ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades How is Electrical work controlled and inspected in your region?

I think the OSH requirements in NZ are making it easier for sparkies to refuse to do live work under the insistence of the profiteering boss.

Electrical worker accidents will surely decrease as more and more sparkies start insisting on complete shutdowns and shunning hasty live work practises.

I'll have a dig at deregulation too by saying that inspections themselves are a forum for discussion and education. They are vital for educating the electrical workforce. Minimising the inspection requirements by deregulating was just dumb.

Before deregulation, the people who sold you the electricity were responsible for inspecting the work. Now we have a "once it leaves the meter its your problem" inspection system, and a government department fines ( revenue gathering ) system which is the proverbial ambulance at the bottom of the cliff

DJK the idea of spare circuit breakers in distribution boards is a great idea. BUT, convincing the builder or homeowner of the extra expense for something that isn't immediately required is difficult. This is another example of the sparkies struggle against the free market. I think the best you can do there is leave enough phasebar in your boards to accommodate additional breakers later on.

Here in the US licensing and inspections are dealt with on a local basis so there are at least 50 different ways it is handled.

In my area, it works like this.

To become an electrician you need to start as apprentice.

4 years and 8000 hours performing electric work under the direct supervision of a licensed electrician.

An additional 600 hours of school time.

Once that is completed you may take the test to become a journeyman electrician.

In this state (Massachusetts) a journeyman can perform any electrical work and may run a business with one apprentice.

If you want to run a larger business you need to get a masters license.

That requires some time as a journeyman and more school hours.

Now for inspections in this state.

All electric work performed for a fee must have a electrical permit obtained from the city or town which the work is performed.

Once the work is done that will be concealed by walls or ceilings is done we call the inspector for a 'rough' inspection.

Assuming we pass that inspection the other trades can close the walls up.

Once we are completely done we call for the final inspection at which point the inspector comes out again.

In the case of new construction no one can occupy the building until all the trades receive their final inspection and a "Certificate of Occupancy" (CO) is issued by the building dept.

The power company will not connect power to anything without the inspector call them directly and authorizing them to connect power.

It sounds worse than it is and I feel it is all necessary to keep the 'hacks' in line.

Along with electrical inspectors in each city or town there are State paid licensing investigators making sure we follow the licensing rules. If we do not we can lose the right to our license.

Disciplinary actions against 14 electricians and two systems technicians.

Bob

It took me a moment to realize that the original part of this thread was over 2 years ago!

There is still no licensing as such for electricians here, and anybody is free, legally, to do any work he wishes.

As far as residential is concerned, we now have the infamous Part P of the Building Regulations of course, which has been in effect for one year plus a week! In fact I was going to post a thread about the anniversary of Part P and then it slipped my mind, simply because around my neighborhood it's really been a non-issue.

Most folks seem to be just carrying on as before and treating it with the contempt it deserves by just ignoring it, yours truly included.

Paul,
Is it the same way for Commercial and Industrial work as well?.

Kiwi,
OK,
How many Electricians that you know would have regular contact with a Registered Electrical Inspector, these days?.
Sure I see them every day at work and call on them for all sorts of things.
The only time I see Electricians from around town here going to see an Inspector here, is during the Winter, when they want a Night-store hooked up, because the only person that can do that work is an Electrical Inspector.
Oh and one other thing, cell-phones have made some Electricians idiots.
And if you happen to be reading this Ben, don't ring a Faultsman at 5 to 6pm and ask him to drive 150k's to your job

From a practical perspective, an industrial contract is most likely going to insist that anyone carrying out the installation is accredited to appropriate standards.

From a legal standpoint, however, I'm aware of nothing which restricts who can carry out the work. The Health & Safety at Work Act kicks in on commercial properties, but that only specifies the standard to which work must be carried out. There's nothing about who may or may not do the work. As far as I can see, if you could train a monkey to install the equipment it would be perfectly legal so long as it meets the appropriate standard afterward.

When it comes to small commercial premises (village shops and the like), a lot of owners will DIY their own electrics, and it's perfectly legal, so long as the requisite HSE standards are met.

Yeah Paul,
What I was sort of wondering was the legality in Electro-Medical Installations.
To my way of thinking, you'd want good, well trained technicians in that line of work.
Not just Joe Handyman walking off the street with his rusty screwdriver, saying "Let me at it, if I can't fix it, it ain't broke!"
All the while with a wet cigarette hanging out of his un-shaven face.