A special electrical safety initiative highlights threats to consumer safety through the availability of counterfeit and unsafe electrical plugs and sockets in the UK. The PlugSafe information portal is run by a voluntary group of professional electrical engineers that is working with other bodies to oppose the threats to safety posed by faulty [...]
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New advice on electrical safety management
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has announced that it is working on a new Code of Practice for Electrical Safety Management. The IET says that there are currently numerous technical publications on specific aspects of electrical safety, but at present, no single authoritative source on good practice for managing electrical s [...]
Clarification on PAT labeling
One of the most discussed areas of the new fourth edition of the IET Code of Practice is its revised guidance on appliance labelling. The Code now recommends that the date for re-testing should not be marked on the pass label usually attached to appliances after testing. This is a pretty clear statement and aims to stop contractors automaticall [...]
HSE fine for electrical safety breach
A Hertfordshire tool supply company has been told to pay £27,000 for endangering workers after neglecting to maintain electrical systems and equipment. Watford Magistrates’ Court heard that tools including power hammers and grinding machines, as well as fixed electrical systems, were so poorly maintained that they presented immediat [...]
Appliance safety and fire risks
In terms of preventing danger, it is often overlooked that formal electrical appliance inspection and testing programmes also play an important role in avoiding workplace fires that would otherwise be devastating for those involved. To highlight this threat, successive annual UK fire statistics show that faulty appliances and leads continue to [...]