The Electrical Certificate of Compliance explained

[ians]

The problem is not the electrical industry ... life in general in SA has become as they call it in the education department "lower grade" ... where the trucks determine the width of the road ... the grass and trees have grown into the lanes of the freeway and the trucks cut them back s they pass ... thats just 1 example ... if you open your eyes and look around you notice Sa has become a filthy shyte hole ... another example ... if you driving out of Durban on old fort Rd just after the macs ... look down onto the train line ... in a couple of years that entire area will just be a waste heap.

As the older generation of sparkie pass on ... so the quality of workamanship will degrade ... and the wealth of information will pass away with them ... we are partly to blame for not taking on youngsters and teaching them so that they can learn and so pass it on.

I recall there were many chirps about the old railways ... but as I sit here today ... we had the best oportunity and training ... the standard were top notch ... points were alocated for neatness etc.

almost 40 years of hands on experience in the electricial industry ... from mass housing projects to commercial building installations ... shopping centres ... movie houses ... banks ... suger mills ... water treament and waste water design build and install ... factory installations and maintenance ... street lighting ... stadium lighting ...to power quality ... thermography ... CCTV and alarm installations ... gate installations and repairs ... the advantage I will have when employing sub conctractors ... if they f%^& up ... I can go in and fix the mess quickly I am actually looking forward to the new venture which will start in March 2021.

[ians]

I had a customer ask me a question last week ... If I get a COC for an installation and 3 months later use a different electrician to replace an earth leakage unit ... is the COC still valid.

The reason for the question ... the electrician who replaced the earth leakage unit and found some really suspect looking wiring ... he contacted the inspector who issued the COC ...who told him ... because someone else replaced the earth leakage ... the COC is no longer valid ... WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP.

This seems to be a common problem in the industry.

As I explained to the customer ... A COC is not required for a replacement earth leakage unit ...however it would be advisable to attach a note to the original COC with the trip value and test button press result.

This bullshyte of inspectors telling cusotmers that their COC is no longer valid because another electrician installed a new socket outlet or light circuit is not true .. .the only time it become invalid ... if the customer modifies or adds to the electrical installation without issuing a supplementary COC for the additions and alterations and even then it would be a tricky one if the inspector hasnt filled out hte COC properly and taken pics and made note and sketches.

How I understand it works (please feel free to correct me) from my experiences for example ... I am about to move a customer into a building ... I first make the property owner/manager issue a COC for the exisitng installation ... in other words the DB's ...lights ... plug ... aircons etc.

That COC ...remains the COC for the building electrical installation ... If I add a socket outlet or light points ... I do a supplementary COC which is attached to the original COC ... the fact that I now work on the building doesnt make the orginal COC invalid ... that is why it is a good idea to take picture with a date stamp if you feel the orginal COC is not valid or not done correctly.

I had this on the last factory relocation ... the COC wasnt worth the paper it was written on ... I took pics and made notes of all the illegal wiring and forwarded it to my customer and the property management company ... there is a catch ... because that COC is invalid ... I cannot issue any supplementary COC's until the electrical installation is bought up to standard and a valid COC is issued ... who will be liable for claims ... that could get interesting.