Long time no see and I hope you're all doing well.
I see that torque screwdrivers have become the height of fashion in the UK over the last couple of years. I wondered what general practice has been adopted regarding their use.
Are electricians expected to;
Have a torque screwdriver on site at all times?
Check torque of all terminations in CU's / DB's they open or just any new terminations they make?
Check the torque of all terminations in any accessories they open?
Also;
Is acceptable to do torque testing live in a CU (assuming a VDE screwdriver)? Is a risk assessment required for live torque testing?
If torque testing is performed in a DB/CU do you just check screws for tightness or do you loosen off all terminations first then re-torque to the correct figure to eliminate overtightened connections as well as loose ones?
Scam members are expected to use a torque screwdriver for every termination to comply with the terms of their membership. What is done is another thing.
On an EICR, it might be expected to check terminations, but the requirements of an EICR are also minimum disturbance.
Any new terminations are expected to be completed with a torque driver; as I have said, this is a requirement of scam membership and is inferred in BS 7671.
It isn't a requirement to re-check every termination you come across.
It is not acceptable to torque terminations live unless this can be justified under the live working assessment in the law.
It is not reasonable to expect that it is necessary to do such a thing with the circuits energised.
To ensure that termination is at the correct torque, it is necessary to slacken it and then re-tighten it.
Hence, you are disturbing the connection, which is not good when doing an EICR.
Things could go wrong, or a latent defect could be introduced.
Such devices would need calibration in accordance with the screwdriver OEM instructions and/or any quality standards your company is working to.
Also, the scam membership requirements may have a calibration period.
The calibration period for a torque screwdriver would typically be annual.
Mind, if it fails, then you should strictly speaking revisit every connection made since the last calibration, like that is going to happen!
So, watch this space for the monthly check devices and scam requirements to check your drivers against the known source every month!