Consumer Unit Change

Talk Electrician Forum

Help Support Talk Electrician Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
It could probably be argued that any person who is working alone should never work live, as if something did happen there is no one who could offer any assistance in the event of an accident. With the potential of endangering other people such as a property owner coming back and finding an electrocuted contractor and some exposed live cables by their fuse box. Whereas a person working live as part of a team can have secondary back-up to take any remedial action in the event that things did go wrong. IMHO for the average sole trader working in an empty property or with no other competent persons near by, it would be quite difficult to justify working live. 

Doc H.
In my industry days is was always considered necessary that an electrician did not work alone, and my guys rarely do. I prefer them to pull the main fuse, and sit on a rubber mat, as much as we shouldn't be doing the fuse pulling, my own opinion is that this is the only real way of conforming with ESQR, plus we have found some nasties like wire in place of fuses, so in my opinion we are doing the DNO a favour by checking the main fuse. It is also my opinion that my staff are competent enough to work live, it's not hard, and they have the kit to do it safely, but I leave the choice to them as I'm rarely on-site these days. For larger jobs, we do also get isolators fitted where time isn't a constraint.

 
@ onoff post #

What make of trunking is that, please?

Just...... curious
Wait for it...............it's BRITISH! As in made here etc. Think it's recycled or something:

Made by Falcon trunking. I like it, cuts nice, flush lid, not brittle in fact as tough as and doesn't feel cheap etc. Last used as a bit of mechanical protection in a rather tight, under the stairs job where everything had been bashed to hell by hoovers, push chairs and whatever else they could jam in.



http://www.falcontrunking.co.uk/electrical.html

Try Superlec Direct for it.

I have some offcuts if you want me to send you a bit.

 
In my industry days is was always considered necessary that an electrician did not work alone, and my guys rarely do. I prefer them to pull the main fuse, and sit on a rubber mat, as much as we shouldn't be doing the fuse pulling, my own opinion is that this is the only real way of conforming with ESQR, plus we have found some nasties like wire in place of fuses, so in my opinion we are doing the DNO a favour by checking the main fuse. It is also my opinion that my staff are competent enough to work live, it's not hard, and they have the kit to do it safely, but I leave the choice to them as I'm rarely on-site these days. For larger jobs, we do also get isolators fitted where time isn't a constraint.
Binky,

TBH, I would not like to be in your shoes.

Your guys are only trained to work under BS7671, once they start playing with meters, and cut out fuses, they are no longer working on equipment covered by BS7671.

I would also expect your business insurance to be null & void.

 
Wait for it...............it's BRITISH! As in made here etc. Think it's recycled or something:

Made by Falcon trunking. I like it, cuts nice, flush lid, not brittle in fact as tough as and doesn't feel cheap etc. Last used as a bit of mechanical protection in a rather tight, under the stairs job where everything had been bashed to hell by hoovers, push chairs and whatever else they could jam in.



http://www.falcontrunking.co.uk/electrical.html

Try Superlec Direct for it.

I have some offcuts if you want me to send you a bit.
I was just taken by how substantial,the end caps were, not like the usual carp

Just scoobing

 
Got a headache otherwise I'd get the Vernier on the wall thickness but it certainly has that "it'd pass the drop test" feel about it.............eschewing the Neurofen and trying Merlot instead!

 
Binky,

TBH, I would not like to be in your shoes.

Your guys are only trained to work under BS7671, once they start playing with meters, and cut out fuses, they are no longer working on equipment covered by BS7671.

I would also expect your business insurance to be null & void.
and how many discussions have there been on this forum about seal fairies, and how many forumites have gone "oh no I couldn't possibly do that" hence the moves a foot to make the practice fully legal for qualified electricians, never mind the times I've been told it's OK to pull a fuse by the local DNO team to save them a trip, so they only have to pop out to re-fit seals. It's not like I'm in a minotiy of 1 :^O

 
Yes Binky there are moves afoot, I realise that, but, until they do make it legal, or, you have the OK off the DNO, in writing, then you could well be operating outside your insurance.

I have been in discussions with insurance providers today about their clients liabilities and how these can be managed, and providing advice from both sides.

 
probably Sidey, but we work carefully! Did once find a pair of meter tail blocks with arcing on the sides from being touched together. That'll teach the silly sod to do one at a time :slap meter blocks.jpg

 
also found this on a job, we have to be competent to even work near some meters - yep that's a piece of plastic jammed in gap. Give the random nature of crap we come across I think I could quite happliy argue that it's all in a days work. We have to be fully competent to protect ourselves from the incompetent, even when the kit isn't covered by BS7671

meter 2.jpg

meter 1.jpg

 
Top