Staff s apprentice takes top award

An apprentice from NICEIC Approved Contractor I C Electrical in Staff ordshire has been named JTL’s national apprentice of the year at the training provider’s annual awards ceremony. Zak Gates, 22 (pictured), from Burton-upon-Trent, passed all his City & Guilds electrical exams with distinction at Loughborough College and is currently working towards a higher national diploma in electrical and electronic engineering sponsored by his employer.

“I feel privileged to win this award, it’s a great achievement,” said Zak. “It’s great to know all my hard work has been noticed and I’m pleased my parents and employers were there to share the moment with me.”

Managing director of I C Electrical Ltd, Chris Emmerson, added: “The standard was higher than ever this year, but we were confident he would win. He’s been with us for five years and has matured into a very confident and competent young project manager, who is liked and respected in equal measure by his colleagues. He was an exceptional apprentice, who progressed quickly and is now managing projects, budgets, staff and profit targets.”

JTL delivers apprenticeships in partnership with colleges and workplaces across seven regions in the UK. The not-for-profit organisation has around 6,000 young people on apprenticeship schemes at any one time.

NEW RULES AIM TO ENSURE PROMPT PAYMENT

The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has welcomed the new Public Contracts Regulations 2015, while noting that supporting guidance is now required to assess whether the regulations will work properly in construction.

One of the key aims of the new rules is to ensure that when any public sector body (such as a local authority or the NHS) is the client, all suppliers engaged on a project are paid promptly. Another aim is to improve the standardisation of public sector pre-qualification activity.

“We will have to wait for the supporting guidance before we can be certain that the regulations have delivered everything our members need,” said Paul Reeve, ECA director of business services. “However, we can say that they enshrine in law the need for all public sector contracts to pay promptly, right through the supply chain. On the face of it, this is a very welcome, if overdue, development.”

Much of the new rules are based on previous recommendations by Lord Young to help smaller businesses, and are the result of sustained lobbying and representation by the ECA and SEC Group.

“The ECA engaged directly with Lord Young, Frances Maude, Vince Cable and others to put the case for prompt public sector supply chain payment, and for sensible pre-qualification,” added Reeve.

“These new regulations establish the principle of prompt supply chain payment and we will continue to work with the next government to ensure our members are paid promptly on all public sector work.”

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 102) can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/contents/made

ON THE SPOT// TERRY GRAY

NICEIC and ELECSA employ 80 engineers across the country to assess contractors work and provide up-to-date technical advice. To many contractors they are the face of NICEIC and ELECSA. Here, we turn the tables and put them in the spotlight

» Terry Gray area engineer, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

How did you become an area engineer?

I worked for NICEIC as an assistant engineer between 1995 and 1997 before leaving to work as London regional manager at the ECA (1997-2004). I then set up my own company TJ Electrical Training Ltd and was enticed back as an NICEIC area engineer in October 2011.

What does your day consist of?

Assessment of contractors registered on the NICEIC Approved Contractor scheme, so visiting contractors in their off ice before conducting site audits to check the standard and compliance of their electrical work against the Wiring Regulations BS 7671: 2008.

A typical site visit could be anything from a Rolls-Royce factory in Derbyshire to a Baptist church with an immersion pool installation.

What are the main issues contractors might overlook?

To issue appropriate certification for domestic smoke alarm systems.

What’s the strangest thing you have come across during an assessment?

A qualified supervisor who insisted that we drive to site in his Porsche Boxter with a step ladder between us.

What’s the strangest request you have had?

I once had an enquiry on the technical helpline from the police about an alleged attempted murder in Wales, where a husband had allegedly attempted to electrocute his wife in the bath. They wanted an expert witness and I believe a colleague went out to investigate the matter.

What interesting jobs have some of your contractors had?

One of the most unusual visits was to an anaerobic digestion plant in Leicestershire attached to a recycling plant.

What are your interests outside of work?

Ornithology, golf and star gazing with my eight-inch Orion reflector telescope.

If you could have a superpower what would it be?

I would be a rubber man: flexible in the job, able to bounce good ideas off the contractor, safe around electrical systems and on the ball at all times.

If you had a day off tomorrow, what would you do?

Depending on the weather, I might take myself off for a nature walk in Derbyshire, relax at home or play a round of golf.

Favourite book, film and TV programme?

Favourite book: One Summer: America 1927, by Bill Bryson Film: Planes, Trains and Automobiles TV programme: The Chase

What’s the one best bit of advice you have received in your career?

It was from my father who told me: “Get a trade lad.”

Plugged in

Soccer legend gives asbestos the red card

England football star Stuart Pearce is blowing the whistle on asbestos after revealing he could have breathed in the deadly dust while working part-time as an electrician in his early football career.

The former Nottingham Forest manager and Newcastle and England left-back fears his ignorance about the fatal fibre when he worked for four years as an electrician means there’s a real possibility he could develop a deadly asbestos-related disease in the future.

He is now backing a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) campaign urging all tradespeople to be aware of asbestos and take sensible measures against it.

While safe work with asbestos has come a long way since Pearce was working as an electrician in the early 1980s, it remains a very real danger today. HSE estimates 1.3 million tradespeople are still potentially at risk of being exposed to the microscopic fibres, which can prove fatal if breathed in.

Pearce said: “I was working as an electrician for four and a half years and it’s chilling to think I could have been exposed to it without knowing. We were simply ignorant about the risks back then, but today there’s no excuse.

“Most people know how dangerous asbestos is, but many think it’s a thing of the past. It’s not, it’s still there. It can be found in walls, ceilings, even floor tiles and guttering – basically in any type of building built before the year 2000.

“Making sure you’re aware of where it can be found and how to deal with it safely, even on basic jobs like drilling holes or sanding, really could mean the diff erence between life and death.”

The trained electrician turned football legend is also encouraging workers to use HSE’s free app that helps tradespeople easily identify where they could come into contact with asbestos and gives them easy-to-follow guides on how to deal with it safely.

“Let’s make asbestos deaths a thing of the past,” said Pearce.

To get the free web app visit www.beware-asbestos.info/news and for more information on asbestos safety visit www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos

INDUSTRY // DIARY

April 15-16 Northern Ireland Tradeshow

Ramada Plaza Hotel, Belfast

23-24 ELEX Exeter West Point, Exeter

May 14 NICEIC ELECSA Live

Epsom Downs Racecourse

20-21 PHEX

Alexandra Palace, London

June 11-12 ELEX Manchester

Event City, Manchester

SURPRISE VISITOR FOR CRAWLEY APPRENTICES

Apprentices from the Crawley branch of Clarkson Evans got to meet shadow secretary of state for work and pensions Rachel Reeve, when she made a recent visit to their off ice.

The apprentices described what was involved in their role and explained why they had decided to go down the apprenticeship route to obtain a recognised professional qualification, rather than heading off to university.

“It was inspiring to visit Clarkson Evans,” said Reeve. “They have really embraced apprenticeships and off er a great scheme with amazing opportunities for their staff .”

Crawley apprentice Cian Morgan-Smith was one of the apprentices who met the shadow minister. “The best thing about a good apprenticeship is that when you come out you’ve got a job and in the meantime you are working, learning and earning,” he said. “You can’t say that about university.

“It was really good to meet her and put across the importance of encouraging more good quality apprenticeships – the more we have the better.”

CALL FOR FIVE-YEAR CHECKS IN WALES

A roundtable reviewing safety in Wales’ rising number of privately rented homes has called on the Welsh government to include an urgent requirement for five-yearly electrical safety checks for the private rented sector (PRS), through the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill.

Hosted by Electrical Safety First, the event brought together Welsh Assembly members and a range of key stakeholders, including British Gas, Shelter Cymru and Welsh tenants.

Almost 70 per cent of domestic fires in Wales are caused by electricity, which seriously injures 350,000 people in the UK each year. Electrical safety is particularly important in the PRS, as over a third of these homes fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard. Welsh government statistics also show that 18 per cent of them are unfit to live in.

The rapid growth of the PRS in Wales brings its own problems, with safety a growing concern. Poorly maintained homes often have sub-standard electrical installations, so concerns around home safety are increasing in tandem with the expansion of the sector.

“While we welcome the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill and its intentions for a fairer legal basis for renting, we do not believe it creates safer homes in Wales,” said Phil Buckle, director general of Electrical Safety First. “We are calling on the Welsh government to take note of a broad coalition of stakeholders to introduce mandatory electrical safety checks in the Welsh private rented sector. We are ready to help the Welsh government make the PRS safer.”

Plugged in

Steady progress so far for renewables in 2015

The start of 2015 saw a 31 per cent rise in total feed-in tariff (FIT) installed capacity compared with the same period in 2014, and a 26 per cent increase in the number of installations, taking total deployment at the end of January to 3,350MW or 654,487 installations.

Photovoltaics were responsible for 99 per cent of the increase in installations and 78 per cent of growth in capacity, with wind contributing 17 per cent to capacity growth. The largest growth since January 2014 was seen in wind (up 58 per cent at 360MW) and anaerobic digestion (up 44 per cent at 96MW).

The start of 2015 saw a fall in the number of applications for the renewable heat incentive compared with recent months, with a total of 2,127 new and legacy applications in January.

Much of the reason behind the decrease in number was due to the time of year, as well as a surge in biomass installations in November and December ahead of the tariff reduction, which came into eff ect in January. Biomass installations have now overtaken air source heat pumps for new applications.

In February, the Department of Energy and Climate Change announced that the degression “super trigger” for biomass had been passed, meaning the tariff of 10.98p per kWh was reduced by 20 per cent to 8.93p per kWh for all new applications made after 1 April 2015. The tariff s for air and ground source heat pumps and solar thermal are not aff ected by this degression.

Another PV tariff reduction also came into force in April, taking a 4kW or less system down from 13.88p to 13.39p, a fall of 0.45p.

New wave of Green Deal funding

The third release of cash from the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF), worth up to £70 million, took place in March. The new wave of money provided up to £5,600 to households in England and Wales to help with the cost of installing certain energy-saving measures, such as solid wall insulation, double glazing, boilers and cavity wall and floor insulation. Domestic energy customers can receive up to £3,750 for installing solid wall insulation; up to £1,250 for installing two measures from an approved list; up to £100 refunded for their Green Deal assessment; and up to £500 more if applying within 12 months of buying a new home.

The £70 million for the third release is available for applications for solid wall insulation and/or the two measures off er, until all the funding is allocated.

More than 25,000 households had received a voucher for the GDHIF since it launched in June 2014, by the time the third wave of funding was released.

DOMESTIC ENERGY ASSESSOR COURSE

NICEIC is now off ering a five-day training course and qualification that will provide attendees with all they need to become a certified domestic energy assessor (DEA).

A DEA is a certified individual who undertakes energy calculations on existing dwellings to produce energy performance certificates (EPCs).

All existing residential dwellings in the UK require an EPC for MCS, Green Deal or ECO work and also before they are marketed as for sale or to let.

The new course is being run in partnership with Elmhurst Energy Systems, one of the leading accreditation bodies for energy assessment, over the course of 2015, at centres in Lutterworth, Edinburgh and Northern Ireland.

There is currently a 10 per cent discount available on the course, taking the cost to £1,365 plus partial VAT (normal price £1,500 plus partial VAT). For more information call 0870 013 0458.

GET AHEAD WITH SOLAR THERMAL TRAINING

Contractors interested in taking advantage of solar thermal installations can sign up to a three-day course with NICEIC.

This training and assessment is designed to provide experienced heating and plumbing engineers with the necessary skills for the basic design, installation, commissioning and service of solar thermal systems.

Successful candidates can diversify their business into the ever-increasing renewable energy market. Adopters of the popular solar thermal technology can win new business and exploit the opportunities that the microgeneration industry presents.

The next solar thermal training courses take place at NICEIC’s Chesterfield training centre on 3-5 June and 29-31 July 2015.

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Plugged in

< Ideal’s In-Sure connector

SURE FIT

The new In-Sure lever wire connector range from Ideal Industries is designed as an alternative to the use of traditional connector strips as a means of joining solid, stranded or flexible conductors.

The device uses a combination of push-in and lever clamp technology to hold rigid and flexible conductors in place, while allowing for them to be removed if necessary.

The conductors push into place and can be connected or removed by lifting the levers.

The connectors are available in two, three and five-port models and are made from transparent material to allow installers to make a visual inspection of connections.

www.idealindustries.co.uk POCKET POWER

Electrical contractors looking to make use of thermal imaging can now do so through a camera that fits in their pocket.

The FLIR C2 is 12.5cm high and weighs 130g, meaning contractors are able to carry it about their person while on site. The cameras are designed to help identify damaged electrical circuits or components, as well as sources of heat and energy loss, without the need to remove walls or plasterboard.

Priced at £599, the device includes a built-in work light and flash and can store images as JPEGs that can be downloaded to a PC at a later stage. www.flir.com/ C2 < FLIR C2

TINY TESTER

Beha-Amprobe has unveiled a new mini-clamp meter, designed to fit into contractors’ pockets and eliminate the need for them to have to return to vans or toolboxes each time they require a test reading.

The AMP-25-EUR AC/DC TRMS Mini-Clamp measures just under six inches and includes features such as True-RMS for accuracy in electrically < Beha-Amprobe noisy environments, non-contact voltage detection and a 300A low pass filter for variable frequency drive testing.

The meter is safety rated CAT III 600 V and features DCA zero and data hold functions, auto power off , one-inch (25mm) jaw opening, and a backlit screen.

www.amprobe.com

< Wylex

< Crabtree

ON YOUR METAL

Wylex and Crabtree have both unveiled new all-metal consumer units designed to comply with the new requirements of the Wiring Regulations. Amendment 3 to BS 7671, published in January 2015, requires that consumer units and similar switchgear assemblies for use in domestic household premises shall have their enclosures manufactured from non-combustible material such as ferrous metal (steel).

The Starbreaker range from Crabtree features a busbar system, which contains socket apertures for plug-in devices such as MCBs and RCBOs, and includes all of the models necessary to meet the requirements of the 17th edition.

The Wylex NM range of consumer units has also been designed to provide a simple and safe method of conforming to the new amendment, which applies to domestic household premises, including the main building and all integral attached or detached garages and outbuildings.

www.electrium.co.uk