Making it up as we go along?
Confessions this might have turned out to be a rant.
I have worked in this industry for years and the more involved I get the more I wonder is the industry being made up as it goes along or is there a fundamental part of training missing in the City and Guilds or do manufactures need to be more transparent in what there products can do.
I suppose I should elaborate on this, I was reading this article on The IET website
and it raises the issue with installing external consumer units for EV charge points and the design considerations that should be taken when installing such consumer units, for the example in this post I will use the EV IP65 weatherproof enclosure. https://www.bgelectrical.uk/uk/circuit-protection/ev-circuit-protection/ev-ip65-weatherproof
Its weather proof so can be installed out side
Its UV stable so capable of being in exposed to direct sunlight
we have ticked two boxes in the design consideration, now we move onto allowing for installation on a PME supply we are installing a metal enclosure outside, exposing any one that comes in contact with the enclosure to the potential difference between true earth and the CPC, not a good thing if a PEN fault has occurred.
So can this enclosure be installed Externally on a PME earthing system if we wish to protected against electric shock the answer is no.
In my years as a electrical contractor and now consultant I see this two often so were does the problem lie?
-The Training
-The manufactures
In my honest opinion its both of these and more, This post is giving me a lot of explaining to do. so let me do just that,
The Training
More should be done to emphases on product selection and design to give electricians the fundamental skills to look and a clients needs and adequately specify materials that meet those requirements, in addition meet all the requirements of BS7671 to protect the user and the premisses the installation has been carried out in,
The manufactures
Need to be more transparent the uses cases their products are use for enabling electricians to be able to select suitable products for their use cases.
The Industry its self
With a shortage of trained electrician in the UK, when I say trained I mean they have worked through apprenticeships to obtain their NVQ level 3 got their 2391 and are up to date with their latest regulations, not Microwave sparkies, any one who has sat the above will know what I mean by this even if have never heard it before.
Why do we compete against each other, at The Electrical Contractor Optimiser We spend significant time designing projects and writing quotations for our clients selecting materials based on design principles of BS7671 and suitability to the environment with cost in mind, to provide cost effective solutions for our clients to present to their customers. and it always a surprises with some of the prices we get told we have been under cut by, Worse than this what value, what has been missed for a comparative quotation to be sometimes thousands less?
This means the customers get a inferior product and the electricians dedicated to providing quality, safe installations with added value struggle to maintain their contracting business.
In the defence of the industry a lot of change has been made of the past years with the introduction of trade bodies such as NICEIC, NAPIT and the ESC only accepting electricians with relevant qualifications such as those noted earlier in the post meaning those Microwave sparkies must obtain further qualifications to join such industry bodies. This of course does not stop them from accessing materials and carrying out works for customers in some cases with out the necessary experience.
Some food for thought would the industry be better if electrical materials were only available to those qualified to use them?
This way the electrical contractors dedicated to following the rules, providing quality installations along with Value and service would not be penalised.
The Clients.
I don't think we can blame the directly as ignorance is bliss and more should be done to make consumers aware of the regulations and what to look for and ask when obtaining quotations for electrical works, and the risks when carrying out electrical DIY projects.
In conclusion there are many factors that are affecting this industry and none are solely blame, so if you were to ask me what is the solution to all if this would say there are few.
One: collaboration: Contractors should stop working against each other by stopping the under cutting, and create an industry were the comparison is value, client fit and repour.
of course when most consumers make their decisions based on price number one would not be possible with out number Two:
Impartial advice and an expansion of knowledge to the consumer: More should be done to educate consumer knowledge of the electrical industry and what contractors have to go through to provide professional services, on going value and the regulations they must adhere to, in order to complete installations
Three: Manufacture transparency: With Manufactures stating the use cases for their products the process of selection for electricians is made easier and less open to interpretation and the scenario I talked about at the beginning of this post will be less common.
I feel the chance of any of the above ever being possible is unlikely so what is the solution? As a far as the industry goes I don't think their is one.
Out side of the industry there is one at The E.C.O we are trying to be part of this solution by working with consumers to provide impartial advice and design for their infrastructure requirements enabling them to reach our community of Electrical contractors and industry professionals dedicated to promoting this change.
We might be a small glimpse of light, by working with us we can light up and make positive change in electrical industry.
Thank you for reading The Electrical contractor Optimiser
Please comment I would love to hear your thought on the current state of the electrical industry and where you think is going!.
