Scotland
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AN UPDATE FOR ALL SCOTTISH ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS SPRING 2016
Scots are first to view new TV ad campaign Householders in Scotland were the first in the UK to see a new NICEIC TV advert promoting the use of its registered contractors. The Cage is a 30-second insight into the potential hidden electrical dangers that can exist in a home. It is the first time NICEIC has produced a TV commercial and it aired on STV and Channel 4 Scotland for the first time over the Easter weekend. “This is an exciting first for NICEIC. Recent independent research found that NICEIC is the best known electrical registration brand in Scotland. The NICEIC logo is recognised by almost three times more people than any other trade body. We want to build on that with this TV campaign,” said Mark Smith, marketing director at NICEIC. “This year sees NICEIC mark its 60th anniversary and we wanted to do something
special to celebrate that and to produce something our registrants can be proud of.” Using computer generated imagery, The Cage shows a homeowner oblivious to the wall of electrical currents surrounding her. The video warns viewers not to take their
Using computer generated imagery, the NICEIC TV advert shows a homeowner oblivious to the wall of electrical currents surrounding her
electrics for granted and encourages them to get their home checked by an NICEIC registered electrician. “We are committed to promoting our contractors in new and innovative ways. In fact, this is the first time in UK advertising history that an electrical installation has been visually brought to life in this way and we hope it will make people think about getting their electrics checked,” added Smith. The advertising was timed to coincide with the onset of ‘DIY season’ and also ties in with the new duty recently introduced by the Scottish Government for electrical safety inspections in private rented housing. The TV campaign will be supported by online and press ads in national newspapers, including The Telegraph, The Guardian and the Daily Record. You can view the ad at www.niceicscotland.com
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Verifiers brush up on best practice Representatives from NICEIC delivered a series of electrical awareness training sessions to local authority building standards verifiers across Scotland recently. The initiative was designed to improve awareness of key electrical principles and requirements, improve interpretation of BS 7671 certificates and understand best practice within the industry. Verifiers tend to take a risk-based approach to determining the extent of reasonable inquiry required, based on who is undertaking the installation work. To help verifiers with this process we decided to offer up some guidance around what they should be looking out for on electrical certificates, as well as some general electrical safety awareness training. The talks were co-presented by members of Select and the feedback from all the verifiers was positive.
> Alan Wells (left), NICEIC technical and standards director, helped deliver some of the material at the talks
NICEIC IN SCOTLAND
Meet the team NICEIC has an experienced team ready to help your business
Stuart Thompson, Scottish sales manager Stuart is an experienced commercial manager with previous experience of national account management, project management and marketing. Based in Scotland, he is responsible for NICEIC Scotland membership, and works with a wide network of members, key customers, stakeholders, business partners and specifiers. Eddie Arrowsmith, regional engineering manager Eddie is NICEIC’s regional engineering manager, based in Aberdeen. He served his electrical apprenticeship with British Rail and specialised in DC systems, high-voltage AC systems and DC machines. Eddie went on to work for consulting engineers’ practices for 18 years and was senior electrical engineer with WS Atkins. Yvonne Warner, area engineer Yvonne is an experienced electrician and has worked in all aspects of the electrical industry, from domestic to commercial and industrial. In addition to her role as electrical inspector she assesses hazardous areas, as well as MCS solar and wind.
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Joe Gallagher, area engineer Joe is a multi-disciplined engineer with more than 30 years’ industry experience, from small domestic to large-scale industrial projects. He works as the MCS, CPS and Green Deal inspector for NICEIC, having previously worked as an assessor, centre manager and external verifier. Philip Martin, area engineer Philip is an electrical technician with more than 30 years’ experience in all areas of the electrical engineering and petro-chemical industry. Previously the senior qualified supervisor with British Gas, Philip helped establish its current quality auditing regime, which identifies training needs for all electrical operatives. Eddie Thomson, area engineer Eddie has been an area engineer with NICEIC since 2001. After serving an apprenticeship with British Rail, Eddie worked with a number of companies, carrying out electrical, lighting design and project management. He was also in charge of a large maintenance and works depot.
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Scotland sees surge in registered contractors EXCLUSIVE SCOTTISH CERTIFICATES NOW AVAILABLE A new range of BS 7671 certificates are now available exclusively to Approved Contractors in Scotland. The Scottish BS 7671 certificates contain a declaration signed by the installer that the extent of the work covered by the certificate additionally provides evidence, but not conclusive evidence, that the work complies with the relevant parts of the Technical Handbooks. The certificates were developed with the approval of both Local Authority Building Standards Scotland, the organisation that represents all local authority building standards verifiers in Scotland, and the Scottish Government Building Standards Department. They are designed to assist the Building Control verifiers where the work was subject to a building warrant but the building owner chose not to engage a certifier of construction. These certificates are only available through our online certification system at www.niceiconline.com
CONTRACTOR PROFILE We are looking for Scottish-based NICEIC registered contractors who might like to be featured in Connections magazine, in our popular contractor profile section. If this is something you might be interested in please email nick.martindale@ redactive.com
Around 900 firms in Scotland are now registered with NICEIC – the UK’s leading voluntary regulatory body for the electrical contracting industry – under its Approved Contractor scheme. NICEIC has witnessed an increasing number of applications from businesses in Scotland looking for accreditation over the past 12 months – with registrations up by 106 per cent in the last year alone. Stuart Thompson (pictured), area manager for Scotland, said: “The NICEIC brand is widely recognised across Scotland and more and more organisations are specifying NICEIC contractors only on tenders and large contracts. “The recent change to legislation that makes it a requirement for landlords to carry out electrical inspections every five years on a rented property has also seen more firms sign up with NICEIC. “As part of that legislation, the inspections must be carried out and signed off by electricians registered with either NICEIC or SELECT.” If you have any queries about NICEIC and its benefits in Scotland, wish to know more
about joining us, or simply want to chat about your electrical contracting business in Scotland, Stuart and his team will be very happy to help you. Also, if you would like a particular topic of your interest to be featured on our website, please send an email to askstuart@niceic.com or tweet to @askstuart1
Your chance to meet NICEIC NICEIC will once again be hitting the road for a series of events in Scotland later this year. The free roadshow events provide attendees with access to more than three hours of useful technical content, including the top 10 non-compliances to the inspection schedule, an introduction to JPEL/64 and the 18th edition, and EICR observations and reporting. It is also an opportunity to meet some of the industry’s biggest manufacturers and quiz our team of experts about any of your electrical issues. Whether you are already an NICEIC contractor, or just want to find out more about how we can help boost your business, come along and meet the team at a venue near you:
14 June, Inverness 15 June, Aberdeen 16 June, Dundee 8 November, Edinburgh 9 November, Dumfries 10 November, Glasgow To book your free place visit niceicscotland.com and register online or email events@certsure.com
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OVER-65S AT GREATER RISK IN SCOTLAND
College partnerships widen access to training Dumfries and Galloway College is the latest centre to become an official NICEIC partner. With campuses in Dumfries and Stranraer, the college serves a population of more than 140,000 people in the south of Scotland. It will provide access to all the latest NICEIC training initiatives, with the first course – City and Guilds 17th edition – set to launch in May. NICEIC has already partnered with West College Scotland in Paisley and Dundee and Angus College to increase access to electrical training. All of our courses are delivered by industry leading experts and we currently offer the
following courses: • Emergency lighting • Fire alarm design • 17th edition • Periodic inspection and testing • Portable appliance testing To find out more and availability visit www.niceic.com/contractor/training/ scotland-training or email our training team at traininginfo@niceic.com
Electrical Safety First, the parent charity of NICEIC, has produced a new report outlining the increased risk off electrical accidents to older or vulnerable people. Official figures from the report – Age Safe Scotland: Electrical Safety in an Ageing Society – show that people aged over 65 in Scotland are at a greater risk from fires in the home than any other age group. This is often due to old or poor quality housing that contains faulty electrics and appliances. With 78 per cent of older people’s homes in disrepair (and 58 per cent requiring a critical repair), Scotland’s ageing population is at an increasing risk of electrical dangers. The study was established to better understand the impact of poor electrical safety on an ageing society in Scotland and offers recommendations that will help older people to stay safely in their own homes for longer. You can download a copy of the report at www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/news-andcampaigns/campaigns/age-safe-scotland
POP IN STORE TO FIND OUT MORE Electrical contractors can now find out more about the benefits of joining NICEIC by visiting their local City Electrical Factors (CEF) store in Scotland. CEF is the UK’s leading electrical wholesaler with more than 400 locations, 35 of which are in Scotland. Each of these stores has its own unique TV channel with information about the latest industry news and events. NICEIC has agreed to provide CEF with a range of videos to feature on the CEF TV channel. Each store in Scotland will also host a range of NICEIC literature for contractors to browse. Look out for the NICEIC brand in your local CEF store now.
CONTACTS // CONNECTIONS 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP EDITORIAL General 020 7880 6200 Fax 020 7324 2791 Email nick.martindale@redactive.co.uk © Redactive Publishing Ltd 2016 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP. Registered No. 3156216. All rights reserved. This publication (and any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any print or electronic format (including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet) or in any other format in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Redactive Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.
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WWW.NICEIC.COM ENQUIRIES Certsure 01582 539000 Communications manager Paul Collins 01582 539148 paul.s.collins@certsure.com NICEIC Direct Paul Elcock 01582 539709 paul.elcock@certsure.com
Twitter @officialNICEIC Technical helpline 0870 013 0391 Customer services 0870 013 0382 Sales 0870 013 0458 Training 0870 013 0389 Legal/tax 24-hour helpline 0845 602 5965
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