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Electrical Safety

When should you call an electrical engineer?

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It is absolutely critical that your business stays up-to-date with electrical testing. Whether that is fixed wire or portable appliance testing (PAT testing) it is important to make sure you are compliant to protect your employees from electrical fires and to eliminate any opportunity of criminal negligence should the worst happen.

A periodic inspection of the wiring for your business premises reduces the risk of electrical fires and makes sure everything is running as it should be. You should arrange periodic inspections by calling us at Veriserv as we have electrical engineers available every day to assist with this matter. But when else should you call?

  • If there is anything unusual with the electricity

Electricity is of course dangerous and invisible and as a result it is easy for wiring flaws to be missed until a safety hazard occurs such as an electrical fire, sparks from a unit, or a power cut. If you can see lights flickering or dim and brighten or if you have breakers that trip regularly or if you see sparks from a unit you should immediately call an electrical engineer to inspect the issue.

If you see an electrical item has discoloured or is hot to the touch this should also raise suspicion.

  • A burning smell

Whenever you smell burning you should immediately unplug any appliance in the vicinity and call an electrical engineer immediately. Burning smells don’t just have to come from portable appliances but can be an indicator that your building wiring is faulty too.

  • Electricity outlets

We are constantly seeing issues arising with extension leads in businesses. When businesses employee more people, inevitably the power that is required increases and as a result the reliance on extension cables goes up if there aren’t enough wall sockets. Extension leads can put a lot of load on a building’s wiring if they are overused and they can even catch on fire. Call us at Veriserv so we can avoid such incidences from happening and to protect your workforce.

You should call an electrical engineer whenever you feel there is an issue no matter how small you think it is. There can often be many underlying issues when not running suitable diagnostic checks by an engineer and they can quickly turn dangerous.

If you 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 electrical engineers.

How often should fixed wire testing be conducted?

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The vast majority of workplaces require an Electrical Installation Condition Report at the very least every 5 years for commercial properties and 3 years for industrial.

The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) produced guidance note 3 which incorporates the 18th edition IET wiring regulations to BS 7671. It is section 3 of this guidance which covers Electrical Periodic Inspection and Testing.

Veriserv are the experts in fixed wire inspection and testing and we can survey your premises, examine previous reports, look at your maintenance regime and recommend the correct frequency of tests to make sure your business is safe and compliant. Business electrical units should be correctly maintained to stay compliant.

As an example the following places of work require a full 5-year Electrical Installation Condition Report.

  • Hotels / restaurants
  • Education sector – Schools, Colleges, Universities / Hall of Residence
  • Care homes
  • Hospitals
  • Commercial buildings such as offices / retail
  • Science laboratories

There are places of work however which require an Electrical Installation Condition Report every 1 to 3 years with more frequent inspections being carried out.  This is the cases where areas are exposed to high temperatures, moisture and dust.

As an example the following places of work all require fixed wire testing every 1 to 3 years:

  • Swimming pools / sauna / leisure centres
  • Theatres and places of entertainment.
  • Medical locations in hospitals
  • Caravan parks
  • Fish farms
  • Laundrettes
  • Petrol stations
  • Caravans
  • Spa Hotels

If you are unsure about your fixed wire inspection and testing and when it should next be carried out within your business, simply fill out our contact form to book your free assessment, or call 01543 225306 to speak to a member of our team.

Is Fixed Wire Inspection & Testing in the UK a Legal Requirement?

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The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 is an act of statutory legislation which places responsibility on employers in the UK to ensure, so far as is practicable, the health and welfare for everyone at the workplace which includes employees, members of the public, visitors and contractors.

Within the Health & Safety at Work Act there are areas which cover legal requirements for specific areas and this is where Fixed Wire Inspection & Testing comes in. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 cover all electrical systems within all occupied spaces.

Best practice guidance for complying with the regulations have been published by bodies other than the Health & Safety Executive. For this case Fixed Wiring Inspection & Testing includes:

  • British Standard BS7671 – Requirements for Electrical Installations, IET Wiring Regulations
  • IET Inspection & Testing Guidance Note 3
  • HSE Electricity at Work – Safe working Practices
  • HSE memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

The latest version of the regulations, which were first published in 2018, are known in the industry as the 18th Edition Wiring Regulations, which came into effect on 1st January 2019. All electrical installations following this regulation must be installed / maintained following BS 7671:2018. The purpose of the regulation is to prevent death or personal injury to any person from electrical causes in connection with work activities. Failure to comply to BS 7671:2018 obviously means an employer could be potentially exposed to legal action should an incident occur.

 

 

An employer or duty holder can demonstrate compliance with the regulations in respect to their electrical installation in the form of an up to date Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) which has been checked and completed by a qualified electrical engineer. Today, many insurers wish to see evidence of a company being compliant and this can be easily carried out by reading the EICR report.

Make sure you are compliant with your electrical installations and employ Veriserv as your contractor for all your electrical fixed wire inspection and testing.

If you require fixed wire testing, or any electrical testing within your business, simply fill out our contact form to book your free assessment, or call 01543 225306 to speak to a member of our team.

Portable Appliance Testing why do it

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Portable Appliance Testing why do it , In the work place all portable electrical equipment should be subject to ‘User Checks’ carried out by a competent person. As an employer its very important to protect people in premises that you control from electric shock, fire and other hazards. Its also very important to protect yourself and your company from prosecution should an accident occur which is not your fault.

The examples shown in this blog were all identified by Veriserv engineers and demonstrate how your employees could negatively effect safety in your workplace. In other words, employees who ignore the basic principles of electrical safety could land you and others in trouble.

The first example of portable appliance testing why do it, shows a standard 13amp plug where the fuse has been replaced with a peace of metal bar. A correctly rated fuse will blow if the portable appliance develops a fault. This in turn protects the user from potential electric shock and would prevent the possibility of the appliance overheating and causing a fire.

Someone has deliberately replaced the fuse with the bar which is totally irresponsible, given that the appliance is no longer protected at the rated 13 amps. Given the size of the cables it may be that the appliance itself should be connected by a different means to a 13 amp plug. A competent portable appliance test engineer will check ratings and advise accordingly and a veriserv engineer would also disconnect the appliance and issue an immediate report to advise our customer.

This second example was found plugged in and switched on with live conductors showing.

 

Again this is an example where it would be clear to a responsible person that this extension lead is not fit for use.

The third example is another broken extension lead being used in service which clearly exposes people to an electric shock hazard.

Both faults were found by Veriserv engineers during annual portable appliance testing (PAT) and these examples reinforce the importance of maintaining a proper testing regime to protect people in your premises.

Ideally, equipment which has an obvious visual fault should be switched off and taken out of service by an employee or person acting responsibly in the workplace. Only very basic health & Safety training is required to achieve this.

In any event, in the workplace it should not be acceptable for a defect to go unnoticed, therefore the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) recommend that formal visual inspections are undertaken periodically by a competent person to identify these hazardous items.

All Veriserv PAT engineers are qualified to the City & Guilds 2377 Level 3 award in the in service inspection and testing of electrical equipment (PAT)

If you need advice on Portable Appliance Testing please feel free to request a quotation or call Veriserv directly on: 01543 225306.

Useful References:

The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) publish guidance for the maintenance of portable appliances

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) provide useful guidance on Portable Appliance Testing

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

Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 Regulation 5
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Regulation 4(1)

If you need advice on Portable Appliance Testing please feel free to request a quotati

Snake perishes in electrical consumer unit incident

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Snake perishes in electrical consumer unit incident – This “incident” may be creative license however the dead snake was found by a Veriserv engineer whilst carrying out a routine electrical fixed wire inspection and test at a domestic property. Although this is a rare situation we would like to highlight the more serious issue of how a domestic consumer unit can be susceptible to fire, particularly if not electrically inspected and tested periodically.

It wasn’t clear from the remains of the snake whether or not it had died directly from an electric shock or from starvation whilst in the electrical consumer unit , but it was clear that it had been in there for quite some time. When it was shown to the tenant living at the property he said that his pet snake had mysteriously disappeared two years earlier and had never been found, so this did explain where the snake had come from.

We would like to raise the more serious issue about consumer units generally and how fires can be prevented by periodic electrical inspection and testing. Consumer units can be the source of a fire caused by overheating of loose terminals, faulty or incorrectly rated breakers, and debris inside the enclosure can be a source of fuel for a fire to start, such as loose paper or other flammable materials.

Here is an example of overheating in a distribution board, again found by a veriserv engineer whilst carrying out a periodic mains fixed wire test.

Most domestic consumer units are made of plastic and a recent update to the 17th edition wiring regulations calls for all consumer units to be constructed using a non combustible enclosure.

The third amendment to BS 7671:2011 (IET Wiring Regulations Seventeenth Edition), includes a new regulation requiring consumer units and similar switch gear assemblies in domestic premises to have a non-combustible enclosure. More information can be found by visiting the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET).

More useful information can be found by visiting the NICIEC website.

Chapter 42 of the regulations states;

Due to the number of consumer unit fires reported within domestic premises, Regulation 421.1.201 (UK only) has been added and requires  consumer units and similar switchgear to have their enclosure manufactured from non-combustible material or be enclosed in a cabinet or enclosure constructed of non-combustible material and complying with Regulation 132.12. This regulation was implemented on 1st January 2016 to allow manufacturers time to ensure an adequate supply of suitable cabinets or enclosures would be available.

For more fire safety advise check the “Fire Kills” gov.uk website

To book a mains electrical inspection and test, or fire risk assessment please call Veriserv on 01543 225306 or complete our inquiry form.

Risk of electric shock with exposed live terminals

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The exposed live terminals , were found by a Veriserv engineer whilst carrying out a routine electrical fixed wire inspection and test  at a commercial property. Although this fault was found in a plant room where there is no public access, to workers it poses a significant risk of electric shock with exposed live terminals.

The engineer effected an immediate temporary repair to make this safe, by covering the exposed live terminals and open terminal box with insulating tape to prevent anyone touching the terminals.

The fault was then formally reported to the customer on a Veriserv “immediate” report which would be signed by the customer to acknowledge the fault and act as a hard copy reminder to facilitate a remedial repair. The “immediate report” is a useful way of immediately notifying a customer of all faults found during the fixed wire inspection and test by noting the category of faults helping our customer understand how to prioritise the remedial repairs. All category 1 faults such as this would need immediate rectification or temporary repair, otherwise the circuit would need to be isolated to make safe until a repair can be completed. All Veriserv engineers would provide expert advice and recommendation whilst on site. This is important as the full inspection & test report would follow later. If you need advise please call us on 01543 225306 or complete an Contact us form.

The Electricity at work regulations 1989 sit under the Health & Safety at work act 1974 and impose duties on employers and “duty holders” in respect to electrical systems, electrical equipment and conductors.

The purpose of the regulations is to is to prevent death or personal injury to any person from electrical causes in connection with work activities.

Employers and self employed people must comply with the provisions of the Electricity at work regulations 1989. Regulation 4 (2) states that as necessary to prevent danger , all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent , so far as reasonably practicable , such danger.

A duty holder can demonstrate compliance with the regulations, in respect to their electrical installation, by carrying out an electrical fixed wire inspection and test. As Veriserv are an NICEIC accredited company, we are experts in this area and are happy to advise you on the frequency, scope and cost of the test, having first considered the environment and use of the premises concerned.

If you need advise please call us on 01543 225306 or complete a Contact us form.

 

Portable Appliance Testing, Overheated Plug Socket

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One good reason to have your portable appliance testing (PAT) carried out. Our fault of the week is a good example of a multi socket electrical extension lead that has become overheated with early signs of burning.

This fault was found by a Veriserv engineer during an annual portable appliance test (PAT) . The socket has become overheated. This could be caused by a loose connection or as a result of supplying an appliance which uses power in excess of the extension leads recommended maximum limit. Most extension leads of this type are rated at 13 amps so this means you should not plug more than one 13amp appliance into the extension socket at the same time. Multiple appliances should be rated at 5 amps.

The plug which connected to the overheated socket is shown below.

It is important that all appliances are fitted with a fuse which is correctly rated for the appliance it powers. A new portable appliance will already be fitted with a sealed plug and correctly rated fuse. The plug shown in this photo is the type that has probably been fitted at a later date. It is important that the fuse rating is checked during the portable appliance test. Veriserv engineers would check this during the test and replace if necessary.

As a result of the PAT test by Veriserv the overheated extension lead and plug would be taken out of service and reported immediately to our customer.

In the work place all portable electrical equipment should be subject to  ‘User Checks’ however in this case it seems the deterioration of this piece of equipment has gone unnoticed. Ideally in this situation, as soon as any damaged is noticed the piece of equipment should be switched off and taken out of service.

In any event, in the workplace it should not be acceptable for a defect to go unnoticed, therefore the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) recommend that formal visual inspections are undertaken periodically by a competent person to identify these hazardous items.

All Veriserv PAT engineers are qualified to the City & Guilds 2377 Level 3 award in the in service inspection and testing of electrical equipment (PAT) 

If you need advice on Portable Appliance Testing please feel free to request a quotation or call Veriserv directly on: 01543 225306.

Useful References:

The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) publish guidance for the maintenance of portable appliances

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) provide useful guidance on Portable Appliance Testing  

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

Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 Regulation 5
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Regulation 4(1)

If you need advice on Portable Appliance Testing please feel free to request a quotation or call Veriserv directly on: 01543 225306.

Overheated RCBO terminals could cause a fire

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Our “fault of the week” blog posts are all real electrical fault situations that have been reported by Veriserv engineers whilst carrying out Inspection & Testing of electrical installations at client sites. This fault is an RCBO (residual current breaker with overcurrent) that has become overheated and burnt.

This C1 electrical defect is a result of a loose connection causing arcing at the RCBO terminal. Not only would this lead to a failure in the RCBO and electrical circuit, there would also be a serious threat of fire should the melted plastic ignite in some way.

The Veriserv engineer would immediately isolate this circuit and report the defect to the client on what we call an “immediate report”. This so the client is aware of any defects prior to the engineer leaving site. The RCBO and adjoining cable would be replaced if the client requested that Veriserv carry out the remedial repair.

Overheated RCBO terminals could cause a fire, this fault would be classed as a C1 Fail Code -Danger Present. Risk of injury. Immediate remedial action required.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989-Reg 4(2) state “The need for maintenance to be done to ensure safety”.  As such all commercial premises must be electrically tested and certified to ensure they can continue to be used safety.

BS7671 wiring regulations to the latest edition sets out the requirements for all electrical installations in the UK. The Institute of Engineers and Technology (IET) produce guidance notes to enlarge on the wiring regulations and set out guidance on how compliance can be achieved. Guidance Note 3 covers the Inspection & testing of Electrical Installations.

An electrical installation should be periodically inspected by a qualified electrical engineer. Veriserv are experts in this field and will advise any customer who may be unsure of the periodicity or scope of the Inspection & Test. Veriserv will issue an electrical certificate and report to their customer with a statement as to the condition of the electrical installation. Click here for more details.

 

Exposed electrical supply in burnt out lamp post

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Our “fault of the week” posts are published to show the sort of dangerous electrical faults that our Veriserv engineers are finding every day of the week whilst carrying out routine electrical inspection & testing at our customer’s premises. Exposed electrical supply and burnt out wiring & control gear was found within this lamp post.

We hope that in posting examples we will raise more awareness and hopefully this will lead to fewer electric shocks and electrical fires

In this example the dark nights just got darker for this public entertainments area in the Black Country. Exposed electrical supply and burnt out wiring & control gear was found within this lamp post during the planned electrical inspection by Veriserv. On closer inspection though, there was considerable damage within the lamp post as the incoming supply cable was still found to be live. Immediate action is called for when a defect like this is identified, particularly so when the equipment is situated in a publicly accessible area.

In this instance the Veriserv engineer isolated the lamp post at the supply origin, notified the site contact and investigated other lamp posts to identify if the defect has occurred elsewhere.

It’s a legal requirement for any property owner to provide a safe place for persons within a public accessible area. To satisfy this requirement suitable and proper inspection and maintenance must be carried out at regular intervals. Veriserv are specialists in the areas of Electrical Inspection & Testing and Fire Alarm Testing & Maintenance.

Electric shocks are generally more dangerous as the voltage increases however in the UK all mains voltages supplying your home or company premises are sufficient to kill or inflict a serious injury.An electric shock can cause;

    • the heart to stop or beating properly
    • the person to stop breathing properly
    • muscle spasms
    • electrical burns
    • an electrical fire

More information can be found by visiting the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) website.

There are electrical standards and approved codes of practice, the details of which can again be found on the HSE website.

 

Light fitting with exposed live electrical parts!

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Our “fault of the week” posts are published to show the sort of dangerous electrical faults that our Veriserv engineers are finding every day of the week whilst carrying out routine electrical inspection & testing at our customer’s premises. This light fitting had exposed live electrical parts.
We hope that in posting examples like this, we will raise more awareness and hopefully this will lead to fewer electric shocks and electrical fires.

During a routine electrical inspection & test a Veriserv engineer found this light fitting with exposed live electrical parts.

At an initial glance a casual observer may think that the connecting terminals visible on this fluorescent light fitting are possibly for future use and are otherwise dormant. However, when investigated by the Veriserv engineer, a voltage measurement identified 230 Volts between the Line (Live) terminal and earth. The fittings were placed at around 8 feet high so in normal use it is unlikely that any person would come in to contact with them.

During maintenance however, such as changing a tube, the possibility of direct contact is very likely causing the inevitable electric shock that could be even more serious due to a likely fall from height!

To rectify the defect fully an “end cap” is required that will cover the terminals. The cap is not immediately available from a wholesaler therefore the Veiserv engineer made the fitting safe to enable the remaining lighting to be used and not affect the occupancy of the building.

Useful Health & Safety information and advise can be found by visiting the Heath & Safety Executive website.

Remember Electric Shocks can kill or injure by;

preventing the heart beating properly
preventing the person breathing properly
cause severe muscle spasms
cause electrical burns
start an electrical fire

Electrical Standards and Approved Codes of Practice can be found on the Health & Safety Executive website.  

It’s a legal requirement for any property owner to provide a safe place of work for employees or for persons within a public accessible area. To satisfy this requirement suitable and proper inspection and maintenance must be carried out at regular intervals. Veriserv are specialists in the areas of Electrical Inspection & Testing and Fire Alarm Testing & Maintenance. We can take the worry from you by providing a no obligation survey and advising you on the most appropriate course of action. Feel free to contact us by phone or on line form.