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Daniel Turrell

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HI .

This is my first post . I have been looking but can not find a Clear awnser . I am a handyman maintenance man at a care home . I do a lot of jobs but feel a bit deflated when it comes to changing a plug of fitting a light jobs I know I can do but because I don't have an electrician qualification I won't touch them. in looked at training but it seems to he very expensive and as a family man I don't really have a huge amount of spare money. so I am wondering what are the guidelines on change plugs exc? is their a qualification I can get for minor works.  hope someone can point me in the right direction .

thanks .

 
you can do any electrical work providing you are competent (and if you are employed which it seems to be, that companies insurance allows you to do so)

what previous electrical experience do you have?

 
HI .

This is my first post . I have been looking but can not find a Clear awnser . I am a handyman maintenance man at a care home . I do a lot of jobs but feel a bit deflated when it comes to changing a plug of fitting a light jobs I know I can do but because I don't have an electrician qualification I won't touch them. in looked at training but it seems to he very expensive and as a family man I don't really have a huge amount of spare money. so I am wondering what are the guidelines on change plugs exc? is their a qualification I can get for minor works.  hope someone can point me in the right direction .

thanks .


In your own home as a DIY project you can do what you like. BS7671 wiring regulations are guidance for good practice, they are non statutory as such you could not be prosecuted directly for not complying with BS7671. However in any place of employment, where you are undertaking work for monetary gain other statutory laws do come into play. The first and most obvious is the Health & Safety at work act. Where you have a legal obligation to ensure anything you do whilst undertaking your daily job will not endanger you or any third party.

Just because a job is a minor work doesn't make it any less dangerous than a major task.  And because electricity can kill a healthy adult in less than half a second, the same fundamental principals apply to both minor and major works. Some of these include;  (a) Never work on live circuits. (b) Ensure the circuit you are working on cannot become accidentally re-energised whilst you are working on it. (c) Never re-energise a modified circuit without carrying out the standard dead tests to confirm it is safe to re-apply the power. (d) once the circuit is re-energised carry out the live tests to ensure everything is within the specified tolerance laid out in BS7671.

A reasonable knowledge and suitable test equipment would be needed in both cases. Should anything ever go wrong, you would need to be able to convince the H&S inspectors that you were competent to work alone and that you have sufficient knowledge and tools to undertake your work in a safe manner, without endangering anyone. An unskilled person can work supervised along side a competent person. But anyone working alone would generally have to be qualified to the same level with the industry standard C&G qualifications whether doing minor or major works, in order to show they are competent at what they do.

It is an expensive and time consuming qualification because if you get it wrong you can kill someone. Whereas a plumber may just have a damp floor if they do work wrong.

Doc H. 

 
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Thanks Doc. H 

 Thanks pretty much what I thought hence why on not undertaken any tasks . what would be the best body to go to to get some info on getting my electrical qualification. I have look online but it looks swamped with company's offering training at different prices.

 
Best place to start is to find out if your nearest college does C&G electrical installation courses. Any reputable college should do part-time evening courses, as well as the full time day courses, to allow those already in full time employment access to further training when daytime classes are not a practical option. A college environment with real lecturers and other students asking questions can often open up topics and solutions to problems you may not have thought about on your own. This is an aspect the cannot be replicated on any home/distance learning program. Are you an 'employee handyman' or are you a 'self employed handyman'?  If you are an employee ask if your employers are willing to assist with the training costs.

Doc H.  

 
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