The Electrical Safety Certificate is essential to ensure the safety of electrical wiring in utilities across the UK. According to the Electrical Safety Certificate. First, faulty or aging wiring remains one of the main causes of fire. Therefore, regular audits and reports play an important role in protecting the public. In this guide, we’ll explain what an EICR is and when you’ll need it. The final section of this guide will conduct an Electrical Safety Certificate audit and provide practical advice and best practices to complement your own reports.
What is an Electrical Safety Certificate?
Electrical Safety Certificate that highlights the security of a property’s fix wiring. Several electrical tests must be perform with information about the characteristics that electricians who perform EICR examination and test cycles must pass. The information collect during the audit process is use to suggest actions that should be taken to improve electrical safety.
When do you need an EICR?
All buildings with electrical wiring should be test regularly. The recommend frequency of Electrical Safety Certificate depends on characteristics such as site use and associate risk levels.
Public places and commercial buildings
All public and commercial sites must be test at least every 5 years. All low-risk buildings such as hotels, educational facilities and community centers should only be test for 5 years, which requires more regular monitoring than if there is a high risk of electrical failure or damage. Certain types of buildings, such as the following, require testing at least every three years.
- Entertainment center
- industrial property
- Stage
- agricultural facility
Elsewhere, the following annual exams are require:
- Cinema
- Swimming pool
- medical facility
- gas station
- fish farm
- Marina
- local property
The recommended frequency for the Electrical Safety Certificate depends on the function of the country. If the property is not rented, the electrician must be completed at least every 10 years or between transfers. Rental premises must be audited annually and a full Electrical Safety Certificate must be completed every 5 years or during a change of residence.
EICR safety Department
As you can see from the Electrical Safety Certificate, the report is divide into sections. It must be fill in until the electrophoresis is achieve. The beginning of the document contains customer/installation details, audit objectives, scope, limitations and conclusions. The auditor then writes the procedure instructions, and identifies the EICR code associate with each element. (See section below) to determine if additional verification is need. The previous auditor for the technical review portion of the EICR report determines the time until the next EICR is need and provides its own details.
The rest of the report contains the technical details of the audit, such as:
- Distribution Characteristics and Grounding Arrangement
- Initial installation details (such as circuit breaker details for grounding method, etc.)
- Scheduling the distribution board and checking the circuit.
- Details of the test equipment use
- Measure the keyboard
I will explain the EICR code
The EICR code is use in the recommendations section and audit schedule of the report to determine the level of risk associate with the item and the action to be taken. There are three different codes:
- C1 – there is a risk of injury. (must take immediately)
- C2 – Possible danger (urgent response require)
- C3 – Suggest improvements
Using the EICR code
Electrical audits should be code according to a schedule according to the latest wiring regulations, for example when reporting the Electrical Safety Certificate of field measuring equipment. Inspectors should refer to the wiring regulations to determine if the on-site measurement complies with the latest standards.
The C1 and C2 codes mean that the property owner needs to take legal action. You need to reserve for a specific position. Use the C2 code if you encounter something that could be dangerous due to a malfunction or emergency. If any part of the electrical installation presents an imminent danger to the user, a C1 code is more appropriate.
The C3 code should be use in situations where there are no imminent dangers. However, the improvement greatly improve the safety of electrical installation Condition report. Older installations do not require a full upgrade, even if the installation does not meet the latest standards.
The Electrical Safety Certificate Best Practice Guidelines state the following:
Existing installs base on previous release standards may not be compatible with the current release in all respects. But that doesn’t mean it’s unsafe for further use or needs to be upgrade. Another caveat with C3 code is that most owners are not C3 compatible. For this reason, it may not be possible if it is necessary to pay attention to the entrance to the electrical installation to prevent potential hazards. You should use the symbol C2 instead of C3.
The importance of a correct EICR code
The Electrical Safety Certificate inspector is responsible for the EICR code provide during the audit and what happens afterwards. This symbol plays an important role in ensuring that the wiring is safe and does not pose a danger to the general public. It can be difficult to decide which code to use. However, reviewers should ensure they are completely satisfied with the code before submitting the report.
Customers often pressure electrical inspectors to reduce their list from C2 to C3 to avoid legal action and save money. The decision on the Electrical Safety Certificate is entirely up to the auditor. Don’t influence yourself by declaring that dangerous goods do not need to do anything. It could endanger the lives of others.
In the same way, some contractors want to use C3 internationally, hoping to retain their customers by paying less for work base on EICR results. Doing so may increase the security of your business in the short term. However, the consequences can be dire. The auditor will be responsible for the claim if the property damage was cause by an EICR fault. If a person is injure or kill because the Electrical Safety Certificate is incorrectly classified. Inspectors may be prosecute for criminal offenses. For more information you need to click here about Electrical Installation Conditional Report.
