To cut or Not to cut, that is the question.

[spark-doctor]

I have been in negotiations for a month or so with a company that are contracted to several DNO's to change electric meters. I found out last week that i had been approved and had been assigned an area, a sort of franchise patch and i would have to go on a DNO training course and assessment.

On Friday i jumped on a plane and went to Dundee (its grim up north) for the day. Went through the training no problems and then we came to the issue of cutting seals and resealing. Naturally this caused some debate in the group. We had 1 bloke that went into a 10min tirade of why he thought that it was illegal to cut the seals (not sure but it may of been Carter). The training bloke went on tho explain that, the seals can be cut by a skill/qualified person. The seals are there to stop unskilled/ordinary persons from getting in and would require a TOOL to gain access. They are there to maintain the safety of the installation. To which Carter started arguing again so the trainer walked to the other side of the room and returned with several binders and books. They were HASAWA, ESQCR, The Electricity at Work Regulations, BS7671, and PUWER and asked Carter to show him where it says it is illegal to cut the seal. That shut him up.

What he did say and is most relevant to this forum is that if you cut a seal, it is your responsibility to ensure the installation is safe when you leave and the only way you are going to achieve that is by fixing some sort of seal THAT REQUIRES A TOOL TO REMOVE IT.

I left with a nice DNO certificate, a license number and these



BEFORE ANYONE ASKS, FECK OFF YOU CANT BORROW THEM

PS sorry Carter, it was the closest analogy i could think of

 

[Cirrus]

It may be your responsibility but what if the seal was cut by someone before you? Try and pin the responsibility on me? Try it.

It's a subject we get hung up on but really it is soooooo damn easy. If you need to - cut them. If not, don't worry about it!

 

[sparkyork]

i can see why it is important to reseal the fuses etc but must confess i dont. been on a job where i had to confirm the size of fuse. has got me thinking tho, i may get hold of some tie's just to make it all safe, spesh now as im self employed.

 

[tony.towa]

Interesting what your instructor said about needing a tool. Quite often, in this area, if the holes for the seals are actually broken the carrier section is not replaced a piece of white sellotape with red lettering saying Do Not Remove is put over. Does that now mean, I wonder, that a thumb nail is regarded as a tool?

 

[Bane]

Naturally this caused some debate in the group. We had 1 bloke that went into a 10min tirade of why he thought that it was illegal to cut the seals (not sure but it may of been Carter).

Ho de-ho-ho-ho