ECA reported recently that the campaign to promote the Electrical Safety Register has now reached more than 32 million people after there was coverage on national TV, radio and newspapers.

The register was created in combination with the Electrical Safety Council and the Electrical Contractors Association and has more than 36,000 ELECSA, NICIEIC and ECA registered members.

As part of the campaign to promote the register and encourage homeowners to use it, ESC’s Director General, Phil Buckle, and the spokesman for the register, Tony Cable, both appeared on BBC Breakfast television. They discussed electrical safety in the home and concentrated on the potential dangers associated with people carrying out electrical work themselves and encouraged the use of registered electricians from the register.

In addition, as part of the campaign, a host of radio interviews on many local radio stations throughout the UK took place which tried to make people aware of the register’s existence and encouraged them to visit the website.

Part of the promise given to electricians on the register was that it would be promoted by ESC and ECA and following on from the promotion they have already carried out, further promotion to householders and UK citizens will take place to encourage them to use the service.

Both ECA and ESC fully believe that the register is a huge step forward in ensuring that only registered electricians carry out electrical work. It also promotes and encourages the public’s understanding of what these brands are and what they mean.

For information on the register and how to get your name on it, visit the electrical safety register website for details.

It’s important that businesses are aware of socket overloading and they understand the consequences of overloading extension leads and sockets with appliances.

To encourage them to think carefully and be safe, give them our top tips on avoiding socket overloading.

Encourage them to check the current rating of extension leads before plugging in appliances. Most are rated at 13A however some are rated at 10A or less. It is vital that they look carefully. Encourage them to check the underside of the extension lead to find the rating mark.

Advise them against overloading extension leads by plugging appliances in together which will exceed the maximum current rating for that extension lead. Ensure they understand that doing so could cause overheating and fire.

Ensure they understand that plugging extension leads into one another poses a great risk of overloading the wall socket. Encourage them to only use one extension lead per socket.

Help them to understand that using a multi-way bar extension lead rather than a block adaptor is a much better choice as it puts less strain on the wall socket.

Encourage them to watch out for any signs of a hot smelling plastic or burning near an appliance or socket, sparks or smoke coming from an appliance, blackness or scorch marks, damaged or frayed leads, wire insides of the lead showing, melted plastic on the appliance, fuses that blow or circuit breakers that operate for no reason.

If all businesses are diligent with their safety and regular checks, alongside their regular PAT testing procedures, they should be able to comfortably continue their daily business without an increased risk of damage or fire.

A fuse is there to break the circuit if a fault develops in an appliance which has caused too much current flow.

The fuse itself contains a piece of wire which can easily melt. If the current flowing through the fuse is too great, the wire will heat up until it melts, thus breaking the circuit.

Fuses in UK plugs are generally fitted with either a 3A or 13A fuse. Any appliance up to 700w will require a 3A fuse to be fitted. Whilst any appliance which is over 700w will need a 13A fuse to be fitted.

Although manufacturers have now standardised plug fuse ratings to be either 3A or 13A, it is still possible to find a 5A fuse in some older appliances and can still be bought.

Some loads use a 5A fuse rather than the normal 3A. For instance, in the case of a 500w halogen floodlight a 5A fuse could be used even though a 3A fuse would carry normal operating current. This is due to the large current the halogen light will draw as the cold resistance is lower than the resistance at operating temperature.

In the case of other appliances it is usual to find either a 3A or 13A fuse fitted to each one. Here are some examples of equipment which would typically use each type:

ESC’s continuing research into electrical risks posed by faulty appliances revealed the need to look at the safety of kitchen equipment with product standards.

This particular category is regularly notified as being unsafe by RAPEX and most worryingly is the products aimed at children.

The European Safety Standards for toasters and portable cooking appliances has been amended twice in the last few years in an attempt to reduce the surface temperate of appliances so that children from eight years old will be able to use these appliances safely.

As part of this ongoing concern, ESC decided to commission an independent laboratory test to inspect eleven products at random.

Products selected were from particular categories commonly found in domestic kitchens.

The range of products chosen for the test included the following:

• Toasters -3
• Halogen Oven – 1
• Mini Oven – 1
• Microwave Oven – 1
• Popcorn Maker – 1
• Rice Cooker – 1
• Deep Fat Fryer – 1
• Induction Cooker – 1
• Portable Washing Machine – 1

Once tests were completed, the results revealed that shockingly only one of the eleven products tested actually passed with no departures or observations being made.

More than half didn’t meet the required product standards, which is extremely worrying and highlights the need for manufacturers to ensure that their products meet relevant regulations.

As a randomly bought group of products, almost all should have easily passed these tests. The fact that they have not done so is a considerable problem that should be addressed.

The Electrical Safety Council is in the process of getting ready for the third Product Safety Conference in London on the 16^th May this year.

The Conference will be held at Church House in London and is set to be an interesting day. With speakers such as Malcolm Harbour, CBE, MEP and Chairman of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, opening the proceedings to emphasise how important product safety actually is, the day should be a huge success and will allow both consumers and professionals to discuss important factors and ideas.

Some of the key issues to be tackled on the day include discussing design issues and improvements that could be made with procedures like recall processes and the traceability of products. Also, there will be discussions on the best ways to teach consumers about safe buying, the safe use of appliances in the home, and how to ensure they take electrical safety seriously.

The list of speakers attending and discussing issues has not been finalised yet, however there are a few who have confirmed already and these include; Dyson, British Retail Consortium, Recalls UK, Bosch and AMDEA. There are sure to be some other well known brands speaking at the conference not included on this list and should make for an informative day.

If you are interested in learning more and getting involved with electrical product safety and would like to attend the conference, contact siobhan.doyle@esc.org.uk to book your place today. 

The Hire Association Europe (HAE) has announced a code of practice for the maintenance and safety of hire equipment.

Alongside HSE, IET, electrical test equipment suppliers and member companies, the Association has produced guidelines for the safe testing of electrical equipment for hire.

Now an industry standard best practice guide is available, it should help companies to ensure that any equipment they hire out, or hire in, is in good working order.

However, the guidance also confirms the legal duty that companies have to ensure that equipment being hired out has had routine electrical safety tests carried out and is safe for use.

So although there are a lot of changes taking place in the PAT industry and in the way testing is carried out, the requirement of companies to test hire equipment is a good thing for both testers and those who hire in electrical equipment.

The changes to the industry do not spell the end of PAT, but merely the updating and adapting of the industry. Those PAT testers who adapt to the changes and embrace them will surely continue to have a lucrative career.