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SKILL FADE

John Peckham
I have not carried out a periodic inspection and test on a large installation for about a year. I have done quite a few domestics in the mean time and some small installations.


Yesterday I did a periodic inspection and test on a large warehouse with offices following a fire. I was assisted by another qualified person.


At the start of the job I found myself having to think hard on what I was doing and a lot slower then previously. A vintage MCCB panel and couple of 3 phase distribution boards.


I was back to my old form by late afternoon but conscious that I had suffered skill fade. I wondered how long it would take before it would take before I needed to work as an assistant to regain my competency?


Interestingly 2 No. outside sockets provided for vehicle charging. Type AC RCBOs protecting the sockets on a MEM 2 DB. PME earthing system and no additional measures for PME protection. 2 vehicles on charge. Unplugging 1 vehicle to loop test the socket and my Megger loop tester said no thanks less then 45Hz. I think that cannot be right as the mains is highly unlikely to be less than 50Hz plus or minus a gnat's do dar! Unplug the second vehicle and the loop tester on the 1st socket happily does the loop test. All test kit in good order and calibrated last Saturday. 


One for Mike was my loop tester seeing a sub 50Hz harmonic from the vehicle on charge?


I am assessed once a year on my inspection and testing skills and have done so for the last 17 years. Would anyone else admit to experiencing skill fade whilst carrying out electrical work (not interested in your private life?

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    Call it what you will- skill fade is as good a description as any- but I would say that what you describe is a perfectly normal experience and, if it does make you "think hard", so re-evaluating what you do, rather than operate on auto pilot, that is a good thing as it guards against complacency. It is a bit like not cycling for a year or ten; you can hop straight on and not fall off and cope perfectly well, but your legs will ache a bit to start with.
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    I suppose I've noticed it the other way around - going back to something I've not worked on for a long time I'm usually pleasantly surprised what my memory suddenly digs up when the context is right. I'm sure if someone had asked me about the same thing out of the blue the day before I would have been completely blank! Maybe that's just the other side of the same coin - or maybe the same side and I just had less confidence in my memory in the first place

      - Andy.

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    Unplugging 1 vehicle to loop test the socket and my Megger loop tester said no thanks less then 45Hz.



    Could it have been a "mode 4" charge point?

       - Andy.
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    Just stopped for a coffee, a bit of retraining and I'll be back at it ?
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    When it comes to EICRs - I have never been anywhere near as fast as you and your crew...........I take a lot more time and think things through for a lot longer. Things also occur to you that would not occur to me, so even with a skill fade - you're probably twice the Inspection and tester that I'll ever be. It's not my forte that's for sure. (I'm competent - as you know - but it takes effort to do them). The form filling takes me all darn day too.
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    Andy


    No, Mode 1 with granny leads with the box in the lead between the car and the sockets. 


    Yes I am writing up the EICR today, all day, with lunch breaks and other parallel tasks as diversionary activities to relieve the tedium. 


    Just when did Square D stop making BS 3871 Type 4 MCBs?  


    Granny leads for you who do not know are for use when you go around to granny's house for Sunday lunch. Granny is on a meagre pension but you still scoff all her food and stay just long enough to fully charge your Tesla before leaving!

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    BS 3871 Part 1 was withdrawn on the 1st July 1994, so probably a bit before that, so feels like only yesterday really.

    The breakers will be practically new, like that shirt my wife only lets me wear for gardening these days.


    "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)"  by meatloaf was on the wireless for the first time about then if that helps you place it


    as regards 

    Granny leads for you who do not know are ...




    Oh granny what a big electricity bill you have... tales of a modern Red Riding Hood


    "power of opportunity" cables on the other hand end either in some horrible 2 pin thing, a lamp holder adaptor,  or croc clips. and should be treated with care.


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    Skill fade is a perennial companion for me. My business grew from a purely electrical base but now provides a wide range of services and whilst specialists are always engaged, I have to have a general handle on what’s going on. The odd bit of tutoring helps keep me up to speed on the electrical side of things. The other day I stood in last  minute for a tutor who was delivering a basic motor control course. To keep things simple I decided to get the guys to wire up a reversing DOL starter with remote stop, start and inch, something that I would have been able to do blindfold after years installing conveyor systems albeit years ago. So I stood at the whiteboard and had a complete brain freeze. A quick, sneaky google soon put things right but it did annoy me that what was once second nature had dissipated to an almost nonexistent state.
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    When I was returned from serving Queen and country during the second Gulf war (for about 6 months) I felt very rusty. Just as JP says, I had to think about what I was doing. In fact, I suggest that we think all the time, but after a period away, the thought process becomes more conscious.


    On completely different lines, I navigate competitively for sport. ? At one time, we had 4 - 5 rallies per year, but this has declined. Therefore, with greater gaps, I almost feel that I am starting again each time.


    If you take a bit longer to do the tests, etc., so what? Your profits may suffer a tad. I have no doubt, however, that JP's brain hasn't suffered. For me, the great thing about this forum is that it keeps me up to date on the theory. ??
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    John Peckham:


    I am assessed once a year on my inspection and testing skills and have done so for the last 17 years. Would anyone else admit to experiencing skill fade whilst carrying out electrical work (not interested in your private life?

     




    Well obviously some people think your skill fade could become permanent, why else would you need to be reassessed sixteen times?


    Andy Betteridge  

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