What Can I Do????????

[jshsecurity]

Could someone please help. with all the regs for electrical work thes days, what can I legally install myself. I install intruder and cctv so only really need the occasional extra spur, but can I do this myself or does it need a certificate.

[morph]

What technical qualifications do you have!

[norman]

It always has needed a cert. best to let the customer provide a supply to reg's

[arfur mo]

The SSAIB site has some information regarding the need or not for Part P - http://www.ssaib.co.uk/PDFs/Bulletin%20100...ssue%202006.pdf

Of course every spur will need a Minor Works Certificate.

hi rjbsec,

thanks for that link, i'd imagine quite a few non-electricians like me will have followed it.

in the paragraph after section 2 it states -:

SSAIB (blah blah) you do not need to be 'asseses (as a competant person i assume) to certify fitting of a spur'.

so is that saying i can make up my own certifificate in publisher and isue that to a client and that complies?.

if so, it seems a strange idea to me, as anyone could self certificating their own 'competance' for a small works and be 'legal'.

ok not a problem for guys who have been round te block like me but we have all seen some really dangerous stuff done, and usually the perpertrator has no idea how bad it was.

what is you interpretation of the SSAIB's advice?

regs

alan

[Guest]

in the paragraph after section 2 it states -:

SSAIB (blah blah) you do not need to be 'asseses (as a competant person i assume) to certify fitting of a spur'.

does this not fall under erm

"Electricity at Work Regulations"

that the one roger

so is that saying i can make up my own certifificate in publisher and isue that to a client and that complies?.

Provided it has the correct information on it , like bs 4737 bs 7671 has model documents in it for you to base your own forms on, which brings me to the conclusion that those of you which bothered to buy the standards could not be bothered to read them

[arfur mo]

arfur, working with electricity is a serious matter, often treated with disrespect but occasionally turning around and biting.

many thanks for responding, your wise comment is taken with the greatest respect. i absolutely agree, i too see 'lashups' by supposed 'electrician/odd job' man which makes your blood run cold.

The SSAIB is not expecting someone to come "off the street" and start playing with 240-volt mains - anyone who has been installing fused spurs should already be testing their work in accordance with the existing regulations and issuing a minor works certificate.

its the issuing of a certificate that the paragraph seems to say you do not need to be tested to be a 'competant person' and with some sort of course certification to prove it, its like being a 'quack' hebal 'doctor' making up your own 'degree' to stick on the wall.

Could you do one yourself in Publisher? - Probably you could as long as it contained all of the required information, but it may be copyright and as such I cannot give you an authorative answer on that.

Many installers have long ago been on a short course to deal with "competence" as defined under the "Electricity at Work Regulations" and as such have a degree of competence in dealing with "minor works" but that does not make them an electrician!

i investigated the course and the costs, it worked out at

[arfur mo]

arfur, remember what you read in "Notices" on the SSAIB website is intended for approved companies not "any Tom, Dick or Harry", so the comments about approved companies and Part P should be read in that context.

It is giving advice to those who already should be "competent", (though neither electricians or assessed to Part P), showing them how Part P affects their existing competence and submitting of the minor works certificate.

thanks rjbsec,

point taken, i'm looking to join (still swaying between SSAIB or NSI silver) i and others like me would be in a position of not being 'acredited' for installing minor works, but reading that notice could assume based on that sentance we did not need it either, might be worth a call to them to point it out.

perhaps we should get together and clarity the 'qualifications' .

just an aside, and i don't know if they still do this, when i worked for Chubbs they used to have a standard paragraph in the estimate's and spec's stating the client to supply the fused unswitched mains outlet. it was a little ironic at the time as most of the engineers were recruited from the ranks of qualified sparks (all bank installs were in mineral and/or steel tube). so we installed the spur 8 out of 10 times for a 'drink', which translated to the trainee installing it (i.e. me when i started).

even dafter the spur top and back box were always supplied in the stores box

regs

alan

[dynamic]

.........with all the regs for electrical work thes days, what can I legally install myself............

Point of order: the IEE Wiring Regulations aren't a legal requirement, neither is a certificate.

However,

Legal liabilities arise out of consumer protection legislation, specifically the Consumer Protection Act and the Supply of Goods & Services Act. These give rise to a "Duty of Care" and requirements that work is completed with "reasonable care and skill".

If a court is asked to decide on this, one of the first things they would look at was whether the installation was in accordance with the wiring reg's.

Also, the Electricity Supply Regulations allow the supply company to refuse to connect an installation unless they're satisfied that it's safe. They can't refuse to connect an installation which complies with the wiring reg's.

In theory, it's possible to show that an installation is safe, and has been completed with reasonable care and skill without ever referring to the wiring reg's, but it's hard to imagine a court giving any such argument much credibility, or even court time.

Yes, in deciding on "reasonable care and skill", the courts will take into account your qualifications and experience.

The Wiring Regulations and associated qualifications and approved contractor schemes all exist just to cut through this legal mumbo jumbo to allow us ordinary folk to say, "Look, I did it in accordance with the reg's, and the bloke from the scheme says I'm skilled, so it's not my fault."

Of course, compliance with Part P is a legal requirement, so too the Electricity at Work regs, and there are other requirements, and exceptions, and special situations, which is why people go through three year apprenticeships.

In short, legally, unless you're skilled, experienced, familiar with the reg's, and the law, you're in a very weak position and likely to end up carrying the can for the consequences.

And don't even get me started on insurance companies!

[arfur mo]

Point of order: the IEE Wiring Regulations aren't a legal requirement, neither is a certificate.

However,

a top example of something being brilliantly put imo

regs

alan

[Guest]

Point of order: the IEE Wiring Regulations aren't a legal requirement, neither is a certificate.

However,

a top example of something being brilliantly put imo

regs

alan

Keep reading alan.....

Of course, compliance with Part P is a legal requirement, so too the Electricity at Work regs,

Whoops back to where we started