Morning What's the general rule on how often the Electrical Installation needs to be Inspected and Tested in commercial properties? HSE states: Electrical installations should be tested often enough that there is little chance of deterioration leading to danger. Any part of an installation that has become obviously defective between tests should be de-energised until the fault can be fixed. I cant seem to find specific time scales or is that because there are none and its down to the individual companies to set? Thanks

Just be aware of what the electrician stated on the previous report

OK, BS7671 does not define timescales, it suggests them. Your insurance company will have their requirements which you will need to comply with, to comply with your contract of insurance. A shorter period than specified is not an issue, you are just doing more than is required by your insurance company/law, which is not an issue, you are doing more than the minimum required. There is NO DEFINED TIMESCALE IN LAW. Just like any H&S requirements doing better than the minimum required is not a bad thing. BS7671 is regarded as the minimum standard, NOT best practice. There would be no issue in doing an inspection every 3 years rather than every 5 years. If any insurance company says different then they are idiots, & they would be made idiots of, in any court in the land. If your installation is correctly maintained under a full and sufficient PPM system, with full documentation of repairs and modifications including certification under BS7671 as required, then it is acceptable under BS7671 not to undertake PIR/EICR checks. You will not find the timescale for checks in BS7671 it is in the IET Guidance Note 3. Now as far as faulty installations go, you are then into compliance with EAWR & PUWER, MHSWR etc. If, the installation is that dangerous that it needs isolation, then you have a SERIOUS problem, that you need to address both in the short & long term, not discover and correct at the inspection timescales recommended by BS7671 & associated guidance. BS7671 & associated guidance state that from the initial installation, the time to the first inspection is determined by the designer of the initial installation and is defined on the original Electrical Installation Certificate. There is a very good chance that this could be taken by a court of law to be binding as the designer must be in full knowledge of the requirements of the installation and its use for the design and installation to be compliant with BS7671, thus they are able to define the expected time between completion and first inspection, as the competent person in law. Following this, the next PIR would indicate on the EICR the time period that the “COMPETENT” inspector & tester of the installation would recommend to the next inspection. Remembering the requirements of any person undertaking I&T on an electrical installation must have above average knowledge of the type of installation, the environment of the installation, the usage etc. etc. Therefore as the person undertaking this work must be competent as defined by EAWR, this timescale could also probably be taken by a court to be binding, even if it is less than the timescale recommended in guidance from BS7671 the IET. What H&S people REALLY NEED to do is to ensure that their companies engage fully competent “entities” to undertake the I&T, and not expect to pay peanuts for the work. Not , for example domestic installers who have done no training except a 5 week course to inspect & test complex industrial installations because they are cheap, unless they are fully knowledgeable about the installation methods, systems, equipment, and the editions of BS7671 that were in place at the time of the original design and construction. Preferably, they should be in possession of previous editions of the relevant documentation so that they can make a fully informed judgement on the condition of the installation, not only against the current requirements of BS7671, but, where deviations occur, they can be sure that the installation was compliant when originally installed. I&T of electrical installations, especially industrial and commercial is a little more complex than it first may seem. There are too many so called “electricians” out there who are incompetent to undertake even the simplest I&T on any install these days it is unreal. If you want any more information on what is right/wrong/required/not required, please ask, by PM if required.

Ray, There is a requirement for the “person” responsible for the installation to maintain it in a safe state, as I am sure you are more than aware, noting that as soon as any employees enter the property it becomes their place of work, this would include communal and private areas if the employees enter them. The guidance in the form of BS7671 & associated documents will assist in this. Now, I would be looking to whatever the landlord & tenant act is now called, I can’t recall the name now, sorry. I am pretty sure that this places an onus on the landlord, i.e. the social housing company, to ensure that the property is safe, this will include the dwelling as well as the communal areas. It would also include any supplied appliances. How this is done is down to the landlord, typical ways are “PAT” for the appliances, and I&T in accordance with BS7671 for the fixed installation. The electrical “safety” could be “contracted out” by the landlord to a maintenance organisation “kind of”, whether this would absolve the landlord of all responsibility or not is questionable.

Ray, ok, in short, yes they do have a legal responsibility to make sure the install is safe to use, by the resident, and their personnel/contractors working in the private areas of the premises.