Why is it necessary to have so much form filling when electrical installation work or periodic inspection and testing of an installation has been carried out?

Answer

BS 7671 requires that:

• On completion of an installation or an addition or alteration to an installation, appropriate inspection and testing shall be carried out to verify that the requirements of the standard have been met (Regulation 134.2.1 refers). Additionally, Regulations 631.1, 631.3 and 633.2 require that relevant documentation shall be completed.
• Periodic inspection and testing of an electrical installation must be carried out to determine whether the installation is in a satisfactory condition for continued service (Regulation 621.1 refers). Additionally, Regulation 631.2 requires that relevant documentation shall be completed.
• A legible diagram, chart or table or equivalent form of information must be provided indicating a variety of information about an installation. For simple installations this may be provided on a schedule (Regulation 514.9.1 refers). Additionally, where the installation is in an agricultural or horticultural premise.

Regulation 705.514.9.3 requires that documentation must be provided to the user of the installation, which consists of:

• A plan indicating the location of all electrical equipment, and
• The routing of all concealed cables, and
• A single¬line distribution diagram, and
• An equipotential bonding diagram indicating locations of bonding connections.

An Electrical Installation Certificate or, where appropriate, a Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate is an important declaration that the installation work has been designed, constructed and inspected and tested in accordance with the requirements of BS 7671. Similarly, a Periodic Inspection Report or, where appropriate a Domestic Periodic Inspection Report, is a declaration that the inspection and testing has been carried out in accordance with the requirements of BS 7671. All of these forms contain, or are accompanied by, a record of the particulars of the installation, the work carried out and of the results of the inspection and testing.

It is also a requirement of regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EWR) that: “As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable such danger.”

In general, to demonstrate that the necessary inspection and testing has been carried out, and that relevant maintenance activities have been undertaken, to comply with the requirements of the EWR, records should be kept of the inspection and testing performed on an electrical installation. The Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations states that records of maintenance, including test results, should preferably by kept throughout the life of an electrical system. This enables the condition of the electrical equipment and the effectiveness of maintenance policies to be monitored.