Social Housing and the Great Debate - Electrical Periodic Inspections

Over the last few years I have been trying tirelessly to open up debate that Social Housing Electrical Inspections are different than others, sometimes this has put me in the lime light whereby some of the most senior organisations in the electrical trade have loaded their weapons and fired aggressively at me. Naively it has taken a while for me to realise that peoples passion in the sector, which is fuelled simply by the joy of getting it right, is somewhat diluted when you invite commercial organisations into the mix. We argue that 5 years is the right timescale because a guidance document says so, yet no one can justify why its 5 years. Some people say because it's safer than 10 years but that doesn't make sense because 1 year is better than 5 years.... oh, I forget, it's then the cost implications which we've felt anyway even though theres no stats to say 5 years will be better or safer than the 10 years it was. So confusing. Maybe someone will get an OBE for this.

In this article I will walk through why Electrical Testing is a very small part of what’s important when carrying out Electrical Testing. I will also clearly explain why common sense in the electrical sector is sparse or simple ignored because of a different objective. The easiest way to do this is to give you a few examples, written from individual perspectives. 

The Electrician

Today I tested a 3 bedroom house which had 15 circuits in the consumer unit. The positive here is that nothing was wrong and all the results were in accordance with BS7671. There was a high R1R2 and r2 with some low Insulation Resistance readings but nothing that would make this property non compliant to the regs as the max Zs values were ok. Oh, I forgot, the property had Solar PV on the roof and an unidentified circuit in the board which I disconnected. 

The Compliance Manager

Today I received an Electrical Installation Condition report from a sparky who had tested one of our 3 bedroom properties. Now, I have two choices with this document; 

1. He has noted the document as Satisfactory with a next inspection date of 5 years. Accept and store? 
2. Understand the data and react in accordance? 

Using only the information I have above

High R1R2 and Low Insulation resistance - It is important to assess this to determine the level of deterioration (if any). An exercise to obtain the previous report to cross reference is essential because the landlord, who is in possession of both documents, will be in possession of data that shows signs of deterioration and yet has done nothing about it. There is a couple of issues here: 

• Electricians test with tunnel vision to the BS7671 giving very little thoughts to the bigger picture. 
• Defective Premises Act - if there is documented deterioration and you’ve done nothing about it, this constitutes negligence and will result in significant disrepair claims. 
• Asset Management lifecycle impact - you plan to have a whole life cost of an asset and then this happens which increases that 

High r2 (r2 is different to R2 remember - testing r2 is end to end testing R2 is combined with R1). Ow depending on the level of competence of the person reviewing this document depends on the ability to spot something that potentially costs Social Housing in time spend searching. Let me explain: 

Currently in colleges we are taught to test end to end on ring final circuits. Once we obtain the r1 value (remember r1 is end to end of the line conductor only), we can then calculate the value of r2 to validate the reading before we take. Its basic resistance calculations based on the size of one conductor over the same length as another with a different diameter. Were taught to calculate 1.67. 

So, r1 x 1.67 = r2 (or does it??)

It depends on the size of the Circuit Protective Conductor (CPC). If the r1 = 2.5mm and the r2 = 1.5mm then yes it does. If the r2 = 1mm then the multiplier is different (its r1 x 2.5 = r2). 

Now if a Competent manager gets this and spots it we don’t have a problem. If a non Competent manager gets this it could result in a follow on repair order. You can see the cost increasing. 

Solar PV - Does that property have Solar PV on our system. Was it part of an investment process that we specified and monitored. If not there is no a task whereby the manager has to contact and request sign of documents for the Solar PV. They have to visit and ensure the system has used approved products that do not give rise to danger….. 

Electrical Separation, correct RCDs, Isolation at the correct points, bonding and protections?? 

And finally, Unidentified circuit which has been disconnected. Now in todays world this is a dangerous practice simply because we have devices which can back feed Direct Currents into our installations. Now in tis circumstance what if the unidentified circuit was a socket outlet in the garage which the tenant plugs their hybrid car into. Even though it was originally installed incorrectly, its something a lot of folk do and now we’ve made it worse if there’s a fault. 

These are really just some of the issues we face in Social Housing. The documents electricians produce simply give us a steer, they don’t in most cases mean compliance in any way. Good Compliance and Electrical Managers understand how to link the many other standards and regulations that we are hit with daily, 

Some common ones to consider if you want to understand Social Housing better: 

• Landlord and Tenants Act
• Housing Act
• HHSRS - although being reviewed its a great insight into risk
• Defective Premises 
• Electricity at Work Regulations (some key regulations which can’t be ignored - see Reg 29)
• BS7671 - I would only concern yourself with Fundamental Principles at the front of the book
• Fire Safety Reform
• Consumer Protection
• British Standards - 5839 part 1 and 6, 999, 5266 etc
• ISO standards for Asset Management and Quality etc
• Building Regulations

If you don’t have at least a basic understanding of the above and you test in Social Housing, the output you provide is just the start of a very long process of confirming compliance. You simply start the ball rolling…..

Over the last few years this is the simple point Ive tried to make. Ive been shot down a lot because I’ve stated that the Joint Industry Board Gold Card is nothing more than a card that shows someone once did something and therefore doesn’t provide any assurance to those who need to confirm compliance. Ive also stated that Individual Accountability is probably the most important thing when managing risk as it points directly to one person if there is an issue. Surely this is common sense and very obvious. 

You need to understand the task you're working on to do it to the best of your ability. You have to be competent to know what you're doing and be able to say no when. asked to do something you're not competent to do. Right now Social media is firing rounds at the Competent Person Schemes yet my view is that we should embrace these companies as they're the closest we have to Continuous monitoring of electricians. I don't mean every 3 years like some schemes, every year an electrician should be assessed against the things he/she does. Why is that so hard to accept?