AM2 - Opinions needed

[Jony]

Problem solved

 

[Monks]

Ta, mate. I'll PM you the details.

 

[ebow72]

Well done Monks,glad you passed mate, odd that no one came back with any feedback on your posts?
I come on here everyday and I didn't notice myself as I am on the lookout for AM2 stuff as I have mine soon...
Any tips you have would be great Monks....I've been on NET - National Electrotechnical Training | AM2 Assessment | FICA Assessment and noticed you need a checklist now, did have to provide this?
But good on you passing first time as I know a few lads who didn't...

 

[Monks]

Cheers.

Don't know if it is true but apparently the failure rate is quite high and, TBH, I thought something I did would bugger it up for me on the install but thankfully it only went down as a minor. I'll be honest: I haven't done much testing before (hence the questions on here) so I virtually memorised the testing procedures in the on-site guide. I paid for 2 refresher days at the college as well which really helped me prepare for the full test and inspection you have to do.

The main advice I'd give is to read the diagrams and spec that they give you as carefully as you can. They present them in such a way that it is really easy to make a silly mistake by not interpreting them properly. Also be very aware of how much time everything is taking. When I first went into the assessment room I thought I'd finish easily with loads of time to spare, but you'd be surprised how time-consuming some things can be, especially when you're under pressure. I'll cover some more areas in depth that might catch some people out below.

Safe Isolation:

KEY IN POCKET! Apparently one of the most common fails!

Install:

- Cleat your SWA and remember to banjo and fly lead it (one bloke next to me failed on this)
- Fix your FP cable with P clips or metal ties
- Where you need to join cables, instead of connector blocks only use push-fit connectors.
- The lighting circuit my group was given was totally different to what I've done before and it really makes you think - again, only wire to where it says on the spec as you'll have to figure out how they want the lights done on your assessment. Another bloke in my group failed on this as he realised his was wrong during his testing and then lost pretty much all of his testing time trying to figure out where he went wrong on the lighting circuit.
- The S-Plan was, IMO, quite easy. That said, I have done a lot of control panels in the past, so if you're not used to wiring diagrams then you'll really have to concentrate on this as I can imagine it could be easy to mess up.
- Remember to separate your data, FP and power circuits.

Testing:

- You get Guidance Note 3 and the On-Site Guide, so you can't really go wrong here if you're stuck. I personally revised every testing procedure as it is something I've not done much of and I didn't want to waste time during the assessment reading up how to do each test.
- Remember to disconnect sensitive equipment for insulation resistance.
- Remember to disconnect main earth for Ze and to reconnect it straight afterwards.
- Remember to double your PFC as the install is polyphase. Also, get a good grounding of what to write on all of your testing forms from the OSG.
- Remember to flick switches on the 2-ways and intermediate during continuity and insulation resistance to test through all strappers.
- You can also calculate Zs values by summating Ze+(R1+R2) to save time.
- It also wouldn't harm to know where to find acceptable values in BS7671 and the OSG if you need to check any readings. Another one of of the dudes in a bay next to me didn't realise a reading he had was unacceptable so the assessor asked him to check it in the Regs before he moved on with the rest of his tests.

Fault Finding:

Quite straight-forward. Found all mine through continuity and insulation resistance values and also by knowing how circuits and accessories work under fault-free conditions. You'll also need to know how the S-Plan works to find faults on it, but you're given various diagrams that make it quite simple to understand how each part of it works for the whole system to work properly.

Muliple Choice Exam:

There is a bank of something like 600 questions and you get 30 of them at random. I had to use the OSG, BS7671, and Part P for a lot of it, but some of it should be stuff you learned at college that they are just checking that you know.

____

I handed the checklist in on the first day of the refresher. Think it is only for the tutors to know what everyone's weaknesses are so they can go over them.

Hope that quick guide helps.

 

[reamesj]

What faults did you have on your fault finding section?

 

[Monks]

They simulate 7 faults at random for everyone who takes the AM2 so you could get anything. You get a fault scenario to start with and from that you can pretty much guess what the fault is before you start using testing equipment. For example, one of mine was something like: 'The customer has reported that they get an electric shock whenever they touch the water stop tap'; instantly you suspect that the continuity is dodgy on the bonding so you can check it with a continuity tester. I can't remember the exact wording or which part of the system the fault was on, but another fault I had was something like: 'The customer has reported that the MCB for the S-Plan heating system trips whenever they turn on the timer'. I thought to myself that there may be a short circuit present, so I looked on the S-Plan's diagrams to see where in the circuit the timer was supposed to kick in and, sure enough, I had continuity between one of the phases inside of it and neutral.

I think all of the faults I had were various continuity, polarity and insulation resistance faults. If you find you are struggling on 1 fault I'd recommend leaving it and going back to it as you don't want to be wasing your time trying to get 1 right when you can crack on with another 6. Some of them are really easy and others can be a bit tricky. If you get a suspect reading, you can check it in the Regs and make a note of it as well. As with the testing part of the AM2, the assessor will also ask you questions as you go to gauge your knowledge; bear in mind that they're not trying to catch you out with anything, they're just making sure that you know why you're doing a certain type of test on the fault rig.

The faults are pretty straight forward if you think about the fault scenario logically and don't over-complicate it. Ask yourself why something might be tripping or what certain readings on the test instruments mean and also ask what those readings would do to the circuit when it is energised. TBH, I didn't find it too bad and it was the part of the AM2 I was worrying about most as I haven't done much fault finding in the past. There are loads of great threads on here covering fault finding both on site and in the AM2 so I'd recommend looking at them as well.

Good luck with it.

 

[reamesj]

Thanks for the help. Had my am2 prep day last Thursday was very good and informative.
We were told on the I/R test we could test the whole installation at once as long as you disconnected sensitive equipment, but did you disconnect the main CPC and neutral from the main busbars to avoid a false/ incorrect reading?

 

[Monks]

Yeah, I found the prep day quite helpful and I'm glad I paid for it.

As for the IR test, I suppose it depends on how your rig is set up. On the rig I had the supply neutral didn't have it's own pole by the mains switch and it also didn't have a screw terminal, as you would expect, to allow me to disconnect it, so I asked if I could disconnect it for my IR test but was told it wasn't necessary as it was already isolated where I had locked it off all of a few centimetres below the mains switch on the CU. As for the earth, I left that in for IR and I think you have to because whilst doing an IR test you are putting a voltage through your install and if a fault is present then the install surely wouldn't be earthed for a 'gobal' IR test. This is also the way shown in the OSG, i.e. the main earth is still connected. Not sure if that is what you have been told on your prep day, but that is what I did on the day of my assessment. I only disconnected the main earth for the Ze test and then I connected it back up immediately after that test.

One other thing concerning IR: on the ring circuit you have to connect a spur up that has no load on it. There was a neon on the one I had that I couldn't remove as it was on the top of the switch so I tested it's IR with the switch in the off position so it couldn't be damaged. Be careful about this as it is a simple mistake to make when you're rushing.