Electrical Certificate of Compliance Number?

[Slow Blow]

Are you an electrician Slow Blow, or an unimpressed consumer?

A cynical electrician unimpressed by the political and racial infighting going on in the electrical industry of the Western Cape

[Dave A]

A cynical electrician unimpressed by the political and racial infighting going on in the electrical industry of the Western Cape

That doesn't sound good.

If you want some discussion on it or to blow off steam, it might be an idea to start another thread (so that this one stays on the topic of COC's).

[Herman]

I am considering printing my own COC's and Test Report, my question is where do I get the COC number or do I simply create my own and keep a record?

Update: I contacted the Department Of Labour asking them the same question. The reply was “You may use your own serial numbers till further notice.”
I have a contact person name but not certain if I my post it on the forum.

[Dave A]

Update: I contacted the Department Of Labour asking them the same question. The reply was “You may use your own serial numbers till further notice.”
I have a contact person name but not certain if I my post it on the forum.

That's quite interesting. And does raise a fairly significant question.

If you produce your own form, what do you put in the header area?
You certainly can't put the ECA or ECB header info - which (theoretically at least) is an indication that the person issuing the certificate is at least properly qualified, and registered with DoL to do so.

I ask because when our company switched to the ECB's eCOC, we got a flood of queries about the validity of the certificate - the perception of the marketplace was that only the yellow pre-printed COC forms issued by the ECB, (and later the ECA too,) was valid. Educating the marketplace that these eCOC's were perfectly valid took quite some effort.

There is a value to independent third party certification that I'd be wary of ignoring.

Looking down the road a bit, there is also a risk that too much diversity will open the door to unquestioning acceptance of documentation from persons not qualified to issue (an existing, significant problem in another area of certification that I'm involved in).

[Herman]

If you produce your own form, what do you put in the header area?

Your own company header?

I ask because when our company switched to the ECB's eCOC, we got a flood of queries about the validity of the certificate - the perception of the marketplace was that only the yellow pre-printed COC forms issued by the ECB, (and later the ECA too,) was valid. Educating the marketplace that these eCOC's were perfectly valid took quite some effort.

The COC page and The Electrical Regulations 2009 states that:
NOTE: 1.This certificate is not valid unless all the sections have been completed correctly and the test report in the format approved by the chief inspector is attached.
2.This certificate will be invalid if any corrections have been made.
So surly that means it should be printed in the format provided in the SANS not match to deviate from.

Looking down the road a bit, there is also a risk that too much diversity will open the door to unquestioning acceptance of documentation from persons not qualified to issue (an existing, significant problem in another area of certification that I'm involved in).

This is a job for the DOL’s AIA’s; How is checking the COC’s from ECA

[Sparks]

Thank heaven we also have been spared the 6 page one now. We are also back down to 4page but the problem now is that it is so fine you almost need a magnifying glass to see and then you must still write in those little blocks. @ least I don't have to repeat my details 6 times on each COC anymore, that in itself is a blessing.

The ECB offers an electronic COC which is perfectly legitimate. We use this for the vast majority of COC's we issue.

I see they do have a printed 6 page form too, but only available from their head office (Pretoria) and an outlet in Port Elizabeth by the look of it.

[ELECT 1]

There should be a serious re think on the design and questions asked on the COC.
Firstly, too many pages.
Secondly, filling in readings, these can change from day to day.
You have to fill in your name and address in a few places, this can be simplified by just filling in once.
And many more....this is just my opinion...

[Dave A]

Secondly, filling in readings, these can change from day to day.

At least it's a record of the readings you got at the time. And can be useful as a reference point when someone comes along and tests the installation on another occasion.

For the rest, I tend to agree, particularly when it comes to repeat filling in of the same information.

[Herman]

There should be a serious re think on the design and questions asked on the COC.
Firstly, too many pages.
Secondly, filling in readings, these can change from day to day.
You have to fill in your name and address in a few places, this can be simplified by just filling in once.
And many more....this is just my opinion...

I have created my own software in “Visual basic” to eliminate this problem of repeating in the COC
How it works!
The responsible person and electrical contractor is completed once and then copied into each COC as needed.
The location is completed once per COC
The rest of the sections are entered normally
When all the necessary fields in all the sections are completed I save the COC so a copy of it remains on my PC, then I print a hard copy “in the format of the chief Inspector” for the customer.