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15 Appendix 15 Notes on periodic inspecting and testing

15.1 Introduction scope and statutory requirements

After an electrical installation is constructed, commissioned and put into service it must be maintained to keep it in a safe condition. The statutory requirements for health and safety at work are covered by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and through this act the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EWR) provides the basic statutory framework for electrical safety in the workplace (but they do not apply to domestic installations). The EWR are not voltage dependant and cover all electrical systems from battery operated torches to the national grid.

There are some terms that are central to the understanding of these requirements, and for ease of reference they are listed below. Most are from the EWR, but some are supplemented by Part 2 of BS 7671: 2008 and are as follows:

Duty holderA person on whom statutory or other duties are imposed by statutory regulations or other (usually contractual) requirements. (The duty holder may or may not be a competent person).

Competent personA person who possesses suffi cient technical knowledge and experience for the nature of the electrical work undertaken, and is able at all times to prevent danger, and where appropriate injury, to themselves and others.

DangerRisk of injury.

InjuryDeath or personal injury from electrical shock, electric burn, electrical explosion or arcing, or from fi re or explosion initiated by electrical energy, where any such death or injury is associated with the generation, provision, transmission, transformation, rectifi cation, conversion, conduction, distribution, control, storage, measurement or use of electrical energy.

SystemAn electrical system in which all the electrical equipment is, or may be, electrically connected to a common source of electrical energy, and includes such source and such equipment. (It includes all the electrical installations, switchgear, luminaires, equipment, accessories, fi ttings, appliances and controls etc.).

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Electrical equipmentAny item for such purposes as generation, conversion, transmission, distribution or utilisation of electrical energy, such as machines, transformers, apparatus, measuring instruments, protective devices, wiring systems, accessories, appliances and luminaires.

Regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations requires:

As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, such danger.

Someone must be responsible for an electrical installation. For a domestic installation, this is the householder and for an electrical installation at a place of work, the responsible person is usually a nominated person (the duty holder). Often no one is specifi cally nominated, but someone must have control (e.g. the offi ce manager or other manager who gets an electrical contractor in to do some work) and this person or these persons will assume the position, usually by default, and the law will presume that they are duty holders.

It is for the installation duty holder to decide, by a risk assessment, as to what danger can arise and what maintenance is required to prevent danger. The statutory obligation to maintain at work arises only if danger would otherwise result, although there is the practical reason to maintain to keep a building in good condition. The quantity and frequency of statutory maintenance should be suffi cient to prevent danger so far as is reasonably practicable.

There is no statutory duty to maintain in a domestic environment, but insurers may not pay claims if they can show that an installation was not safe.

15.2 BS 7671: 2008 requirements

On the electrical installation certifi cate of a new installation advice is given for the time period at which the installation should have its fi rst periodic inspection and test. This is based on the considered advice from a number of parties, as identifi ed in Chapter 34 of BS 7671: 2008 which states:

An assessment is to be made of the frequency and quality of maintenance of the reasonable expectation of the installation The responsible person shall be consulted Periodic inspection and testing as well as maintenance and repairs shall be considered The assessment shall consider the effectiveness of the protective measures

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15.3 Information and records

Before any periodic inspection and testing work can be undertaken (or even priced), the scope of the installation and the required work must be identifi ed. There should be several existing sources of information about the electrical installation, but if necessary the inspector must survey the building and identify the installation arrangement and circuits before any meaningful inspection and testing work can be undertaken.

15.3.1 Operation and maintenance documentsWhen commissioned and set to work operation and maintenance documentation, including record drawings and an electrical installation certifi cate is issued for a new installation. BS 7671: 2008 lists the information that should be available in section 514 and these amount to circuit diagrams. For most commercial installations a single line diagram is usually essential.

Statutory legislation including the Construction Design and Management Regulations 1994 (revised 2007) and the Building Regulations (England and Wales) require adequate health and safety, operation and maintenance, and record drawings documents be provided by the installer. In essence the information that should be available should allow the safe and proper operation and maintenance of the building and its services. These health and safety requirements do not apply to domestic installations, which are usually a lot simpler, but the Building Regulations and NHBC guidance still require adequate records, and the requirements of section 514 of BS 7671: 2008 still apply.

The new Home Information Packs may also contain a Home Condition Report as an optional document, which will give details about the physical condition of a dwelling. At the time or writing, it was not clear if this report would contain electrical information, but if it does sellers, buyers and lenders will be able to rely on it as an accurate document.

An electrical installation certifi cate must accompany each new work in a commercial building and if it is notifi able (see 15.3.2 below), the required CDM Health & Safety fi le, as well as general Operation & Maintenance and record information. The CDM H&S fi le must be retained by the building owner, for the life of the building, and thus this provides a valuable source of information for building modifi cations and inspections. Unfortunately, this information is not always available when required!

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15.3.2 Health and safety filesThe CDM Health and Safety Files are the means by which health and safety information is recorded and kept for future use at the end of a construction project. The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 1994 and 2007 require that the fi le includes adequate information about any aspect of the structure or materials used which might affect the health or safety of anyone carrying out construction, maintenance, cleaning or demolition work or of anyone who may be affected by such work.

The fi le will contain information necessary for future construction, maintenance, refurbishment or demolition to be carried out safely, and is retained by the client or any future owner of the property. (Where a client gets non-notifi able work done, and a health and safety fi le already exists for the premises, it should be updated if necessary). The fi le should be a useful and valuable document for the client and any persons with a professional interest in the building, and since 1994 should provide the required information on the building.

Work undertaken by a local authority or a domestic householder is exempt from the CDM Regulations.

For any notifi able project under the CDM Regulations (defi ned as projects where the production stage on site will exceed 30 days or 500 person days) a health and safety fi le must be prepared at the completion of the works and retained by the owner of the works. When the project is fi nished and the health and safety fi le has been handed over by the planning supervisor, the client should keep it available for those who need to use it.

Usually this will include maintenance contractors, the planning supervisor and contractors preparing or carrying out future construction work. Its purpose is to provide the end user with information about the risks that have to be managed during maintenance, repair, renovation or demolition.

This fi le must be made available to anyone doing any future work on the structure. Guidance to the regulations recommends that the fi le include:

record or as built drawings and plans used and produced throughout the construction process; the design criteria; general details of the construction methods and materials used; details of the equipment and maintenance facilities within the structure; maintenance procedures and requirements for the structure;

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manuals produced by specialist contractors and suppliers which outline operating and maintenance procedures and schedules for plant and equipment installed as part of the structure;

details of the location and nature of utilities and services, including emergency and fi re-fi ghting systems.Ideally, the health and safety fi le should be kept available for