Discuss Can QR codes replacing the traditional Distribution Board Schedule? in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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QR Codes have been around for 20 years and have pretty much been successfully used in special cases - scan the code to view the information or website. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and the need for touchless access to information (think menus) and NHS tracking apps, the humble QR code has seen a resurgence. QR code Reader by Scan iGoogle Playstore has had more than 50 million downloads!

Can the humble QR code be paired-up with the classic distribution board and make the associated information easily available to the tech-savvy electrician?

A report by report by the Electrotechnical and Skills Partnership (TESP) estimates there are around 340,000 skilled UK electricians working in electrical companies and for other kinds of employers, such as facilities managers. Image for a moment that each one of these electricians prints 1 distribution board schedule per year. I'll leave it to you to figure out how many trees that equates to.

Imagine the paper savings, data searches and data re-capture saving for electricians if the Distribution Board information could be accessed via a QR code and a smartphone.

But what about the regs? What do BS7671, the accompaying onsite guides and CDM regulations specify?

Based on a review of the BS7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations and the accompanying Guidance Note 3 - there is a distinction between simple (domestic) installations and non-domestic. For simple installations, the requirement is for a durable copy of the schedule to be provided within or adjacent to the board (para 514.9). For more complex installations, Guidance Note 3 states the 'health and safety file needs to be updated' (Reg 12 of the Construction (Design and Management) 2015). Health and safety files should contain all relevant information for work - more reasons to add a QR code to the board as the relevant information can be easily made available using the QR code.
 
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Most of it is digital now a days anyway or capability is there , prefer a circuit chart , just my opinion..
 
I think the short answer to your question is no, but then I would imagine somewhere in the region of 340,000 haven't used them before and don't want to start now.

You quote the CDM regulations I can just imagine the frustration/danger when someone needs information from the H&S file and does not have the correct app or phone connection to download a vital piece of information, IMO not a practical application.
 
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It's already out ther for appliance testing, its already out there for equipment assest registers. Maybe electrician gives out barcode for dodgy payers. Dodgy register
 
I worked in Commercial buildings all my working life, now retired.

Most companies wouldn't allow third parties, such as the one the O.P is promoting, to hold any building services information that was then reasonably easilly accessible by others.

The author of this idea obviously hasn't worked in many Commercial buildings where quite often there is poor or no Mobile signals.
I've never had to print schedules, if they were there they were used, but not trusted 100%.
If the Circuit I.D was marked directly on the panel, the info was used but not trusted 100%
If the schedule was found to be wrong , it was corrected / updated, not something you could do or be trusted to do, via the VR.
And more.

So for me it's one of those, should be a good idea, but in reality it's not a workable one.

NO.
 
Who pays for the on-going storage of the data and bandwidth to access it?

How many big companies have been bought over and/or some muppet of a web designer decides to rearrange content so previous bookmarks or links from other sites are broken?

TL;DR Would it still work in 5 years time?
 
I worked in Commercial buildings all my working life, now retired.

Most companies wouldn't allow third parties, such as the one the O.P is promoting, to hold any building services information that was then reasonably easilly accessible by others.

The author of this idea obviously hasn't worked in many Commercial buildings where quite often there is poor or no Mobile signals.
I've never had to print schedules, if they were there they were used, but not trusted 100%.
If the Circuit I.D was marked directly on the panel, the info was used but not trusted 100%
If the schedule was found to be wrong , it was corrected / updated, not something you could do or be trusted to do, via the VR.
And more.

So for me it's one of those, should be a good idea, but in reality it's not a workable one.

NO.
The idea originated in a large estate with 1,900 distribution boards. The QR code can only be scanned by people who have access to the distribution board schedule, making information easier to access. The QR code simplifies access to the latest dist board information.
 
I think the short answer to your question is no, but then I would imagine somewhere in the region of 340,000 haven't used them before and don't want to start now.

You quote the CDM regulations I can just imagine the frustration/danger when someone needs information from the H&S file and does not have the correct app or phone connection to download a vital piece of information, IMO not a practica

No. Because me and thousands of people like me have never used one.
Paignton pete do you have a smart phone? QR code readers are simple to download and really easy to use.
 
The idea originated in a large estate with 1,900 distribution boards.
If you are managing it centrally for your own organisation then it is a great idea.

But having to rely on a 3rd party with no clear guarantee of support lifetime, data confidentiality, and how on-going costs are covered would not make sense to me.
 
Who pays for the on-going storage of the data and bandwidth to access it?

How many big companies have been bought over and/or some muppet of a web designer decides to rearrange content so previous bookmarks or links from other sites are broken?

TL;DR Would it still work in 5 years time?
The data storage is paid for by the facilities company managing the buildings (assuming it is a commercial building) or whoever is responsible for the H&S file. Domestic premises typically do not have a dist board schedule so, probably a QR code requirement there.

Fortunately, you no longer need to store or remember any links or bookmarks - just scan the code.

It will work indefinitely- as long as the H&S file information is available the QR code can link to it.
 
A QR code is simply a link to a website. As others have alluded to, what happens if you’re down in the depths of a basement looking at a db, and can’t get a signal.

in this instance, paper documents are invaluable
 
A QR code is simply a link to a website. As others have alluded to, what happens if you’re down in the depths of a basement looking at a db, and can’t get a signal.

in this instance, paper documents are invaluable
When there is no signal there is an offline mode. There are two parts to the solution:
1) Online mode: QR code links to a web page, that displays the information. Only the QR code scanner is required. No app required.
2) Offline mode: While online download a data set to your smartphone, e.g. distribution boards data for all boards in the basement. This subset of data is available on the smartphone, in this case the QR code scanner looks for the data on the smartphone. After the job is done, the data is purged from the phone. The offline mode will need an app.
 
If you are managing it centrally for your own organisation then it is a great idea.

But having to rely on a 3rd party with no clear guarantee of support lifetime, data confidentiality, and how on-going costs are covered would not make sense to me.
Think of it as a cloud service like Dropbox or Docs; you have a copy of the data in the cloud and replicated on your computer. The Cloud data can be used for sharing with others, while your computer acts as the backup and storage in the event you decide to stop using the service or the service ceases to exist.

Data backup, data confidentiality, data ownership and security is better in the cloud that it is on your email or stored on computer.
 
There is a company that provide such a facility. You create the technical manual, upload to Thier servers and you get QR barcodes in that post. CertOn is the company, I've got some barcodes but yet to use them.
 

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