Fixed wire inspection & testing

Fixed Wire Testing is the testing of the electrical installations within a building to ensure they are safe & compliant.

employers are legally required to ensure, as far as is reasonably practical, the health, safety and welfare of their employees. Fixed wire testing is a crucial part of that requirement.

Testing your buildings electrical installations also provides additional benefits to you, identifying areas where you can reduce electrical energy usage, helping with your green credentials as well as saving you costs.

Is your business compliant?

Do you know when your next periodic fixed wire test is due and are fully aware of the regulations, as well as the requirements that your testing provider must adhere to ensure that your certification is valid?

Veriserv provide the services that ensure our customers can prove they have taken the necessary steps with periodic fixed wire testing to comply with the regulations and practices required.

Our technical knowledge, quality of service and values have enabled us to be the provider of choice, winning large contracts such as McDonalds, Cadbury’s and TNT, which are testament to the trusted supplier status we have with our customers.

The below information covers all the key areas with regards to fixed wire testing, obligations and legal requirements along with Veriserv’s values & approach, expertise and capabilities along with the added value services we provide our customers, including best practice, secure reporting and remedial works.

Take advantage of our free assessment, simply fill in the form to the right and we will contact you to discuss your requirements and arrange a suitable appointment date and time. Reducing the risk that you may not be compliant and giving you peace of mind that you are covered.

What’s included in Fixed Wire Testing?

The term Fixed Wiring Inspection &Testing generally refers to the inspection & testing activity of the electrical installation within a building. This being the electrical wiring and systems between the incoming electrical supply and final circuits; eg plug sockets, isolators, lights etc.

It would not refer to equipment which is plugged in or wired into spurred sockets or isolators. Please refer to our Fixed Equipment Testing for more information.

Electrical Fixed Wiring Inspection &Testing can also be generally referred to as; Fixed Wire Inspection, Periodic Inspection and Testing, or Electrical Installation Testing.

It is a legal requirement.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is an act of parliament which places a duty on all employers to; ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety and welfare at work of all their employees.

Within the act there is a provision for regulations which cover the legal requirement pertaining to specific subject areas and The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 covers electrical systems within occupied premises. The regulations make reference to various standard codes of practice (ACOP), British Standards and guidance notes which have been published by bodies other than the Health and Safety Executive. These provide best practice guidance for complying with the regulations. For Fixed Wiring Inspection & Testing these include;

  • British Standard BS7671 – Requirements for Electrical Installations, IET Wiring Regulations
  • IET Inspection & Testing Guidance Note 3
  • HSE Electricity at Work – Safe working Practices
  • HSE memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 section 3a states that an employer or self-employed person is to comply with the provisions of these regulations in so far as they relate to matters which are within his/her control. It’s also worth noting that regulation 3 (2a) states that it is a duty of every employee, whilst at work, to cooperate with his/her employer so far as is necessary to enable any duty placed on an employer by the provisions of these regulations to be complied with.

The Electricity at work regulations 1989 impose duties on “employers” and “duty holders” in respect to electrical systems, electrical equipment and conductors.

The purpose of the regulations is to prevent death or personal injury to any person from electrical causes in connection with work activities.

Employers and self-employed people must comply with the provisions of the Electricity at work regulations 1989. Regulation 4 (2) states that as necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, such danger.

A duty holder can demonstrate compliance with the regulations, in respect to their electrical installation, by employing a competent company to carry out an electrical fixed wire inspection and test of their premises. We hope that company would be Veriserv.

Why do I have to have these tests performed periodically?

The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) produce guidance note 3 which incorporates 17th edition IET wiring regulations to BS7671. Section 3 of the guidance covers Electrical Periodic Inspection and Testing.

Periodic Inspection and testing is required because an electrical installation will deteriorate over time due to a number of factors such as; damage, wear and tear, corrosion, excessive electrical loading, ageing and environmental influences.

Veriserv are experts in this area and we would be happy to survey your premises, examine previous reports, review your maintenance regime and advise you on the correct frequency and scope of test to ensure your statutory compliance.

Veriserv are experts in this area and we would be happy to survey your premises, examine previous reports, review your maintenance regime and advise you on the correct frequency and scope of test to ensure your statutory compliance.

What experience does Veriserv have in this field?

Originally incorporated in 1991 as Electrotest Services Limited, the company was re branded as Veriserv early in 2015 .

We initially started testing Portable Appliances (PAT) following the introduction of the electricity at work regulations 1989 which came into force on 1st April 1990 and placed a duty on owner/operators of non-domestic property to provide a safe place of work to all employees, by maintaining their electrical systems including portable appliances and electrical fixed wiring installations.

The company soon branched out into fixed wire inspection and testing, by employing qualified electrical inspection engineers and gaining accreditation with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Inspection Contractors (NICEIC), the leading body who set the standards for electrical testing contractors. In the following years the company gained large contracts with leading companies such as Mc Donald’s Restaurants, Cadbury’s, Forte Hotels and TNT together with public sector organisations such as County Councils, HM Prison and Fire services. Veriserv has established itself as one of the leading Fixed Wiring Inspection and Testing companies in the UK.

Engineer/Inspector Competence

Guidance states that the inspector or engineer carrying out the electrical fixed wiring inspection and testing of any electrical installation must, as appropriate to his or her function, have a sound knowledge and experience relevant to the nature of the installation being inspected/tested and of BS7671 and other technical standards.

Also the engineer must employ suitable test equipment during the inspection and testing process and have sufficient inspection experience to correctly interpret the results with respect to the requirements of BS7671.

All Veriserv ‘s senior engineers are electrically qualified to a very high standard, having passed City & Guilds qualifications as a time served electrical engineer and then passed more specialist qualifications in Electrical Inspection & Testing. Furthermore, Veriserv will carry out more contract specific training in order to deliver a high standard of workmanship and meet our client’s expectations. Our minimum qualifications and experience standards are set out in our ISO9001 management system and as a client you are welcome to check this and engineer qualification certificates upon request.

Veriserv Values

The Veriserv brand message is very much based upon a set of values. Our values sum up what we believe Veriserv stands for and what we would like our customers or others to say about us.

We want our customers to be saying that our business and people are; Trustworthy, Honourable, Enthusiastic, Authorities and Dependable. These are our values and this we believe sets us apart from our competitors.

Given Periodic Electrical Inspection and Testing is a continual process over years in time, we want to ensure that as a client, your expectations are exceeded and you want to stay with us. This is something we are proud of and many of our larger clients have been with us for over 10 years.

What Account Management from Veriserv means

We manage each account with the same values in mind. We will discuss with you the scope and frequency of the testing, create a technical specification where necessary and then agree the costs with you.

All Veriserv’s Electrical Fixed Wiring Inspection & Testing clients will have an account manager assigned. If we are to manage an estate or multiple properties this manager will be a more senior person who has experience of your environment and can act as a central point of contact. Veriserv are experts at managing more difficult environments such as Universities, research institutions, laboratories and IT suites. Prior to implementation your account manager will discuss our role in detail and agree a plan of works if necessary to ensure smooth running and make sure your business and staff experience the minimum disruption during testing.

Our aim is to provide you with a fully managed service and give you the peace of mind that you fully comply with your statutory obligations as an employer or duty holder.

How does it work when Veriserv Engineers work on site?

Prior to the testing we will have supplied any risk assessments and method statements you require, or agreed permits to work or inductions if these should be necessary.

Whilst on site at your premises our engineers will liaise with you to ensure that you are kept in the loop and can agree any changes to the testing plan. Our engineer may need to turn off certain circuits during testing and he will discuss this with you or your staff to make sure your critical activities are maintained at all times. Our engineers are experienced in “working around” your business on the day, to ensure your business is not disrupted in any way.

Switchgear and distribution boards will need to be opened during testing. Our engineers are health & safety trained and will make sure areas have signage, are secured or taped off to make sure your staff are kept safe at all times.

During the testing the engineer will be noting faults and taking photographs for inclusion in your report. These will be input to a handheld computer and the data transferred remotely to our office after the job has been completed and signed off by the engineer on site.

The added benefit of Secure Web Reporting

We continually strive to utilise information technology and have invested heavily to find efficiencies using bespoke software Veriserv have developed over many years, specifically for Electrical Inspection and Testing including improved data accuracy, secure data transfer, the use of wireless telecommunications, waste reduction and improved engineer productivity, all of which enables us to price competitively to you.

The test data from site is received by our back office systems and compiled into a full report and certificate for you. The report will then be qualified by a senior qualifying supervisor to make sure it meets the strict criteria set by regulations and our NICEIC accreditation. Once approved and signed off the report will be delivered electronically to a secure website portal, which has been setup depending upon the services we provide to you. We will provide you with secure logon details so you can login remotely and manage your electrical testing reports. We can always provide reports on CD or by e mail as a pdf’s if required.

You have the facility to use the portal to upload and manage your own associated reports should you wish to do so. For example, if you employ a maintenance engineer who carries our remedial works you can upload the minor works certificate to the secure portal to keep alongside the Inspection & test report.

We can configure your portal area to provide user or site level view, or provide a higher level management view of a complete estate or number of buildings.

Remedial Works Management

For larger organisations and as part of your secure portal, Veriserv can provide you with our remedial works module; this allows you to manage the rectification of remedial works identified at the time of test.

You can print off job sheets which list all remedial works and once the repairs have been completed the data can be updated to provide a “Clear” status on your installation. Also you can amend the live data of your Inspection & Test reports, adding or deleting circuits if the installation is changing. This, safe in the knowledge that your original Inspection & test report is filed securely in pdf format to maintain your original inspection & test results for compliance purposes.

How do I book in?

If you require fixed wire testing, or any electrical testing within your business, simply fill out our contact form to book your free assessment, or call 01543 225306 to speak to a member of our team.

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