Certification
Certification is becoming increasingly important to clients, contractors and others involved in electrical and other building services design, installation and maintenance work.
The ECA advises members on the options available to electrical contractors requiring recognition of ability and competence. Areas covered include general electrical contracting, fire alarm installations, emergency lighting installations and security alarm installations – these collectively being the traditional mainstream work of ECA member companies and the areas most likely to require some form of contractor recognition.
In addition to helpline advice, ECA members have access to an online document and further information, which present the options available for the areas mentioned above in a series of tables.
More information on certification options
Competent Person Schemes
The Association is also involved in providing access to two competent person schemes, Part L and Part P of the Building Regulations.
Part L of the Building Regulations
The ECA has been approved by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) – now the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) – to operate an Electrical Energy Efficiency Scheme. This Scheme is for firms wanting to self-certify that their electrical installation work carried out in commercial and industrial buildings complies with Part L of the Building Regulations.
The Scheme comprises three scopes covering the following areas of work:
- lighting
- electrical heating
- controls.
For further information, visit the Part L website at www.partl.co.uk.
Part P of the Building Regulations
Part P was introduced on 1 January 2005 to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by faulty installations and to make it harder for incompetent and rogue installers to leave electrical installations in an unsafe condition.
The ECA works with BRE Certification (BREC), who has been approved by ODPM (now DCLG) to operate a Part P Scheme for firms wanting to self-certify that their electrical installation work carried out in dwellings complies with Part P of the Building Regulations. Under this arrangement, the ECA is specifically concerned with undertaking the assessments on behalf of BREC and management of the job registration process.
For further information, visit the Part P website at www.partp.co.uk.
In January 2007, the ECA acquired ELECSA, a competent person scheme approved by the DCLG (formerly the ODPM) to deliver a self-certification scheme for those tradespeople undertaking domestic electrical work. The ELECSA scheme was set up to enable electrical installers to self-certify that their work is Part P compliant, and ELECSA's mission is to make compliance for UK electricians as simple and cost effective as possible.
The principles of ELECSA are to operate a straightforward certification scheme that is friendly and easy for contractors to use. To date there are 2500+ electrical firms registered with ELECSA, notifying approximately 500 jobs per week.
For more information, visit the ELECSA website at www.elecsa.org.uk or email enquiries@elecsa.co.uk.