Scotland Testing Installations

[Hardwired]

Hi guys been working in the biz for 12 years now. I am capable of testing and inspection, i know what i'm doing diagnosing and fixing faults however i have never dealt with the paper work side of things. I fill my sheets in and hand them into the office.

My question is I am now picking up quite a lot of my ownwork beyond the usual replace sockets or lights. And these jobs will require testing and inspection. (Domestic and Small commercial) I am thinking of buying my own 17th Edition test kit. But do i need any other qualifications? Should i have 2394 2395 be an approved spark or can i test and sign off sheets with my Level 3 Recognised Apprenticeship and SJIB recognised inspextion and testing bs7671 2009 qualifications.

Cheers guys

 

[The Ghost]

In Scotland I do not know the ins and outs of the legalities. However such aside, you say you have filled in the paperwork and sent it to the office. I feel you need to shadow someone doing EICR for a good time to be sure you know what you are doing when issuing EICR. It is a horse of a different colour to EIC MEIWC. It is quite exacting and mostly contained within GN3. I would say you are much better placed to do the 2394/5 before undertaking the EICR. It is not clear what paperwork you did, but I guess you are talking more EIC initial inspection and testing for commissioning rather than condition reporting. Which of itself I would hazard is not enough to be competent to do EICR. I hope you don't take that as a slur on your professionalism but I am in the dark a bit here. It is often the case that the "person ordering the work" will not accept an EICR from anyone who is not part of a scheme, which right or wrong is how it is. I hope that helps you decide which course to take.

 

[polo1]

From what you have said, you are already completing appropriate certs, but sending them into the office.
Doing your own work will be exactly the same, with the addition of finalising and signing the certs. You don't require any further quals to do this, but it makes absolute sense to do the 2394 & 5......we never stop learning! EICRs are a different ball game compared to signing off work you have done.
Worth having a look at iCertify for your own certs, good value for money.

 

[JK-Electrical]

Hi guys been working in the biz for 12 years now. I am capable of testing and inspection, i know what i'm doing diagnosing and fixing faults however i have never dealt with the paper work side of things. I fill my sheets in and hand them into the office.

My question is I am now picking up quite a lot of my ownwork beyond the usual replace sockets or lights. And these jobs will require testing and inspection. (Domestic and Small commercial) I am thinking of buying my own 17th Edition test kit. But do i need any other qualifications? Should i have 2394 2395 be an approved spark or can i test and sign off sheets with my Level 3 Recognised Apprenticeship and SJIB recognised inspextion and testing bs7671 2009 qualifications.

Cheers guys

You can download a PDF copy of the statutory guidance issued by the Scottish Government via the link below. All you need to know about carrying-out EICRs in Scotland can be gleaned from the checklist published in Annex A of the document.

https://tinyurl.com/sottishgovernment-EICR

 

[Hardwired]

Ok so i see i can test as a competant person but do i need to register myself with NICEIC or Select to sign off a testing and inspection sheet? If so how do i go about this?

 

[JK-Electrical]

Ok so i see i can test as a competant person but do i need to register myself with NICEIC or Select to sign off a testing and inspection sheet? If so how do i go about this?

There is no need to register with either NICEIC of SELECT to be able to carry-out EICRs in Scotland. If you tick all of the boxes of the competency checklist highlighted in Annex A, then you're good to go!

 

[catdog]

I was also wondering about this, the info in Annex A is somewhat grey....when it says to be 'A member of a professional body', what does that mean?

 

[Octopus]

You do need Pl insurance and notify HMRC about your 2nd income. If you are using your vehicle you should tell your insurance company.

 

[catdog]

Yes I have PL insurance and self employed but in Annex A it states to be part of a professional body and not sure of that points to Select/Niceic. However I presumed the reason for having Annex A was to allow qualified electricians who weren't part of a 'body' to carry out EICR's.....

 

[JK-Electrical]

Yes I have PL insurance and self employed but in Annex A it states to be part of a professional body and not sure of that points to Select/Niceic. However I presumed the reason for having Annex A was to allow qualified electricians who weren't part of a 'body' to carry out EICR's.....

Aye, the requirement of membership of a "professional body" is rather ambiguous. Logically the guidance can't be pointing to SELECT/NICEIC as the "professional body" since the requirements of Annex A would not apply to electricians who are already members of either organisation! Some clarity from the Scottish Government would be helpful here.

My own view is that the present system vis a vis the undertaking of Electrical Installation Condition Reports in Scotland is seriously flawed and not fit for the purpose. It is, after all, guidance, not written-in-stone legislation, and as such is advisory rather than compulsory. Since there is no mechanism for policing or enforcement of the guidance, it is about as much use as window wipers on a submarine.

A whole new approach is necessary methinks. In my humble opinion, only apprentice-trained approved electricians with at least 5-10 years' post-apprenticeship experience, and in possession of at least a 17th edition inspection and testing qualification along with a current BS 7671 certificate should be legally permitted to carry-out EICRs. I think a national database of suitably experienced and qualified electricians needs to be jointly compiled and maintained by the Scottish Government, SJIB, SELECT and NICEIC.

But even then, there will still be people offering to carry-out EICRs for £40/50 via Rated People and My Builder. Legislation rather than guidance, however, would surely cut their numbers.

 

[catdog]

JK,

Totally agree there as all these 'guidelines' are just that- guidelines. Think we def need the legislation and also the advertisement that Gas Safe gets. Within the public there seems to be the thought that 'Oh I can wire up the odd socket etc....' where very few people would work on gas (Well fewer than the people who do the dodge electrics anyway!)

Any advice on who even should contact regarding the ambiguous 'professional body'?!!

 

[catdog]

so to follow on.....

Contacted the governent about this and basically there reply was....

As long as can satisfy requirements of annex A then all good.

As for being a part of a 'professional body's they said being part of the SJIB is acceptable. now for some people who do lots of testing it might be fine to pay the fees and be part of niceic or select but for me at present I'll just stick to being myself! I have 2391 (maybe thinking of the new inspecting and testing course) so think I am electrically competent....

 

[JK-Electrical]

so to follow on.....

Contacted the governent about this and basically there reply was....

As long as can satisfy requirements of annex A then all good.

As for being a part of a 'professional body's they said being part of the SJIB is acceptable. now for some people who do lots of testing it might be fine to pay the fees and be part of niceic or select but for me at present I'll just stick to being myself! I have 2391 (maybe thinking of the new inspecting and testing course) so think I am electrically competent....

Since you hold the 2931 that qualification would make you eligible to apply for approved electrician grade, assuming that you aren't already an approved electrician. This requirement along with current BS 7671 and ECS qualifications are the only criteria that I can see listed in Annex A that would determine competency.

I am highly critical of this guidance as it is never enforced and few landlords are even aware it exists. In any event, landlords are all too quick to hire whoever offers to do the EICR for the least amount. If the guidance was adhered to, then no one under the age of 23 could be considered competent to carry-out an EICR since you need to be at least 23 to become eligible to be upgraded to approved electrician. But there are a multitude of young boys in Glasgow under 23 who are carrying-out EICRs at pocket-money prices.

 

[123]

@JK-Electrical

I'm sure it's not too unlike here where there are electricians of all ages carry out pocket money EICR's. 3 Bedroom Houses for £50 I jest not!

 

[JK-Electrical]

@JK-Electrical

I'm sure it's not too unlike here where there are electricians of all ages carry out pocket money EICR's. 3 Bedroom Houses for £50 I jest not!

I doubt you not 123. I just can't compete with these ridiculous prices. I won't do a 3 bedroom house for anything less than £150. My own view is that anyone offering to do an EICR on a 3 bedroom property at £50 must be cutting corners somewhere along the line and their EICRs are most probably not worth the paper they're written on.