The electrical safety timebomb
November 1st 2009

A new survey from electrical safety specialist Epsilon has revealed that over half of organisations questioned are failing to conduct remedial repairs after electrical test reports have identified them as essential.

The post safety test found that more than 200 of the 400 organisations they contacted admitted that remedial repairs had not been conducted after electrical test reports identified them as essential. "We regularly see lethal situations where sites have been tested but faults not corrected," says managing director Tim Beardsmore. "It's vital to understand that fixed installation testing is only part of the electrical safety compliance requirement. If the essential remedial work is not complete following testing then the organisation – and particularly the Duty Holder - could be culpable of fault and negligence." The severity of the danger is lifethreatening and the risk businessthreatening says Epsilon. Faults found under testing to The IET Wiring Regulations BS7671: 2008 17th Edition, are coded one to four. Code one faults are defined as 'requires urgent attention', code two as 'requires improvement', code three as 'requires further investigation' and code four as 'does not comply with the current issue of BS7671'. Faults classified as code one and/or two are essential to resolve and yet, according to Epsilon, a frightening number of organisations appear to be ignoring this fact and leaving serious electrical faults unfixed.

"There has been at least one electrocution in the last year that we are aware of that could have been prevented if necessary repairs were made in response to safety test reports," said Tim Beardsmore.

This illustrates the severity of the risk and, according to Epsilon, there is a long list of faults that can cause death, serious injury or potentially initialise a fire.

"With the Corporate Manslaughter legislation in place it's amazing that duty holders are still failing in their responsibility for electrical safety," said Beardsmore. "Each year about 1000 accidents at work are reported involving electric shock or burns and around 30 of those are fatal, according to the Health and Safety Executive. If the worse should happen then it could be proven that the duty holder was liable and potentially knowingly negligent if test results have been ignored. The recession is squeezing budgets but surely electrical safety must be considered essential?" Employers and Duty Holders have an obligation under their Duty of Care (as stated by the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Electricity at Work Regulations 1989). In essence the requirement is 'to take all reasonable and practicable steps to prevent danger from your electrical system'. The specific regulations covering electrical safety are The IET Wiring Regulations BS7671: 2008 17th Edition.

This Edition, brought into force in 2008, has made it easier to identify the most dangerous faults according to experts in the market.

For electrical testing suppliers their responsibility under NICEIC rules is to 'identify any damage, deterioration, defects and dangerous conditions within the installation'. In the case of code one and two faults they must notify the nominated site or project contact in writing the same day that any failures are found. What then happens with this information is the responsibility of that individual.

In mitigation for any duty holder unaware of remedial requirements, it is clear that testing companies are only required to report what the unsatisfactory fault is as the report is intended to be a factual report on the condition of an installation, not a proposal for remedial work'.

What is clear is that choice doesn't come into code one and two electrical faults. When they're found and reported they must then be swiftly remedied: "If the worst should happen then it could be proven that the Duty Holder was liable.

My advice therefore would be to ensure that test certificates and records of repairs are all in order," concludes Tim.Beardsmore.

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