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#1 Posted : 06 May 2008 13:53:00(UTC)
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Posted By Paul A. Swift
Can anybody help me with some guidance.

We hire portable accommodation for use as offices / mess rooms etc. on construction sites.

Post delivery, we have always arranged for the main electrical supply to be tested once installed.

The Hire Company has always tested the internal electrics inside the accommodation and provided test certs accordingly.

The Hire Company has now ceased to provide us with their test certificates and just put a sticker on the fuse box saying that they have been tested but that the internal electrics should also be tested post installation by the Hirer, post delivery.

Has anyone else come across this and do they now test the internal electrics as against the Hire Company?

I am just trying to identify what should be correct / best practice in this scenario:

1)Does the Hire company not have a responsibility to ensure that the cabins supplied to site are in a safe condition?
2)If there is a need to test after delivery, then following on from 1, is this not the responsibility of the hire company?
3)Does anyone have any horror stories of problems found with portable accommodation electrics?
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#2 Posted : 06 May 2008 14:15:00(UTC)
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Posted By Chris Harrison
we also use portable accommodation in the same way that you have been. ours has never been certified as the current agreement we have in place is that they will provide the accommodation in a clean working condition.

however it is not until we have the accommodation connected to either temporary or permanent service supplies that this can be verified.

to date we have only ever had 1 item (electric water heater)that was not in a fully working condition once we had the accommodation tested and certified, we reported that item to them and it was replaced the same day, they then paid to have it certified as the people who had tested the accommodation for us had moved on.

in the two years I have been dealing with this company we have not had any problems. I cannot see the value of the certificates before being connected to the services because it has to be inspected upon connection any way.
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#3 Posted : 06 May 2008 14:23:00(UTC)
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Posted By Paul A. Swift
Dear Chris,

Thanks for that.

I think that part of the issue is that we feel that we are having to pay to prove that the hire company has fulfilled its contractual obligation - to supply an electrically safe unit.
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#4 Posted : 06 May 2008 15:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ron Hunter
Paul, a key issue here is the provision of a satisfactory earth on site. A bit "chicken and egg" perhaps, but the earth circuit is a key consideration in establishing the safety of the installation.

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