Part P Concerns In Parliament

Posted on 24/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

The amendment to Part P came into effect in April and saw changes in the form of a reduction in the amount of work deemed to be notifiable and a new allowance for the ability to use registered third parties to certify notifiable work instead of contacting a building control body.

These changes are now in effect and have been for the last month; however there have been a number of concerns over these changes, with ESC in particular quite strongly raising the issue of the government’s decision to implement these changes.

The Patron of the ESC, Baroness Jenny Tonge, brought a ‘Motion of Regret’ to the House of Lords on the subject of the changes to Part P and ESC’s concerns over these changes. It has been widely reported that ESC feel these changes are not the best for the safety and protection of householders having work undertaken and have been fighting to keep the regulations.

During the process of challenge, concerns were raised on the following:

  • Criticism was made of the changes to Part P
  • The consultation process was questioned
  • The government’s results that 65% of consultation respondents agreed to the reduction in notifiable work was also questioned
  • The possible financial saving from implementing this amendment was raised
  • How these changes were monitored was questioned
  • How the government are planning to measure the impact of these changes to Part P in 2015 was also raised

The response to the concerns raised by ESC was that Part P monitoring would be put in place to cover electric shocks and electrical fires along with the data for competent person schemes. There will also be an impact analysis of the sales of electrical test equipment and electrical qualifications.

The point was also raised that the government and CLG officials are working alongside ESC to promote the competent person schemes.

What’s your opinion of the changes to Part P and what ESC are doing about it?

Written by Sara Thomson

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Difficult Times, Not So Much

Posted on 20/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

ECA Chief Executive Steve Bratt, has commented on recent figures released by the Construction Product Association, which predicted that the construction industry upturn would take 12 months to happen.

Steve Bratt says that in the meantime the construction industry should be given short term boosts to help aid this recovery.

With things being difficult for many UK industries over the last few years, the construction industry is not alone.

However, the Chancellor’s pledge to invest five billion in infrastructure should help revive the education and healthcare sectors which are important big markets for the construction industry.

While these measures are being implemented Bratt claims that a short term boost is needed to help lift things much more quickly and while the Government pledges are welcome, there is still a need for a short term solution.

However, things aren’t as dire as they may seem for the construction industry, with new markets and industry sectors coming out all the time.

Those electrical industry professionals who embrace these new markets and diversify to add skills for these markets to their CV will inevitably be the ones to benefit the most and see the least problems.

Two such markets have come about from January’s launch of the Green Deal  and the Renewable Heat Incentive. Both new schemes provide opportunities for electricians and this combined with the Government’s commitment to carbon reduction will see opportunities for the electrical industry continue to develop and especially for the areas of repair, maintenance and improvement.

Written by Sara Thomson

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Manufacturer Fine Proposals

Posted on 17/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

The Electrical Safety Council, ESC, has called for manufacturers to be given fines if they are slow or badly manage product recalls.

This has been suggested as a solution to increasing concern over the effectiveness of current recall systems and a number of serious incidents involving the public and recalled products.

Currently, manufacturers who don’t take action, which is considered to be appropriate, for the recall of products are fined £5,000. ESC is calling for harsher fines and penalties for manufacturers and has suggested a system of fines which are based on a percentage of profits from the recalled product.

ESC is saying that a system such as this would ensure that manufacturers respond to recalls much more effectively and faster. They have also suggested that Trading Standards should highlight clear guidelines on manufacturers requirements in these situations.

Research says that of all recalls only10-20% of products are actually traced, which means that millions of people are using products daily which could potentially be dangerous and put them at risk of fire or electrocution.

What’s your opinion of these proposed changes, do you think manufacturers should be made to take product recalls more seriously and deal with them in a more efficient way?

Written by Sara Thomson

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Electrical Intake Positions Fire Concern

Posted on 13/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

The Electrical Safety Council reported recently on their increasing concern over fires in homes which originate in electrical intake positions and have in some cases caused serious damage and deaths.

A Hampshire coroner wrote to a series of organisations, including ESC, asking of their intentions regarding the prevention of such deaths after an inquest revealed that the death of an elderly resident was caused by a fire which originated at the electrical intake position in the property.

The coroner in this case also brought attention to an incident which occurred the previous year from similar problems. A report produced by the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service detailed the results of an investigation into the cause of this fire and a number of others in similar properties which started in the area around the electrical intake equipment.

The results of the investigation concluded that the likely cause of these fires was the resistance heating at deteriorating cable terminations and fuse contacts.

The number of these types of fires occurring yearly is fairly small, however those that do, pose a real threat to lives because of the circumstances, how these fires occur and the location of the electrical intake equipment.

ESC say that whilst electrical equipment is designed to contain such things like the thermal effects of faults, they can still ignite things close to the equipment.

Written by Sara Thomson

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Approved Document P

Posted on 10/05/2013 by Electrical Training News

In December of last year the revised edition of Approved Document P was published and applies to work carried out after the fifth April this year.

The revised edition applies to electrical work carried out in dwellings in England and changes from the previous version include the following:

  • A reduction in the range of electrical installation work which is classed as notifiable
  • Any installer not registered as competent themselves can use a registered third party certifier to certify notifiable electrical installation work
  • Technical requirements are connected to BS7671:2008 incorporating amendment one.

The content has been revised and reduced and now notifiable work only includes the following:

  • New circuit installations
  • Replacing a consumer unit
  • Addition and alteration of existing circuits in particular locations

These particular locations are referred to in the document as ‘special locations’ and this means zones one and two of a bathroom or a room with a sauna or swimming pool.

One of the interesting changes is that registered third parties can now certify work, which falls under the notifiable category, when the installer is not registered him/herself. This is instead of contacting a building control body.

In making these revisions the Government are hoping that the benefit of using a Part P registered electrician will compensate for the risk of reducing the scope of notifiable work.

However, recent figures confirmed that only 20% of consumers are aware of the requirements of Part P. This lack of awareness could potentially cause issues and it is expected that campaigning will take place to increase public knowledge of Part P and what work falls under it.

What are your thoughts on the revisions?

Written by Sara Thomson

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