Compliance on a Budget
In these uncertain times it is of paramount importance that businesses large and small know the costs of all aspects of their building maintenance. Included in that category is of course the essential Electrical Compliance Testing.
Fixed Wire Testing, Portable Appliance Testing, Thermal Imaging, Emergency Lighting and the subsequent Remedial Repairs are the services which address all the demands of the relevant standards, regulations and legislation surrounding safety of electricity in the working environment.
The frequency of testing is dependent upon the type and use of the building and the kind of business in occupancy. However, in general FWT is usually on a 5 year rota with PATs (depending on usage) and Emergency Lighting on an annual basis. This can cause peaks and troughs in budgeting for compliance testing in cash flow forecasts.
Perhaps a sensible constructive solution would be to carry out all the necessary compliance testing in one properly constructed package, spreading the cost over the five years of the FWT rota. CGE have several options which could suit the requirements of SMEs and larger corporate entities alike.
For example, it may not be necessary to carry out 100% of the Periodic Fixed Wire Testing every year – depending on when the last test was carried out and the number of tests required, it is possible to spread the testing over the remaining number of years until the next test should be completed i.e. over 5 years 20% of the tests could be carried out annually with the interceding years covered by thermal Imaging of the untested circuits.
By detecting anomalies often invisible to the naked eye, thermal imaging has evolved into one of the most cost effective and valuable diagnostic tools for both predictive and preventive maintenance.
Speed of operation coupled with the fact that thermal imagers do not require contact with the circuits or electrical components, has the advantage that they can be used when the system is under load whilst the equipment being tested is in operation. By reviewing thermal images of equipment, decisions to either repair or replace equipment become more effective by increasing equipment reliability and overall costs reduction.
Add into this equation the annual Portable Appliance Testing and Emergency Lighting Inspection and the cost could be effectively integrated into the package and carried out at the same time as the other testing. Regrettably Emergency Lighting has often been regarded as a “fit and forget” product. As with all electrical systems regular testing and maintenance is a must!
The implications of failure of the Emergency Lighting could be catastrophic and in the event of an incident a neglected un-maintained non-compliant system could result in prosecution under the Health and Safety Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.
Please remember that the insurance cover of your premises may also be affected if your compliance testing including Emergency Lighting inspection is not correctly maintained.