News
WIRING REGULATIONS COME INTO FORCE
THE INSTITUTION OF Engineering and Technology (the IET, formerly the IEE), has called for the electrical industry to ensure that it is compliant with The IET Wiring Regulations, 17th Edition, BS 7671:2008 incorporating Amendment No.1, 2011, which came into force on 1 January 2012. The amended Wiring
Regulations have been jointly published by the IET and the British Standards
Institution (BSI), and set out the national standard to which all new electrical installations are to comply. The 17th Edition, which was published in 2008, has been aligned with the European and International standards of CENELEC and IEC.
Geoff Cronshaw, chief electrical engineer at the IET, said: ‘It is imperative that all designers and electrical installers
familiarise themselves with the amended IET Wiring Regulations, to ensure that the work they do is safe and of a consistently high standard. As well as setting the standard for all new electrical installations, the IET also provides support for individuals who want to get up to speed with the new changes through information on our website and the technical helpline.’ n The amended IET
Wiring Regulations can be purchased from
www.theiet.org/amend1
Green Deal Skills Alliance secures £1.4m to help firms go green
THE GREEN DEAL SKILLS Alliance – a partnership of SummitSkills, Asset Skills and ConstructionSkills – has secured £1.4m to help employers take advantage of commercial opportunities around the low carbon agenda.
The funding was secured from government’s £61m Employer Investment Fund (EIF) – a flagship initiative managed by the UK
Commission for Employment and Skills, which is designed to boost enterprise, jobs and growth. The investment secured in the construction sector will provide financial support for two years, creating qualifications frameworks, and providing on-the-ground support for firms looking to top up the skills of their workforce and diversify their business during the downturn. News of the additional funding came after Gregory Barker, minister of state for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC),
announced that the Green Deal has the potential to create up to 100,000 retrofitting jobs in the construction sector by 2020. Keith Marshall, chief executive of SummitSkills, said: ‘At a very challenging time for businesses in BSE, securing this funding is great news. Skilled operatives who are able to design, install and maintain environmental technologies will be central to the UK, improving the
energy efficiency of its homes and achieving its carbon reduction targets. We are excited that this funding will enable us to build upon the success of our ongoing work with ConstructionSkills, AssetSkills and all of our partners as we work to equip the right people with the right skills for this opportunity.’ Work on the EIF project will begin in 2012 and complete in 2014.
ELECTRICAL BLUNDERS THREATEN MILLIONS
A NEW STUDY HAS discovered that millions of people in the UK expose themselves and their families to potentially fatal accidents in the home through simple electrical blunders, because of an alarming lack of knowledge about the real danger of electricity. In response, the Electrical Safety Council (ESC) is launching a free smartphone app to help people ensure their families and homes are safe. In the past year, almost one million people have repaired an appliance
8 ECA Today January 2012
while it is still plugged in – despite the fact this can result in a fatal or serious injury. Other electrical ‘confessions’ included knowingly using faulty plugs or sockets (12.2 million people), ignoring burning smells coming from an appliance or socket (1.5 million people), and trailing cables near hot surfaces or cookers (two million people). At least one person dies each week from the everyday use of electricity, while 350,000 people are seriously injured annually. Although most electrical
accidents can be prevented by a residual current device (RCD), the ESC study shows a serious lack of knowledge of this vital safety device. Some 70 per cent of people surveyed do not know what an RCD is, and almost half of all UK homes (49 per cent) don’t have
adequate RCD protection. The new ESC app allows anyone to do a quick, visual check, to ensure its electrically safety. Designed to be as easy-to-use as possible, the app highlights potential
dangers in each room and
explains how to resolve simple, non-technical problems. Where more serious issues are flagged, people are advised to use a registered electrician. Director general of the
ESC Phil Buckle said: ‘There is a worrying gap between the public’s perception of electrical danger and the reality, with people making simple yet potentially fatal errors that can be easily prevented. The ESC’s Home Electrical Safety Check app was designed to bridge that gap.’
SHUTTERSTOCK / VICHIE81 SHUTTERSTOCK / MONKEY BUSINESS IMAGES
SHUTTERSTOCK / J DUGGAN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72