Lost Electrical Skills. Rough Justice.

And terminating MICC is not even taught as part of becoming an electrician, now considered to be an optional skill to be learned later if needed.


When I worked for a maintenance contractor I was allegedly the only employee in the area able to terminate MICC.


When working for that company, and later for a competitor, I was often shocked at the lack of basic electrical knowledge. In particular insisting on EXACT replacement parts for common types of relays, contactors, batteries, lamp ballasts and the like.


Also a lack of common sense ! One example was a large armoured cable within a building, 4 core 240mm I think. Power was said to  be present at the supply end, but absent at the load end. Everyone said that "there must be a break in the cable" I pointed out that large SWA cables are very robust and seldom "break" and that if the cable HAD failed that this would have probably resulted in a large bang, damage to the surroundings, operation of the fire alarm, and other conspicous events. The cable also tested as sound from the load end, at 1000 volts between phases or from any phase to earth, but the neutral and the SWA connected to earth, an unlikely result if it had "blown up" en-route.


I found that  two similar cables had been confused, and that in fact the "faulty" cable was connected to a turned off MCCB. I suspected as much, three phases all "dead" but the neutral solidly earthed strongly suggested a sound cable but with an open 3  pole switch, contactor, MCCB, or blown/removed fuses.

And terminating MICC is not even taught as part of becoming an electrician, now considered to be an optional skill to be learned later if needed.


When I worked for a maintenance contractor I was allegedly the only employee in the area able to terminate MICC.


When working for that company, and later for a competitor, I was often shocked at the lack of basic electrical knowledge. In particular insisting on EXACT replacement parts for common types of relays, contactors, batteries, lamp ballasts and the like.


Also a lack of common sense ! One example was a large armoured cable within a building, 4 core 240mm I think. Power was said to  be present at the supply end, but absent at the load end. Everyone said that "there must be a break in the cable" I pointed out that large SWA cables are very robust and seldom "break" and that if the cable HAD failed that this would have probably resulted in a large bang, damage to the surroundings, operation of the fire alarm, and other conspicous events. The cable also tested as sound from the load end, at 1000 volts between phases or from any phase to earth, but the neutral and the SWA connected to earth, an unlikely result if it had "blown up" en-route.


I found that  two similar cables had been confused, and that in fact the "faulty" cable was connected to a turned off MCCB. I suspected as much, three phases all "dead" but the neutral solidly earthed strongly suggested a sound cable but with an open 3  pole switch, contactor, MCCB, or blown/removed fuses.