HSM Nov/Dec 64+4pp 30/11/09 11:00 Page 40
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Helping to protect people at www.hsmsearch.com
The electrical safety timebomb
injury or potentially initialise a fire.
“With the Corporate Manslaughter
legislation in place it’s amazing that duty
holders are still failing in their
responsibility for electrical safety,” said
Beardsmore. “Each year about 1000
accidents at work are reported involving
electric shock or burns and around 30 of
those are fatal, according to the Health
and Safety Executive. If the worse should
happen then it could be proven that the
duty holder was liable and potentially
knowingly negligent if test results have
been ignored. The recession is squeezing
budgets but surely electrical safety must
be considered essential?”
Employers and Duty Holders have an
obligation under their Duty of Care (as
stated by the Health & Safety at Work Act
1974 and Electricity at Work Regulations
1989). In essence the requirement is ‘to
take all reasonable and practicable steps to
prevent danger from your electrical
A new survey from electrical safety specialist Epsilon has revealed that system’. The specific regulations covering
over half of organisations questioned are failing to conduct remedial
electrical safety are The IET Wiring
Regulations BS7671: 2008 17th Edition.
repairs after electrical test reports have identified them as essential
This Edition, brought into force in 2008,
has made it easier to identify the most
T
he post safety test found that dangerous faults according to experts in
more than 200 of the 400 the market.
organisations they contacted For electrical testing suppliers their
admitted that remedial repairs had not responsibility under NICEIC rules is to
been conducted after electrical test ‘identify any damage, deterioration, defects
reports identified them as essential. “We and dangerous conditions within the
regularly see lethal situations where sites installation’. In the case of code one and
have been tested but faults not two faults they must notify the nominated
corrected,” says managing director Tim site or project contact in writing the same
Beardsmore. “It’s vital to understand
Each year about
day that any failures are found. What then
that fixed installation testing is only part happens with this information is the
of the electrical safety compliance
1000 accidents
responsibility of that individual.
requirement. If the essential remedial
at work are
In mitigation for any duty holder
work is not complete following testing reported unaware of remedial requirements, it is
then the organisation – and particularly
involving
clear that testing companies are only
the Duty Holder - could be culpable of
electric shock or
required to report what the unsatisfactory
fault and negligence.”
“
burns and
fault is as the report is intended to be a
factual report on the condition of an
The severity of the danger is life-
around 30 of
installation, not a proposal for remedial
threatening and the risk business-
those are fatal
work’.
threatening says Epsilon. Faults found What is clear is that choice doesn’t
under testing to The IET Wiring organisations appear to be ignoring this come into code one and two electrical
Regulations BS7671: 2008 17th Edition, fact and leaving serious electrical faults faults. When they’re found and reported
are coded one to four. Code one faults are unfixed. they must then be swiftly remedied: “If
defined as ‘requires urgent attention’, “There has been at least one the worst should happen then it could be
code two as ‘requires improvement’, code electrocution in the last year that we are proven that the Duty Holder was liable.
three as ‘requires further investigation’ aware of that could have been prevented if My advice therefore would be to ensure
and code four as ‘does not comply with necessary repairs were made in response to that test certificates and records of repairs
the current issue of BS7671’. Faults safety test reports,” said Tim Beardsmore. are all in order,” concludes Tim.
classified as code one and/or two are This illustrates the severity of the risk and, Beardsmore.
essential to resolve and yet, according to according to Epsilon, there is a long list
Epsilon, a frightening number of of faults that can cause death, serious
”.
54367
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