411.3.3 BS EN 60309

Clearly not to current standard, if C2 or C3 is another matter that depends rather how they are to be used and what other measures are in place.  

We have some that are judged a C3, in places that are never visited  by unskilled people and the loads are class 1 and earthed by other means as well as the ‘flex’

Mike.

Yes.

However, a documented risk assessment gets the site owners/occupiers off the hook. All you need is an assessment - you don't have to check whether it is sound or not.

C2/C3 is arguable. Given the price of TP RCBOs, replacing the sockets with 63 A ones may be a cheaper option.

If no risk assessment, and all else sound, and not intended to supply equipment outdoors, I'd probably start my thinking nearer a C3 than a C2.

   - Andy.

The RA can only be done by someone who understands the day to day use case, and has the authority to stop folk from using them if the use case ever changes. 

Usually the customer, perhaps guided by a technical advisor.

Mike.

also if it was a new build installation surely 411.3.3 would be relevant and RCD protection required? 

Either a 30mA RCD or a documented risk assessment. There are still a few occasions where 30mA RCD protection isn't a good idea - where sockets are intended to feed IT racks for instance - as normal leakage current would cause unwanted tripping and the risks of shock are minimal anyway.

    - Andy.

Martin Cook: 
Thanks....
Would the risk assesment, if carried out,  be client driven or would we need to carry this out, also if it was a new build installation surely 411.3.3 would be relevant and RCD protection required?

Good point. If it was a new build and the building was yet to be occupied, then a risk assessment would be impossible.

As Andy says, under certain circumstances, RCD protection may have been omitted for good reasons from the start. For older installations, the risk assessment will balance the chance of the risk occurring and its consequences against the cost of updating. That decision seems to be remarkably similar to the need to decide whether the non-compliance should be C3 or C2.

Similarly, if an EICR were being done between tenants, there can be no true assessment of risk, so does that mean C2?