Not looking for a "gospel" answer here, but I'm no expert and looking
to validate some info I've been given.

I'm responsible for the activities of the estates manager at the place
I work at, and have been advised that our "electrical installation
testing" is out of date.

For commercial premises, what is (or what is the source of?) the
requirement to have electrical installations tested?

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to drop in their tuppence - I
appreciate not a DIY question, but I know many here are very
knowledgeable and can point me in the right direction.

Cheers!

Matt

In article ,
larkim writes:
Not looking for a "gospel" answer here, but I'm no expert and looking
to validate some info I've been given.

I'm responsible for the activities of the estates manager at the place
I work at, and have been advised that our "electrical installation
testing" is out of date.

For commercial premises, what is (or what is the source of?) the
requirement to have electrical installations tested?

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to drop in their tuppence - I
appreciate not a DIY question, but I know many here are very
knowledgeable and can point me in the right direction.

It will depend entirely on the nature of installation and what it's
used for. Also it's age may come into play, particularly if it's old,
and how often it's modified.

For installations in new/good condition, something like 5 years for
a full power-down test, plus some intermediate visual inspections,
including thermal imaging if your load is 100kVA. However, if
you have things like swimming pools, then those would demand more
frequent testing.

Also, don't forget appliance testing (commonly called PAT testing).
Someone in your position should take the C&G 2377-01 course and
hold the certificate (only takes a day) which covers management of
PAT testing. You might as well do C&G 2377-02 too, which is the
actual PAT testing (usually runs on a consecutive day), even if
you end up contracting it out (you're still responsible for it
and ensuring your contractors are compitent to undertake it, which
many aren't).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On May 20, 11:02*am, (Andrew Gabriel)
wrote:
In article ,
* * * * larkim writes:

Not looking for a "gospel" answer here, but I'm no expert and looking
to validate some info I've been given.

I'm responsible for the activities of the estates manager at the place
I work at, and have been advised that our "electrical installation
testing" is out of date.

For commercial premises, what is (or what is the source of?) the
requirement to have electrical installations tested?

Thanks in advance for anyone willing to drop in their tuppence - I
appreciate not a DIY question, but I know many here are very
knowledgeable and can point me in the right direction.

It will depend entirely on the nature of installation and what it's
used for. Also it's age may come into play, particularly if it's old,
and how often it's modified.

For installations in new/good condition, something like 5 years for
a full power-down test, plus some intermediate visual inspections,
including thermal imaging if your load is 100kVA. However, if
you have things like swimming pools, then those would demand more
frequent testing.

Also, don't forget appliance testing (commonly called PAT testing).
Someone in your position should take the C&G 2377-01 course and
hold the certificate (only takes a day) which covers management of
PAT testing. You might as well do C&G 2377-02 too, which is the
actual PAT testing (usually runs on a consecutive day), even if
you end up contracting it out (you're still responsible for it
and ensuring your contractors are compitent to undertake it, which
many aren't).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Cheers - we've got PAT testing under control! Funny you should
mention swimming pools.....

Matt

larkim wrote:
Not looking for a "gospel" answer here, but I'm no expert and looking
to validate some info I've been given.

I'm responsible for the activities of the estates manager at the place
I work at, and have been advised that our "electrical installation
testing" is out of date.

For commercial premises, what is (or what is the source of?) the
requirement to have electrical installations tested?

The Health and Safety Executive offer free advice, although you may need
to do a little looking to find what applies to your specific case.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/index.htm

Alternatively, ask them to come around and have a look. You may get
brownie points for inviting them in and you will get free, unbiased
advice. The only downside is that they have the power to insist that you
do certain things if they think them necessary up to and including
taking anything dangerous out of use immediately. However, anyone
genuinely concerned about safety would want to do those things anyway.

Colin Bignell

As posted, certain facilities impose special requirements re livestock
(horses), swimming pools etc.

One thing I would add #1 the best testing regime includes visual
inspection rather than just meters, #2 those doing inspecting &
maintenance can have a conflict of interest. Put the two together and
you get the remunerative work done first whilst howling errors remain
undetected.

Eg, Insulation Resistance tests may pass cable where all insulation
has rotted off but the conductors sufficiently spaced remain insulated
by air. That is a lot more common than you think :-)