrical appliance in danger.

Replacement of the correct fusing will require contact with Regional Electricity Company (REC) as the equipment is their responsibility. Veriserv will assist with this communication to the REC as often discussions can be of a technical nature.

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.

Regulation Breaches 

  • The Electricity Safety, Quality & Continuity Regulations 2002
  • IET Wiring Regulations 2008 (and 2015):433.1.1
  • Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 – Reg 11 ‘Means for protecting from excess of current’

Veriserv Pass NSI Audit for Gold Fire Standard

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Following an NSI Audit, Veriserv Fire & Security have retained their NSI Gold Standard for Fire.

NSI Gold builds on product Certification to incorporate Quality Management System Certification. The combination of the Quality Management Systems and the relevant sector specific product or service represents the Gold standard of certification. This level holds the greatest perceived value across our industry and by the Police, Fire and Rescue services, as well as insurers.

NSI Audit

The majority of company tenders and insurance companies ask for NSI approved companies, for a reason, as they offer the best level of service.
Veriserv were thoroughly audited on both the management system used, and also through a site visit to a recent installation, where we had to demonstrate practical skills and knowledge.
The prestigious reputation of the NSI audit means businesses know they will be perceived more favorably, and end-users enjoy the reassurance which NSI certification brings.

Our mission is to provide every single customer with an outstanding service that is fit for purpose and delivered by experts to reduce risk. As you can see from our other faults of the week, regular visits from a professional can cut down the risk of electrical faults, fire and disrupted security, to you and your workplace.

So if you know you are due a service, or have some concerns about your premises, please call 01543 225306, or fill out one of our contact forms to arrange a free assessment of your premises, with one of our fully trained engineers.