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Control & Automation Technical Network - Verification of Control Panels to BS EN 61439

BS EN 61439-2 details 13 characteristics to be verified.

My difficulty is understanding how this is achieved in my industry.

For example on one particular contract there are 3 contractors involved in the design and verification of a control Panel (mcc).

The first of these is the main contractor who I as the client deal with directly. I tell them I need an mcc and other equipmnet such as pumps, valves, instrumentation, third party package plant etc.

The mcc is required to power and control these various items of plant and equipment to maintain a process so that it meets predefined standards.

The main contractor will ask a second contractor to provide an mcc which fulfills all the requirements. This second contractor will produce the electrical schematics for the mcc. They in turn will approach the

third contractor who special in producing the steelwork required for the mcc. At this stage the mcc will be empty, although it will have been divided into different size sections/doors. This will be delivered to the second contractor who will then

install all of the equipment such as fuses, cabling, busbars, breakers, drives, instrumentation, plc's, control switches/buttons, keypads/moniotrs etc.

I dont know who has responsibility for the design of the sections/compartments, which I guess will decide who is responsible for some of the 13 design verification ?

I presume the second contractor tells the third contractor how many sections/compartments is required and what equipment they will install in each section. Again I presume the third contactor knowing the number of sections and the equipment in them will be responsible for the sizing of each compartment and therefore the certification that goes along with them.

This leaves the second contractor - I presume he will share some of the reponsibility for verifying the 13 charactertistics ?

  • I would expect the main contractor to take all of the responsibility.  They may seek design details and certifications from the subcontractors, and make that a requirement of the subcontract.

  • Clauses 3.10 and 3.11 (of part 1) defines the terms used throughout the text and who has responsibility for each element. Table D1 describes 12 design verifications and lists the clauses, this assumes the latest standard (2021 version). The terms are "original manufacturer", "assembly manufacturer" and "user" so asign those to the different contractors and there you are.