Industry News
Electrical industry organisations call for high-rise safety
F
our of the UK’s leading electrical organisations have joined forces to urge political leaders to ensure parity of safety for residents of High-Rise Residential Buildings
(HRRBs) by mandating electrical safety checks of the electrical installation in dwellings of all tenures within these buildings. Charity Electrical Safety First (ESF), industry stakeholder forum The Electrical Safety Roundtable (ESR), Government authorised electrical Competent Person Scheme Operators NAPIT and NICEIC have collaborated in a call for action. In England, an electrical source of ignition is responsible for 53% of all accidental dwelling fires.
Despite the dangers posed by electrical installations, the Building Safety Bill in its current form does not address the disparity of electrical safety standards among residents of differing tenures within HRRBs in England. The four organisations are calling for the government to: “Amend the Building Safety Bill to require all social rented and leaseholder dwellings in HRRBs to have an electrical safety check carried out on the electrical installation at least once every five years by a qualified and competent electrical contractor.”
ABB’s product data achieves EDA Gold Standard
EDA Affiliate, ABB Ltd – Electrification, is the latest in a growing number of leading manufacturers recognising the strategic importance of product data and its role in reaching the contractor customer.
ABB’s product data held within the EDATA data pool has cleared the in-built quality control measures to reach Gold Standard. ABB is one of 53 manufacturers signed up to EDATA, 13 of which have achieved Gold Standard. Edgar Aponte, CEO at Rexel UK, and chair of EDA Data Services said: “ABB has achieved over 15,000 products at Gold Standard. EDATA currently holds in excess of 100,000 SKUs, which includes over 43,000 Gold Standard SKUs from 13 different manufacturers, and we’re on target for expansion but not at the expense of data quality. EDATA’s ability to measure the merit of the product data inside is vital: data volume without excellence has little value. Improving data quality is tough, detailed work but it pays off.”
Search-friendly product data is essential if contractors and electricians are to filter and find products on wholesaler websites.
New campaign to provide free alarms for vulnerable householders
As new heat and smoke alarm regulations come into effect in Scotland, campaigning trade association SELECT has launched a goodwill initiative that will see its members install free domestic alarm systems for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people.
Sponsored by Aico, the ‘Alarm Ambassadors’ campaign will see qualified electrical professionals fit heat, smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in selected homes across Scotland to ensure they comply with the new rules. The recipients will be vulnerable older and disabled people who have been identified by Care and Repair Scotland, the charity which helps householders improve or adapt a home which is no longer suitable. Alan Wilson, managing director of SELECT, said: “The campaign is designed to help those in genuine need – and remind the public of the importance of using compliant products, installed by qualified electricians where possible, to meet the new legislation which came into effect on 1 February.”
The new government standard requires that all homes in Scotland must have a smoke alarm on every storey including hallways and landings, a smoke alarm in the most frequented part of the house, such as the lounge, a heat alarm in the kitchen and a carbon monoxide alarm wherever there is a fuel burning appliance.
TESP reports surge in electrical apprenticeships
Electrotechnical apprenticeships for 2021/2022 have got off to a positive start, according to The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership (TESP). Nearly 4000 new apprentices were recruited across England in the first three months of the academic year. Figures from The Institute for
Apprenticeships and Technical Education show that the intake of electrical apprentices remained strong throughout the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrating the value employers place on apprenticeships as the preferred route for training. Currently there are around 28,000 apprentices in training in England, with nearly 17,000 of these under the age of 19. Over 80% of these apprentices are
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employed by non-levy paying companies, highlighting the strong industry tradition of apprentice recruitment amongst small employers.
“The current apprenticeship intake figures are extremely encouraging, but demand for apprenticeships continues to outstrip supply and we need more employers to get involved if we are to address the skills shortage,” said Ruth Devine, chair of TESP and managing director of SJD Electrical. “As well as encouraging businesses to do more, it’s also important to improve the training provider infrastructure so learners and employers receive a quality training experience. Our work will continue into 2022 and beyond to support this.”
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