PIR 16th Vs 17th please clarify

[professional]

Some of the GUIDANCE is somewhat

isleading - the definitions of what constitutes a Code 1 and 2 have been tinkered with to satisfy a hidden agenda.

Personally I use common sense and experience above guidance given by faceless armchair experts.

 

[trebor]

Some of the GUIDANCE is somewhat

isleading - the definitions of what constitutes a Code 1 and 2 have been tinkered with to satisfy a hidden agenda.

Personally I use common sense and experience above guidance given by faceless armchair experts.

You are exactly right, it is only guidance, as the inspector /tester it is down to you to make a judgement , the `experts` arent there, not including you of course

 

[Graeme Harrold]

Wow........read through this entire thread with great interest. I have recently moved in to the electrical field form years in the mechanical (this did include generators up to 40kVA).

The main just Im getting is that there is very little strict pass/fail criteria especially with the legalities of shutting down an unsafe installation. All you can do is put your professional opinion on a sheet of paper having done a dilligent inspection and report the condition of the installation 1) against the orignal design and 2) against the current regulations.

My analogy is with seatbelts in cars, regs changed and rear belts had to be fitted (admittedly by law) many years ago. Owners could only be advised to fit belts, but there was no leverage to enforce the fitment. MOT inspections are also down to the judgement of the inspector with only a few areas having a distinct pass/fail (emissions, tyre tread etc.).

All you can do is give a TRUE reflection of what you have found and inform the person commisioning the report.

 

[rob1967]

I "personally" think that as long as we can identify dagerous or at risk situations, and the differences between them and not to current standards situations we will be fine. The regs are there to be interpreted by us .

Cheers

PIRS are a legal doucement, so what ever you put on them should be based on what you think and know from experience.
Once you have done the report you can walk away knowing you have done all you needed to reguardless if the installation is unsatisfactory or satisfactory. if any work needs to be done ( of the back of your report ) then thats up to the customer if they have it done or not. if the worst should happen and someone gets a shock or worse you always have your report to back up your findings which should cover you, as you were employed to give a report reguardless of what your findings should be and that is what you have done.............

 

[MikeK]

As a rule of thumb, should I do a visual inspection and immediately see that the installation is too outdated, I would give a Code 1 and advise a complete rewire. Why continue testing when you know that you're going to come across so many departures?

Why?
Possibly because you are getting paid to do it.
Do it properly and do it in full.

Clients descision on what action (if any) to take depending on report and who will complete this action.

If the installation is "to outdated" dont charge - walk away - and let someone else do it properly.

Mike K

 

[Mark.W]

This paragraph is a quote from the Practical Guide to Inspection and Testing Book.

"Remember the installation may not comply with the current regulations.
If this is the case then a judgement will have to be made by you, as to
whether the installation is recorded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Clearly
an installation which was safe when it was installed does not become unsafe
because the regulations have been updated.
Compliance BS 7671:2008 will require that, in most instances, circuits should
be RCD protected. It will be some considerable time before this will be found
to be the case when carrying out periodic inspections. In most instances this
type of non-compliance would be regarded as a 4 in the observations and
recommendations section of the PIR."

 

[pevvers]

Some of the GUIDANCE is somewhat misleading - the definitions of what constitutes a Code 1 and 2 have been tinkered with to satisfy a hidden agenda.

Personally I use common sense and experience above guidance given by faceless armchair experts.

I agree somewhat in what you say, as I have had issues with some of things that I have read in the NICEIC guide to domestic periodic reporting. But when push comes to shove, and you mark down a recommendation as it is coded in the book, if the poo hits the fan then you will have the backing of the NICEIC (my scheme provider), as I don't see that they can argue with a point that is in their own publication...

No thermostatic cut-out on immersion heaters was one point I did not agree with them giving a code 2, but that's what they state in the above named book. What are you to do?