Connections Autumn 2012

Book your NICEIC Live North tickets now// page 6

connections THE MAGAZINE FOR NICEIC REGISTERED CONTRACTORS ÂŁ5.00

ADVICE P17 How to set up and run an effective apprenticeship programme

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WWW.NICEIC.COM

SMART HOMES P28 Home automation is growing in popularity and creating new business opportunities

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TWITTER: @OFFICIALNICEIC AUTUMN 2012 | ISSUE 183

FIRE SAFETY P32 Contractors prepared to invest in training can move into the fire safety sector

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ISLAND HOPPING After shaking up the local market, Isle of Wight firm SB Electrical is eyeing national expansion // page 24

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01/10/2012 09:00

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Autumn 2012 | Issue 183

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Contents First phase Olympic spirit

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18

Plugged in News Don’t miss out on NICEIC Live North 6 North-west pair take golf title 7 NICEIC backs stance on Part P 7 Cloud certification cuts paperwork 8 Renewables news Website gives Green Deal advice 10 NICEIC offers advisor certification 10 ESC news Kit helps with home safety role BSI curbs clarification power

20

Illustration: Cameron Law

28

12 13

Product news 15 LED dimmers, compact cable, cable roller and laser distance meter

Live wire Features

Advice 17 Firms using apprentices should learn from the Olympics, says Sarah Davies

Contractor profile 24 How SB Electrical has captured the Isle of Wight market in just five years

Opinion 18 James Gardiner highlights connected technologies opportunities

Smart thinking 28 Home automation offers opportunities for contractors looking to diversify

32 Regions 20 Economic conditions remain tough in the east of England but contractors are keeping their heads above water Training Darren Staniforth explains how to identify specific training needs

22

Current affairs Warming up for desert challenge

58

Fully charged

Ready, aim, fire 32 Designing and installing fire safety systems can be a lucrative move

Ask the experts 37 Some of the NICEIC technical helpline’s more frequently asked questions answered Technical Wiring for emergency lighting

40 40

Cables to BS 8436

42

Safe connection of tap-off units of busbar trunking systems 44

www.niceic.com

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Snags and solutions

46

Safe isolation

49

Surge protective devices

52

»Cover photo: Peter Langdon/UNP NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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Comment

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EMMA CLANCY

First phase Olympic spirit The Olympics and Paralympic Games remind us what can be achieved through dedication and determination – something that electrical contractors can put to good effect

I

t was almost impossible not to be touched by the success of the GB team at the London Olympics and Paralympic Games. The effort of everyone involved created a positive energy and inspired people to see what can be achieved with hard work and determination, particularly in difficult economic times.

The next couple of months promise to be an important period for everyone in the electrical contracting industry.

The government has just launched its most ambitious bid yet to deal with energy efficiency via the Green Deal initiative, and an announcement on the future of Part P is set to follow soon.

Green Deal will provide contractors with the opportunity to get involved with what could be one of the biggest home renovation projects seen in the UK. Those with appropriate skills and experience will be in a good position to benefit.

The announcement on the future of Part P of the Building Regulations will also be significant. The government has

‘The next couple of months promise to be an important period for everyone in the electrical contracting industry’

Emma Clancy is chief executive officer, NICEIC

hinted at retaining Part P but amending it to reduce red tape. This news should be welcomed by contractors, along with the suggestion that more needs to be done to raise awareness of the regulation with householders.

NICEIC has been working hard on both these initiatives to ensure a fair deal for contractors. We believe that both present opportunities. There will no doubt be hurdles to overcome along the way, but with a little effort there could be a pot of gold waiting at the end.

CONTACTS // CONNECTIONS Redactive Publishing Ltd, 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP EDITORIAL General 020 7880 6200 Fax 020 7324 2791 Email editor@niceicconnections.com Editor Nick Martindale Technical editor Mike Clark Sub editor Clare Cronin Art director Mark Parry Art editor Adrian Taylor Picture researcher Akin Falope Publishing and business development director Aaron Nicholls ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Senior sales executive Mark Palmer Sales executive Darren Hale Display 020 7882 6206 Fax 020 7880 7553 Email advertising@ niceicconnections.com

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PRODUCTION General production enquiries 020 7880 6240 Fax 020 7880 7691 Production manager Jane Easterman Deputy production executive Kieran Tobin Email kieran.tobin@redactive.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS Should you require your own copy of Connections or multiple copies for your staff, subscriptions are available by calling 020 8950 9117 CONTRIBUTIONS Connections welcomes ideas for contributions.

Please email nick.martindale@ niceicconnections.com ISSN 2042-5732

Autumn 2012 NICEIC Connections

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© Redactive Publishing Ltd 2012 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.

Printed by Wyndeham (Peterborough) Ltd. Paper by Denmaur Papers plc The paper mill that makes the text paper for this magazine states that it uses at least 80 per cent wood pulp from sustainable sources.

WWW.NICEIC.COM NICEIC ENQUIRIES General 01582 539000 External affairs director Richard Pagett 01582 539020 richard.pagett@ascertiva.com Communications officer Paul Collins 01582 539148 paul.s.collins@ascertiva.com NICEIC Direct Mike Jackson 01582 539709 mike.jackson@ascertiva.com Twitter @officialNICEIC Technical helpline 0870 013 0391 Customer services 0870 013 0382 Sales 0870 013 0458 Training 0870 013 0389

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:03

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Book now @ www.niceiclive.com or call us on 020 7324 2771 NIC.10.12.005.indd 1

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News/Renewables news/ESC news/Product news

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Plugged in Need-to-know industry news for electrical installers BRAND MAKEOVER FOR NEWSPAPER CAMPAIGN

Don’t miss out on NICEIC Live North Contractors are being urged to book their tickets for NICEIC Live North as places are selling fast.

The event takes place at Bolton Arena on 1 November and promises to be one of the top dates of the electrical calendar, with several high-profile speakers and leading suppliers attending as well as experts from NICEIC. Motoring journalist and former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson will open the event, explaining how contractors can take advantage of the opportunities presented by electric vehicles.

Other prominent speakers include JCB chief executive Alan Blake, who will talk about the role electricians can play in the construction industry, and NICEIC’s Tony Cable. Members of the NICEIC technical team will also be on hand to answer queries about specific electrical issues.

In addition to the presentations, attendees will also be able to get their hands on the latest tools and meet suppliers from across the electrical and building services industries.

The event, which is being sponsored

by Philips, follows the success of NICEIC Live South, which held its second annual event earlier this year.

“We have booked a strong line-up of seminars, speakers and exhibitors, ensuring there is something for everyone to take back to their day-to-day role,” said NICEIC chief executive Emma Clancy.

Tickets are still available for the event, priced at just £36 plus VAT for NICEICregistered contractors and at £56 plus VAT for non-NICEIC contractors.

For more information on the event or to book your ticket, visit www.niceiclive. com or call 020 7324 2771.

TECHTALKS HIT THE ROAD ONCE AGAIN The latest series of NICEIC TechTalks kicked off earlier this month, but tickets are still available for the remaining events.

The one-day seminars offer contractors the chance to find out more about technical and legislative issues affecting their business. Talks are presented by Tony Cable, on subjects including wiring between buildings, voltage optimisation, the Green Deal, EICR calculations, and certification notification. Events will be held in Northern Ireland, Cornwall, Swansea, Stoke, Milton Keynes, Newcastle and Edinburgh over the coming months.

For more information, see the diary on page 8, visit www.niceicdirect.com or call 01582 539 029.

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The NICEIC brand was given a makeover this summer as part of an advertising campaign to promote the use of registered contractors to specifiers and consumers.

Featuring a new design and tagline, the adverts appeared in national newspapers including The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express and Mail on Sunday, along with consumer and trade magazines.

“We hope that more readers will rrecognise the NICEIC logo and associate l this t with a safe electrical job carried e out o by professionals,” said Mark Smith, head of group marketing at NICEIC. The campaign is set to run over the next six months and will reach a total audience of more than 14 million.

The ads will be seen by landlords, facilities managers, architects, builders, letting agents, local authorities and housing associations.

KIT AT DISCOUNT PRICES The latest NICEIC Direct catalogue is out now, offering contractors a wide range of kit and equipment at discounted prices.

It features products from leading brands, including workwear from clothing specialist Snickers. The durable, modern clothing line can be embroidered with the NICEIC logo free of charge.

The catalogue also contains tools from specialists Stanley and Irwin, plus books and DVDs updated to reflect the latest 17th edition amendments.

“This is the most comprehensive catalogue ever put together by NICEIC, tools, workwear and equipment featuring tool that no electrician should be without,” said Mike Jackson, head of sales at NICEIC. To get a copy of the catalogue visit www. niceicdirect.com or call 0843 290 3485.

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:04

FREE POCKET GUIDE Inside this issue of Connections you will find Pocket Guide 28 – Application of residual current devices (RCDs).

A printable version of each pocket guide is available on the NICEIC website. Additional copies can be obtained by contacting the NICEIC customer service department on 0870 013 0382 or at customerservice@niceic.com.

Dragons’ Den star and entrepreneur Hilary Devey is to front the next part of NICEIC’s Jobs for the Girls campaign.

Devey will take part in a series of radio interviews alongside NICEIC chief executive Emma Clancy. She is the latest big-name star to show her support for Jobs for the Girls, following MPs Lynne Featherstone, Andrew Selous and Nadhim Zahawi.

NICEIC recently hosted a networking event for females working in the industry try and unveiled a website ite at www.jobsforthegirls.com. com.

More events are planned ned in the future, and a newsletter is available e to update those interested in the campaign.

For more information, email jftg@niceic.com

LIABILITY INSURANCE CHANGES UNDER WAY Contractors taking out employers’ liability insurance will now have to provide extra information as a mandatory requirement.

The insurance industry has formed a voluntary body, the Employer’s Liability Tracing Office, to help employees find any of their past employers’ insurance details.

For more information, visit the Association of British Insurers’ website at www.abi.org.uk or contact your NICEIC Insurance team.

ONLINE LEARNING OPTIONS EXTENDED NICEIC has added more courses to its online training facility, enabling more tradespeople to take advantage of the growing trend for web-based learning.

As well as its 17th-edition online course, NICEIC offers sessions on EICRs, emergency lighting, fire alarm design, safe isolation and MCS quality management. Courses comply with the latest regulations and can be accessed using NICEIC vouchers at wholesalers or by calling the training team.

www.niceic.com

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North-west pair take golf title Lancashire-based contractor Ian Walsh (pictured, right) and his partner Alex Cave took the title of NICEIC Golfers of the Year after winning the 2012 Golf Classic event in September.

The duo, who had earlier won the Cheshire round at Wychwood Golf Club, saw off competition from other regional winners to take the overall title at Scotland’s Archerfield Links, playing 36 holes over the Fidra and Dirleton Links.

“We just went up to enjoy ourselves,” said Walsh, who is managing director of Walsh Integrated Building Services, based in Nelson. “On the first day, we just couldn’t do anything wrong. We didn’t play the greatest golf on the second day, but in the end they couldn’t catch us.”

Walsh has pledged to defend his title next year after tasting success this time

around. “I don’t think we’ll be able to better that though,” he said.

Belfast team Terry Law and Andy Bligh finished runners-up, just two points behind the eventual winners.

The recent Golf Classic was the fifth such event and each year the competition gets tougher, with hundreds of contractors entering from all over the UK. “Once again the Golf Classic has proved to be a real hit with our contractors,” said Alan Wells, certification director for the Ascertiva Group. “The atmosphere, standard of play and facilities have all been excellent, right through from the regional qualifying rounds to the final in Scotland.

“I would like to thank everyone who took part, and all the sponsors who make it such a special event.”

NICEIC backs stance on Part P NICEIC has backed the government’s support for retention of Part P of the building regulations.

Ministers discussed electrical safety in the home during a debate at Westminster Hall on gas and electrical building regulations in September. The debate was the last public discussion on the matter before the government officially announces its proposed changes to Part P. “It was encouraging to see MPs support our claims that Part P should be retained,” said NICEIC chief executive Emma Clancy.

“We look forward to working with the Electrical Safety Council on this.”

While the main decisions of Part P are yet to be revealed, ministers were clear that more needed to be done to raise awareness of the issue.

Clive Betts, Labour MP for Sheffield South East, said: “The whole industry – including the ESC, which expressed concern about watering down the regulations – should be involved.”

The new building regulations minister Don Foster also joined the debate, after taking over from Andrew Stunnell, who initiated the review into Part P last year.

SHUTTERSTOCK

‘DRAGON’ JOINS FEMALE RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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Plugged in Cloud certification cuts paperwork NICEIC has teamed up with WhiteCloud Software to develop a cloud certification system that is set to revolutionise the process of creating, storing and administering electrical certificates.

Purchasing pads of certificates will become a thing of the past, as all forms and details are securely stored online and are always available to the contractor.

There is no need to install the software, as contractors simply log in with their NICEIC login details to fill out forms online and all forms are automatically stored for up to five years.

“Filling out paperwork can be a timeconsuming job for contractors, and this system will help save time and money,” said NICEIC’s head of sales Mike Jackson.

No joining fees or software costs are involved. Updates are free and there are

INDUSTRY // DIARY October 30-1 November Installer Live/Retro Expo* Birmingham November 1 NICEIC Live* Bolton Arena 7 Motor Driven Systems Conference St John’s Hotel, Solihull

no licence costs per user. Firms register their details and can then buy certificates individually for just £1. Forms can then be completed on the site or in the office and can be easily emailed or printed off.

Jobs can also be automatically notified to Building Control, using the same information on the electrical installation certificate, at a cost of £1.50.

To find out more about online cloud certification, visit www.niceic.com

ON-SITE HELP FOR DOMESTIC INSTALLERS NICEIC has produced its most comprehensive on-site guide yet for Domestic Installers.

Based on the latest requirements of BS 7671:2011, the 316-page book provides guidance for anyone involved in the design, construction, inspection or testing of domestic electrical work and is intended to promote good practice across the industry. It includes chapters on RCDs, consumer units, remote isolation, labelling and works in special areas, and retails at £21..

To grab your copy, call 0843 290 3501 or log on to www.niceidirect.com

8-9 ELEX* Sandown Park, Surrey 20 NICEIC TechTalk* Galgorm Resort, Northern Ireland 29 NICEIC TechTalk* St Mellion Resort, Cornwall December 4 NICEIC TechTalk* Liberty Stadium, Swansea January 31 NICEIC TechTalk* Britannia Stadium, Stoke

* Denotes NICEIC presence

NICEIC // PROMOTIONS NICEIC is constantly working to raise public awareness of the need to use registered electricians and to promote its Domestic Installers and Approved Contractors. Recent campaigns include: AUTUMN 2012 Online consumer and specifier ads Adverts appearing on BuildingTalk.com and Trustmark.org.uk to encourage homeowners and specifiers to always use NICEIC-registered electricians /// New consumer factsheets Leaflets and thank you cards produced for contractors to explain the benefits of using NICEIC-registered electricians to homeowners /// Consumer press articles Tony Cable features in articles for Self-Build, Build It and Homebuilding and Renovating magazines to promote the use of NICEIC-registered electricians /// Electrical Fire Safety Week Supporting the ESC to raise awareness of Electrical Fire Safety Week in September SUMMER 2012 Consumer and specifier ads Advertising campaign promoting NICEIC-registered contractors to more than 15 million specifiers and consumers /// Bank holiday tips Consumer campaign urging householders to think twice about carrying out electrical work around the home over the extra bank holidays this year /// Landlord’s Expo Exhibition attendance to promote the use of NICEIC-registered contractors to landlords and letting agents

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SPRING 2012 BBC Radio 4 Tony Cable appears as guest on You and Yours programme to offer advice and guidance on electrical safety /// Cowboy Builders Darren Staniforth appears on Channel 5 programme as technical expert on electrics in the home /// Twitter @officialNICEIC Twitter feed exceeds 2,000-follower mark, offering advice and guidance to consumers and electricians /// Consumer advertising campaign National newspaper adverts in seven papers, reaching more than six million people /// Consumer press articles Tony Cable features in articles in Your Home magazine and on MSN.co.uk promoting use of NICEIC-registered electricians WINTER 2011 Wall of Shame Ruthless rogue trader bricked into a wall of shame at London’s Euston Station to encourage householders to shop cowboy traders fraudulently misusing a trade logo /// A.S.K campaign Consumer awareness campaign encouraging householders to check the ID of tradespeople /// Online specifier campaign Banner advertising on Zoopla.co.uk to encourage homeowners and landlords to always use NICEIC-registered contractors /// DIY SOS Cambridgeshire-based Approved Contractors filmed for future episode of this popular BBC show

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:05

E MY LIF DEPENDS

ON THEM

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Plugged in Website gives Green Deal advice NICEIC is launching an interactive website designed to provide consumers and contractors with everything they need to know about the Green Deal.

Green Deal is the government’s flagship initiative to tackle energy efficiency. Launched in October, it is designed to make energy efficiency easy and affordable and aims to reach up to 14 million properties by 2020.

However, NICEIC research reveals that many homeowners and businesses expected to carry out work under the scheme are still unaware of its benefits.

The new “Your Green Deal Home” website aims to become an easy access point for anyone looking to find out more about Green Deal.

“Low awareness will prevent consumer engagement with Green Deal, while a lack of clarity will prevent installers from entering the market,” said Mark Smith, group marketing manager at NICEIC. “We hope this website will answer any questions that consumers or contractors might have. We believe that, after 10 minutes on the site, people will have a good idea of how the Green Deal could benefit them.”

The inventive website features the first interactive Green Deal home, allowing visitors to take a virtual tour of a home to find out what energy-saving measures are possible under the scheme. It also includes factsheets, savings calculators and details of all approved installers.

The website, which has the full backing of the Department for Energy and Climate Control, is due to go live in October at www.yourgreendealhome.com

NICEIC HELPS TO SHAPE A GREENER FUTURE NICEIC joined 120 key industry suppliers, policymakers and representatives from the gas and electricity industries for a keynote speech on the upcoming Green Deal at Westminster in the summer.

Hosted by the all-party parliamentary gas safety group and sponsored by Ascertiva – parent company of NICEIC – the July event featured presentations from minister for energy and climate change Greg Barker (pictured); David Thorne, chief executive of the Green Deal oversight body Gemserve; and Ascertiva’s new group chair Ann Robinson.

Barker outlined the opportunities the Green Deal presented for householders, installers and industry, and the important role for certification bodies in maintaining standards.

He also stressed the need for safety to ensure the consumer had confidence in the Green Deal. “Safety in the home is a concern,” he said. “We must educate the wider consumer about these dangers. The government must ensure safety is built into the framework and the industry has the adequate skills to deliver it.”

NICEIC is one of a few organisations that have been selected by the UK Accreditation Service to provide Green Deal certification to any business wishing to become registered installers or advisors.

“This was a great opportunity for NICEIC to get in front of influential people relating to Green Deal and discuss the role we can play to ensure it is a success for everyone,” said NICEIC’s commercial director Matt Gantley.

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NICEIC offers advisor certification NICEIC can now offer certification to any business wishing to become a Green Deal advisor.

Green Deal advisors will be responsible for carrying out the initial assessment of a property to identify which measures may be appropriate. They may undertake assessments on domestic and commercial properties, but must be certified by a UKAS-accredited certification body and centrally registered with the Green Deal oversight body.

Organisations looking to provide a Green Deal advisory service must ensure the staff it employs, or sub-contractors, are properly trained and competent to undertake the work, and have appropriate processes and systems in place to comply with the Green Deal advisory standard.

The NICEIC certification process looks at all these considerations and can generally be undertaken via a half-day assessment, depending on the size and scope of the organisation.

For more information about the Green Deal, log on to www.niceic.com or email greendeal@niceic.com

NORTH WALES CENTRE PROVIDES RENEWABLES TECHNOLOGIES TRAINING NICEIC training provider Easy MCS has opened a centre in North Wales offering courses in green technologies including solar photovoltaics, solar thermal and ground and air source heat pumps.

The centre, which is based in Flintshire, also offers training for those interested in becoming Green Deal installers and assessors, through sister company Easy Green Deal.

Demand for the type of equipment that the centre’s courses cover is likely to be further increased by the domestic renewable heat incentive. In September, the government announced its plans for the future of this incentive. It is proposing to pay premiums to domestic customers over a seven-year period, which is intended to cover 20 years’-worth of generated heat.

The consultation on the domestic renewable heat incentive proposals is open for feedback until December.

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:05

SEEING IS BELIEVING!

ST AT JU + V 9 £9

HOME NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY

EXTRA REVENUE FROM HOME NETWORKING! SPECIAL “INSTALLER–ONLY” EVALUATION PACK Due to the increasing nationwide demand for robust home networking, particularly with the launch of YouView and other Internet streaming TV services, Power Ethernet has put together an installer-only evaluation pack so you can try it for yourself.

By simply installing two or more of Power Ethernet’s ingenious sockets instead of a conventional double-gang socket, you can now offer your customers a high speed and robust home network – using the existing electrical cabling and without needing specialist skills or tools. All that is left to do is hook up an Internet router, games consoles, YouView box and any computers to enjoy Internet access in every room of the home.

For just £99 (plus VAT), you can buy a twin-pack to discover how easy it is to make money out of home networking with the Power Ethernet Socket. But hurry: quantities of these special installer-only evaluation packs are strictly limited.

To get yours, simply visit: www.powerethernet.com/installers or call 0845 00 44 443 Offer limited to one installer-only evaluation pack per company. Not for resale.

All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. E&OE.

30%#)!, /&&%2 s 30%#)!, /&&%2 s 30%#)!, /&&%2 Fluke 1654B Multifunction Installation Tester.

Now with FREE T5 Electrical Tester.* Purchase a Fluke 1654B before the 31st of December and claim your free T5-1000 tester from Fluke Also available, a free Fluke T5-600 with the Fluke 1653B

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Designed to meet your need for rugged, reliable and productive test tools.

Look for more details on Fluke products and special offers at www.fluke.co.uk/promotions

* Free T5 offer valid from 01.09.2012 until 31.12.2012, only available direct from Fluke by using special offer voucher, proof of purchase required.

Go to www.fluke.co.uk/promotions to download the voucher and view full terms and conditions, or contact Fluke directly.

NIC.10.12.011.indd 1

Keeping your world up and running.®

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Plugged in Kit helps electricians play home safety role The ESC has developed an information pack so electricians can work in partnership to create safer homes. It aims to help contractors get important messages across to householders, such as the need for regular condition reporting and the benefits of residual-current device (RCD) protection.

The kit includes a range of materials, including a PDF to attach to emails, quotations and invoices; artwork and illustrations; relevant statistical data

on accidents and fires; a sample press release that can be used as a template; a downloadable web banner promoting the ESC’s free electrical home safety check app; and leaflets to download or as hard copies for local promotional activity.

Electricians play an important role in improving home safety, and can represent a trusted voice, and householders are likely to act on their advice.

More than 400,000 consumer units were installed last year in the UK – a sign that householders are upgrading their fuseboxes to modern ones and improving protection.

Nevertheless, more than 13 million homes remain without adequate RCD protection.

Last year, electricians helped the charity reach close to two million consumers with information about RCD protection.

Electricians have told the ESC that they have found the free pack effective in facilitating discussions with customers about RCD protection and, in many cases, customers go on to upgrade their electrics.

You can access the various materials at www.esc.org.uk/industry

Vehicle safety targeted The ESC is looking at measures to ensure safety during the charging of electric vehicles.

As well as contributing to the regulations for electric vehicle charging that are being developed for the next revision to BS 7671: Requirements for electrical installations, the ESC is investigating the use of a voltageoperated circuit-breaker to automatically disconnect the supply and protective conductor connections to an electric vehicle in the event of a discontinuity in the supply PEN conductor.

With the use of plug-in electric vehicles likely to become more widespread, the ESC and its electrical industry partners have raised concerns about the safety risk where vehicles are to be connected to installations relying on protective multiple earthing.

In this type of installation, there is a risk of electric shock if the combined neutral

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and earth conductor in the distribution system becomes disconnected – because of a fault or through metal theft, for instance.

The intention is to demonstrate that a type of voltage-operated circuit-breaker could be used as one of the alternatives to changing the earthing arrangement for the installation – or part of the installation – to a TT earthing arrangement.

GATE GUIDE ISSUED FOLLOWING ACCIDENTS Guidance on powered gate safety has been produced by the Door and Hardware Federation (DHF).

The guide aims to help industry meet its obligations by providing a summary of the current legislation and standards.

The document was produced following the tragic deaths of two young children who were crushed by electric gates in separate incidents two years ago.

A six-year-old girl died when she was crushed by electric gates in Manchester in 2010. A few days later, another girl, aged five, was also crushed to death by electric gates in Bridgend, South Wales.

Following those tragic accidents, the ESC highlighted the dangers of electric gates in the autumn 2010 issue of Switched On (pictured) – which can be freely downloaded from the industry section of the ESC’s website at www.esc.org.uk The DHF’s guidance, which is endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive, is available to download free of charge at: www.dhfonline.org.uk/ downloads/pub193.pdf

Safe isolation app available for Android The ESC has developed and launched an Android version of its safe isolation app, which is aimed at anyone who requires a circuit or circuits to be isolated in order to carry out electrical work safely.

The original safe isolation app was suitable for use on Apple devices only but popular demand led to the development of the version for Android devices.

As is the case for the Apple version, the Android version is available for download in the industry guidance section of the ESC website. Click on “safe isolation”, where there is a link to the app in Google Play.

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:06

The Electrical Safety Council: raising electrical safety awareness, made possible by funding from NICEIC. To view the ESC’s Switched On magazine, visit www.esc.org.uk

BSI curbs clarification power

ESC allocates safety grants The ESC has made awards totalling £240,000 to 62 organisations that successfully applied for funding from its electrical fire safety fund (EFSF) and home improvements grants scheme (HIGS).

In all, 33 partners from across the UK will receive a share of £140,000 through the EFSF – including Trading Standards teams and Fire & Rescue Services – and £100,000 will be shared between 29 partners through HIGS. The ESC recently held two ceremonies to celebrate the awards: one in London for partners in England and Wales, and one in Glasgow for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Bob Doris, Glasgow-based MSP and a member of the Scottish National Party, gave a speech at the Scottish event (pictured), reflecting his interest in safety issues relating to private landlords.

The ESC’s funding schemes are run as part of the charity’s commitment to tackling the safety issues associated with electricity. The charity received 210 applications for the two funding programmes.

Projects will run until the end of March 2013. For further information, visit the ESC website.

METAL RECYCLERS RESPOND TO CONCERNS The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) has responded to concerns raised by the ESC over stolen cable by asking its members to be on the lookout for persons attempting to sell lengths of single core protective conductors, including short lengths of stripped cable, and to contact their local police if they are suspicious.

For further information, visit www. recyclemetals.org/stolen

www.niceic.com

12_13_esc_news.CC3.indd 13

A new British Standard has been introduced which dictates that committees responsible for the development of standards will no longer be permitted to interpret or clarify requirements. The new standard will affect those electrical contractors seeking guidance on the electrical installation requirements of BS 7671.

The change in BSI policy regarding interpretations gives increased significance to the role of the Electrical Installation Forum, which is well placed to interpret and clarify the requirements of BS 7671.

However, the forum cannot respond y to technical questions from directly i individuals.

Electrical c contractors and installers s seeking technical advice on applying the requirements of the 17th edition – as amended – should, in the first instance, contact their registration or trade body which, for Connections readers, is NICEIC.

BS 0: 2011: A Standard for Standards came into effect in January. Since then committees responsible for British Standards, including BS 7671: Requirements for electrical installations, have not been permitted to provide on request interpretation or clarification of the requirements of those standards, as was the practice previously.

However, if notified of any ambiguities, inconsistencies or possible errors in a standard, BSI will refer them to the committee responsible for that standard for consideration, together with any proposals for changes or improvements. Such notifications are encouraged by BSI as a contribution to the maintenance of a standard.

On BS 7671 clarification issues, should the NICEIC or other registration or trade body wish to establish a consensus of opinion on the matter, they may refer it to the forum for consideration. If the forum is able to agree on an appropriate answer, it will be published on the forum’s website, which can be found at www.esc.org.uk/forum

More answers on site Agreed answers to new questions have been added to the wiring regulations section of the ESC website, including: • Are the relevant tests of regulations 612.2 to 612.13, for example continuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance and earth fault loop impedance, applicable to parts of systems such as room and cylinder thermostats, motorised valves and programmers?

• A water utility service enters an apartment block in plastic and then metal branches feed individual apartments. To which location(s) should main protective bonding be provided?

• Do blanks fitted in a distribution board or consumer unit that can be removed without the use of a tool or key comply with the requirements of BS 7671, with regard to access to live parts?

• A number of companies specialising in periodic inspection and testing are offering “visual only” periodic inspections (also called “visual condition reports”). As no testing is undertaken, where would the use of such inspections be appropriate?

For the answers to these and many other commonly asked questions, please visit www.esc.org.uk/forum

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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01/10/2012 09:06

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03/10/2012 10:15

News/Renewables news/ESC news/Product news

N

Plugged in < LED dimmer

ROLL WITH IT

FIRMS WORK TOGETHER ON LED DIMMING CHALLENGES MK Electric has teamed up with Philips to overcome the problems traditionally associated with LED dimming.

MK Electric’s design service has developed a specialist dimmer designed to work with Philips’ Master LED range, so the 7W LEDspot GU10 MV, 7W LEDspot GU10 MV DimTone, 12W LEDbulb and 8W LEDbulb DimTone can now be paired with dimmers from MK Electric’s Logic Plus and Edge ranges. Both ranges are rated 8-48W to operate effectively with the Master LED lamps.

The two companies intend to offer a wider range of LED dimmers later this year. www.mkelectric.co.uk www.philips.co.uk/lighting

An electrician who grew frustrated with constantly unravelling tangled electrical cables has come up with the Cabro Eaziroll, designed to enable easy rolling and unrolling of cables on-site.

The device is based on a free-running feed roller and a frictionless cable guide roller, which creator Jim Condon claims eliminates the issue of cables working loose and wrapping themselves around the main support bar.

The Eaziroll, which folds down to make it easy to transport and store, is particularly well suited to jobs in which much time is spent up scaffolding or ladders, where constantly having to untangle cables can prove especially time-consuming. www.cabro.co.uk

< Distance meters

LASER VISION FROM FLUKE Fluke has developed three laser distance meters, designed to allow contractors to make precise measurements for hard-to-access areas such as high ceilings without the need to climb a ladder.

The Fluke 414D, 419D and 424D devices use a Pythagoras function to calculate heights, and can also provide quick calculations for both area and volume.

The most basic model – the 414D – measures up to 50m with accuracy of 2mm, Fluke claims, and stores five measurement results. This increases to 80m with accuracy of 1mm and storage for 20 results with the 419D, and 100m with 1mm and 20 results for the 424D, both of which can be tripodmounted if required.

The 424D also includes an inclination sensor to assist with height tracking, levelling and indirect horizontal distance measurement when the line of sight is blocked. www.fluke.co.uk

< Cable roller

SLIM-LINE LOOK FOR CAT 6 CABLE Draka has introduced a space-saving, high density Cat 6 network cable, which it claims can increase the amount of cable carried in trays by as much as 40 per cent.

The cable has an outside diameter of 5.25mm – whereas the standard measurement is between 6.0 and 6.3mm – so it has a cross-sectional area of up to 20 per cent less. It is targeted primarily at newbuild projects and also system upgrades where Cat 5e cabling has previously been used, avoiding the need to upgrade existing containment systems.

The reduced bulk of the cable means a 305m box is around 2kg lighter than the standard 13kg Cat 6 equivalent. < Compact cable www.draka.com/connectivity

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01/10/2012 09:11

SignalTEK II Confirms correct installation of copper and fibre data cabling and qualifies the performance of 10/100 or Gigabit Ethernet networks

Telephone, CCTV and intercom/paging systems are just some of the applications that now run over Ethernet cabling.

With SignalTEK II installers can quickly test a link’s ability to run high speed applications at full load ensuring optimum network performance.

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02/10/2012 15:53

Advice/Opinion/Regions/Insight/Events/Case study/Customer care/Training

N

APPRENTICES

Live wire Apprentice training The Olympics highlighted what can be done when governments invest in youth. Electrical companies can learn from this in their own approach to apprentices, says Sarah Davies

T

he latest government statistics showed a large rise in the number of engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships in the UK. Former skills minister John Hayes described it as “really welcome news”, stressing the role apprentices could play in helping to rebalance the UK’s economy.

Fostering homegrown talent is something MK Electric firmly believes in, and has long co-operated with local councils to provide employment opportunities to school-leavers. But while the company has taken on apprentices throughout its 93-year history, 2012 is the first year a formal apprenticeship programme has been put in place.

The following are some of the key reasons that it has been a resounding success and should provide a useful foundation for others in the industry looking to set up and run such a scheme.

Give them a top-down view Providing apprentices with an overall perspective of the business is important. MK’s apprentices go through a rotation on the manufacturing site, gaining experience in areas such as engineering and maintenance.

This process not only complements the qualifications they undertake in tandem to the scheme, but gives the business and the apprentice the chance to identify strengths, development areas and career preferences.

Giving apprentices an input into the area they may want to specialise in is fundamental. It makes them feel empowered and engaged, and equips them with key skills and experience to help them establish their career.

Schemes that are well structured, that run according to agreed time scales, and that offer dedicated time to discuss development with their placement supervisor and other mentors will make the programme more effective for both the individual and the business.

Illustration: Cameron Law

Develop the right support structure Giving young apprentices supportive mentors is crucial to making any scheme a success. But what is sometimes missed is the importance of involving mentors with different levels of experience. MK chooses young staff members who have just finished the scheme and understand the best way to explain new concepts, as well as long-serving employees who know the operations and processes inside out.

Communication among existing staff members is also essential. MK cultivates a family-like culture among its staff, creating an environment where employees are encouraged to ask questions and put forward suggestions. This supportive environment is essential to foster talent, and requires every member of staff to understand and buy into the company’s apprenticeship scheme.

www.niceic.com

17_busadvice.AT.indd Sec2:17

Offer a personal touch Don’t forget that one of the most valuable aspects of apprenticeship schemes is that young people learn about working life. It’s not just about processes and practical skills, but also shaping apprentices’ approach to work and developing interpersonal skills and qualities. Make sure time is dedicated to exploring these aspects, too.

If nurtured and developed correctly, some of the apprentices you take on can become some of the company’s most prized employees.

Just look at Mick Stack and Scott Irwin, who both started out as MK apprentices many years ago and have now risen to positions of leadership in the business.

Listen and learn MK prides itself on fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Experienced and new staff members are invited to feed back on how systems and processes may be improved.

Adam King started his apprenticeship in manufacturing engineering at MK’s Southend facility six years ago. In that time, he has reduced machine changeover time from 40 to two minutes, increased machine up-time by eight per cent, fine-tuned machinery to increase overall equipment effectiveness and reduced waste to improve yield performance, resulting in savings of £25,000 a year. He has now been recognised as one of 30 young, talented individuals in UK manufacturing, in the Make it in Great Britain 2012 “30 under 30” awards.

If apprentices are nurtured and encouraged effectively, they often bring a new and fresh perspective to processes and operations, from which businesses can greatly benefit.

Sarah Davies is UK HR manager at MK Electric

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

17

01/10/2012 09:12

Advice/Opinion/Regions/Insight/Events/Case study/Customer care/Training

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CONNECTED TECHNOLOGIES If you have an opinion about an issue concerning the electrical industry, let us know. Email editor@niceic connections.com

Live wire Linked in Connected technologies

present UK contractors with a huge opportunity to extend their portfolio without having to engage in cumbersome rewires, says James Gardiner

T

he advent of iPads, connected televisions and music-streaming systems has not only met, but also fuelled, our desire to stay connected to each other and access information, music and films quickly and easily.

Suzi Perry’s speech at NICEIC Live South hit the nail on the head: we can’t cope without our gadgets and this offers contractors new opportunities, from installing new kit and sockets to rewiring properties.

The latest advance in connected entertainment is YouView: a set-top box that offers consumers more than 70 digital TV channels and catch-up TV services. These services need a robust internet connection. However, the first devices to market don’t even feature Wi-Fi, so many buyers will need a robust, wired home network.

Running Cat 5 or 6 network cable around a house is a big job, and most contractors have traditionally left it to the full-time network installers. But now there’s a far simpler way for contractors to get involved with home networking: Powerline communications technology. The technology is

James Gardiner is marketing director of Power Ethernet

nothing new, having emerged onto the consumer market 10 years ago. Internet data is transmitted by modulating it over the AC signal carried on a mains power line, essentially turning electrical cables into electrical and data cables.

For the contractor, the opportunity has arisen through a change in design – moving the Powerline components from a temporary plug-in adapter to within a double-gang power socket. This change is simple and effective: no extra connections are required over the standard live, neutral and earth screws. So installation falls under BS 7671, and no further accreditation is required over the NICEIC’s Domestic Installer scheme qualification.

This design shift – from a consumer plug to a device that is hard-wired into the very fabric of a building’s electrical infrastructure – makes it less compelling for the plug-andplay consumer and more interesting to the professional contractor. Customers will find it hard to deny that the best type of socket you could install next to their new gadget is one that not only powers it but that connects it to the outside world, too.

IN FOCUS// ANDREW JOHNSON

» Andrew Johnson is owner of React (www.react-pat. co.uk), based in Pontypool

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Autumn 2012 NICEIC Connections

18_opinion.AT.indd Sec1:18

How did you start up?

I first got into PAT testing in 2003 when I bought a franchise selling healthand-safety equipment. The franchisor went bankrupt, but I changed the name of the company and carried it on. About two-and-a-half years ago, I set up another company that specialises in PAT testing.

for larger contractors who aren’t set up for PAT testing on a large scale.

Whereabouts do you cover?

We’re based in South Wales, although we travel to a lot of the UK. We have contracts in Wales, London and Derby, and recently picked up one in Carlisle.

How do you see the business evolving?

We’re going to stick with the PAT testing. The plan is to build up areas such as along the M4 corridor and across the Midlands.

Who are your typical clients?

We have a few direct contracts, but our target market is NICEIC contractors. We’re working for around 20 at the moment. We also work

How has the market changed recently?

I’ve not noticed a downturn in our work. The biggest way it’s affected us is cash flow. Getting paid can take a month longer than before the downturn.

What do you do outside work?

I have two young children, and recently started doing a bit of sport because I can’t keep up with them. So I’ve started playing squash and badminton, and cycling.

How many people do you employ?

There are four of us but we’re looking to recruit.

Illustration: Cameron Law

If you are a small business or sole trader and would like to feature in In Focus, email editor@ niceicconnections.com

www.niceic.com

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02/10/2012 15:54

Advice/Opinion/Regions/Insight/Events/Case study/Customer care/Training

N

EASTERN ENGLAND

Live wire

Eastern promise

Economic conditions remain tough in the east of England but contractors are finding their own ways to keep their heads above water

By Adrian Holliday

T

he recession, for many contractors, grinds on. In between the GDP numbers, the bank lending contractions and fragile retail sales, cracks of light appear, then disappear.

It’s tough for most, still, and the east of England – a mixture of rural fenland and high-tech industries that stretches from the Lincolnshire coast to within spitting distance of the capital – is no exception.

For Chris Webb of Ivacroft in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, links to the farming community are a lifeline for his seven-employee strong firm. Turnover for 2011 was around £500,000 and this year is heading that way, he says, but will probably be a bit lower. He has the support of business roots dug in over 40 years. “Our workshop is farm-based, and the farmer we rent from spreads the word,” he says.

Recent poor European harvests saw many local farmers reinvest in grain-drying and storage facilities, resulting in a mini-boom. “If our wheat becomes popular, pushing prices up, it gives our farmers an injection of money,” he says. “The farmers I deal with will spend any extra money on their farms.”

Ivacroft also has the domestic side of this farming business – tenant farmhouses and cottages – pretty much to itself.

Factories in nearby Harlow oil the workload.

But the firm has not managed to win local authority contracts. “I have never cracked the local councils,” says Webb. It’s frustrating, he says, when they use contractors operating from well outside the vicinity, as is a banking climate that makes it increasingly financially draining to trade.

When the Bank of England (BoE) base rate went down, Webb’s

20

Autumn 2012 NICEIC Connections

20_21_regionalfocus.CC.indd 20

overdraft rate shot up, despite promises it would track the BoE rate. The economic climate remains tough, he says, but he has just taken on an apprentice who impressed on a work experience placement.

Under the weather For AJ Figge, just north of Saffron Walden in the village of Littlebury – a stone’s throw from the M11 – there’s little indication that the recession is anywhere close to blowing itself out. Andrew Figge, a one-man band, has been selfemployed since the start of 2007. Lately, he’s noticed an increased link between consumer calls and the weather. “The poor summer appears to have dampened people’s appetite to spend money on the home,” he says. “When we’ve had a bit of sunshine, business seems to perk up.”

Eighty per cent of his work is domestic – kitchen and bathroom refurbishments, typically – and this is supplemented by light commercial jobs. His local Saffron Walden patch is affluent, with no shortage of City of London employees making a daily commute to Liverpool Street Station and Canary Wharf.

But even the financial community seems to be acquiring the thrift habit. “I used to do a lot of garden lighting jobs,” he says. “Now it’s just essentials.”

‘It just takes one or two calls and you could get a £30,000 job. It hasn’t failed us yet’ www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:13

>Sawbridgeworth-based Ivacroft relies on the local farming community for much of its business, with additional work coming from factories in nearby Harlow

90 PER CENT: The amount of Cambridgeshire homes and businesses expected to have superfast broadband by 2015

Economic outlook Eastern England Eastern England is an area with extremes of financial hardship but also wealth. The BBC recently claimed that 16 per cent of children in the region officially live in poverty.

In some urban areas such as Norwich, that figure rises to as much as 30 per cent.

Yet the region is also home to some highly entrepreneurial, innovative businesses, and a recent Regeneris report claimed that it is set for a huge investment in superfast broadband over the next 15 years.

Both BT and Fujitsu have been invited to bid for a £40 million contract to introduce faster speeds throughout Suffolk, and it’s anticipated that superfast broadband could be connected to at least 90 per cent of Cambridgeshire firms and homes by 2015.

An increased spend on Google Adwords, to £50 a month, has boosted enquiries but has also led to approaches from local apprenticeship wannabes, which he’s had to turn down.

“In the past couple of months I’ve had double the amount of enquiries for apprenticeships,” says Figge. “People are looking more closely at vocational qualifications. Even here in the village, I’ve got people wanting work experience.”

On the road So far, Simon Pasley’s 2012 has been tough. He runs Brunswick Electrical in north-east Ipswich. “We don’t get the volume of enquiries we used to, especially on the domestic front,” he says. He’s been in the business for eight years.

A recent large council flat refit job, including biomass heating systems, is a boom, providing eight weeks of solid work. The drawback is that the job is in Stockport. “The main contractor, Taylormade Mechanical and Electrical Services, is a friend, and we do some of their electrical work,” he says.

He hopes that if the job goes smoothly, he’ll be in line for more work from the council next year. Part of the job involves fitting huge boilers and wiring up the heat exchangers to each flat. “I’ve been fortunate to have it,” he says. “I was out recently to look at a newbuild in Hadleigh [9.5 miles west of Ipswich] and spoke to the main contractor on the site. He has six companies tendering. That shows how tight things are.”

Keeping costs down is increasingly important, so Pasley is getting wholesalers to do more running about for him rather than picking up the materials himself. “I’m planning my weeks more, and that saves me time and fuel costs,” he says.

Although he previously had four electricians working for him full-time, he is now down to two. He’s also halved his van www.niceic.com

20_21_regionalfocus.CC.indd 21

fleet to two. He is ambivalent about using marketing to promote his business. “I’ve spent money on websites and have had a video made, but in all honesty it hasn’t been that effective,” he says. “The majority of the work I’ve received is word of mouth.”

Solar flair Justin Carter of JD Carter Electrical in Peterborough employs five people, but he’s had to lay off three staff as the recession has dragged on. Turnover last year was just shy of £1 million, although this year it will be closer to £750,000, Carter thinks.

The solar photovoltaics market has helped business although the market has been hard to steer, given the upheaval with feed-in tariff levels. “It’s been difficult for us to understand, let alone the consumer,” he says. Overall, customer enquiries are down, especially on the consumer side. Non-VAT registered one-man bands also undermine business, he says.

Carter has a presence on both Twitter and Facebook, but he says that 95 per cent of new enquiries come from Google or Google Adwords. “Link yourself in with Thomson or Yellow Pages – or a combination of both – and you can see your Google presence lift significantly,” he says.

He should know. As part of a strategy to get through the recession, his company has spent more than £25,000 on advertising in the past year. “It just takes one or two calls and you could get a £30,000 job,” he says. “It hasn’t failed us yet.” » Adrian Holliday is a freelance business journalist NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

21

01/10/2012 09:13

Advice/Opinion/Regions/Insight/Events/Case study/Customer care/Training

N

SKILLS GAP ANALYSIS

Live wire Filling in the gaps Identifying the specific training needs of your employees and organisation can ensure maximum return from training budgets. Darren Staniforth highlights how to go about this task

F

ollowing the economic downturn, there is no longer the money to spend on training that there once was. Now, companies and employers are looking long and hard at their training budgets in an attempt to squeeze every last penny out of them, or ditching them altogether.

Those organisations – small, medium or large – that have invested in their workforce through these difficult times have looked to confirm or re-enforce the abilities of their engineers to guarantee customer satisfaction by ensuring that jobs are done well. This approach has seen contractors approach NICEIC Training to complete skills gap analyses of their engineers, to ensure they understand the current best practice and to confirm their abilities are at the correct level to complete the tasks they are required to do on a day-to-day basis.

NICEIC Training has completed a large number of skills gap analyses for many electrical contractors and facility maintenance companies. The results of these have proved to be vital to the client in ensuring their workforce is fit for purpose. In some cases, we have confirmed the workforce is at the correct level of competence required to complete the works they undertake, resulting in the customer holding on to their training budget and using the money elsewhere in the organisation. In other cases, the analysis has identified individuals who require refresher training or bringing up to speed on the latest requirements.

A skills gap analysis is completed online with NICEIC’s learning management system. There is no need to request that your staff take long periods of time away from their normal day, as the assessment can be accessed via the internet at any time. The assessment is built with the client to ensure the outcome is in line with the activities they have in mind. It can be as simple as completing a number of multiple-choice questions, or as technical as reviewing a wiring diagram and adding comments.

Following the analysis, NICEIC Training works with the contractor to identify what, if any, training is needed.

Most results show three groups of outcomes. The first includes those who successfully answered most of the questions correctly. The client may consider those individuals competent, and opt to retain the training budget allocated to them and use it elsewhere.

The second group, which is often the majority of businesses, is those who answered between 50 and

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Autumn 2012 NICEIC Connections

22_training.CC.indd 22

‘Organisations that have invested in their workforce through these difficult times have looked to guarantee customer satisfaction by ensuring jobs are done well’

Darren Staniforth is technical training developer at NICEIC

» Further information on NICEIC’s training courses can be found at www.niceic.com/ training, by emailing traininginfo@niceic.com or calling 0870 013 0389

60 per cent of the questions correctly. This is the group for whom NICEIC Training helps build bespoke training to fill the gaps identified in the analysis. We have the option to create an online solution that the individual can watch and interact with, or we can agree to deliver a face-to-face workshop or classroom-based training session to cover the areas of weakness.

The third group comprises those who did not succeed in answering a minimum of 50 per cent of the questions correctly. We strongly suggest that these individuals complete a face-to-face course. NICEIC Training tailors each course and confirms it meets the needs of the company before delivering it to the engineers. After each training event, individuals are re-assessed to ensure they have understood the issues covered.

In most cases, the areas of weakness identified by analysis have been the fundamentals, such as safe isolation and working safely with steps or ladders. This is where we have seen the growth in training over the past 18 months to two years.

NICEIC can offer online courses to fill any gaps in your workplace. They are generally considered level 1 or 2 courses, but provide the individual with the fundamental skills they need to perform their tasks safely and correctly.

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:14

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02/10/2012 15:55

CONTRACTOR PROFILE // SB ELECTRICAL COMPANY: SB Electrical BASED: Newport, Isle of Wight FOUNDED: 2007 MAJOR PROJECTS: Ryde School; St Mary’s Hospital, Newport; Waitrose, East Cowes STAFF NUMBERS: 30 TURNOVER: £2.7 million

Grand designs Isle of Wight business SB Electrical has gone from start-up to a £3 million business in just five years.

Now, its founder is setting his sights on national expansion

Matthew Cherry

By Nick Martindale

I

n the gentle surroundings of the Isle of Wight, a vibrant young business is emerging which threatens not only to dominate the electrical industry on the island but also to extend its reach into the south of England and eventually achieve national recognition.

The company – SB Electrical – was set up by Scott Adams in 2007, at the tender age of 22, after a short period working as a sole trader. Its progress so far has been little short of meteoric, despite the tough economic conditions that are all this young enterprise has ever known. Turnover grew from just shy of £400,000 in its first full year to £1.5 million in the fourth and £2.7 million this year. Next year, the business is on track to hit around £3.5 million. The number of employees has grown at a similar pace, from Scott and two engineers in 2007 to the current level of 30, including 22 engineers.

Much of this unusually rapid growth is down to the fact that Scott is as much a businessman as an electrician. “I always wanted to run my own company and my interest was always more on the business side, with the tendering and the running of projects rather than the actual fitting out and installation,” he says.

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It was, he says, the fact that his wife lived on the island which originally brought him to this part of the world, but he quickly identified a gap in the market that provided the springboard for future success. “Every time I came over on the boat, all I could see was an influx of mainland contractors coming to the island to undertake works,” he recalls. “I knew it was costing these mainland companies several hundred pounds even before they even arrived on site, and I realised there was an opportunity to target these companies and employ island sub-contractors to do the same job.”

Initially the focus was on maintenance contracts. But as the business started to expand, it began undertaking works for local customers and eventually taking on contracts for larger clients and building contractors. “Our major breakthrough came when we were awarded a £300,000 contract working on a new building at Ryde School in 2011, which at the time was the largest contract we had successfully bid for,” says Scott.

2021: The point by which SB Electrical aims to be a national contractor www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:14

Alan Bramley Andy Smith

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Scott Adams

“It was a major opportunity for us as a company to show other potential contractors and builders that we had the ability and skillsets to undertake a major project, so it was a huge moment for us once we’d successfully completed that,” he adds. “It was a challenging job: it wasn’t a standard build, and it was all exposed. But it put us on the map when it came to bidding for future contracts, as we’d proved we could maintain our quality of service, no matter how big the job.”

Since then, the company has worked on other major projects, including the local St Mary’s Hospital in a £1 million contract, work on a Waitrose store in East Cowes in a deal worth just over £100,000, and various school-renovation programmes through the building firm Willmott Dixon which www.niceic.com

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Growing up fast Unsurprisingly, Scott’s own role has changed dramatically over the past few years. Still only 27, he today focuses on overseeing the company’s development, supported by a seven-strong management team he has attracted to the business along the way.

“As our company developed, we were able to bring on board our first project manager, and then a health and safety manager and we’re now at the stage where we’ve got a fulltime buyer, a senior estimator, three project managers, a small works manager and an administrator,” he says. “So my job now is to evaluate how the project managers are getting on, and make sure our senior estimator has plenty of tenders to keep busy with.” He also bases himself on site for the final two days of all major projects, handing over his own internal snag list to the project manager.

Recruiting the island’s top electrical talent, though, was initially a challenge, and called for something of a cut-throat approach that challenged the island’s sedate image. “When we came along as a new contractor, a lot of the top engineers NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

Photography: Peter Langdon/UNP

‘Every time I came over on the boat, all I could see was mainland contractors. I realised I could employ island sub-contractors to do the same job’

collectively come to more than £1.6 million, as well as a recent contract win at a local garden centre and a crematorium.

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CONTRACTOR PROFILE // SB ELECTRICAL

60 PER CENT: The proportion of SB Electrical’s work that comes from the public sector

were wary of coming on board, not knowing what our history was or what our ambitions were for the future,” says Scott. “It was a word-of-mouth exercise, hearing about who were the best engineers on other sites, and approaching them with a potential package. We’re at the stage now where we employ some of the best engineers on the island, and it’s the same with our project managers and administration staff.”

SB Electrical is now comfortably the largest contractor on the island, says Scott, ahead of rivals that have been established for far longer but have not evolved in the same manner. “It’s been a rapid growth, but it’s been difficult as well because construction companies and clients are always wary of giving new people an opportunity,” he says. “But we’ve never yet done a job for a company where that business hasn’t come back to us.” Maintaining a clear divide between the smaller works and the larger projects has also helped, he says, effectively giving the business two routes for expansion.

Increasingly, the company is eyeing up contracts that take it beyond the island itself. “We’ve taken on a couple of contracts on the mainland, where we’ve covered the management of that within the company itself and have then procured labour locally,” he says. “We did a couple in London and one in Southampton. But it’s a big element that we’re looking to push now, and my focus for the next six months is to concentrate on hitting the mainland market.”

Having only ever known the difficult trading conditions of the past five years, the business has not ostensibly been hit by the UK’s recessionary environment, nor has it had to cope with stripping out the kind of costs other companies have had to address. “Our overheads were zero to start with and, although they are obviously a lot higher than they were, we’re able to add them into the cost of our current projects,” says Scott.

“If we were where we’re at now 15 years ago, it would probably have been very different when the recession came along. But every investment we’ve made, in new offices, vehicles and members of staff, we’ve done through re-investing any profit.” The business has moved twice during its short existence, first into small industrial premises at Sandown and then into its current location in the island’s capital Newport 18 months ago, which involved refitting the entire unit.

Efficiency savings With around 60 per cent of the company’s turnover coming from the public sector, the dual nature of the business has also helped it pick up work during the current cost-sensitive times, says Scott, with the majority of the overheads attributed to the small works side of the operation. “It means we’re going in against our competitors on a zero-margin overhead,” he says. “We’ve only got the contract managers themselves as an overhead, and that wins us a lot of the jobs.”

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The small works side has been hit by the downturn too, he adds, particularly on the domestic front, but this has been offset by a rise in demand in such services from mainland contractors. There are signs, too, that the larger contracts works aspect is turning a corner, particularly at a local level.

“We’re getting a lot of enquiries from local builders now – two or three years ago they would only be pricing extensions, but now the tender enquiries are coming back for larger contracts,” he says.

Scott admits he has been on something of a steep learning curve since he started up on his own back in 2007. “I was 22 then, and I didn’t know anything about business,” he says. “I was a qualified electrician, and that was as far as it went. It was a case of buying plenty of business books and reading up about it, but ultimately you only learn from your mistakes.” The hardest part of running an electrical firm is ensuring continuity of work, he says.

He is, though, still at the start of the journey. The business is likely to be looking for larger premises in the next 18 months and, with around £800,000-worth of tenders currently being assessed, expects to look to recruit another 15 engineers towards the end of the year.

There are other plans in the pipeline, too, including acquiring or developing a mechanical arm. “In the past we’ve joined up with other mechanical companies, but we would like to provide our client with a full mechanical and electrical package,” he says. “It’s not something we are looking to rush, but we are very serious about it.”

More immediately, the plan is to push on with expansion into the south of the UK, with the ultimate aim of becoming a national contractor by 2021. “The Isle of Wight will always be our headquarters and where our core staff will work from, but we’re not going to be able to sustain our turnover on that alone,” he says. “It gives us a bit of a pressure relief too. If we win one or two projects over there, we know we can ship people over to the mainland until the island contracts come back again.”

Scott currently retains 100 per cent ownership of the business, but is savvy enough to know that this is not an undertaking that can be made entirely on his own. “When we get to turning over £10 million or £15 million and have a good 200 engineers, I’m not going to be able to do it as the only director,” he says. “We’ve got a few people in the company at management level already who are very reliable, and it would be nice to be able to create a position for them where they could start having a financial interest within the company.

Eventually, I’m going to have to pass some of it on. We might see a few changes in the next five years.”

‘The Isle of Wight will always be our headquarters, but we’re not going to be able to sustain our turnover on that alone’

» Nick Martindale is editor of Connections www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:14

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02/10/2012 15:57

HOME AUTOMATION

The home automation market has proved remarkably resilient to the wider economic conditions, offering opportunities for contractors looking to diversify FLISKIFOTO

Smart thinking

Y

ou might have thought that five years of economic hardship would have seriously adverse effects on the smart and automated home industry. But you would be wrong, say specialists operating in this area.

To some extent that shouldn’t be a big surprise: traditionally, home automation has been restricted to a small number of wealthy clients.

What’s more surprising is one of the reasons the market has proved resilient: the smart home is no longer something available only to the extremely wealthy.

Gary Lewis, managing director of Future Systems and current UK chairman of the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA), concedes the recession did create some problems for companies specialising in home automation for new homes, as developers cancelled or mothballed projects.

But, he says, many developers then decided to add cabling infrastructures

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to unsold homes, readying them for multi-room TV or audio installations.

This trend has continued, and includes relatively modest houses and apartments. It has also been helped by widespread adoption of the worldwide standard for home and building control data transfer, KNX (ISO/IEC 14543-3), which has helped to bring costs down.

So it is now easier than ever before to connect and control all kinds of devices centrally or remotely, from security systems, lighting or heating controls to home entertainment devices, white goods, kitchen or garden gadgets, windows, blinds, air conditioning and various types of security equipment.

These advances also make it easier to monitor and optimise energy use, with heating, cooling or lighting technologies able to react to the presence or absence of people in a room, changes in temperature or light levels inside or outside the home, for example. Many of these innovations are also applicable to offices and other nonresidential buildings.

The drive to be “greener” – often motivated by the desire to save money as much save as the planet – is

FLISKIFOTO

By David Adams

>Above and top left: Future Systems’ townhouse automation project in west London, completed in mid-2011. Top right: SMC has installed a range of new technology in every room for Eccleston Square Hotel in central London. Bottom right: Perfect Integration’s Hertfordshire barn conversion, using Crestron products, won the Best Integrated Home accolade at CEDIA’s 2012 Awards an important factor. Technological advances have also played a significant role, as with improvements in LED lighting, for example. “LED manufacturers have really got their acts together,” says Chris Knight, managing director of Perfect Integration. “The lights have a nice warm feel now.

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:17

They’re still not as good as halogen, but they’re pretty good, and you get a 95 per cent energy saving and significantly increased life. Some projects we do are now exclusively LED lights, and most are much higher percentages of LED than in the past.”

Remote control Many automated home functions can be controlled from a homeowner’s own mobile device or tablet. The ability to use these user-friendly devices to interact with equipment and devices in the home while you are elsewhere adds another dimension of convenience. “We sell a lifestyle,” says Lewis. “It does make life easier.” He gives the example of someone being

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able to sit up in bed and turn on all the lights they would need to get to the kitchen to get a glass of water at night.

“People like having a centralised system,” he says. “They like being able to do things such as stop watching a DVD downstairs and watch the rest in bed, or watch recordings made on a Sky box anywhere in the house.” Lewis suggests that monitoring devices could also be used to help protect older people living on their own, by ascertaining whether they have opened their bedroom curtains or the fridge, for example. It may all seem a bit too much like Big Brother, but you can see

‘People like having a centralised system.

They like being able to do things such as stop watching a DVD downstairs and watch the rest in bed’

how such technologies could be of practical value.

All these technologies depend on a wired infrastructure, which could be where Connections readers come in. Some electrical contractors may aspire to become specialists and may succeed in doing so, but the design and installation of home automation systems requires skills that cannot be acquired overnight.

The best way for a contractor to start making money out of this industry is to work alongside companies that are already operating in this space, installing wiring and cabling for them.

From that point a contractor’s staff might aim to develop their expertise in a particular area, or areas, possibly guided by existing skillsets within the company, in lighting or security, for example. Both CEDIA and NICEIC can offer resources that will help ensure contractors learn best practice in this area, including training.

The contractors that Perfect Integration works with now offer in-house staff an increasing level of support and input, as they gain more experience of working on these

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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HOME AUTOMATION

projects. “Contractors are getting more involved in designing different arrangements, using different lights and control equipment,” says Knight. “In one job we’re doing, the electrical contractor is the lead co-ordinator on site.”

Future focus Contractors can also buy equipment that can be installed on a newbuild or refurbishment project to effectively futureproof the building, making it ready for a home network or for home automation. One option is to use the structured cabling equipment designed for this purpose and distributed by Digital Plumbers, a brand launched by smart home equipment specialist SMC in 2007.

For existing properties, another option offers householders many of the benefits of a smart home without any need for rewiring. The smart home products developed by JSJS Designs are easy to add to the existing wiring infrastructure, replacing existing light switches and sockets with devices that enable use of smart heating, lighting, power, security and energy management solutions, all controlled via smartphone, remotely if necessary.

“We’re offering a solution for home automation that addresses two previous barriers: the cost and the fact that you have to rewire the whole house,” says Thomas Lane, head of business development at JSJS. “For contractors, it’s fantastic not to have to rewire but, instead, just to change the sockets and light switches.” The company is working in partnership with NICEIC to offer registered contractors discounted products, technical support and training.

Office opportunities The industry is also bullish about the growth in smart office and similar work.

Robin Courtenay, director at SMC, says that besides home, office and retail sector projects, the company is also doing interesting work in the luxury hotel sector, including at the Eccleston Square Hotel in central London, where hotel rooms and suites within a Georgian building have been refitted with new technology.

“As technologies improve in the home, the technology in the luxury hotel sector has to get that much better,” says Courtenay. “We’re seeing people carrying their digital world around in their pocket on an iPhone or 30

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Case study: EML Installations EML Installations is a small contracting company with 22 staff, based in Hampton, southwest London. The company began to specialise in home automation services after staff had worked on projects alongside another business that specialised in this area and concluded that they could do the same job just as well, if not better.

“We felt it was an emerging market,” says Mark Bamford, operations director. “We started carrying out training courses in-house with some of the larger equipment manufacturers. Then we started introducing it to our mid-market customers, cutting out the more expensive specialists. From that point on, it’s just blossomed.”

EML’s staff now work on a variety of home automation projects across south-west London, Surrey and beyond, from relatively low-cost accommodation for housing associations up to luxury residential projects. “We wouldn’t be without it now – it’s a large part of our business,” says Bamford. “We’re continuing to train our staff within that field. We’re now bringing on apprentices. It’s become second nature to run the cables in.”

Meanwhile, the company has also trained its staff in other areas of expertise of use to its client base, including installation of solar photovoltaic equipment. “We’re trying to present our clients with a one-stop shop for newbuilds,” says Bamford. “By doing everything in-house and becoming suppliers for major manufacturers, we’ve been able to offer our clients some good budget solutions.”

an Android device. So in a hotel, you walk in with the device, you can dock that to watch a movie on the screen, or listen to music.

“Or, if you’re a regular visitor, you can download an app and it knows your preferences, from the newspaper you read to what temperature you like the room to be. You can also control the audiovisual experience in the room, and operate lights or curtains. There are certainly opportunities for

‘As technologies improve in the home, the technology in the luxury hotel sector has to get that much better.

There are certainly opportunities for contractors’

contractors within that area, making sure the building is provided with the right infrastructure.” The hotel sector is also looking at using iPhones for access control to rooms or to the hotel itself, he adds.

CEDIA runs regular events to raise awareness of the home and office automation industry and the technologies and services it provides.

Electrical contractors are more than welcome to attend these events. “We want to work with them,” says Lewis.

“In the future, contractors may do more of this work themselves. No CEDIA member would have a problem with that, as long as they’re trained correctly and do a good job.”

Contractors can also invest in training courses related to specific types of systems or equipment, often offered free of charge by manufacturers. In these difficult times, getting involved in the smart technology world could be a very smart move. » David Adams is a freelance business journalist www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:17

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03/10/2012 10:04

FIRE SAFETY

Ready, aim, fire Designing and installing fire safety systems can be a lucrative move for electrical contractors who are prepared to invest time and effort in training

By Steve Rogerson

C

onnecting a fire alarm seems a fairly straightforward job for most electrical contractors, so it is a tempting area for many looking to expand their portfolio. But deciding where, and how many, fire alarms should be installed in a building is a different matter, and one that if got wrong could lead to legal repercussions and, even worse, injury or loss of life for the building’s occupants.

However, for those who want to go down that route, there is training available from bodies such as the British Approvals for Fire Equipment and the Fire Industry Association, and the rewards are potentially large, especially in the commercial and industrial areas.

Contractors can take one of two paths to increase their work in this sector.

The first is purely installation, where someone else designs the fire alarm system and the contractor just puts in the alarms, sensors and, for some buildings, a central control box. Many manufacturers provide simple training on installing their own products, and it is undertaken by a lot of contractors, especially with new building work.

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>Alarms need to be installed and tested (picture courtesy of Channel Safety Systems)

The second route is to go the whole way and design the system, too. This approach is a lot more specialised and can involve years of training, as well as regular inspections of the work undertaken. Some believe contractors should stay away from

‘You have to consider all people who are at risk. You have to reduce fire hazards. If there are hazardous materials on site, you will have to address that’

this area and leave it to the experts.

“This is complicated in terms of legal processes,” says Peter Mazalon, managing director of Channel Safety Systems. “Everything starts from a professional risk assessment.

Contractors generally sub-contract this to specialists.”

Channel is one company that can provide such a service, leaving the actual installation work to the contractor. “Very few contractors can commission a fire system,” he says. “There is no problem with the installation. We will specify what needs to be done and where, and then they can install it.”

But the process can also work the other way round, according to David Simcox, director of Scarboroughbased NICEIC Approved Contractor Customcall, which undertakes both electrical and fire alarm work. He acknowledges that it was “quite a big learning curve” to add fire safety skills to his portfolio, but argues that a background in electrics makes for a useful starting point.

“The fire alarm people tend not to be electricians, and that will cause problems when they have to connect the mains supply, as some don’t do the tests,” he says. “Some of the systems they put in are appalling. To

www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:18

300: 30 The number of people who die in fires each year in the UK

>The correct siting of detectors is essential (picture courtesy of Sprue Safety Systems)

Need to know: Alarm bells ringing A survey by the Local Government Association earlier this year threw up some worrying statistics: • 7 per cent of homes do not have a working smoke alarm • Only 12 per cent of people test their smoke alarms each week • 52 per cent check their smoke alarms less than once a month or not at all • People aged between 18 and 24 are nearly twice as likely as older people not to have a working smoke alarm in their home • More than 300 people die in fires in England every year

install a fire alarm, you need to be an electrician.” Simcox came across one recent example when he was called to test a system at a block of flats. “We tested the fire alarm part and the bell worked,” he said. “We then went to check the detectors, and none of them worked. There were no cables. They had just wired one in for testing and left

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the others unconnected. The owners thought they had a fire alarm system and they didn’t.”

Hidden dangers For those who do try to do the design as well, Mazalon warns that there are legal implications. “You get it wrong, and you are liable,” he says. “You have

to consider all people who are at risk. co You have to reduce fire hazards. If there are hazardous materials on site, you w will have to address that. You have to prepare an emergency plan, and pr you have to provide training. That is a specialist activity and you have to be spec trained train for that.”

Ian Ballinger, product manager at Sprue Spru Safety Products, agrees. “Most contractors are told where to install cont the alarms,” he says. “If they want to a go fu further, they will need to take a fire and risk assessment course. They will need accreditation, but the courses are fairly accessible.” f Another downside of failing to get An it right rig is that a lot of re-work can be involved.

Many buildings require an invo inspection before they are occupied. If inspe the inspection results in fire and smoke i detectors having to be moved, this can dete prove prov expensive for the contractor.

“It can be an expensive mistake not to install them in the right place,” says Rex Taylor, technical support manager at alarm company Kidde Fyrnetics. “It can be frustrating for a contractor if the inspection means they have to make changes that could involve rewiring and positional changes.” So he advises: “Do the legwork first. Decent manufacturers will provide you with information on how and where to install their products and what their limitations are.”

One solution where local councils have organised the inspections is to ensure they are involved early on in the process, suggests Simcox. “They will often want more than what British Standards say,” he says. “So when you do the plan, send it to the appropriate person and get it approved, so there is no comeback at the end. You have to really cover your back.”

Having a proper risk assessment could even be financially beneficial to the contractor, says Taylor. “The risk assessment might show the cheapest is not the best,” he says. “Contractors have a duty of care to install a minimum

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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FIRE SAFETY

7 per cent: The proportion of homes that do not have a working smoke alarm

number of detectors, and that might be better for the contractor because it gives them more business.”

There’s also a potential market for contractors in the maintenance and replacement of systems. “Detectors have a rated life of 10 years, but they can last a lot longer,” says Mazalon. “But we advise people to replace them. Older detectors can give false alarms. So there is a good market for contractors for replacing these with up-to-date models.”

Two of a kind There are two types of system that can be installed: conventional and addressable. The conventional systems are lower-priced and simpler. The building can be segmented into zones; a two-storey premises, for example, could have one zone for each floor. With an addressable system, it is necessary to look in more detail at where each detector goes and what it does.

Conventional systems are generally two- or four-wire. Most UK installations are four-wire but modern installations tend to be two-wire because it is cheaper and less labour-intensive. “I am not aware of any downside to two-wire,” says Mazalon. “It is the modern way to go. But if you retrofit, you have to take what is there, which will probably be four-wire.”

Some buildings will need a mixture of alarms. For example, a high-rise block of flats may have conventional systems in each flat but an addressable system for the stairwells and walkways.

The type of sensor is also important.

Ionisation sensors are good for detecting fast-flame fires, and optical sensors for smouldering fires. Most premises will want a mix.

“For stairwells and hallways, optical sensors are considered best,” says Ballinger. “If you want enhanced protection, then put ionisation alarms in living rooms and bedrooms. If an optical alarm is close to a bathroom, then steam can set it off, so here ionisation might be best. Heat alarms are more appropriate for kitchens – smoke alarms give too many false alarms.”

Sprue also makes what the company calls Thermoptek alarms, which are a combination of smoke and heat alarms.

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Case study: G&M Electrical Contractors Nottingham-based NICEIC-registered G&M Electrical Contractors decided to seek approval for fire alarm installation work from the British Approvals for Fire Equipment (BAFE) to retain a major contract with retail giant Next, after the fire service demanded systems be installed by a BAFE-approved contractor.

“The fire service would give out unique reference numbers for monitored alarms because they were getting false alarms, but would do it only if systems were installed by a BAFE-accredited company,” says Stef Swietlinski (pictured), G&M’s contracts director.

“So Next had to make sure that was done. We do work for Next all over the country.”

As part of the accreditation process, the company had trainers coming in for one day a month for six months, and contractors also had to take written exams. The business then had to complete a two-year period in which BAFE assessed all its work in this area.

G&M is still subject to annual inspections of a selection of the jobs.

The company became BAFE-accredited in 2008 and retained its contract with Next, although Swietlinski admits there has been little other work forthcoming as a result. “But we feel better for doing it, because we know the standard of our work,” he says.

If they detect a change in temperature, they change the sensitivity of the optical alarm. This means they can handle fastflame and slow-smouldering fires. The addressable systems are more specialist in that there are no limits on the number of points. For example, there can be 300 detectors on one loop.

There is also a trend towards wireless systems, although this technology still has a relatively small market share.

“The call for wireless is becoming more common, but on new buildings it is cheaper to have it wired,” says Taylor.

“But if you are doing an upgrade or an extension to a property, it may be

cost-effective for that to be wireless.”

For some older buildings, too, it can be ideal because it does not involve digging into walls. It is also becoming popular in bed-and-breakfast installations, and can be the only option for some listed buildings.

There are hidden perils, though.

“Many wireless systems are poorly installed,” says Mazalon. “You have to take into account the strength of the signal and the design of the building.

You need a very good survey.” » Steve Rogerson is a freelance technology journalist www.niceic.com

01/10/2012 09:18

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VI-13700 voltage indicator is GS38 compliant Clear indication of a live circuit, whether AC or DC Tough moulded ABS construction with bright LED indication & double insulated cable Constructed with large finger guard & retractable, lockable prod sheath for safe operation PD440 proving unit tests voltage indicators up to 440V

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Ask the experts/Technical

N

Fully Charged From the helpline

We continue with our series of answers to some of the more frequently asked questions put to the NICEIC Technical Helpline.

QUESTION

ANSWER

Should disused existing wiring and equipment be stripped out where an installation is being rewired or upgraded?

There’s no specific safety requirement to strip out disused wiring and equipment.

However, stripping them out might be the simplest and most certain way to render them safe from being a future risk of electric shock or fire.

Either way, before the wiring and equipment is taken out of service, it must be disconnected from all sources of supply and be safely isolated. The safe isolation procedure includes taking steps to make sure the wiring and equipment is dead and can’t become inadvertently re-energised or charged.

If stripping out is not intended, then as well as the wiring and equipment being disconnected and isolated as mentioned above, both ends of each conductor should be properly terminated in a suitable enclosure. Alternatively, except where the next paragraph applies, it may be sufficient to cut back the conductors to prevent their reconnection.

Where the route of a disused cable runs parallel to that of nearby energised conductors, it is advisable to earth the conductors of the disused cable by connecting them to the main earthing terminal of the installation, to prevent them from becoming charged by inductive or capacitive effects.

Suitable labels or notices to bring people’s attention to the state of disused wiring and equipment that has not been stripped out are also likely to be necessary in preventing inadvertent re-energisation. The labels and/or notices must be durable and clearly legible for the expected life of the installation.

Notes.

1. Parts of the above guidance are based on clause 75 of HSR25 (Second edition, published 2007), Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, published by the Health and Safety Executive, downloadable free of charge at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsr25.pdf 2. A quick guide to safe isolation procedure is given in NICEIC Pocket Guide 5, which is available free of charge to NICEIC Approved Contractors and Domestic Installers at http://niceic.com .

3. More detailed guidance on safe isolation procedure is given in the Electrical Safety Council’s Best Practice Guide No 2 – Guidance on the management of electrical safety and safe isolation procedures for low voltage installations, downloadable free of charge at www.esc.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/ documents/industry/best_practice/BPG2_09.pdf

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Fully charged

38

QUESTION

ANSWER

Are ordinary LV (230 V) rocker type switches allowed to be installed in a bathroom or shower room?

The first thing to remember is that, except for shaver supply units complying with BS EN-61558-2-5 installed in zone 2, no LV accessories, switchgear or controlgear are permitted in zones 0, 1 and 2 of a location containing a bath or shower (Regulation 701.512.3 refers).

Outside the boundary of zone 2 (more than 600 mm horizontally from the edge of the bath or shower), LV switches etc may be installed. However, the general rules of Part 5 (Selection and erection) of BS 7671 still apply, regarding suitability for the environment in which equipment is installed. So, account should be taken of factors such as the likelihood of splashing or water sprays when selecting switches, and they should be positioned where they are least likely to be splashed, as far as practicable.

QUESTION

ANSWER

Is LV (230 V) current-using equipment such as a booster pump for a shower allowed to be installed in the space under a bath or shower?

Yes, but certain restrictions apply if the space under the bath or shower is accessible without using a tool, as the space is then classed as zone 1 (Regulation 701.32.3 refers).

In zone 1, any LV current-using equipment (such as a booster pump for a shower) must be fixed and permanently connected, and it must be suitable for installation in that zone according to the manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s instructions. Regulation 701.55 refers.

QUESTION

ANSWER

Does the answer to the previous question mean that LV currentusing equipment installed in the space under a bath or shower mustnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be connected by means of a plug and socket?

It depends on whether or not a tool is needed to gain access to the space.

If the space under the bath or shower is accessible without using a tool, then as mentioned in the answer to the previous question, the space is classed as zone 1, and any LV current-using equipment in that space must (amongst other things) be permanently connected. This precludes the use of a plug and socket. Also, because the space is classed as zone 1, no switchgear or accessories may be installed in the space to control the supply to the current-using equipment (Regulation 701.512.3 refers).

If the space under the bath or shower is accessible only by the use of a tool, such as where a bath panel has been fixed in place by screws, the space is classed as being outside of the zones (Regulation 701.32.3 refers). This means that the requirements of Section 701 do not apply to the connection of LV equipment in that space. It would therefore be permitted to connect the equipment by means of a plug and socket in the space. It would also be permitted to install switchgear or a suitable accessory in the space to control the supply to the current-using equipment.

QUESTION

ANSWER

Is it permitted to install a socketoutlet in a cupboard under a sink in a kitchen or laundry room?

In most circumstances yes. It can usually be assumed that the space in (say) a cupboard below a correctly installed sink, containing water pipes and the waste pipe arrangement, will remain dry in normal use. So, a socket outlet or indeed other items of electrical equipment, may be installed below a sink.

It should be borne in mind, however, that the waste trap will probably have to be removed from below the sink from time to time to permit routine maintenance. Any electrical equipment installed below a sink should be so placed as to not interfere with such routine tasks. (Regulation 528.3.3 refers).

Another consideration is that water supply hoses for washing machines and dishwashers occasionally have to be connected to, or disconnected from, washing machine taps below a sink, which can result in splashing. Any electrical equipment installed below a sink should be positioned where it is least likely to be splashed.

Autumn 2012 NICEIC Connections

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Ask the experts/Technical

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Fully charged 40 42 44 46 49 52

Selection of wiring systems for emergency lighting Cables to BS 8436 Safe connection and disconnection of tap-off units of busbar trunking systems to BS EN 60439-2 Snags and solutions: A practical guide to everyday electrical problems, now updated to Amendment No 1 of BS 7671 Safe isolation – a reminder Surge protective devices

Selection of wiring systems for emergency lighting

the same standard, the time between the normal lighting failing and the self-contained emergency luminaires switching on should be minimised.

Clause 8.1 also recommends that the cable supplies to both the normal lighting and the self-contained emergency luminaires should be part of the periodic inspection and testing of the electrical installation at intervals appropriate to the type of building.

A new edition of BS 5266-1, the Code of practice for the emergency escape lighting of premises, came into effect on 30 November 2011. It replaced BS 5266-1: 2005, now withdrawn.

Wiring for central power supply systems

A

mongst the changes introduced by BS 5266-1: 2011 are changes to the recommendations for the selection of wiring systems for emergency escape lighting, which are the subject of this article.

Like the 2005 edition of BS 5266-1, the 2011 edition specifies particular types of wiring system (listed later) that should be used for the connection of emergency escape lighting luminaires to a central power supply (battery unit). This is so that the wiring system will adequately resist the effects of fire and mechanical damage, which is essential because of the importance of the reliability of an emergency lighting system.

The specified types of wiring system are classified

by BS 5266-1: 2011 into two main groups as they were in BS 5266-1: 2005, the first being ‘cables’ and the second being ‘cable systems’ (which means cables in

Wiring supplying self-contained emergency luminaires Clause 8.1 of BS 5266-1: 2011 recommends that the supplies to self-contained emergency luminaires should not be wired in fire-protected cable, but should be installed to the same standard as the supplies to normal luminaires. This change reflects what has been considered good practice for some years.

The rationale for the change is as follows. Suppose the normal luminaires in a building are supplied through non-fire-protected cables (such as PVC insulated and sheathed ‘twin-and-earth’), and the non-maintained self-contained emergency luminaires, although on the same circuit, are supplied through fire-protected cables.

In the event of a fire, the non-fire-protected cables are liable to fail before the fire-protected cables, causing the normal lighting to fail. But the self-contained emergency luminaires will not switch on until the fire-protected cables fail, which could be quite some time later (if at all).

Meanwhile the occupants of the building are left without lighting.

By following the recommendation of clause 8.1 that the cable supplies to both normal lighting and selfcontained emergency luminaires should be installed to

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Table 1 Comparison of wiring system classifications in the 2005 and 2011 editions of BS 5266-1 (for connecting emergency escape lighting luminaires to a central power supply)

BS 5266: 2005

Cables

Cable systems

Cables with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire.

Cable systems with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire.

Cables and cable systems requiring additional fire protection.

BS 5266: 2011

Cables with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire.

Cable systems with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire.

Enhanced cables with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire.

Enhanced cable systems with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire.

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01/10/2012 09:19

screwed steel conduit). However, BS 5266-1: 2011 adds to each of these groups a new type of wiring system, referred to as ‘Enhanced’, which has an increased duration of survival in a fire. A further change is that, unlike BS 5266-1: 2005, BS 5266-1: 2011 does not refer to ‘Cables and cable systems requiring additional fire protection’.

Table 1 of this article summarises the above changes.

The old classification of ‘Cables and cable systems requiring additional fire protection’, which is not included in BS 5266-1: 2011, consisted of non-fire-resisting cables in conduit, or non-fire-resisting steel wire

armoured cables, with additional fire protection by means such as burying in the structure of the building. The reason this classification is not included in BS 5266-1: 2011 is the practical difficulties of verifying the fire performances of conduits and building structures, and because cables buried in the structure have to leave it at some point.

Table 2 summarises the recommendations of BS 5266-1: 2011 for the selection of wiring systems for the connection of emergency escape lighting luminaires to a central power supply, which are given in clause 8.2.2.

Table 2 Cables and cable systems in BS 5266-1: 2011 for the connection of emergency escape lighting luminaires to a central power supply (Notes 1 and 2)

Cables with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire (Note 3).

Enhanced cables with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire (Note 4).

• Mineral insulated cable to BS EN 60702-1: 2002 with terminations conforming to BS EN 60702-2: 2002, or • Multi-core fire-resistant screened cables having low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire, conforming to BS 7629-1, or • Thermosetting insulated, armoured, fire-resistant cables having low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire, to BS 7846.

All with 60 minutes duration of survival when tested in accordance with BS EN 50200: 2006, Annex D, and 30 minutes when tested in accordance with BS EN 50200: 2006, Annex E.

• Mineral insulated cable to BS EN 60702-1: 2002 with to terminations to BS EN 60702 2: 2002, or • Multi-core fire-resistant screened cables having low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire, conforming to BS 7629-1, or • Thermosetting insulated, armoured, fire-resistant cables having low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire, to BS 7846.

All with 120 minutes duration of survival when tested in accordance with BS EN 50200: 2006, Annex D, and 120 minutes when tested in accordance with BS 8434-2.

Cable systems with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire (Note 3).

Fire-resistant single-core or multicore cables enclosed in screwed steel conduit, such that 60 minutes’ duration of survival is given by the cable system. The cable should meet the requirements of IEC 60331-3 for a flame application time of 60 minutes.

Enhanced cable systems with an inherently high resistance to attack by fire (Note 4) .

Fire-resistant single-core or multicore cables enclosed in screwed steel conduit, such that 120 minutes’ duration of survival is given by the cable system. The cable should meet the requirements of IEC 60331-3 for a flame application time of 120 minutes.

Notes.

1) Cables and cable systems should be routed through areas of low risk wherever practicable.

2) Methods of cable support and fixings should meet the recommendations of clause 8.2.3 of BS 5266-1: 2011, relating to (amongst other things) non-combustibility and distances between supports. All other recommendations of clause 8 (Wiring systems and circuits) should also be followed.

3) The recommendations of BS 5266-1: 2008 for selection of these non-enhanced cables and cable systems are similar to those of BS 5266-1: 2005.

4) Enhanced cables or cable systems would be recommended where the designer, specifier or regulatory authority judge these to be necessary based on a fire risk assessment. Examples include: • unsprinklered buildings (or parts of) in which the evacuation is phased over four or more stages • unsprinklered buildings greater than 30 m high • unsprinklered premises or sites where a fire in one could affect cables associated with areas remote from the fire, and it is envisaged that people will remain in occupation during the fire.

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40_41_technical emergency lighting.CC2.indd Sec1:41

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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01/10/2012 09:20

Ask the experts/Technical

N

Fully charged Cables to BS 8436 Protective devices for circuits wired with BS 8436 (foil screened) cable must meet certain requirements given in that standard. This subject was previously covered in Issue 171 of Connections (Autumn 2009). However, a new edition of BS 8436 was published in 2011. This contains revised requirements for the protective devices, which are covered in this article.

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oil screened cables to BS 8436 are listed Fig 1 Example of a fourin Regulations 522.6.101 and 522.6.103 core BS 8436 cable of BS 7671 as one of the types of cable incorporating an earthed metallic covering that may be: • concealed in a wall or partition at a depth of less than 50 mm from the surfaces, without being run Uninsulated circuit in one of the zones identified in indent (v) of protective conductor Regulation 522.6.101 and without having to be (to be sleeved green-and-yellow provided with additional protection by an RCD for at terminations) the purposes of Regulation 522.6.102, or • concealed in a wall or partition having an internal Metallic foil screen construction that includes metallic parts (other than fixings such as nails, screws or the like), without having to be provided with additional protection by an RCD for the purposes of indent (vi) of Regulation 522.6.103.

Oversheath The protective device for a circuit wired with BS 8436 cable must be selected to meet certain conditions given in that standard (and detailed later in this article). This is necessary to prevent the metallic foil screen of the cable from burning away from a nail or screw, or similar that has penetrated the cable and made contact with the line conductor, as this could leave the nail or screw at line conductor voltage (typically 230 V to Earth), posing a risk of electric shock.

Description of cable Cables conforming to BS 8436 (see Fig 1) are rated at 300/500 V and are intended for use concealed in walls, partitions and building voids. They are available in two-core, three-core and four-core, with conductor sizes of 1 mm2, 1.5 mm2, 2.5 mm2 and 4.0 mm2, and have

Fig 2 Example of marking denoting energy limiting class number

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low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire.

The cables incorporate a metallic foil screen that is in contact with an uninsulated protective conductor within the cable. The protective conductor has the same nominal cross-sectional area as the insulated conductors.

Requirements of BS 7671 relating to automatic disconnection of supply When a nail, screw or similar penetrates a BS 8436 cable and comes into contact with a line conductor, the connection formed by the nail between the line conductor and the foil screen allows earth fault current to flow to operate the circuit protective device to disconnect the supply.

For the protective device to operate within the maximum time permitted by BS 7671, the earth fault loop impedance (Zs) in the circuit must not exceed the limiting value for the device, as required by Regulation 411.4.5 (TN system), or 411.5.3 and 411.5.4 (TT system).

Selection of the circuit protective device for a BS 8436 cable To prevent the screen burning away from a nail, screw or similar that has penetrated the cable, the circuit protective device must have characteristics given in a), b) and c) below, which are specified in clause 12 of BS 8436: 2011. a) The protective devices must be either Type B circuit-breaker to BS EN 60898 or a Type B RCBO to BS EN 61009-1. b) The rated current of the protective device must not exceed: • 16 A for the 1 mm2 cable, • 20 A for the 1.5 mm2 cable, • 32 A for the 2.5 mm2 cable when forming part of a ring final circuit (with or without non-fused spurs), or • 32 A for the 4.0 mm2 cable. c) The maximum let-through energy (I2t) of the device must not exceed: • 42,000 A2s for the 1 mm2 and 1.5 mm2 cables, or • 60,000 A2s for the 2.5 mm2 and 4.0 mm2 cables.

Condition c) is likely to be met if the Type B circuitbreaker or RCBO is of energy limiting class 3 and the prospective earth fault current in the circuit does not exceed 5,000 A anywhere in the circuit. This corresponds to an earth fault loop impedance (Zs) of not less than 0.046 Ω at the origin of the circuit, at a nominal line-to-Earth voltage (U0) of 230 V. The energy limiting class is sometimes marked on the circuit-breaker or RCBO by the method shown in Fig 2.

The protective device must also be selected in the normal way in accordance with BS 7671 for automatic disconnection of supply (see earlier) and protection against overcurrent (Chapter 43).

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01/10/2012 09:20

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Fully charged

A question that often has to be addressed with a busbar trunking system is whether or not a tap-off unit can safely be connected to or disconnected from the system while the busbars are energised, thus removing the need to isolate live parts. This can be an important consideration where the busbar trunking feeds a multitude of items of current-using equipment where isolation of the busbars could result in major inconvenience or perhaps loss of production.

C

learly, a busbar trunking system that does not have to be disconnected from the supply in order for a tap-off unit to be connected to or disconnected from it affords greater flexibility to the user as to when such a connection or disconnection can be carried out.

Product Standard The current product standard covering the particular requirements for busbar trunking systems (busways) is BS EN 60439-2: 2000, including amendment A1: 2005. It applies to busbar trunking systems and their accessories for feeding and distributing electrical power in residential, retail, public, agricultural and industrial premises. It also applies to busbar trunking systems designed to incorporate communication and/ or control systems or intended to supply luminaires through tap-off units but does not apply to supply Fig 1 Busbar trunking system

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Manufacturer’s instructions As BS EN 60439-2 makes it optional whether a busbar trunking system is designed for ‘live’ connection of tap-off units to the busbars, it is important that in every case the manufacturer’s instructions are obtained and closely followed when it is intended to connect or disconnect a tap-off unit.

In some cases manufacturers’ literature refers to the provision of ‘automatic safety shutters’ that are necessary for basic protection against electric shock wherever a tapoff unit is not present at a connection point. References to such shutters should not be construed as allowing live connection of tap-off units to the busbars.

Similarly, there are sometimes references to a plug-in system that is fully shuttered. Again, such shutters are intended to prevent access to live busbar conductors when a tap-off unit is absent. References to them in the manufacturer’s literature should not be taken to suggest that live connections are permitted. Neither should references to internal flash barriers be taken to suggest that there is a preventative measure associated with making ‘live’ connections.

It should be noted that even where a manufacturer agrees that their system has been designed to allow tap-off units to be connected to or disconnected from it without the need for isolation of the busbars, this may only apply for busbar trunking systems up to a particular current rating.

Safe working procedures Care must be taken to ensure correct polarity when connecting a tap-off unit to a busbar trunking system, because the design of some systems, conforming to a version of BS EN 60439-2 dating from before Amendment A1: 2005 of that standard came into force, may not include arrangements to prevent reverse polarity connection of a tap-off unit.

Amendment A1: 2005 of BS EN 60439-2 addressed that issue. In a busbar trunking system conforming to BS EN 60439-2: 2000 + A1: 2005, all tap-off units utilising a protective conductor and/or a neutral conductor are required to be designed such that they cannot be connected incorrectly to any part of the busbar system.

Illustration courtesy of Eaton Electric Limited

Safe connection and disconnection of tap-off units of busbar trunking systems to BS EN 60439-2

track systems in accordance with IEC 60570.

BS EN 60439-2 embraces (amongst other things) busbar trunking systems with facilities for tap-off units at predetermined points, as well as for roller-type or brushtype tap-off units.

Although BS EN 60439-2 permits a busbar trunking system to be designed with a facility for tap-off units to be safely connected to it without the busbar system being disconnected from the supply, such a facility is not necessary for conformity of the system with the Standard.

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01/10/2012 09:21

The amended standard also requires that the protective conductor connection makes first and breaks last when connecting and disconnecting a tap-off unit from the busbar trunking system.

A tap-off unit must not be connected to or disconnected from a busbar trunking system whilst the busbars are energised, unless the manufacturer has confirmed that the design of the system allows this, and the load has been switched off from the tap-off unit prior to carrying out this procedure.

Even where a manufacturer has expressly agreed that their system has been designed to allow tap-off units to be connected to or disconnected from it without the need for isolation of the busbars, such ‘live connections’ must be treated as live working within the meaning of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (see Regulation 14), and all necessary precautions must be taken with regard to the risks of electric shock, burns and explosion.

‘Live’ connection should therefore be considered to be the exception rather than common industry practice.

The Health and Safety Executive has led investigations into a number of incidents involving serious dangers to

Meet the helpline

Justin Maltby-Smith, NICEIC senior operations engineer Industry experience: Ran his own electrical company, lecturer, consultant/ project manager Interests: Kung-Fu and kickboxing, black-belt instructor

44_45_technical taps of units.CC2.indd Sec1:45

Provision of instructions to the user Having installed a busbar trunking system, the electrical installer must ensure that the user is provided with a copy of the manufacturer’s installation and user’s instructions or, in their absence, the necessary instructions for the safe use and modification of the system. Where necessary, suitable warning notices must be fixed at all relevant points of the installed system.

If you have ever telephoned our technical helpline you may wonder who the voices are on the other end of the line.

Well, meet the technical helpline team: all industry professionals with vast experience in the electrical industry and some interests outside of the day job too!

Alan Turvey, NICEIC operations engineer Industry experience: Electrician, carrying out industrial, commercial, quarry and domestic installations, lecturer and deputy head of construction with further education college Interests: Walking, bonsai cultivation and restoration of classic bicycles

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persons resulting in severe injury, where connections have been made to energised busbars.

The outgoing circuit of a tap-off unit must not be energised until it has been inspected and tested in accordance with Part 7 of BS 7671, to verify that the requirements of that standard have been met.

The above procedures, which are necessary for compliance with health and safety legislation, do not fully eliminate risk. In all cases an assessment must be made of the risk in relation to any intended live working, and all necessary safety precautions must be taken to manage the risks identified by the assessment.

Stuart McHugh, senior technical helpline engineer Industry experience: More than 41 years in the electrical industry, including a six-year apprenticeship, industrial commercial domestic and street-lighting work Interests: Vintage aircraft, motoring

Clinton Thompson, NICEIC operations engineer Industry experience: Electrician (domestic and industrial), electrical engineer (food industry, high-volume production and heavy press industry), college tutor, training centre tutor Interests: Classic cars and bikes, music

Norman Bradshaw, NICEIC technical helpline engineer Industry experience: Electrician for 23 years, working as an Approved Contractor, assisting new electricians in gaining Part P registration and working in partnership with local building control departments Interests: Voluntary work, running

Duncan McFarlane NICEIC technical helpline engineer Time-served electrician, working on domestic, commercial, industrial and petrochemical installations.

Electrical clerk of works, electrical surveyor, lecturer and NVQ assessor Interests: Travelling and motorcycling

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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Ask the experts/Technical

N

Fully charged Snags & Solutions A practical guide to everyday electrical problems, now updated to Amendment No 1 of BS 7671 ‘Snags & Solutions’, NICEIC’s problem solving book, is available in three parts, which cover many commonly-encountered electrical installation problems. All parts have now been updated, where appropriate, to take account of the requirements of Amendment No 1 to BS 7671: 2008 (17th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations), which came into full effect on 1 January 2012.

Part 1 of Snags & Solutions addresses 53 problems relating to earthing and bonding,

Part 2 covers 55 problems relating to wiring systems, and Part 3 covers 52 problems relating to inspection and testing.

The books are available from NICEIC Direct.

To give an indication of the value of these books, a snag and solution is being covered in each issue of Connections. This issue addresses a snag from Part 1 – Earthing and bonding, relating to looped main protective bonding conductors.

snags and solutions A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO EVERYDAY ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS

Part 2

wiring systems 3rd Edition

Amd 1: 2011

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Amd 1: 2011

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01/10/2012 09:21

Looped main protective bonding conductors

✗

MET

Main protective bonding conductors should not be cut where looped between extraneous-conductive-parts.

Snag 43 Main protective bonding conductors should, ideally, not be looped from service to service.

If this is not practicable, the main protective bonding conductor should not be cut at looped connections.

Means of Earthing

Water

Gas

conductive-part, and at the main earthing terminal where this is separate from the main switchgear (Regulation 514.13.1 refers).

Regulation 514.13.1 (part of)

Solution Where a common bonding conductor loops in and out to connect to an extraneous- conductive-part, the protective conductor should be left unbroken at the connection. This is so that the continuity to other items connected to the bonding conductor will not be lost if the connection becomes detached (for example, as a result of work being carried out to pipework, see Regulation 528.3.3).

A permanent label bearing the words ‘Safety Electrical Connection – Do Not Remove’ is required in a visible position at or near the point of connection of every main bonding conductor to an extraneous-

A permanent label to BS 951 with the words ‘Safety Electrical Connection – Do Not Remove’ shall be affixed in a visible position at or near: (ii) the point of connection of every bonding conductor to an extraneous-conductive-part.

Regulation 528.3.3 Where a wiring system is to be installed in proximity to one or more non-electrical services it shall be so arranged that any foreseeable operation carried out on the other services will not cause damage to the electrical service or the converse.

MET

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46_47_technical snags.CC.indd Sec1:47

NICEIC Connections Autumn 2012

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01/10/2012 09:22

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NIC.10.12.048.indd 1

03/10/2012 10:18

Ask the experts/Technical

N

Fully charged Safe isolation – a reminder It’s essential that persons carrying out electrical installation work or electrical maintenance have a sound knowledge of safe isolation procedures. Persons carrying out isolation procedures must also have the necessary equipment and practical skills to perform these procedures safely.

U

nfortunately, and as is demonstrated by a number of recent prosecutions, there are still a significant number of failures to perform safe isolation procedures prior to work being carried out.

Prosecutions On 7 March 2012, an electrical contracting company and its Managing Director were prosecuted at Westminster Magistrate’s Court as a result of a number of failings in safety practices. The failures resulted in an employee of the company receiving an electric shock from a junction box that had not been isolated prior to work being carried out. As a result of the incident, the employee, who was seriously burned, was hospitalised in an induced coma and subsequently suffered memory loss.

The company director was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs for breaching regulation 14 (Work on or near live conductors) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. The company itself was fined £1500 and ordered to pay costs of £1000 for breaching regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Another case, heard at Bradford Crown Court on 9 March 2012, relates to switching off for mechanical maintenance rather than isolation to make live parts dead. A food and confectionery product manufacturer was prosecuted for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 following the death of an employee. The man was killed whilst trying to clear a blockage in a large machine, which was re-energised by a colleague whilst the man was still inside.

The HSE investigation found that a safety ‘key’ was available to prevent the machine from being re-energised, but that the company had failed to ensure that its employees knew how to use the key system properly. The HSE stated that the company’s safety breaches were compounded by the fact that the

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company received written advice about improving guarding on similar machines to those involved in this fatality back in 2002 but had not applied that advice to the machine in which the man died. The company was fined £180,000 and ordered to pay nearly £42,000 in costs.

The facts of the above case reinforce the need to carry out recognised safe working procedures and the consequences of not doing so. They also serve as a reminder that the hazards of electricity include not only electric shock but also injury from mechanical movement (as well as harmful thermal effects such as burns, arcs and fire).

On the 16 January 2009 the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 came into force. This Act increases the penalties and sentences that may be imposed by the courts on persons or organisations who are prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and subordinate legislation such as the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

Guidance on safe isolation Guidance on safe isolation procedure is given in Best Practice Guide No 2 – Guidance on the management of electrical safety and safe isolation procedures for low voltage installations, produced by The Electrical Safety Council in association with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a number of other leading industry bodies. This can be downloaded free-of-charge at www.esc.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/ industry/best_practice/BPG2_09.pdf A quick guide to safe isolation procedure is given in NICEIC Pocket Guide 5, which is available free-ofcharge to NICEIC Approved Contractors and Domestic Installers via the secure area of the NICEIC website.

The minimum required steps for safe isolation are given below, based on NICEIC Pocket Guide 5.

Fig 2 ESC Best Practice Guide 2 and NICEIC Pocket Guide 5

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Ask the experts/Technical

N

Fully charged Step 1 Step 1 Check with the occupier/user that it is safe and acceptable to isolate. If the isolator is an off-load device, switch off the load. Open the means of isolation for the circuit(s) to be isolated and secure it in the open position with a lock or other suitable means.

T

Step 2

ON

OFF

OFF

Prove the correct operation of a suitable voltage detection instrument against a known voltage source, such as that illustrated. Guidance on voltage detection instruments is given in HSE Guidance Note GS 38 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Electrical test equipment for use by electricians.

Step 2

Step 3 Using the voltage detection instrument, check that there is no dangerous voltage present on any circuit conductor to be worked on. It is important to confirm that conductors are not energized, due, for example, to a wiring fault. Check terminal voltages between: (i) earth and line (ii) neutral and line (as shown) and (iii) earth and neutral.

Step 3 Step 4 Prove the voltage detection instrument again against the known source, to check that it was functioning correctly when the circuit(s) was tested for the presence of voltage.

Notes T

ON

OFF

OFF

1 In practice, the equipment being worked on is likely to be remote from the consumer unit, such as a socket-outlet located remotely from the means of isolation. In this case it is necessary to check that all the socket-outlet contact terminals are dead.

2 When checking for a voltage between an earth terminal and live terminals (including neutral), the test probe should make contact with the earth terminal first, to reduce the risk of the remaining probe becoming live.

3 When isolating the main source of energy, it is also essential to isolate any secondary sources of energy (such as microgeneration).

Step 4

Other help available from NICEIC A DVD explaining the safe isolation procedure and a range of products for use when carrying out safe isolation are available for sale from www.niceicdirect.com NICEIC offer training relating to safe isolation at their training centres and now also offer an online training module. For further details visit www.niceic.com/ training/introduction

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AP TO P DA LY Y!

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0843 658 0663 www.niceic.com NIC.10.12.051.indd 1

join@niceic.com 03/10/2012 10:19

Ask the experts/Technical

N

Fully charged Surge protective devices This is the third and concluding article in a series of three on surge protective devices (SPDs) that began in Issue 181 of Connections.

The first article looked at the nature, origins and effects of transient overvoltages in electrical installations, and why the installation of SPDs might be required. The second article considered the criteria given in Section 443 of BS 7671 for deciding whether or not SPDs are required.

For those installations where it has been decided, on the basis of Section 443, that SPDs should be installed, this third article looks at some of the most significant requirements for the selection and installation of SPDs, as given in Section 534 of BS 7671, and at the associated guidance in Appendix 16.

Fig 1 SPD principle of operation

Transient overvoltage

Line

Neutral

Voltage protection level (Uρ) (voltage across SPD when conducting)

LOAD

Nominal discharge current Inspd

SPD

Uα nominal a.c. line voltage to earth

Equipment impulse withstand voltage level Uw

part 3 Selection and installation of SPDs Section 534 Devices for Protection against Overvoltage contains material that may be unfamiliar to many electrical contractors. As it uses SPD-specific terminology, a prerequisite to understanding the requirements of Section 534 is to become familiar with the terms used.

Fig 1 of this article represents an SPD being subjected to a transient overvoltage that has caused the SPD to switch from a high impedance to a low impedance. In its low impedance state, the SPD provides a path to allow the energy contained in the transient overvoltage to discharge to earth, so protecting the load equipment.

Selection with regard to voltage When selecting an SPD with regard to voltage, BS 7671 requires consideration to be given to: • the voltage across the SPD when it is conducting, • the voltage across the SPD non-conducting, • and temporary overvoltages.

When an SPD is conducting, the voltage across it is known as the voltage protection level (Up) of the SPD. Up is equal to the value of current that flows through the SPD during conduction, multiplied by the SPD’s impedance (which is low during conduction). As the equipment being protected is in parallel with the SPD, the maximum voltage that can occur across this equipment when the SPD is conducting is Up. Regulation 534.2.3.1.1 generally requires an SPD to be selected so that its value of Up is lower than the impulse withstand capability of the equipment. However, where continuous operation of the equipment is critical, the SPD is to be selected so that Up is lower than the impulse immunity of the equipment.

When an SPD is non-conducting, the maximum rms voltage that may be applied continuously across it (that is, its rated voltage) is called the continuous operating voltage (Uc). Regulation 534.2.3.2 requires an SPD to be selected so that its value of Uc is not less than the minimum value required by Table 53.3, dependent on the supply system configuration and the conductors between which it is connected.

Regulation 534.2.3.3 requires an SPD to be selected and erected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, taking account of the temporary overvoltage of the network (UTOV). Temporary overvoltages, typically lasting up to several seconds, usually originate from switching operations or faults.

Selection with regard to discharge current (Inspd) and impulse current (Iimp) The ability of an SPD to carry the discharge current of a transient overvoltage depends partly on the shape of

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Fig 2 An SPD assembly installed at a distribution board

SPD 7

on off

Protective conductor

L1 L2 L3 N

current waveform. For less severe transient overvoltages, the SPD is rated using what BS 7671 refers to as an 8/20 μs test waveform. When the SPD is tested with that waveform, the current rating of the SPD is referred to as the nominal discharge current (Inspd).

However, when assessing the ability of an SPD to carry transient current caused by lightning strikes, a 10/350 μs waveform is used and the term ‘lightning impulse current’ (Iimp) is used to describe its current rating under these conditions .

The detailed requirements for the selection of SPDs with regard to Inspd or Iimp, as the case may be, are given in Regulation Group 534.2.3.4.

Selection with regard to current Regulation 534.2.3.5 requires that the short-circuit withstand of the combined SPD and overcurrent device (mentioned below), as stated by the manufacturer, shall be not less than the maximum

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prospective fault current expected at its point in the installation.

Where the SPD manufacturer also declares a ‘follow current’ interrupt rating, this too must be not less than the maximum prospective fault current expected at its point in the installation, and not less than 100 A if the SPD is connected between the neutral and protective conductors in a TN or TT system. ‘Follow current’ is a current that continues to flow through an SPD following a surge event.

Overcurrent protection of SPDs Overcurrent protective devices (OCPDs) are necessary to protect against a short-circuit within an SPD. Regulation 534.2.4 gives the requirements.

Fig 2 represents an SPD assembly (a group of SPDs packaged into a single unit by the manufacturer) connected at a distribution board with overcurrent protection provided by a circuit breaker.

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N

Fully charged Fig 3 Connection Type 1 (CT 1)

L1 L2 L3 N

OCPD 1

Protective conductor

OCPD 2

SPD

SPD

SPD

SPD

Alternative connection

OCPD - Overcurrent protective device

‘Types’ of SPD and their applications

Connection of SPDs

SPDs are classified as Type 1, Type 2 or Type 3. Table 1 of this article describes the typical applications of these three Types and gives some associated information.

Combined Type SPDs are also available. These are classified with more than one Type (such as ‘Type 1+2’ and ‘Type 2+3’).

Regulation 534.2.2 contains requirements as to how SPD assemblies that are intended to be used at or near the origin of an installation are to be connected.

Two distinct connections are recognised, namely Connection Type 1 (CT 1) and

Table 1 Typical application of Type 1, 2 and 3 SPDs

54

Type 1

Type 1 SPDs (also known as lightning arrestors or equipotential bonding SPDs) are used only where there is a risk of direct lightning current. They are connected at the origin of the installation to prevent dangerous sparking.

They are designed to withstand a partial lightning strike and are tested using an impulse test current, Iimp, typically a 10/350 μs waveform.

Type 2

Type 2 SPDs are connected at distribution boards.

They are designed to protect the components of the electrical installation from the effects of transient overvoltages transmitted through the supply system or caused by internal switching.

They are tested using an impulse test current Inspd (typically a 8/20 μs waveform)

Type 3

Type 3 SPDs are installed near to where items of terminal equipment are connected to an installation. They are designed to protect sensitive equipment from transient overvoltages.

They are tested using a combination wave that requires an impulse test current, Isc, typically an 8/20 μs waveform.

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Fig 4 Connection Type 2 (CT 2)

L1 L2 L3 N

OCPD 1

Protective conductor

OCPD 2

SPD

SPD

SPD

Alternative connection

SPD

SPD OCPD - Overcurrent protective device

Connection Type 2 (CT 2). These are shown diagrammatically in Fig 3 and Fig 4 of this article, respectively, based on Figures 53.1 and 53.2 of Section 534.

For each of connections CT 1 and CT 2, Table 53.2 of Section 534 indicates the conductors between which SPDs should be connected, depending on the earthing arrangement used for the installation (TN-C-S, TN-S, TT or IT).

Regulation 534.2.2 also requires consideration to be given to installing SPDs at locations other than at or near the origin. These may be necessary for protection of sensitive or critical equipment.

Appendix 16 of BS 7671 includes schematic diagrams (Figs 16A2 to 16A5) showing alternative arrangements for installing SPDs in installations.

Further considerations In the event of a SPD failing and no longer providing overvoltage protection, Regulation 534.2.8 requires the device to provide an indication of its status.

Regulation 534.2.5 requires that when SPD failure does

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occur, fault protection should remain effective. The regulation gives specific requirements in this respect for TN and TT systems, and Appendix 16 gives some related guidance.

The characteristics of the conductors used to connect SPDs to the installation are an important consideration, and when installing SPDs care should be taken regarding both the length and the cross sectional area of these conductors. Regulations 534.2.9 and 534.2.10 give the relevant requirements.

If multiple SPDs are required, or where equipment incorporating SPDs is connected to the installation, there is a possibility of two or more SPDs operating simultaneously. If this were to occur, the level of protection provided by the SPDs would be reduced.

To prevent the simultaneous operation of SPDs, leading to a reduction in the level of protection, Regulation 534.1 emphasises the importance of co-ordinating the protection between SPDs. Where the distance between SPDs is less than 10 m, manufacturers of SPDs frequently recommend fitting surge separation inductors to prevent co-ordination problems occurring.

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01/10/2012 09:24

Product Focus Martindale Electric

Ideal Industries

Now available from Martindale Electric is the new advanced HPAT 600 Kit, a PAT testing kit for both contractors and competent in-house personnel. The kit includes test equipment and accessories to permit fast, accurate and efficient on-site testing. The main instrument in the kit is the HPAT 600, a quality unit able to quickly and safely test any portable appliance. Also incorporated is the VT2 non-contact voltage indicator. Easy to use, the VT2 will verify the presence of any AC voltage between 200V and 1000V at outlets, switches, electrical panels, wires and cables. The kit also includes the Classic Check Plug, regarded in the industry as the easiest way to check 13A sockets.

Ideal industries Networks has launched SignalTEK II, a costeffective, multifunctional handheld cable and network qualifier for confirming that copper or fibre cabling has been installed correctly and meets the required bandwidth carrying capability. Designed to be simple to use and increase efficiency, it can test voice, video, data and CCTV applications over 10/100 Megabit or Gigabit Ethernet.

Using a qualifier over a certifier is an appropriate choice when the cabling does not need to meet EIA/TIA or ISO/IEC standards, for example in residential premises, small to medium sized offices and even some industrial Ethernet environments.

sales@martindale-electric.co.uk www.martindale-electric.co.uk

01925 444446 www.idealnwd.co.uk

Seaward Solar

Prysmian

A highly versatile new AC/DC clamp meter has been introduced for effective power measurement and diagnostic testing of solar PV systems. The high-performance Seaward Solar Power Clamp is capable of measuring DC and AC circuit power, in addition to true RMS voltage and current, harmonic distortion, power factor, resistance and continuity, diode check and capacitance. The meter has been designed for use by solar PV installers and technicians interested in power measurement and analysis on AC and DC systems and carrying out diagnostic checks on inverters. With the 25-year lifetime of PV systems, periodic inspection and testing is necessary. The unit is supplied with test leads and probes and comes in an all-inclusive test kit carrying case.

FP Firefix clips have been used to install the 15,000 metres of Prysmian FP200 Gold® and FP Plus™ supplying and protecting the prestigious Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. FP cables and fixings were used for the fire alarm and emergency lighting system with additional voice evacuation. The installation began in January 2009 as part of a £3.8 million electrical installation by Darke and Taylor Ltd. The new theatre is expected to welcome 300,000 visitors each year. With this in mind, an extensive fire safety system of the highest standard was required to guarantee the safety of staff and visitors..

0191 586 3511 www.seawardsolar.com

023 8029 5029 cables.marketing.uk@prysmian.com

EES Data

Marshall-Tufflex

EES Data produces a full suite of contract management software. All are Windows 7 touch screenenabled and built on a number of core modules: full professional contract estimating, small works costing and billing, supplier and quotation request, purchase ordering, job cost financial monitoring, application for payment and stock control.

01924 200103 www.ees-data.co.uk

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Ease of installation, first class aesthetics and a trusted brand name are reasons why Marshall-Tufflex’s Powerpoles are the specified ceiling-mounted power delivery system within seven refurbished operating theatres at the Plymouth NHS Trust’s Derriford Hospital. Refurbishment of the operating theatres is just one of many on-going upgrades the trust is undertaking. Project mechanical and electrical engineering consultants Hoare-Lea required ‘pendant’ style containment for the delivery of additional data cabling in order to expand and co-ordinate existing services. Newey and Eyre, Plymouth, supplied the Marshall-Tufflex ceiling mounted inverted hanging Powerpoles in 1100mm lengths for on-site installation by Mitie Engineering. The architect for the project was Stride Treglown. marketing@marshall-tufflex.com

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01/10/2012 09:26

For great deals on products and services visit www.niceicdirect.com

Scan QR code with your smart phone to visit our site

Scolmore Concern regarding cleanliness within healthcare establishments continues to get headlines, with the result that contractors are under increasing pressure to work with electrical products that meet the demands for hygiene and safety. The Scolmore Group has been supplying electrical accessories to the healthcare sector for many years. Its white moulded ranges and Part M wiring accessories ranges – developed to comply with the Part M Building Regulations governing products for disabled access – have been independently tested for their anti-microbial properties. The results showed that the products achieved a bacterium kill rate of 99.99% when tested 24 hours after they had been exposed to MRSA, E-Coli, Salmonella and Klebsiella Pneumoniae. These independent tests show that Scolmore’s products achieved a 99.99% kill off rate across all four types of the strains of bacteria causing concern in health environments.

01827 63454 www.scolmore.com

Urmet

MK Electric

Urmet has added several improved features to its range of stainless steel door entry panels. The S-Steel now replaces the original K-steel range. Originally launched in 2000, the K-Steel was, and still is to this day, the first and only modular stainless steel, vandal resistant panel to be IP45 and IK09 rated. The new design keeps these key performance features whilst creating a more aesthetically pleasing panel. The new S-steel range is smaller and cleaner looking but has the robust and quality feel that distinguishes Urmet products.

MK Electric and Philips have joined forces to overcome the industry’s issues in producing reliable LED lighting offerings that operate effectively with dimmable switches. MK’s Design Service has produced a specialist dimmer that works with the Philips MASTER LED product range. The LED lamps can be paired with dimmers from MK Electric’s Logic Plus and Edge ranges.

marketing@urmet.co.uk

www.mkelectric.co.uk

Fluke

CP Electronics

From September until 31 December, Fluke is offering a free T5 two-pole tester to purchasers of a Fluke 1653B/1654B Multifunction Installation Tester or a Fluke 6500 PAT Tester. Simply download an offer form from the Fluke website and send it direct to Fluke with the proof of purchase from a Fluke authorised distributor or wholesaler. More information can be found on the website.

Controls expert CP Electronics has launched the D-Mate Addresser, an innovative, low-cost device that simplifies DALI installations and is the latest addition to the company’s sophisticated D-Mate lighting control system. The addresser complements the functionality of the D-Mate lighting control system, making it easy to address the other elements of the system using simple but reliable DIL switches.

020 7942 0700 www.fluke.co.uk/promotions

0333 9000671 www.cpelectronics.co.uk

Kidde Fyrnetics The Firex range of hard-wired smoke and heat alarms, manufactured and supplied

by Kidde, now has a new modern look for today’s interiors. Kidde’s acquisition of Firex created a new force in smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms.

Now, the Firex cable-harness range is available alongside the Kidde Slick® fast-fit smoke and heat alarm (featuring wireless interconnect capability with remote Test/Hush accessory), and hard-wired CO alarm ranges.

To advertise on this page, contact Patrick Lynn at Redactive Publishing on 020 7880 7614 or patrick.lynn@ redactive.co.uk

01753 685148 www.kiddefirex.co.uk

www.niceic.com

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Current affairs

Don’t forget to send Current Affairs any pictures that have made you smile and let us know of any hidden talents or charity initiatives. Email editor@ niceicconnections.com

Heat is on in desert lead-up Staff at Liverpool contractor AB Engineering are working their way through what they describe as “the toughest year yet” as three of them prepare for what is widely regarded as the most difficult race on earth.

Managing director Andy Stanley and colleagues Dean Gerrard and Michael Anderson will take part in the Marathon des Sables, comprising six back-to-back marathons across the Sahara Desert in Morocco, next April.

Ahead of the race, various members of staff have taken part in challenges including the Outlaw Iron Man event in Nottingham and the Scotland coast-to-coast challenge, to raise money for Wirral-based Claire House Children’s Hospice.

The company is hoping to raise over £5,000, with Edmundson Electrical and Newey & Eyre having already pledged support. “Every penny raised goes to the charity,” says Andy, pictured above at the end of the Iron Man event.

The company is collecting combined sponsorship for all events undertaken in 2012 and 2013. To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/ TheToughestYearYet

58

CAUGHT ON CAMERA The most recent examples of dodgy installations found by our eagle-eyed contractors include (1-3): a floating isolator left hanging from a sub-main supply; a spot of illthought-out positioning for an up-and-over garage door, obscuring access to MCBs; and a fuseboard that was in operation until recently, with the lower set all neutral fuses corresponding to the phase fuse in the top row.

These are followed by (4-7): sub-standard earthing carried out by a DIY enthusiast; the reason behind carpark lights not working; the earth in a light fitting just tied around the other cables; and a couple of unfortunate rodents causing a fault on a ring main.

1

2 4

3 Thanks to our contributors: Owen Gibbs from Owen Gibbs Electrical in Beetley, Norfolk (numbers 1 and 2) /// Hugh Crothers of HGC Electrical Services in Portchester, Portsmouth /// Dave Simcox of Customcall in Scarborough /// Russell Hawes of OCO in Bromley, Kent /// Paul Ede of Focus Electrics in Birmingham /// and George Oliver from B&G Roberts Electrical in Buckley, North Wales.

5

6

7 Keep those shots coming in!

Spooked out

Torch for Rachel

Any electricians asked to undertake work at the Hanbury Arms pub in Pontypool could end up getting rather more than they bargained for.

A series of ghostly goings-on at the 1830s building have reportedly left tradespeople running scared and refusing to work on the premises. Staff claim to have heard whispers coming from the cellar and believe the place is haunted by a small girl, a boy in Victorian dress and a former executioner.

Anyone who is brave enough to take on a refurbishment is advised to bring a spirit level with them to the job.

An operations manager from NICEIC-registered WD Electrical found herself the centre of attention in the build-up to the Olympics after being selected as a torchbearer for the Norfolk area.

Rachel Forrest was nominated by her family for her work as a rugby referee and coach.

Rachel said her rugby achievements would not have been possible without the support of her employer.

“They’re really flexible, so I can have early starts and late finishes to fit around my refereeing,” she said.

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