Ensuring you keep up-to-date with your electrical compliance is vital to acquire the correct certificates for your equipment. There are several important steps we have listed below which you should take if you aren’t sure all your electrical installation fixed wiring is properly tested at regular intervals.
One of the most important steps you should take is to make sure you have a periodic inspection sticker on your main distribution board (DB) or fuse board (FB). The sticker will highlight the date of the last test along with when the following test will be. Your distribution board or fuse board is usually situated adjacent to your electricity meter and the sticker should be quite easy to find.
Checking the DB/FB’s identification number is one of the best ways to identify if an installation has been checked properly. Each DB or FB has a unique identification number which would represent that individual DB/FB.
You would expect to find all energised circuits to be labelled correctly in your DB along with a completed schedule to be present in your DB/FB, this should provide you with further information which will go into extra detail.
In your records you should have a current electrical installation condition report which will include a section which states if your electrical installation fixed wiring is ‘Satisfactory’ or ‘Unsatisfactory.’
If the certificate reads ‘Satisfactory’ and steps 1-3 are present, you are fully compliant. You currently don’t need to take any further action, but you should be aware when the next test needs to be conducted. If you wish to be reminded about when your next compliance test needs to be conducted.
If the report reads ‘Unsatisfactory’, you should have been quoted for any remedial work that needs to be done. If this has been completed, you will receive either an additional certificate in the form of EIC “Electrical Installation Certificate” or MWC “Minor Works Certificates”. These certificates should reference the report number and related work from the ‘Unsatisfactory’ electrical installation condition report. Once this has been accomplished and steps 1-3 are in place, you will be electrically compliant and up-to-date.
We are regularly informed that installations have been inspected and tested at regular intervals as per the BS7671 wiring regulations, however we usually see that steps 1-3 have not been put in to place. This is resulting in several places not being qualified to receive their certificates until everything is up-to-date as it should be.
If you find yourself in this situation or if you’re not sure whether you’re up-to-date with your electrical compliance, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can visit our website at https://voltacompliance.com where you can access our online chat, e-mail us or call us on 01133 971361. We are ready and waiting to answer your electrical compliance questions.
