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Discuss SJIB approved ACA test. in the Certification NICEIC, NAPIT, Stroma, BECSA Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

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Hi All.

This is my first post, seems like a usefull source of info!

I have my ACA test in cambuslang coming up soon, I was hoping to get a little bit more information on what it consists of. Most google searches bring me back to this site, where a few scottish bods have been asking the question but the threads arent really answered.

Anyway, anyone in here sat the SJIB test and fancy telling my what to revise/prepare for?


Cheers folks!

_chris
 
Chris,

The ACA consists of 6 parts,
A. Risk assessment and Safe Working Practices- (HSG85will help you out here)
B. Safe isolation of supplies- (see the back of your old,log book if you have it or see hsg85 for this also)
C. Inspection and testing- ( the onsite guide and guidence note 3 give good guidance on this)
D. Fault finding- ( the 4 faults short/earth/open/reverse- on an installation that are introduced one at a time)
E. Supervision- (assesed in your knowledge and ability to supervise operatives)
F. Underpinning Knowledge- (covering H&S, BS7671, SWP, Inspection and Testing, the Electricity Supply Regulations, Building Standards)

Hope this helps

G.
 
This is for any1 looking for more information on the aca test. Ive just failed mine ! If i had a wee bit more heads up, then i would have passed, as they try to trip you up ! 1st off, safe isolation, oiss easy.....but ALWAYS put the key for the lock in your pocket......i didnt, simply cos the table was blocking the booth i was in, with the examiner on the other side.....but thats how i failed, stupid, as sum1 wud hav had to pick up the key, walk into the booth with me there, take the padlock off in front of me and switch on the power.....so am a bit ragin with that nonsense ! Inspection and testing....something else the examiner failed to point out. when it came to do the external earth loop...he wouldnt let me put the power on, i was bemused and couldnt work out what else to do, as they supply you with everything....so i couldnt complete the tests, so at the end the examiner points out the insulations sheets and clamps, under the desk that had all the testing machines on.....yeh, out the way where you wouldnt notice them, so basically they want you to cover any trunking and that with looks to be buiders bags....the scenarios all contridict themselves as the trunking is attatched to the earthed main board which is supply the smaller main board that your testing, oh, but you've to "pretend" that the board your testing and its supply comes from outside.......another money makin scheme and a way to trip u up unless someone is able to help you ! hope this is of help to any1, ill b goin back to pass as i no thier tricks now, just this time its bleedin costin me !!!
 
Hello. Many thanks for your post hopefully this info will help me with my aca test coming up next month. Hope you dont mind me asking a couple of questions. Just wondering what the "risk assessment" part involves. Do they give you a sheet to fill out ? Also what does the "supervision" part consist of ? Seems they are trying to trip you up at every available opportunity. Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers...
 
Got ma resit in 2 weeks. with the risk assessment, they just give you a wee sheet stating - change light fitting - then they add the scenario, like, the light fitting in the factory or something. the sheet has 3 coloums, 1st - hazard - fill out the basics, height, sufficient light etc, next coloum is what you do to prevent the hazards, scafolding etc, 3rd coloum is who the risk affect...roughly that set up, just be over the top with it, use scafolding,saftey hats, cordon off area, do work at weekend so no public is in, make sure safe isolation is followed and all that. again, plenty room for error cos they give you f-all space to put any detail in.
As for the supervision, ---- easy, its 4 job scenario's with 10 statements each, all you do is circle whether you agree or disagree with the statement, common sense mostly, as in, 3rd year apprentice needs experience in testing, 1 - you let him test the whole installation himself - yes/no, no, simply cos if it were me, id be showing him through it and remember testing involves live tests.

multiple chocie question paper at the end is pretty solid to start with so make sure you read through all the books listed in the aca leaflet.
 
Cheers man, Much appreciated. Am I correct in saying that the question paper at the end is open book ? Do they provide the relevant books etc ?

All the best with your resit mate. Cheers
 
Aye the books are there and they tell you what section goes with what book. 1st 10 questions are solid from the on site guide and bs7671, then after that, its just a case of findin what the statement is correct,so you just find it in the appropriate book, biggest problem is time, i didnt waste any time and still only had 5mins spare. so if your strugglin with 1, move on and go back to it at the end, then if you cant get it, take a guess haha.
 
aye, passed it on fri mate ! well "unofficially" until i get the letter haha, gr8 feelin though. few pointers for ye.

Risk assessment, mention that all PPE is worn, Mention safe isolation(a must),brief other electricians or labourers on job in hand,cordon off area,use scaffolding if at height etc, just totally over do it. But, if its says theres no isolation possible, you just write that the job needs to be arranged another time ! No live working ever ! or they will fail you. Same if it says its a house and theres a child and mother in, say it needs to be arranged that the mother and child are out when the work gets carried out.

Safe isolation - check test lamps or socket tester on known source, check circuit you've to isolate is already live, turn breaker off, lock and KEEP KEY IN POCKET til he asks you to put it back to its orginal state, retest lamps or socket tester again on known source to prove workin correctly. mind and fit warning notices. On 3 phase board, 10 tests to check if dead, L1,L2,L3 between each other, the all to E and N, then between E & N.

Fault finding, open main board where cicuit has a fault and just bell between the socket or switch and the main board on the E,N & L, then you'll find if theres open circuit, polarity, or test between and conductors to see if theres a short. With the motors, think it was a neutral fault.

Testing - lamps, starters, rcd sockets, rcds,neons need to be disconnected, Big main board has an led display, that needs to be isolated, theres wee fuses u flick out for that. Main neutral on 3 phase board may need to be disconected due to it bein a tncs system so wud affect your results.

Live testing - need to put up plastic sheetin to protect yourself from them trunkin in case of a fault. Ze earth fault results, he'll ask you whether its acceptable and ask you where in the on site guide you can find out whether it is or not. Lighting/power boards Ze is too high by the way.
Rcd socket test - test on both o degrees and 180 degrees, write down the results, 15mA ,30mA, 150mA.

Then you'll test another booth, which he will add in faults, ring main not in a ring on 2 of the conductors, polarity fault. The screw in lamp holder has reverse polarity, live should b the centre contact, but instead its the outer screw.

Oh aye, mention that 2 way lighting needs to be tested as well, try and mention as much as you can, cos they wont ask you to test everythin so if you point enough out and answer their questions you'll b grand cos they are actually marking you on you answers too and mark you down when you fail to point things out.

Also know what your rcd sockets should trip within, 200ms at 100%, 40ms at 500%. but rcd main switch 300m/s.
make sure you right down the tests in the right order, L TO N 1st, L to E then E to N last.

Test for supervisin, multiple choice, common sense, again, no apprentice can do live working or testing and never left to things on their own, should be fully instructed etc. so mind that when agreein or disagreein with the statements.

Last test, 1st 10 questions pretty solid, dont waste time, go back at the end if strugglin, then after that, its just a case of matchin the right statement to the correct statement in the books, watch cos some are worded similar.

Simple eh hahaha !
 
Well done mate, congrats. Thanks again for all that info. Very much appreciate you taking the time to write back. Its great to be given a heads up on what is coming my way.

Do they give you connector strip or something to terminate cables from rcd socket and to bypass rcd's etc ?

I take it you are speaking about the 'maximum earth fault loop impedance table' in the osg ?

Oh aye sounds siiiiiimples (meerkat) lol :D

Cheers Bud
 
aye, everythings supplied, just take yer time and think everythin through, but dont over think it if ye get me. Let me know how ye get on and feel free to ask anythin else.
 
I didnt actually have to disconnect the main neutral, but one of the lads tha did it had too, theres 3 booths so i think it must have been the one with the motors. As long as you mention it when he asks what should be done before testing can start, then he'll he either say yes or no cos the power comes from a main RCD switch.
As for the Rcd test, aye its just the plug you use. need to manually go through the tests on the meter to prove you know what your doin. As for the L-N etc that i wrote about, that was me just remindin you that when you do your earlier test to record it down in the right order, nothin to do with the Rcd test haha, think i was just in full flow typin and tryin to get down everything that came to ma head. Basically, the 1st bot i did i wrote down L - E, L-N, N-E by accident and lost a point for that.
 
Im currently doin the installation project thats required first before i do the acca. Did any of yous have too do this as well its the one with car workshop and has 12 booths
 
Nope, never heard of it. Im self-employed, have been for nearly 5 years, just never got round to completin the other log book they give you once you become an electrician, so i just had to complete an application of experience to then get put forward for it.
 
Just found this thread when searching on google. thanks stevothespark for all your info,and everyone else.iI have my ACA test on monday and ****ting myself....in cambuslang too.
What did you cover with the plastic sheeting before doing live tests ?. never had anything like that when i done my fica in cambuslang in 2004 !. is there much else different from you trades test that you remeber ?.
Thanks again to anyone with any info.
 
Basically your really just showin the knowledge that durin live testing the metal trunkin may become live in the event of a fault and to protect yourself your putting this sheeting up. he'll actually help you clip it up, load of ****e to b honest. I added all this to the site once id failed mine cos if id known half the stuff they TRIPPED me up on, then i would have stood half a chance.
Nothin different on the testing side, u have the onsite guide to help you,dont b afraid to use it. Remember to brush up on where the earth loop impedance tables are, cos they'll ask you about some of the results, whether they r a pass or fail. also no your rcd max trip times, for rcd sockets and rcd main switches as he'll ask you that too.
Think everythin else ive covered in my previous posts. Mind and let me know how you get on. About time us sparks stuck together cos every organisation out there seems to b doin us at every turn !
 
i like the sheet! just a thought, most testers wont allow a Zs test to take place if the touch voltage rises aboyve 50v anyway, so is there still the need for thwe sheeting can you imagine on a large site trying to cover every bit of metalwork up! lol
 
Can anyone shed anymore light on the risk assesment part of the aca. Seems easy enuf but how over the top can you go and has anyone had the job stated in a few posts above. It says that if you have a job card stating ( the job is in a house and theres a child and mother in, say it needs to be arranged that the mother and child are out when the work gets carried out. )
 
Basic rules for risk assessment(even though you'd act different in real life), absolutely no live working, any mention of the power not being able to be switch off, you simply say, job cant be done and should be arranged for when the power can be turned off. As for the rest, just go way over the top, use all correct PPE, use correct tools, corden off area being worked at, set up appropriate lighting, blah blah blah, think i explained in more detail in earlier posts, as for the mother and kid, job should be arranged when they are not there......depends how its worded, just common sense really. basically be over the top and the most safety minded guy ever. Good luck with it and read over the earlier posts i did.
 
Thanks stevo. i have my resit soon as i failed parts 1 and 2 at tail end of last year! But the first hour of the test was a complete blank nerves got the better of me! Just dont want to mess it up again. As for safe isolation this is easy but i put the key on the desk several times and also forgot to post warning notices.
 
aye, they basically want you to fail yer 1st time, total money scam. yeh, if ye read ma earlier post, i did the same thing, pitty ye never seen this before yer 1st test. only time i put the key in my pocket was when i went away from the both to lock it off out of site, every other time, you wud hav had to climb over a desk in front of me, pick the key up and unlock the breaker in front of me....load of pish.
 
Thing is i did see this before my first test. But as soon as i got into test center my mind just blanked! Kept telling myself to remember to put key in pock aswel!
 
Glad marc_v33 put me back onto this thread, got my test next Thursday! Failed my first FICA test at Cambuslang by running out of time, hope it I'm a better spark now :tounge_smile:...
 
I've got my ACA test tomorrow. For the IR test on a 3 phase DB do you have to join the three phases together to test the full system or just do a phase at a time? In GN 3 it says;
"Three Phase - Test to earth from all live conductors (including the neutral) connected together"
Seems like it would be easier to test them separately just not sure if there's a reason for it?
 
I have the aca in 2 weeks and im bricking myself. Can anyone tell me if the testing is all in domestic booth as i think i will struggle big time with industrial and the other one. Also fault finding , Is it all on dead circuits and do we need to do safe isolation procedure first
 
Failed 2 parts, safe isolation and inspection & testing. I remember not putting a do not switch off label on the domestic cu. Not sure why I failed the inspection and testing though. I'll be booking a resit as soon as, although it's costing me £135 for the pleasure!!
 
How was the inspecting and testing mate. Was it all on domestic or do u do testing on industrial stuff as well. Least its just the 2 parts u have only to do and not whole thing
 
You do a bit on each, industrial booth, commercial booth and domestic. Think it's just your luck what tests you do on which booths. There are soom good tips on this thread for the testing, like the plastic sheet for doing the Ze! I would recommend reading up on the testing so you don't have to look at the books too much...
 
Is it one test sheet for all the testing or is it different test sheets for each booth. Also fault finding do u need to go through the whole safe isolation procedure first before u start it.
 
im thinking of doin the a.c.a but is it worth it? they failed me when I done the fica for not putting the key in my pocket on the safe isolation like they done to the guy on this thread all they wanted was more £ and this is what worrys me doin the a.c.a are they just out to get more £ out of you?
 
Just passed my ACA test. Can I point out that when you applying to the SJIB to be re graded. Make sure you don't have to sit your ECS Health & Safety. It says that you are exempt for 5 years from your apprenticeship. My time was out 5 years February there. And you also need to have 6 months valid on it.

Just a heads up, as this will set me back roughly a month by the time I get a date in the near future, and THEN wait 2-3 weeks for the result. Then I can apply for re grading.
 
Got my results back. Passed each section apart from the underpinning knowledge. I thought that was the easiest section out of the lot since you have all the books in front of you. Like people have said before I think they could just be after the money. £60 for the resit, £30 admin fee and £30 marking fee. £120 for one section! Anyway rant over. Need to get it booked.
 
Got my results back. Passed each section apart from the underpinning knowledge. I thought that was the easiest section out of the lot since you have all the books in front of you. Like people have said before I think they could just be after the money. £60 for the resit, £30 admin fee and £30 marking fee. £120 for one section! Anyway rant over. Need to get it booked.

Unlucky mate.

You have to get 8 questions right out of the 10 in each section. For example, you could get 47 out of 50 right and still fail if the three you got wrong were in the one section!

What i recommend doing is getting 8 or 9 that you know are correct per section then moving on to the next section. If you have time at the end fall back and answer the remaining questions.

Also be wary when two of the multiple choice answers are worded almost identically apart from a word or two. I had a few answers circled wrong which i only noticed at the end when i was double checking my answers!
 
Hi all,

lots of valuable information here for the A.C.A test.

i am sitting mine next week can anyone answer the following questions?

in the underpinning knowledge does each section tell you which book to look in?

are there only 4 faults to find in the fault finding?

cheers in advance for the help.
 
Hi Mark and welcome to the forum thanks for your post however the thread is 2 years old so maybe time to close it, feel free to start a new thread though.
 

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