Your answers Gentlemen, please. This is indicating a serious problem in the Industry. Trust is now zero. I am disgusted with the behavior of these alleged "inspectors" who are dim, dumb, deaf and blind, and cannot read the BBB. It is not good enough is it?
I don’t really have an answer to David’s question other than to say that I believe that there are very few electricians capable of producing a competent report. That is not to do down the trade, quite the contrary, they are generally excellent at practical activities but very much less capable when pressed into something a tad more academic such as the compilation of a written report.
I have been a tutor on the 2391 since it’s inception. I have had the pleasure of teaching some very fine lads over the years. However, even seeing them through to a successful outcome as far as the course is concerned, I would not be offering the majority of them a job as an inspector. Most, will readily admit that they lack the ability to communicate in a written format. Many do not fully understand the electrical systems on which they work let alone report on the safety of such systems. Yet they eventually struggle through the assessment protocols and I sign them off as having fulfilled the relevant criteria.
So if you are looking for someone to blame, perhaps start with tutors like me who know damn well that even the successful candidate needs years of additional mentoring before they would be ready to be let loose to carry out electrical safety inspections.
In the meantime, perhaps it is not the best idea to use the 2391 or it’s equivalent as a single benchmark for assessing the capability of an electrician to conduct an EICR. Come to think of it, if it is an EICR that is required, perhaps it would be best not to use installation electricians at all!
I don’t really have an answer to David’s question other than to say that I believe that there are very few electricians capable of producing a competent report. That is not to do down the trade, quite the contrary, they are generally excellent at practical activities but very much less capable when pressed into something a tad more academic such as the compilation of a written report.
I have been a tutor on the 2391 since it’s inception. I have had the pleasure of teaching some very fine lads over the years. However, even seeing them through to a successful outcome as far as the course is concerned, I would not be offering the majority of them a job as an inspector. Most, will readily admit that they lack the ability to communicate in a written format. Many do not fully understand the electrical systems on which they work let alone report on the safety of such systems. Yet they eventually struggle through the assessment protocols and I sign them off as having fulfilled the relevant criteria.
So if you are looking for someone to blame, perhaps start with tutors like me who know damn well that even the successful candidate needs years of additional mentoring before they would be ready to be let loose to carry out electrical safety inspections.
In the meantime, perhaps it is not the best idea to use the 2391 or it’s equivalent as a single benchmark for assessing the capability of an electrician to conduct an EICR. Come to think of it, if it is an EICR that is required, perhaps it would be best not to use installation electricians at all!
