Electrical Safety: Knowing what to test and when to test it

Charged with care

A slapdash approach to electrical safety can have fatal consequences. Knowing what to test, when and to which standard can be confusing. Tim Beardsmore advises FMs how to comply with regulations and so prevent any injury or damage

by Tim Beardsmore

When danger is not obvious or visible, it is easy to overlook and suffer from “safety blindness”. The government spends millions on campaigns to avoid this, but sadly little is spent on raising awareness of electrical safety. And yet electricity is responsible for at least 25 deaths and about 1,000 accidents in the workplace each year, according to the Health and Safety Executive. It is also, according to Norwich Union, the second largest cause of fires in commercial and industrial premises.

Many companies are negligent in compliance with safety legislation and many more either misinterpret their obligations or are misguided by suppliers. Some clarity is required in order to negotiate competently the minefield of electrical testing.

Legislation and standards

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 provide the legislation for electrical safety. The regulations state that “as may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, such danger”.

To interpret this broad statement into practical terms, the specific regulations covering electrical safety are the IEE Wiring Regulations BS7671: 2008 17th edition. Reg 135.1 makes a positive recommendation that “every electrical installation is subjected to periodic inspection and testing”. Any faults found as a result of testing have to be coded and reported. Those classified as codes one and two will need remedial action in terms of electrical repair.

Quite simply, you must deal with electrical safety and ensure that your staff, customers and visitors are not placed in danger. As the IEE Inspection and Testing Guidance Notes state: “Periodic inspection and testing is necessary because all electrical installations deteriorate due to a number of factors such as damage, wear, tear, corrosion, excessive electrical loading, ageing and environmental influences.”

Testing, testing

Electrical safety falls into two elements: portable appliance testing (PAT) and periodic fixed-installation testing.

PAT includes not only truly portable equipment, such as an office fan or a drill; it includes everything that is attached to the electrical wiring system. A drinks machine, for example, is classed as a portable appliance as is a freezer cabinet or photocopier. The PAT groupings used by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) include “stationary”, “IT”, “moveable”, “portable” and “handheld”.

This wide interpretation means that PAT testing usually involves large numbers of individual tests — on many sites it can run to thousands. In an office, for example, it’s typical for every employee to have about seven portable appliances around them and a computer can require three or four individual tests, not just one as many mistakenly think.

Similarly, don’t assume that brand new equipment is automatically safe and doesn’t need testing. Unfortunately electrical manufacturing is not perfect and even when an item has just come out of the box it can still be dangerous.

The fixed installation is the wiring of the building, including anything that is hard wired into the mains rather than plugged into a socket. Here we’re concerned with electrical circuits such as lighting, socket outlets, supplies to air-conditioning units and other fixed plant. A range of testing can be applied to establish whether the wiring is safe to use.

Tenants should not assume their landlord is managing the electrical safety of the building. It is unlikely that the equipment owned by your organisation and operated in the workplace is covered by the landlord so it is best to check your lease.

How often to test is a common area for confusion. For guidance consult the IET — a summary is provided (see right).

Coded faults

After your electrical testing is carried out you should receive a report that details any “damage, deterioration, defects and dangerous conditions within the installation”.

Faults fall into four codes, with the first two requiring essential remedial action: code one, “requires urgent attention”, is used to indicate that persons using the installation are at risk; and code two, “requires improvement”, indicates that the observed deficiency requires action to remove potential danger. Any fault reported as code one or code two must be remedied. As part of a National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) report, the test engineer must notify the commissioning contact in writing on the same day of any code one faults, advising that remedial action should be taken without delay.

If you have a code one or two fault you will then need to establish what remedial work is required (note that the scope of the testing engineer is to provide “a factual report on the condition of an installation, not a proposal for remedial work”) and make swift arrangements for it to be carried out.

Remedial repairs

In a recent survey Epsilon Test Services found that more than half of the 400 organisations contacted had conducted electrical safety testing but had not gone on to carry out the essential remedial work. This “remedial gap” constitutes a significant risk for any organisation.

Immediately after you receive the test report it’s best to contact at least three qualified electricians and for quotes responding to the test report findings.

Source safe suppliers

According to the NICEIC standards, testing must now be carried out by a “competent person”, defined as “a person who possesses sufficient technical knowledge, relevant practical skills and experience for the nature of the electrical work undertaken and is able at all times to prevent danger and, where appropriate, injury to him/herself and others”. In practice this means electrical engineers should be trained and qualified to City & Guilds 2377, 2391, 2382-20 or 2382-10.

Look for suppliers that are accredited by both NICEIC and the Electrical Contractors’ Association. Check that they comply with IEE codes of practice and current wiring regulations to BS7671 2008, 17th edition and IEE Guidance Note 3. Also ask to see certificates guaranteeing that their equipment is calibrated.

Ensure the supplier has the capability for your size of job and can deliver to your specific requirements such as test times (out of hours, weekends) and speed of programming.

Ideally you should look for a supplier that has continuous performance monitoring systems in place to ensure quality of service. Do they have technical compliance officers deployed in the field? Also look for traceability in terms such as time/date stamping for every test and full audit trail capability.

Consider the supplier’s reporting speed and standard. Online reporting is quickest and most accessible. The best will capture data that you can scrutinise from all angles.

Useful Sources

www.epsilontest.com, for a free Guide to Electrical Safety in the UK
www.theiet.org, for test frequency recommendations
www.niceic.com
www.eca.co.uk

Tim Beardsmore is managing director of Epsilon Test Services