If you are working on a property renovation or refurbishment project then Building Regulations will probably apply to your wiring work and electrics. 

 

If your electrics aren’t properly installed, they can be a fire hazard and could lead to injury or electrocution. That’s why they have been brought into the Building Regulations under Part P. 

Now that many businesses are re-opening offices, shops and other buildings it’s important to remember emergency lighting maintenance. 

 

When a building has been empty for weeks or months the batteries or backup power for all types of emergency lighting bulkheads or LEDs and exit signs need to be fully checked 

Business owners will know about their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA). 

 

However, the Electricity at Work Regulations add additional requirements for electrical safety. 

 

Employers must make sure activities at work that use or might be affected by electricity are done safely. Any foreseeable risks must also be assessed and minimised, as far as possible. 

Leaders in testing, inspection and certification, Bureau Veritas, have highlighted safety risks in the UK’s schools. 

 

All of the country’s education institutions are being urged to take a more rigorous approach to safety and compliance. 

Quality, health and safety experts, Bureau Veritas, have warned that an increasing number of AC-type residual current devices (RCDs) are being affected by direct currents (DC) from modern electronic devices, electric appliances, and renewable energy sources. 

 

The previous (17th Edition) Wiring regulations said that AC-type RCDs should be used for sockets that might supply outdoor equipment. However, with increasing number of domestic, commercial and industrial sites now installing renewable energy sources such as solar panels, Bureau Veritas says that these RCDs might not be fit for purpose. 

We’ve recently had some challenges to find and fix faults in commercial electrical installations. 

 

Electrical systems are often complicated and tailored to a business’s needs. 

 

If you’re not the electrician who did the original installation, it can be quite difficult to track down the root cause of a problem.