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Thread: The Electrical Certificate of Compliance explained

  1. #121
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    What is a COC worth without the correct onsite supervision.

    Again today as per a discussion...the lack of onsite supervision is the main cause of illegal COC's.

    Until the department of labour employ suitably qualified staff to to carry out onsite inspections to make sure companies have suitably qualified staff to check work in progress and random checks on issued COC's...this industry will remain the joke of all trades.

    I receive an email from the ECB today...to notify me that they are running a seminar and they do still exist...."REALLY" ...did you know it is a "CRIME" if you dont issue a COC for every single installation...my question ...when are they actually going to enforce the law...i keep hearing about these criminals...yet everyday i watch unskilled staff being dumped on site...read through issued COC's which are not worth the paper they are typed on...even watched a person carrying out an inspection report...repair and issue a COC for an illegal installation.

    You make the customer responsible for the audit on the illegal COC...the installation will remain illegal (until they sell the property...then suddenly it becomes my problem because the customer cant understand why i refuse to issue a new coc) ...why because the new customer refuses to pay for an illegal installation to be checked at his cost...all i tell my customers to do is make sure they keep the original copy of the COC available for inspection if by some miracle one day someone actually arrives at the door to check if they have one...in the past they did have unskilled people doing their rounds...but had n idea if the piece of paper was legit or not.

  2. #122
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    I dont know what is worse, me being a pirate contractor with a red master electrician certificate or a customer who uses "electricians" who hold up a board at builder warehouse.

    I get asked to have a look at a quote some electrical company has done an inspection report. R10 000 worth of repairs. The customer cant understand why he now has to pay all this money to fix an electrical nightmare carried out by an electrician who had a sign indicating that he was an electrician who he found on the side of the road.

    I DONT FEEL SORRY FOR PEOPLE WHO SELL THEIR HOUSE AND REALISE THAT CHEAPIE JOB DONE BY UNSKILLED PEOPLE HAVE TO BE FIXED BEFORE A COC CAN BE ISSUED. This includes electrical contractors registered with the ECA, ECB and any other organisation, who drop off semi and unskilled labour to carry out the work while they go surfing or playing golf or what ever else they do.

    It is the property owners responsibility to make sure they use skilled people to do the job, otherwise dont squeal when you have a hefty repair bill to fix up shody workmanship.

  3. #123
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    A question for all you bright sparks...

    I get called to quote for a job which has had an inspection report done, big deal. I get the job to do the repairs.

    The inspector bills the customer R800 for the inspection report. I dont see a problem with that, he walked around with a tester and did a visual inspection and submitted a quote to carry out the repairs which included another R800 to issue the COC, i also dont see a problem with that. It takes 45 minutes to fill out the COC document.

    What i want to know...should the customer pay the inspector for his inspection if it is not complete?

    Fair enough he did the inspection, however he did not submit a full detailed report of his findings with the test results for one thing and secondly he missed half the faults. For example he didnt mention in his "quote" (the inspection report) that ther ewas no earth on any of the plugs in the out building, there are 8 illegally wired lights in the garden, etc etc to many other things. I sit with a problem because now the customer has to pay an additional R10 000 to finish fixing all the other faults that i found doing my inspection report once i had completed the repairs listed.

    Should the customer pay him or should the customer hold back payment and sue him for fraud or whatever The inspection report is incomplete.

  4. #124
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    hi ian

    he should've done a detailed inspection with all findings not compliant, that said if you did your inspections with more details: basically he should return the money for not doing a detailed inspection using your one as proof?

  5. #125
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    Quote Originally Posted by nasri View Post
    hi Ian

    He should've done a detailed inspection with all findings not compliant that said if you did your inspections with more details: basically he should return the money for not doing a detailed inspection using your one as proof?
    It is just another flaw in the inspection, testing and issuing of COC's.

    The right way to do it...

    The public would be made aware of the procedure, via public awareness platforms.

    The inspector should inform the customer that the inspection report and the COC is not the same thing. This is the biggest problem in this process at the moment.

    Test using the correct equipment and a visual inspection. Not a brief, quick look sees how you much you can screw the customer for, and because you only quoted R600 to carry out the inspection, hoping to nail the customer on the repairs.

    A full report should be submitted which includes pictures of the faults, reading taken during the inspection and detailed list including a reference to the SANS regulations.

    The inspectors should not be allowed to carry out the repairs. There should be 3 quotes submitted from registered companies to carry out the repairs.

    The inspector who carried out the inspection report must return and check the repairs have been done right. Once everything is up to standard.

    Once the property is cleared, a COC can be generated.

    A few things I have noticed, the COC is too vague and additional pages are not submitted with the COC to cover the entire installation.

    People make out like the COC is such a legal document that will put you in jail if not done correctly, yet there is absolutely no policing, no random checks, by suitably qualified people, with the correct qualification, to check they are filled in correctly.

    If the COC is such an important document, why is there not a better document management system in place to monitor and at least do random checks? A system in place like engineers where you have to attend x amount of refresher courses. If amendments are sent out, the inspector should have x amount of days to attend a course or seminar to make sure they are up to date with the regulations. At least every 10 years an inspector should have to write a test to make sure they are capable of carrying out tests.

  6. #126
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    Ian, the customer should pay for the poor inspection. He made a poor choice of electrician, it could have gone the other way too, a lot of contractors load their quotes.

    The COC is an important document, but this is SA 2018. The government are making it easier for people to get employment or work for themselves. People are being given qualifications without even having a clue what they should know. It will only get worse. Municipal inspectors are history, the ombudsman is history. Students wreck varsities to lower pass requirement from 30 %. Already they do not know 70% . Nothing will improve.

    The COC keeps getting changed and keeps failing. Incompetents are certified as competent. All you can do is keep your own nose clean.

  7. #127
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sparks View Post
    Ian, the customer should pay for the poor inspection. He made a poor choice of electrician, it could have gone the other way too, a lot of contractors load their quotes.

    The COC is an important document, but this is SA 2018. The government are making it easier for people to get employment or work for themselves. People are being given qualifications without even having a clue what they should know. It will only get worse. Municipal inspectors are history, the ombudsman is history. Students wreck varsities to lower pass requirement from 30 %. Already they do not know 70% . Nothing will improve.

    The COC keeps getting changed and keeps failing. Incompetents are certified as competent. All you can do is keep your own nose clean.
    my point in the other thread...should'nt we have a body or organisation which stands up for the industry...even if it is at our cost...like the ECA are suppose to do (what you pay them to do)

  8. #128
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    The project i am busy with has made me think of an idea...to offer the electrical engineer on site a service to check other contractors workmanship and COC's issued for a percentage of project total....and to now go back an check all work carried out on the site for the past 5 years....from massive generator installations...factory revamps in all 12 of the buildings on site.

    As i do for some big companies...they call me in to sit in on meeting with electrical contractors when they believe the contractor is trying to baffle them with bullshyte...i just sit in the meeting as an observer and then issue a report. You know that saying i wish i could be a fly on the wall...that is exactly what i do...they have no idea who i am or why i am in the meeting....the last meeting cost the contractor a return trip with 3 weeks of repair work for 2 teams.

    The catch is you need to be working for the customer and being paid by the customer...not the consultant or main contractor as we were in the hospital project.

  9. #129
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    Evening All

    I recently responded to a cable fault. The customer had renovations done and his main cable had faulted which is now under his foundation.

    So I ran a new cable from the COCT meter box to the DB.

    I then phoned COCT to cut their seals so I could connect they insisted on a COC?

    I don't understand as a COC is from the DB (point of control)

  10. #130
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeanM View Post
    Evening All

    I recently responded to a cable fault. The customer had renovations done and his main cable had faulted which is now under his foundation.

    So I ran a new cable from the COCT meter box to the DB.

    I then phoned COCT to cut their seals so I could connect they insisted on a COC?

    I don't understand as a COC is from the DB (point of control)
    I would request the COC for the building...once they have provided that COC...i would then attach my coc for the cable install only to the existing COC.

    If they cant provide a coc for the electrical installation...then you will need to quote to carry out an inspection report and once that is done and the installation is up to standard then issue a full coc for the entire installation.

    They "should" have a coc for the installation...considering they had alterations done...they could be trying to get a coc from you because they used the "builders electricians"....in that case i would refuse to issue a coc.

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