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Requirement or recommendation

lyledunn

“One key point to be aware of is that a recommendation in BS7671 is not a “soft requirement”. That means that not following a recommendation within the standard is neither a non-compliance, nor does it need to be cited as a departure in certification. However, whatever action is taken should result in an installation which is no less safe as a result of the action taken”. 
Quote from NICEIC Connections magazine.

So, the implication is that leaving out AFDDs in standard domestic installations, their provision is only a recommendation in BS761, should leave the installation no less safe than if the AFDDs had been installed. One would then either need to determine that AFDDs would not provide any additional safety or one would have to introduce additional control measures to address any quantified shortfall in safety that their omission would cause.

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    The NICEIC comment above is just back covering against all comers. It will be up to the High Court to decide if ever tested, but the decision clearly stays with the customer (who is paying the bill). Sad organisation.

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    Surely the NICEIC statement does not make sense.

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    I think that is just a badly-phrased repeating of the bog-standard 644.1.2 "existing stuff mustn't make the new stuff unsafe" rather than stating that the new work must be as safe as if AFDDs had been installed.

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    Amongst the various requirements for negligence to have been made out is a breach of the standard of care which the client is entitled to expect.

    I would think that failing to meet a statutory requirement (e.g. ESQCR) would be a difficult bullet to dodge. Then we have things like HSE ACOPs and Advice (the latter carries less weight than the former) as well as standards such as BS 7671. It seems fairly obvious that a recommendation carries less weight than a requirement.

    Given the fairly widespread scepticism over AFDDs (here and elsewhere), I doubt that their omission from a standard domestic installation would be a problem, but it does seem wise to ensure that the client is aware of the recommendation, and perhaps to quote with and without.

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