Posted By GeoffB4 A manufacturer supplies and installs commercial equipment on customer sites. On occasion the equipment trips out or needs some form of first line repair or adjustment. Some customers will immediately call out the manufacturer engineers to reset the equipment, some customers have their own engineers and do it themselves, and some customers will ask for advice over the phone on what to do. It is the last type of customer causing this query and to limit the breadth of the discussion I'd like to discuss just one aspect. Imagine a circuit breaker trips out. The manufacturer is asked for advice by the customer over the phone on what can be done locally to fix the problem. The manufacturers engineers currently advise how to open the equipment cabinet, to remove a plate (using a screwdriver) and to reset the MCB. There are no immediate exposed mains within the cabinet. Is this a reasonable action by the manufacturer to help customers - noting that they have no idea of the competence of the person they are advising.

Posted By GeoffB4 Ron, my understanding of the fitting of a panel is that it is good practice on commercial equipment to deter unauthorised switching - not necessarily because there is a danger. The phrase 'it doesn't have to be user friendly like domestic distribution panels' was used when discussing this scenario. For example on most commercial distribution cabinets a key is required for entry, on domestic premises a 'coin' is sufficient.

Posted By Pete48 Geoff, I guess the clever answer is that only if the work methods meet section 16 of the Elec at Work Regs? But does it, eh? Pete