Making the ‘Periodic’ Certificate work for you…..

It may not be called a Periodic Inspection Report any more but the word ‘periodic’ is still relevant to electrical contractors, says Gary Packham, Technical Support Engineer at Amtech.

From January the old Periodic Inspection Report was replaced by the new Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR), under Amendment 1 of the 17^th Edition. New certificate, new design, new requirements – but the word ‘periodic is still relevant and still important to all contractors who want to increase business and maximise profits as easily as possible.

Here we are in yet another recession with less work available and prices squeezed on many jobs. So how can the EICR help? Well, by harnessing technology and making it work with your business you can increase your turnover with little effort. Certainly, many contractors are already using software to help them in their work but they aren’t all using the full range of features to best effect.

Producing a lot of certificates is very time consuming and you may have already invested in software to help. There are a number of packages on the market and most will produce good looking certificates easily – but are you squeezing every pound of profit from your software?

So let’s use ‘periodic’ as an example. Most business spend a lot of money attracting new customers. Yet every business knows it’s more expensive and harder to get a new customer than to look after an existing customer where there is already a relationship of trust.

Similarly, when you produce an EIRC for the first time you have to prepare the certificate, add client and location details, enter all the boards and circuits, test the installation, enter the details and so on. Yet when the certificate is due to be re-tested the job is much easier as the donkey work has been done. The problem is keeping track of where and when certificates are due for re-testing.

This is where you can take advantage of features in your electrical certification software. Check to see if it has an automatic reminder feature sometimes called ‘Test Centre’. This is a great feature that you can customise so when you open the software the reminder screen automatically shows all the certificates due for re-test in the next 30 days – or whatever time you choose.

The software knows which certificates are due for re-test and the address of the customer. So it can generate accurate reminder letters by itself, complete with your logo and other details. All you have to do is print and post them – or email them to save even more time.

If you don’t get a reply the software then generates a second, more urgent letter. Good software packages generate up to three different reminder letters.

This means you never need to miss any re-test work again. It’s great for your turnover while also giving the customer a personal and professional service.

When the time comes to re-test you can instantly find the old certificate on your system and download it. So all the information is on hand and the job is half done before you get to site. All you need to do when you get there is check the installation.

Some packages go even further and can produce a report of the ‘Observations and Recommendations’ codes for any EICR, automatically merge them to a letter, add your company logo and electronic signature and in seconds it’s ready to print out.

The ‘Test Centre’ is so simple to use that contractors often have a non-electrical assistant in the office who can handle this, so that qualified testers don’t need to be taken off the job.

Another great way to increase sales is to extend the services you offer. Again using certification software as an example, some packages now come complete with a cable calculation program. Let’s say you are testing an installation and find a problem, even something common like a warm cable. Instead of just noting it or issuing a fail report you can now offer to correct the situation using the cable sizing software included in your certification package.

Often the customer will ask if you can rectify it; now you can say “yes”. The cable calculation program will instantly show whether the cable size is suitable and allows you to compare larger or smaller cable sizes in relation to protective devices – all at the touch of the button. When you have finished, the software will even provide a report to verify your actions. Once again you don’t have to go looking for work, it comes to you.

These are just a couple of features in electrical certification packages that can give you extra business for very little extra work. If you are thinking of purchasing such a product check the features in detail. If you are currently using this type of software but are just producing basic certificates, check your manual. You never know, you may have many great features that you did know existed, and as you’ve paid for them why not make them pay you back?

For more information visit the Amtech website.

Article originally appeared in Electrical Times – Test & Measurement Supplement, March 2012 issue.

Amendment 1 Diary (July)

In the third article on the first amendment to the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations, George Murphy of AMTECH Power Software continues to identify the main changes, which have now been published. This was also published in the June issue of the Electrical Times magazine

In previous articles we have looked at a number of key changes to the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations (BS 7671) – which have now been confirmed in the published version of Amendment 1. In this article we will focus on the changes in Parts 5, 6 and 7.

In Part 5 the main change is the new Section 534, which introduces ‘devices for protection against overvoltage’. A transient overvoltage is a significantly higher voltage than normal, typically introduced by direct or indirect lightning strike or switching of large inductive loads. These overvoltages may only last for micro-seconds but can be as high as 6kV and cause severe damage.

Three types of surge protective devices are mentioned in BS 7671. Type 1 usually installed at the main distribution board, Type 2 installed at sub-main boards and Type 3 installed in close proximity to the equipment it protects.

Changes in Part 6 are minimal, with the term Periodic Inspection Report being replaced by an Electrical Installation Condition Report – the main changes relating to inspection and testing are in Appendix  6.

This new report uses more meaningful classification codes for recorded observations. Code 1 identifies a present danger and requires immediate action to make the system safe – or make the responsible person aware with a written notification as a matter of urgency.

Schedules of inspection are now dependant upon the size of the installation.  A schedule of inspection is provided in Appendix 6 for installations with a supply rating not exceeding 100A. For installations where demand exceeds 100A a comprehensive but not exhaustive list of items requiring inspection has been provided. The layout of the schedule should be clarified when GN 3 is published in October.

Part 7, covering special installations, sees two new sections; Section 710 – Medical Locations and Section 729 – Operating or Maintenance Gangways.

For medical locations, the nature of the risk to patients or staff has to be decided and installation safety requirements must be appropriate. Risk levels are defined as Group 0, Group 1 or Group 2 – the latter being where a loss of supply could result in a danger to life.

Disconnection times for areas defined as Group 1 or 2 have been reduced to 0.3 seconds on TN systems and 0.05s on TT systems.

Section 729 – Operating or Maintenance Gangways – applies to basic protection when work has to be carried out during the operation or maintenance of switchgear and control gear within restricted areas including gangways. Where access to areas is restricted, this shall be clearly and visibly marked by appropriate signs, and access to unauthorized persons shall not allowed. Any doors should allow easy evacuation.

Amendment 1 Diary (June)

This is the  second post of a series looking at the first amendment to the 17th Edition wiring regulations. This was also published in the June issue of the Electrical Times magazine

CENELEC (Committee European Normalisation Electro-technique) is responsible for the European standardization in the area of electrical engineering. Any changes to these standards that affect Great Britain must be reflected in our regulations. These changes are usually in the form of Harmonized Documents (HD).  The requirements of BS 7671 are founded on the requirements of a set of documents identified as HD 60364. 

The joint committee for low voltage installations is identified as JPEL/64 (Joint committee for Power Electrical.) The 64 denotes the International Electro-Technical Commissions committee for low voltages designation

Amendment 1 Diary (May)

This is the  first post of a series looking at the first amendment to the 17th Edition wiring regulations. This was also published in the May issue if the Electrical Times magazine in the form of a diary to help readers keep up to date with the changes made to the 17th Edition regulations by the Amendment.

 George Murphy of AMTECH Power Software sets the scene for the anticipated changes.

In July of this year the first amendment to 17th Edition Wiring Regulations, BS 7671, is due to be published. Over the next few months we will be looking at what this means for electrical designers and installers. In this first instalment, we will summarise the key points that you need to be aware of.