Schools, call for special 2 year quote for 2008 Rob has decided to extend this popular offer into 2009 - ask ROB for details.

Vacancies _ where are all of the people looking for work!!!!!!!!!

For further details please contact us at jobs@e3electrical.co.uk, or call 01934 629 111. All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Our latest apprentice Logan, getting to grips with the cordless screwdriver - we start them early at E3.  We are still looking to fill the vacancies above.

The end of the pier...electrical fault

29 October 2008

One of the abiding images of 2008’s summer, apart from leaden clouds, was the sight of Weston-super-Mare’s Grand Pier ablaze in the process of being reduced to a charred shell. Last week it was revealed that an electrical fault was the likely cause and that the complete destruction of the pier could have been averted had the manned alarm response contract not been cancelled just a month before the fire…

Reports suggest an alarm signal was sent to the monitoring company at 0135 on the 28th July, but the fire service was not called until 0645. Somerset Fire & Rescue have stated they believe that with the 5 extra hours, the 104 year old structure could have been saved. The pier’s demise had a huge impact on the Weston-super-Mare community, and the news that the fire service were not contacted immediately will undoubtedly be hard to swallow.

The reason for the delay was that the contract with a security firm to send a manned guard to check the building and if necessary call the fire service was cancelled in June. The alarm monitoring company instead attempted to contact the key holder, who they say did not answer their phone.

If the loss of a building can rightly be described as a tragedy, then this certainly comes close. An electrical fault in the cabling to the pier illuminations is thought to have been the initial cause of the blaze, but the fact it got so out of control is clearly down to the lack of a proper escalation procedure on the part of the pier’s owners.

This case is proof that electrical testing should be an important part of planned maintenance, the electrical circuits require testing on a regular basis.

But on the plus side, a new pavilion is already in the early stages of planning with Angus Meek Architects winning the contract to carry out a £10m redevelopment. Hopefully a decent proportion of the £10m will be spent ensuring the new pier doesn’t meet a fiery end.

PAT testing.

WARNING we have discovered that some servers might have a problem on restarting. A techie working for a government organisation has told us that the power packs of some servers that have been left switched on for a prolonged period might fail on restarting, this is apparently a known problem in the IT industry. Please seek advice from your IT department before testing.

FAQ

We occasionally get enquiries from customers asking us to explain some of the tests that we carry out, one of the most frequently asked questions seems to be concerning items that have a separate power lead. 

Some of our competitors are telling our customers that although they charge more per test than we charge that they are in fact cheaper because they will test the lead and appliance together as one test, this would appear to make sense, because it follows that if there was a fault on either the lead or the appliance then it should be picked up on one test, this is wrong.  The contractors using this as a sales tool are either misinformed or are unaware  of the regulations there are two reasons for testing the leads separately.

1. Firstly the regulations state that items with removal leads should be tested separately.

2. Secondly the tests carried out on IT equipment or other sensitive equipment are different from the test's carried out on the power leads, it is just not possible to test them both at the same time, if the test was carried out to check the power lead (a class 1 test) then this could damage the sensitive appliance.

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR) places a legal responsibility on employers and employees, as duty holders, to ensure that electrical systems used at work under their control are safe.

Who is Responsible, official stuff.

Householders - Guide to your fusebox

Fun Stuff

Job vacancies updated Sunday, 01 February 2009

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