Fixed Installation Testing

Periodic Inspection and Testing, is a report on the electrical wiring of a property, outlining any defects it may have that may prove to be a safety hazard.  Owners of buildings have a duty of care to users.  The wiring of buildings is an area that is often taken for granted, yet it can be a major cause of fire or injury thought electric shocks.

The legal requirements are enshrined in the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and states that:

  • “All systems shall at all times be of such construction as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, danger
  • All systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, such danger
  • Every work activity… shall be carried out in such a manner as not to give rise, so far as is reasonably practicable, danger
  • Any equipment provided under these Regulations for the purpose of protecting persons at work on or near electrical equipment shall be suitable for the use which it is provided”

Why carry out Electric Installation Condition Report (EICR).?

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that to comply with the regulations, an inspection and testing programme should be undertaken at all places of work.

EICR inspection and testing is necessary because all electrical installations deteriorate due to a number of factors such as damage, wear & tear, corrosion, excessive electrical loading, ageing and environmental influences.

The requirements for fixed installation testing are contained within the institution of Electrical Engineers 18h Edition, Wiring Regulations (BS 7671) Guidance Note 3.  Depending upon the type of establishment, the frequency of inspection and testing will vary.  However, all electrical installations require testing to meet the requirements of the IEE Wiring Regulations.

Benefits of the Service

Eagle employ qualified electricians to carry out all electrical testing work to the highest standard whilst providing the most competitive prices to our clients.  We treat each client as an individual, therefore, tailoring each testing program to the needs of each customer.  When testing is being carried out there is a requirement for parts of the installation to be isolated for periods of time, therefore we offer out of hours testing and will work with the client to perform necessary tasks during shutdown periods.

We will provide your company or organisation with a comprehensive report accredited by the NICEIC.  What our engineers do for an EICR?

On the day the electrician will conduct various tests in order to issue an electrical certificate. Below are the most common processes they perform on the day which you may want to keep for reference.

Visual Testing

A visual test will be conducted prior to the testing sequence to identify faults or problems

Dead testing

Continuity testing: a test to check if there are any badly connected conductors (wires)

Insulation resistance testing: this test is to make sure that the electrical insulation material surrounding the conductors is intact.

Polarity, this test is to check that the connection are connected in the right sequence

Earthing arrangement testing: this check is to make sure that the earthing arrangement complies with regulations and that all connections are sound.

Live testing

Earth fault loop impedance testing: this test is to check that if a fault did occur, that the system meets requirements to cause a disconnection of the supply within the time limit specified. May be calculated depending on the installation

RCD testing: on modern electrical systems RCD’s and RCBO’s are regularly fitted, these devices react to electricity missing from the circuit or installation such as when a person is receiving an electric shock as the electricity passes through his/her body to the ground (earth).

Coding

The codes used to determine whether there are non-compliances or issue with the electrical installation and are numbered C1 to C3. These codes will be entered on the Electrical Installation Condition Report, along with a description of the nature of the fault, and will determine whether a ‘Satisfactory’ or ‘Unsatisfactory’ report will be applied to the installation.

Code C1 ‘Danger present’: There is a risk of injury and that immediate remedial action is required to remove the dangerous condition.

Code C2 ‘Potentially dangerous condition’: Urgent remedial action required, this should declare the nature of the problem, not the remedial actions required.

Code C3 ‘Improvement recommended’ This code more often than not implies that while the installation may not comply with the current set of regulations, complies with a previous set of regulations and so is deemed to safe although this safety can be improved upon.

As well as offering fixed installation testing services, we also offer an efficient, competitive, initial verification and inspection service which is an independent report that confirms any new electrical installation work complies with current British Standards.  Further to this, we have the facilities to produce fill schematic diagrams showing the layout of the fixed installations.

PAT Testing.

We now also carry out PAT testing.