Elecsa assessment

dolomite · Jul 27, 2009

Hi everyone.

An old subject I know. Got my Elecsa ---' coming up in next couple of weeks, needless to say I'm bricking it!!
Just looking for any bits of advice anyone can offer to help me prepare for it. Had the pack through from Elecsa so got some examples of the the documents, risk assessment, contracts etc, that they need. Got my public liability sorted etc. Just wondering what other people have used?
I'm planning on having some LV Downlighters as the minor works and a CU change as a major. What is the inspector likely to look for and question me on for these??
I'm in the midlands area, near Leicester, so if anyone has met the local assesor, whats he like??

Any help is greately appreciated.

Cheers all!

Modernelectric · Jul 27, 2009

Hi Dolomite, i had an elecsa assessment a few months ago,

Make sure all your paperwork is in order,

* Certificates
* Liability Insurance
* Electricity at work
* 17th edition regs
* 17th edition on site guide
* risk assessments
* complaints procedure
* memorandum of guidance electricity at work

The assessor will be checking for competence and will no doubt check the following, earth wires sleeved up, switch wires sleeved up, grommets in backboxes, Correct labels on consumer units, certificates preoperly filled out,

he may ask you to demonstrate a ze test (make sure to turn main switch off!) and an rcd test, he may ask you to explain how to do a ring final test, he will ask general questions about routing of cables, position of cables under floor boards etc, percentage of low energy lighting (25%) he will check main bonding is done, so basicly its just general stuff that should be no trouble for a competent person. you will have your regs and on site guide to reference if you cannot directly answer the questions so do not be afraid to say i do not know of the top of my head but i can find it in the regs/osg.

hope this helps and best of luck.

MTI · Jul 28, 2009

Modernelectric said:
Hi Dolomite, i had an elecsa assessment a few months ago,

Make sure all your paperwork is in order,

* Certificates
* Liability Insurance
* Electricity at work
* 17th edition regs
* 17th edition on site guide
* risk assessments
* complaints procedure
* memorandum of guidance electricity at work

The assessor will be checking for competence and will no doubt check the following, earth wires sleeved up, switch wires sleeved up, grommets in backboxes, Correct labels on consumer units, certificates preoperly filled out,

he may ask you to demonstrate a ze test (make sure to turn main switch off!) and an rcd test, he may ask you to explain how to do a ring final test, he will ask general questions about routing of cables, position of cables under floor boards etc, percentage of low energy lighting (25%) he will check main bonding is done, so basicly its just general stuff that should be no trouble for a competent person. you will have your regs and on site guide to reference if you cannot directly answer the questions so do not be afraid to say i do not know of the top of my head but i can find it in the regs/osg.

hope this helps and best of luck.

Im too hoping to join elecsa very soon. the information you have provided is very helpfull! thank you.

with regards to not currently being registered as part p, i am reading that i need to be able to provide to jobs for inspection to elecsa. I find this quite funny as you would have to find a customer willing to let you do the work. maybe ill pick a mate with a new build for simplicity and do the work free/cheap so everyones a winner

Do you have to register the job details with elecsa before they are due to arrive?

also, i notice you are in huddersfield. im in north leeds and just wondering how far a field each assessor covers? can you remember the name of the person who visited you by any chance? im hearing mixed things about the guy i 'should expect' to see

MTI said:
Im too hoping to join elecsa very soon. the information you have provided is very helpfull! thank you.

with regards to not currently being registered as part p, i am reading that i need to be able to provide to jobs for inspection to elecsa. I find this quite funny as you would have to find a customer willing to let you do the work. maybe ill pick a mate with a new build for simplicity and do the work free/cheap so everyones a winner
Do you have to register the job details with elecsa before they are due to arrive?

also, i notice you are in huddersfield. im in north leeds and just wondering how far a field each assessor covers? can you remember the name of the person who visited you by any chance? im hearing mixed things about the guy i 'should expect' to see

i notice you mention the following too. any chance of a bit more detail please? thanks in advance.

certificates- do these relate to the jobs in question of which elecsa will see?

risk assessments- im not sure where to start. can these be downloaded and adopted? a sample would be most appreciated if available.

complaints procedure- is this something i should be making up myself? again, any templates will be most appreciated.

kindest regards, martin

roukel01 · Jul 28, 2009

I had my first ELECSA assesment last year and too was very worried about it..

I'm close to York so I'm assuming we'll have the same assesor if you're in Leeds. He's a great bloke and seems to work out whether you're competant or not in the chat you have before you go off and show him any jobs.

In reality, if you're not already registered then your work should be signed off by building control, however this was never mentioned for me last year as long as my certificates we all filled in correctly.

I took him on a full re-wire, he took a look behind a 2 way switch, made sure I had sleeving on, that the back box had a gromit and that the earth was terminated correctly, he took a look at all the earthing, had me take the cover of the Consumer Unit, asked me what the Earthing arrangement was, what Ze values should be expected. Then I simply did an RCD test, told him what results should be recorded and a Zs test on a socket.
He asked me a few straight forward questions on building regs (When I didn't know the answer I simply found it in the onsite guide and told him) and that was about it.

If you're familiar with the regs and onsite guide you'll have no problems at all answering his questions, at the end of the day ELECSA want you to be regestered with them and not to go else where and so if they can help you they will, I suspect they only fail you outright if you're completely useless and a risk to them. As long as your work is of a good standard, again you'll have no problems taking him to a job

I've got my second assesment in two weeks!!!

Good luck, and I hope this helps.

MTI · Jul 28, 2009

roukel01 said:
I had my first ELECSA assesment last year and too was very worried about it..

I'm close to York so I'm assuming we'll have the same assesor if you're in Leeds. He's a great bloke and seems to work out whether you're competant or not in the chat you have before you go off and show him any jobs.

In reality, if you're not already registered then your work should be signed off by building control, however this was never mentioned for me last year as long as my certificates we all filled in correctly.

I took him on a full re-wire, he took a look behind a 2 way switch, made sure I had sleeving on, that the back box had a gromit and that the earth was terminated correctly, he took a look at all the earthing, had me take the cover of the Consumer Unit, asked me what the Earthing arrangement was, what Ze values should be expected. Then I simply did an RCD test, told him what results should be recorded and a Zs test on a socket.
He asked me a few straight forward questions on building regs (When I didn't know the answer I simply found it in the onsite guide and told him) and that was about it.

If you're familiar with the regs and onsite guide you'll have no problems at all answering his questions, at the end of the day ELECSA want you to be regestered with them and not to go else where and so if they can help you they will, I suspect they only fail you outright if you're completely useless and a risk to them. As long as your work is of a good standard, again you'll have no problems taking him to a job

I've got my second assesment in two weeks!!!

Good luck, and I hope this helps.

can you remember the name of the guy?

i have a recent rewire that was done between me and my elecsa registered pal and so he signed it off. will i get away with using this? also, the other thing is, the cut out what as an old metal cast type thing and no earth was available at all. i therefore banged in a spike and did the relevent tests and paperwork whilst my local elec supplier came out to change the cut out. obviously this can be of cost to the client and didnt want to mention his drive possibly being dug up when the job is almost complete. im told by many local elec supplier engineers that most of north leeds does not have pme available etc and therefore, always carry a spare spike etc if doing rewires. will this affect elecsa? im sure ill at least get a good lengthy discussion/questioning over this.

would be great to know if anyone has ever been failed by a part p organisation. doubt anyone will want to state this even if now passed but be great to see how far they are willing to go. like you say, they want you on board.

after reading many previous threads, im feeling at least a little more at ease and i know deep down im confident barring permitted values etc which i need to brush up on.

seems everyone gets the ze and RCD? seems pretty generic

seems you got a bit more questioning on the permitted values or others may have simply ommited this in their posts.

cheers and thanks for the 'best of luck'!

SirKit Breaker · Jul 28, 2009

I`m nearly due my 4th Elecsa assesment, the above posts just about sum it up, but theres no need to brick it, if you know what you are doing you will sail through, they dont expect perfection, they are there to help, theres no trick questions and they dont want to trip you up either. Dont worry about not having risk assesment forms, Health and safety poilcy etc cos he will have some to give you. but you do need the books.

Make sure the kettle is warmed up, after all they are all sparks or ex sparks and when was the last time you met a sparky who refused a brew.......

And remember they want your £475

Cheers......Howard

kung · Jul 29, 2009

Just relax bud im sure it will be a breeze ! not to mention any names but there is a couple of guys on here who have passed who judging by the questions they ask after the assessment poses the question should they have passed ? i have my NICEIC assessment next mth but if i fail i shouldnt be doing this work anyway ! the first assessment is the easiest anyway as you pick the 2 jobs to show him as said before should be snagless ! ive just done a CU in my own house and whoever wired the house wants taking to the vet and put down but after most floorboards up and a few alterations jobs a gudden ! one that was funny for a domestic was a upstairs light you needed to balance on banister and with one hand change bulb with a 12ft drop ! great ! discon now and 1 light in (spot) for stairs and landing ! the joys of the job ! should have been a plasterer ! a rewire should be a good one to show as should be good readings on install and out with the (sometimes) shoddy DIY anyway after our assessments if close were have a beer and RELAX !!!!!!!!!! id sooner the assessor than the mother-in-law !.
Regards
Kung.

deanovilla · Jul 29, 2009

Hi lm in birmingham so dont know if you will get my assessor , he did fail someone last year , the person showed him a light fitting which had been linked off an existing light in the same room , and that was it , but dont worry to much , and the complaint's procedure !!! lve had a blue book with the label stuck on and every year he ask's to look in it and l just pass it to him with a smile as nothing is in it, if you get a complaint off a customer you go round and sort it , l dont write it down !!! on the assessment just be yourself they do realise you may be a bit uptight about this , you will find that they were on the tools before so they know what to expect and as long you as you have gone by the regs no problem , they also bring things into the everyday conversation about some of your jobs and we spoke about football lm villa he was coventry so l had a few up on him , anyway good luck .

Modernelectric · Jul 29, 2009

Gary Stevens covers this area. Top bloke!

When you sign up to elecsa they send you a pack with example risk assessments and complaints procedures which can then be adapted to suit your company.

regards.

dolomite · Aug 10, 2009

PASSED!!!

Had the assessment this morning and passed with an A!! Thanks for all of your feed back on this thread, you've all been spot on.
Made sure I had all of the paper work required well in hand, was all in a folder ready to go. Got all the books anyway. Had a choice of jobs to visit, took the C/U change as the one to view as its a major works. Asked me questions on building regs like running cables in joists etc. Then checked through all of my certs before having a look at the C/U. He checked all the circuits were labelled up and for other required labels. Asked to take front off, so knocked off power. Checked all the connections were good and tight. He then asked me how to check Ze and why. Front back on with power on. Then tested ring mains for Zs and PFC, then ran through RCD tests. All good!!
Got two observations, but these are only because its my first assessment, I've not got a big choice of paperwork to look through.
Was pretty nervous but he was very easy to speak with, and got the kettle on straight away, which helped to get going!!

Hope that anyone else thats got their assessment coming up soon finds this useful. Just get prepared well in advance and don't panic. Good Luck!

Cheers all

Dolomite

kung · Aug 10, 2009

Well done Dolomite bet your as chuffed as a peach now ! thanks for the feedback got mine with NIC on 27th seems to drag but will be here soon i guess !
Regards
Kung.