CERTIFICATION FEATURES


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bodies and certifiers. Unfortunately, the only way that I see that this can be improved is if the campaign by SELECT to protect the title of an electrician as a profession is successful. Not only will that improve the overall training and standard of all electricians in Scotland, I believe the certifier of construction register is the ideal platform from which to adapt and operate the new professional electrical register.”


New opportunities While the coronavirus pandemic initially stemmed new business opportunities for Scott, he used the downtime to look at how his business operated and decided to bring forward a remote working project he had planned, which is now delivering benefits to the business, its work as an approved body and the wellbeing of his employees. He explained: “There was no point in


just waiting and sitting back to see how things panned out, so I decided to take a good hard look at how we operate some of our day-to-day systems. “One of the outcomes of this is our new remote job scheduling software project, which I had planned before but brought forward by six months. When this is fully operational it will allow us to operate every aspect of our business remotely via online tablets and away from our office premises. “We can now have all the information we need at our fingertips and, as our team already has remote access to electrical certification and the building warrant certificates, the new job scheduling software will enhance that facility even more, allowing us to increase what we can already do onsite. “This will not only increase our efficiency and productivity but will help keep our team safer with physical distancing.”


Enhancing efficiency Scott believes there are other ways to enhance the efficiency of the scheme’s process by increasing the number of employed approved certifiers on site. Reducing the need to have different people to install, inspect and sign off the whole electrical and building standards


24 CABLEtalk AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020


Getting to grips with the sword thought to once belong to William Wallace


process can only be helpful to not only the business and client, but also help physical distancing measures with fewer bodies required on site. He added: “I think that the COVID-19 situation has given us all the chance to stop and reflect on how we do business and carry out work. By reflecting on those old practices, we can all help create a more efficient, productive and


Scott’s firm has picked up awards during decades in business


safer site, and I think we have already seen a lot of changes implemented. “As approved bodies and approved certifiers, we are already trained in and aware of health and safety issues, and that should hold us in good stead to encourage others on-site to adhere to and adapt to the new way of working.”


Safe and sound So, what would he say to those organisations who are perhaps unaware of certification or haven’t used it? “Having been in the industry for 30 years and seen the dangers of work carried out by some electricians, the certification scheme is critical to driving up the standards. “The importance of up-to-date training should never be forgotten; an electrician who qualified 20 years ago may still be able to undertake electrical work, but to be on the certification register you are required to be trained and up to speed on the latest electrical safety measures and building regulations. It’s that up-to-date knowledge that is critical to being able to safely install and test electrical work to meet today’s regulations and, ultimately, protect life and property.”


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