Things to consider when doing EICRs on Commercial/Industrial?

[Lister1987]

I'll be starting a a testing, inspection and compliance outfit at that end of the month and this will be my first proper job in that industry.

Those that do Commercial & Industrial daily or frequently; Any common things to look out for? Any timesavers, improved ways of working etc that could help me become better over time?

 

[buzzlightyear]

Any timesavers, improved ways of working etc that could help me become better over time

make sure you are comfortable in what you are doing and thing will work out fine ,from a wise monkey .

 

[westward10]

There are lots of things to consider and unless you are working on sites wired to the same spec then no rules are likely to follow all sites. Age and condition are the big factors and how much free reign do you have to switch off whatever suits you. If these sites have comms room or essential servers then this must be discussed for an appropriate time to switch off, never rely on a UPS to maintain it. You then have people working with PCs so how flexible are they without power. This really is a case of working alongside people who know how to proceed before you tackle things alone.

 

[Mikegh]

Agree with the above

Domestic generally you can arrive , shutdown the electronics quickly and isolate the installation

The commercial and industrial is a different ballgame requiring more planning and organization around testing and switching off

 

[Dustydazzler]

I have been on commercial inspections that have run into weeks and weeks , and a lot of sitting around waiting to be allowed to switch stuff of.f...

So take plenty of snacks and some good reading material

 

[westward10]

If a site is correctly planned there should be no waiting about. I have been on sites for weeks and months and can see where I am going to be up to days/weeks in advance.

 

[UNG]

Be prepared for out of hours work, been on quite a few sites where access to certain areas was only allowed after the days work had been finished and all the servers were backed up so they didn't have any mishaps

 

[MJPD29]

Be ready for late Fridays and weekends. Most of the maintenance that involves any sort of downtime has to be done out of office hours, for me anyway. And things can take a lot longer than expected.

Also, be prepared to spend a lot of time tracing unlabelled circuits.

 

[Mikegh]

Related to above point on unlabelled circuits

Operators and caretakers etc can sometimes supply a lot of useful info on protective devices and outlets, equipment locations etc

 

[Lister1987]

Related to above point on unlabelled circuits

Operators and caretakers etc can sometimes supply a lot of useful info on protective devices and outlets, equipment locations etc

And probably tell you what they've done to stop them tripping unwantedly....

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Always assume something is either live or connected on the circuit until proven otherwise...

 

[Vortigern]

If you are new to this then don't make the mistake of going into to an installation that is not labelled properly. Obviously seek previous certs for inspection and extra installations that have been added. If there is a substantial lack of labelling make clear to the client that you will have to identify circuits prior to beginning testing and give them the daily rate for that. When you have worked out whats what then a long slow walk around getting the lie of the land and where all the main/sub boards are so you have a "map" of what lies where and a lie of the land so to speak.
Get a good idea of earthing provision throughout the installation and identify bonding etc. on the walk around. I have found due to lack of bonding in some building live ceiling grids hence the need for a very careful approach to all metalwork. Working habits of only one hand on the main boxes etc. Barriers for keeping people away from work areas. RAMS statements prior to work. RA on specific areas and so on. Warning signs (not that people ever heed them) A robust approach to H&S for tenants, workers and visitors etc. Ensuring the person in charge has cleared you for work in any given area, preferably in writing. A system for any C1 of notification and remedying immediately.
You may also be inspecting (not part of your brief) emergency lighting and fire alarm incidentally and bringing to the clients attention outside of the EICR anything of note. Take photos of C! and C2 for the client. Don't get tempted to fix anything, just note down what is not compliant and inform. All costings to be done after the event. You may have a permission to work system which is preferable. For instance one place I had to work in a foyer which was the nexus of the exit point and small and obstructed a fire drill evacuation and a lot of complaints ensued from the tenants as they were delayed getting out and the fire marshalls were cross with me. I pointed out I was given permission to work in the are by the main reception/boss and it is up to them to know there would be a fire drill and ensure I was there at a time that would not cause this problem. The main thing is to never let yourself feel you are being rushed, take your time and work carefully. If there is no provision for you to do that then do not do the work. You are the one who will get it if you make any mistakes.

 

[UNG]

For instance one place I had to work in a foyer which was the nexus of the exit point and small and obstructed a fire drill evacuation and a lot of complaints ensued from the tenants as they were delayed getting out and the fire marshalls were cross with me. I pointed out I was given permission to work in the are by the main reception/boss and it is up to them to know there would be a fire drill and ensure I was there at a time that would not cause this problem. The main thing is to never let yourself feel you are being rushed, take your time and work carefully. If there is no provision for you to do that then do not do the work. You are the one who will get it if you make any mistakes.

So the fire marshalls learned nothing from this incident then, what if the evacuation was because of a real incident which are not normally planned, it is very easy and preferable to find failings in the the FRA during a planned evac drill when there is no risk to life than in a real incident when it is all too late and you can't reset and restart an incident to create that ideal scenario, pulled many FRA's to bits on some of the sites I have worked on and in some cases refused to do the work until the FRA had been reviewed due to concerns regarding egress from the building.

It is surprising how many poor FRA's are out there in one building I was due to work in many years ago I had to provide the usual SMS and RA and was also asked for an FRA relating to my work having done a survey of the work area on the fifth floor previously I asked for their FRA, this site was a 6 floor building that prided itself on it's disabled access policy with a couple of lifts and at the top of every flight of stairs there was an evac chair for emergency use yet they placed no limits on the number of wheelchair users above ground floor level or how many people needed to be in the building that had been trained to evacuate wheelchair users using the evac chairs in case of an incident occurring. The building manager was quite put out and made a complaint to the company I was subbing to that I was being obstructive and I was anti disabled people, I subsequently got a phone call that pulled us of site until they sorted their FRA

 

[westward10]

Unfortunately FRAs can be like EICRs if not worse.

 

[mossep]

I know it’s an old post, but if you are doing a commercial or an industrial EICR then you should ideally have experience doing commercial and industrial installation work. It’s not really a tip, but it will mean you understand what you are testing and have an idea of how an installation may be been wired.

If you don’t have experience, ask if you can shadow someone for a while, it will give you a chance to learn without the pressure of getting it wrong