Good practice - preventing loose connections

[David M]

So I was called out to a faulty light today. turned out it was just a loose connection.

Anyway it got me thinking about poor termination procedures when fixing back accessories. One of the first things I taught my previous apprentice about installing items was to check for loose connections before fixing back. What had surprised me at the time was that he was never taught or shown at college how to ensure he had prevented a possible loose connection.

As an example after I've terminated a socket outlet I gently and neatly fold back the cables and push the face plate into position making sure that no wires are trapped. I then ease the face plate forward just enough to check the termination screws for tightness before fixing the plate back. Often you find that one or more of the terminals have loosened due to the movement of the wires as you locate the face plate. I do this with every single accessory I install. I check every terminal for tightness on all and any item before I replace the lid or cover. Now I assume you guys do pretty much the same.

What had surprised me was my apprentice whilst in college was never taught to follow this or a similar procedure. The baffling part is, there is so much concern (rightly so) about potentially dangerous hazards which could result in fires, electric shocks and so forth, yet something as basic as teaching first year apprentices how to ensure good connections is overlooked?? :thinking:

It could be that this particular lecturer during the practicals had missed this crucial lesson. But if it is a nation wide problem do you think it needs addressing or am I just over reacting? (little touchy today)

 

[UNG]

TBH the London centric AMD 3 regs have highlighted a problem that the IET and industry parasites have chosen to regulate rather than address the root cause.
When all said and done all the CU's I've fitted in the last God knows how many years have all come with a note to check the integrity of the factory made connection and they almost a!ways need tightening, so much these days is built to a price which will always involve compromise somewhere but why do CU,s in London more frequently cause fires than anywhere else in the UK
Training has been an issue for many years now but there is only so much you can fit into 17 days or 5 weeks there needs to be a major review of not only training but the experience needed to achieve competence to be qualified even now some 35+ years after finishing my apprenticeship I still draw on things learned way back then
Torque screwdrivers and anything else they care to suggest have limitations in the quality of the the finished job if people choose to blindly follow the recommendations of people who appear to have little real world industry knowledge yet set the standards by which we have to abide how can we ever expect any changes to happen to improve the situation we are currently in

 

[Midwest]

Think it's a combination of all those things mentioned, skills, training & quality of the product. It would of been fascinating to see the investigation process of fires investigated by the LFB, but I guess it stops at the point where the source of fire is found, nothing further determined.

The schemes make a good point about lack of maintenance in domestic properties electrical installations; some times I bet I'm the first person to look inside some CU's in ten, twenty years, full of cobwebs & carp. But this only happens, when the customer wants some new work down. Cars have mot's, commercial/industry installations have maintenance plans, domestic properties should have too. Always spend 5 mins going through that CU, giving it a (quick) mot. Won't have one for another ten or twenty years, regardless of what the label says.

 

[YoungBart]

As above in my opinion, all three things are having an effect. As more and more cheap products come onto the market through eBay and the such things are only going to get worse. That said even the half decent product manufacturers seem to have problems, we had a faulty batch of emergency lights a while back where the push in connectors weren't grabbing the cables, the company responsible denied all knowledge saying it was how we stripped them, But out of seven sparks none of us could make them work... I think there is also an issue with a lack of space in accessories and terminations in a lot of cases.

It would be very interesting to see if there is a correlation between any electrical fires and Electrical Trainee Sparks, unfortunately I can't see any such research done as it would lead to unpleasant reading. its things like ensuring terminations are tight that I was tought by my employers and mentors as opposed to at college, where they merely touched on the subject. But I think as traditional apprenticeships seem to be dying out these things will only get worse. I for one have no idea what "Sweating a lead octopus" is lol.

 

[snowhead]

I for one have no idea what "Sweating a lead octopus" is lol.

It's probably Illegal now anyway, animal cruelty and all that.:death:

 

[Octopus]

I went to a flat to look at a lighting fault recently. The outgoing cable from the lighting mcb had burnt out completely and the mcb had melted.

So a new mcb.

Then I checked all the connections in the box which was installed 14 years ago - nearly all needed tightening

Never see this on the 30 year old units, so for me it's the quality of the parts to blame