Routine inspections guidance notes 3

[Sparkydom]

Would like to know if anyone out there , tests school properties currently we test ever 3 years but are being told to move to 5 year tests , how often would you carry out routine inspections as outlined in guidance notes 3 it's says 6 months , is that to often or just right .

 

[SirKit Breaker]

All of GN3 is purely for guidance, it is not statutory. If you read further in, and look at periodic inspection and testing, you will see that you can sample the installation. Depending on what you find, how the installation is used, maintained etc etc, then you as the Inspector are the one who has the responsibility to decide the period until the next periodic inspection and test. This can only be achieved by seeing what you see, and putting your expert engineering opinion on it, and recommending it on your report. Sorry to appear vague, but that is how it is.

Cheers…………Howard

 

[Sparkydom]

Thanks Howard , that's cleared a few things up for me.

 

[Engineer54]

Would like to know if anyone out there , tests school properties currently we test ever 3 years but are being told to move to 5 year tests , how often would you carry out routine inspections as outlined in guidance notes 3 it's says 6 months , is that to often or just right .

Just goes to show how little they think of kids safety these days!! Personally i think schools should be inspected/tested every year, so that you have a clear indication when circuits are beginning to deteriorate.

I suppose the next thing will be to move to every 10 years!!

 

[Badged01]

The thing about guidance in the GN3 is that it is exactly that, guidance for you to follow but not set in stone, and 5 yrs is the guidance for schools (1 yr for fish farms and laundrettes!)

However, if you are now doing them every 3 years because someone presumably made an engineering judgement that it need to be reduced to 3 years (should be a record somewhere of why or was it just a random decision?) then another engineering decision has to be made as to why it can now be moved back to 5 yrs. That should be formally recorded so should the unthinkable happen a day over the 3 year point there is an audit trail for the decision -- once the "no-win, no-fee" boys get involved they will have a field day over the reason for the change and how what has happened to little Johnny could have been prevented but --- company (or you!) changed it.

Im guessing the reason for the change is that the installation has "improved" over time and not deteriorated, or whatever was the "issue" before for reducing to 3 years has been rectified?!?!? Certainly nothing to do with the cost saving of having to only shell out every 5 years instead of 3!

 

[Engineer54]

Certainly nothing to do with the cost saving of having to only shell out every 5 years instead of 3!

And what world have you been living in these past 10 years or so??

EVERYTHING is about saving money these days, especially when it comes to local and County authorities and the like!! Unless you're talking about the suits salaries, that's the only thing that increases from what i can make of it!!

 

[Badged01]

You obviously havent adjusted to my cryptic, dry humour yet!

 

[Badged01]

But point taken, I always used to get a healthy rise when wearing my suite

 

[MDJ]

Would like to know if anyone out there , tests school properties currently we test ever 3 years but are being told to move to 5 year tests , how often would you carry out routine inspections as outlined in guidance notes 3 it's says 6 months , is that to often or just right .

Gloucester county council makes the rules regarding testing of properties they control, they insist on 4 yearly periodic checks, so EICRs are done every 4 years here.

 

[Badged01]

Gloucester county council makes the rules regarding testing of properties they control, they insist on 4 yearly periodic checks, so EICRs are done every 4 years here.

Thats a brave engineering judgement they make! Out of interest, do you know what would happen if the inspector deems a further inspection is required in say 2 years? Would they accept liability for waiting 4 years or go with the inspectors findings?

 

[MDJ]

Thats a brave engineering judgement they make! Out of interest, do you know what would happen if the inspector deems a further inspection is required in say 2 years? Would they accept liability for waiting 4 years or go with the inspectors findings?

Not my problem is it? If I get asked by a school to do a EICR then I do it, If I think there is an issue I write it on the report and hand to the customer, what they decide to do with it then is their problem not mine, we are only trusted to issue reports, we are not responsible for forcing the customer to have work carried out or a further check or whatever else we may think.I have often wondered why they insist on 4 yearly, but again it is not my business to force the decision they make otherwise is it?

 

[Badged01]

Totally agree.

My question was more aimed at if you knew what they did when a non-4yr recommendation was made! Did they act on that professional recommendation or just do it every 4 yrs anyway?

 

[MDJ]

Thats a brave engineering judgement they make! Out of interest, do you know what would happen if the inspector deems a further inspection is required in say 2 years? Would they accept liability for waiting 4 years or go with the inspectors findings?

They will probably totally ignore our views unless we made a major issue out of it and then they may well send someone else in for a second opinion lol

 

[Engineer54]

They will probably totally ignore our views unless we made a major issue out of it and then they may well send someone else in for a second opinion lol

Yep, sounds about right, ... no problem spending heaps of money trying to negate a found possible problem, rather than to comply with the findings of a concerned qualified electrician.

 

[MDJ]

The council never listens to our advise in anycase, I test caravan sites and temporary sites and always list the next inspection on the periodic labels we stick on boards, some sites are temps and we give 3 months, I know sometimes these never get checked again and they can be in place 18 months lol, some of the caravan sites are complecated in the way they are electrically wired and some parts need 3 monthly checks and some yearly, I know of some parts that haven't been checked in more than 5 years so basically the paper we write the next inspection due date on may as well be used for loo paper.