Following the Governments recent announcement regarding the Coronavirus lockdown, the construction and manufacturing industry are encouraged to start operating again as long as they can provide and maintain social distancing and good hygiene.

Some of our clients have been in touch with us ahead of them returning to their workplace to make sure their building is ready for their return so whether that be relamping, carrying out remedial works following recent electrical testing or making sure they are still compliant with their buildings safety testing.

Where to start? – One area we really want clients to think about prior to their return, whether thats as soon as this week or in the coming months, is their emergency lighting.

If your emergency lighting hasn’t been tested recently then it should be before the premises reopens and staff return to an operational building. This then ensures the batteries are charged and all the emergency luminaries are going to work in an emergency as they will be how your staff will be able to evacuate safely from the building.

It’s important to remember that emergency lighting in a building also assists the emergency services such as The Fire Brigade to enter, carry out their important work and leave the building safely also.

Emergency Lighting Testing  – We are still able to go in and test your emergency lighting in your business premises even if you are not there as it is classed as essential maintenance. We just need access to be given and social distancing to be adhered to for the sake of our electricians and any staff that may be on site.

How can we help? – If you want to discuss if your building is ready prior to returning then why not get in touch with us. We can assist any businesses in St. Albans and surrounding areas not just the manufacturing and Construction industry, so please let us know if we can be of any assistance.

For now we hope everyone continues to stay safe!

Fulcher Edwards Ltd carry out a lot of Electrical Installation Condition Reports aka EICR’s, EIC Report, Home Buyers Certificate, Landlords Test, Periodic Inspections in St. Albans & surrounding areas and usually after we send the EIC Report we have a lot of questions especially if it reads Unsatisfactory.

Depending on the size of the property will depend how big the report is but some can be quite a few pages long, especially for commercial premises. within your EIC Report there is an Observations and Recommendations Page, sometimes more than 1, that basically lists the items, descriptions and codes. Each observation has been allocated as appropriate a code which indicates to the person(s) responsible for the installation, the degree of urgency for remedial action.

At the bottom of each of these pages there is a description of codes which are as follows;

C1 – Danger Present – Risk of injury. Immediate remedial action required.

C2 – Potentially Dangerous – Urgent remedial action required.

C3 – Improvement Recommended.

FI – Further Investigation Required Without Delay.

If your EIC Report is deemed as Unsatisfactory then your chosen electrician in St Albans, London and Herfordshire will also send you a quotation for the remedial works for your consideration. Fulcher Edwards Ltd usually breaks the quote down into the relevant coding for ease for our customers.

We usually go through the recommended remedial works with our customers so they know what to expect so they can plan appropriately and they get us booked in as soon as they can.

We always advise our customers not to panic when they see a C1 or C2 on their EIC Report but to take it seriously and aim to get it rectified ASAP.

If you are considering an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) and want to know more about what is involved with having one, or maybe you want to discuss an Report you have had carried out, then why not get in touch on 01923 616985 or info@fulcheredwards.co.uk and we can advise accordingly.

This week is Electrical Fire Safety Week which is a great initiative promoted by Electrical Safety First. They work closely with the Home Office and Fire and Rescue services across the UK to help raise awareness on the dangers of electrical fires. Statistics they have collected show that “over half of all accidental house fires are caused by electricity. And nine out of ten electrical fires are caused by electrical products.”

At Fulcher Edwards we also consider ourselves to be advocates for electrical safety and put it at the forefront of what we do. Therefore we would like to share with you our tips and advice on how to stay electrically safe at home and in the office!

PAT Testing

PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) ensures your electrical items are safe to use. A PAT testing engineer will carry out visual inspections and tests to confirm the safety of the items. PAT testing should be carried out annually and is particularly important in the workplace or if you’re a Landlord.

EICR 

The British Standards recommended that all homeowners have an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) maximum every 10 years. Offices or rented accommodation should be every 5 years. EICRs establish how safe the electrics are in your building and will identify any potential hazards which could cause a fire. Following the electrician carrying out a thorough investigation, you will receive a report and recommendations which will keep your home in optimum electrical safety.

RCD

We always recommend RCD (Residual Current Device) protection to our customers. If you currently have no RCD protection, this will form as one of the recommendations in the report following your EICR. RCDs are a sensitive switching device that quickly turns off electricity when danger arises to reduce the risk of death or serious injury. RCDs turn off electricity in a fraction of a second and are far quicker and reliable than breakers and fuses.

Tradesman

Quality workmanship is all part of our service here at Fulcher Edwards. We are NICEIC registered electricians which means we will always be compliant to the highest standards of Part P building regulations. If you use an NICEIC registered electrician, you will be sure of a safe standard of work from a person who takes genuine pride in what they do.

Other things to consider:

• Always turns off electrical items when not in use! If an item if plugged into a socket, turn the socket off and remove the plug to be extra safe.
• Don’t overload your sockets or extensions leads. We understand that its unrealistic to have a plug socket for each item, however just be aware of putting to many high voltage items in one extension lead as this could result in a fire. Electrical Safety First have a brilliant interactive socket calculator which can be found here.
• Carry out visual checks. If any cables, sockets, or plugs appear faulty or damaged it is best to contact an electrician.
• Following on from last weeks blog about counterfeit items, always ensure you’re purchasing legit electrical items. A counterfeit may have not undergone thorough safety checks and therefore it could be faulty or possibly even deadly! Some products will also have the BSI Kitemark  on them which is the recognised symbol for quality and safety.
• Its always a good idea to not carry out electrical D.I.Y. A simple job which goes wrong could ultimately cause severe and expensive damage. Or even worse it could cause a fire. Therefore it is always best to contact a qualified and registered electrician.
• If worst comes to worst and a fire does start within your home, make sure your fire alarm is working! We always recommend you check your fire alarms weekly to ensure they’re still working correctly.

Join in with the Electrical Fire Safety Week conversations on twitter with hashtag #EFSW. For all your electrical needs including the ones mentioned above, please do not hesitate to contact us here!