Elecsa MCS assessment

[steveax3]

Hi

I'm new to the forum. I have my first MCS assessment with Elecsa in a few weeks time and I think I've covered all the bases from an office and installation perspective. Anyone had an Elecsa assessment recently and got any advice on particular points or non-compliances that Elecsa assessors seem keen on?

 

[PV Martin]

Hi Steve,

Had my 1st year elecsa assessment in May this year, all went well and only received 7 minor non conformance's. All were for errors in documentation and all were around not having the correct up to date revisions of documents, it really seemed he was digging though for things that were the slightest bit wrong. oh i also got a non conformance for not having logged the non conformance's from the initial assessment, which i thought was a bit harsh as until i had rectified the 1st non conforms i was not actually certified... anyway!

just make sure all your revisions are up to date, including your copy of SAP which is now 2009 NOT 2005 (not very well published that it had changed :angry_smile but with all that said i am glad that they are that thorough as it will keep out the John Waynes.

Hope it all goes well for you.

 

[steveax3]

Thanks PV Martin, good advice! Well done on your own assessment - how long did it take to get MCS accredited after the assessment? I ask because the customer I did the PV job for is pretty keen to get the FIT as you can imagine and we've already had to wait 6 weeks to the assessment date.

 

[Graeme Harrold]

I had my assessment back in June with Alex. I would say it was relaxed, professional and thorough. He arrived just after 8am and was finished just after 2:30..........

The SAP change is a gray area as MIS 3002 still refers to using SAP 2005, so technically a non-conformance if using SAP 2009!!! Only had 1 non-conformance with my meeting schedule......The minutes did not go into enough detail on the clauses covered within the MCS process.......get them all in a bullet pointed list.

Think roof assessments/surveys are going to be pulled up more. Get a proper report done, its just good practice, professional, and covers your backside.

Get EVERYTHING together in a logical order. Look at the check list sent through and order all of your documents and systems accordingly. If you did not write your manual yourself, get to know it inside out as you will need to provide quoted paragraph numbers to prove compliance.

Make sure you have a good internet connection and have the ability to log on a gest computer on.

Plenty of bic'ies and tea!!!

 

[steveax3]

Good stuff, thanks, agree on the roof structural survey. Building control expected it anyway on the building notice I had to submit.

 

[SRE]

http://www.electriciansforums.net/p...ontrol-approval-solar-pv-installations-4.html You shouldn't be paying Building Control - have a read of this and this http://www.electriciansforums.net/p...ent-roofs-pv-building-control-approval-3.html and then ask for a refund

 

[steveax3]

Thanks, didn't pay building control (apart from the £120 building notice fee), just the surveyor directly. Point was that BC wanted proof the roof was strong enough and the only way this could be done was with a surveyor's report. I inspected the roof and considered it fine, also did all the BRE calcs to the best of my ability (well, good enough that the surveyor agreed with them...), surveyor did other structural calcs for the roof and proved it was indeed capable of the extra forces imposed by the panels. That's all BC wanted to know. Interestingly though, if extra struts/braces had been recommended by the surveyor, the BC chap was happy for me to install them to the surveyors spec. Obviously doing it in a manner capable of passing a subsequent BC inspection. I guess whether I would do the work myself depends on the extent of it and it being within my general building skills capability.

 

[SRE]

Thanks, didn't pay building control (apart from the £120 building notice fee), just the surveyor directly. Point was that BC wanted proof the roof was strong enough and the only way this could be done was with a surveyor's report. I inspected the roof and considered it fine, also did all the BRE calcs to the best of my ability (well, good enough that the surveyor agreed with them...), surveyor did other structural calcs for the roof and proved it was indeed capable of the extra forces imposed by the panels. That's all BC wanted to know. Interestingly though, if extra struts/braces had been recommended by the surveyor, the BC chap was happy for me to install them to the surveyors spec. Obviously doing it in a manner capable of passing a subsequent BC inspection. I guess whether I would do the work myself depends on the extent of it and it being within my general building skills capability.

You shouldn't be paying any fee if you're registered already with Elecsa, their CPS covers it. You still need the structural calcs but BC shouldn't be taking any cash off you for anything - unless you're not currently covered by Elecsa/ NICEIC etc ...

 

[steveax3]

Yep, we are Part P with Elecsa and submitted that as normal without fee. The building notice wasn't for the electrical though, it was for the structure. I know there are other threads on this subject, so hopefully some consistency from BCs will prevail soon.

 

[SRE]

Yep, we are Part P with Elecsa and submitted that as normal without fee. The building notice wasn't for the electrical though, it was for the structure. I know there are other threads on this subject, so hopefully some consistency from BCs will prevail soon.

Your Elecsa CPS membership covers everything to do with Part A, C & P - you shouldn't be paying Building Notice fees for anything related to these. Part A is the roof part - ask for a refund. All of the BC's have been advised to do this after a meeting with LABC, CLG & the CPS operators on July 11th.