The announcement issued by the minister Christopher Leslie just before Easter concerning the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Regulations’ proposals for electrical safety is most welcome.
The ECA has been lobbying government for a decade to achieve this and to do so, as it is now planning, by referencing the Wiring Regulations within the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Regulations. The Wiring Regulations will then carry the statutory clout that they deserve.

This is also a route to the effective registration of quality contractors. Firms will want to certify their work as complying with the Regulations. To achieve this, they will have to be assessed and registered as competent.

A key question is: what standards should be required of competent contractors? The ECA argues strongly that they should meet the Electrotechnical Assessment Scheme (EAS). This is an industry-wide scheme developed with government support for exactly this purpose. We call on government to adopt it unambiguously as the benchmark for competent contractors.

Recent figures issued by HSE show a significant fall in construction-related accidents for the electrotechnical sector. The ECA, through its Zero Accident Potential (ZAP) campaign, has been at the forefront of continually providing companies with immediate access to information on best health and safety practice. While the reduction in accidents is welcomed, just one is too many.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor