Basic Electrical Installation Work

Trevor Linsley

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138603233
• eBook ISBN: 9780429883231
• Edition: 9
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Civil Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Everything needed to pass the first part of the City & Guilds 2365 Diploma in Electrical Installations.

Basic Electrical Installation Work will be of value to students taking the first year course of an electrical installation apprenticeship, as well as lecturers teaching it. The book provides answers to all of the 2365 syllabus learning outcomes, and one chapter is dedicated to each of the five units in the City & Guilds course.

This edition is brought up to date and in line with the 18th Edition of the IET Regulations:

• It can be used to support independent learning or a college based course of study
• Full-colour diagrams and photographs explain difficult concepts and clear definitions of technical terms make the book a quick and easy reference
• Extensive online material on the companion website www.routledge.com/cw/linsley helps both students and lecturers

CHAPTER 1

C&G Unit 201/501

Health and safety in building services engineering

Basic Electrical Installation Work. 978-1-138-60323-3
© 2018 Trevor Linsley. Published by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.

Unit 201/501 of the City and Guilds 2365-02 syllabus

Learning outcomes – when you have completed this chapter you should:

• know about health and safety legislation;

• know how to handle hazardous situations;

• know the electrical safety requirements when working in the building services industry;

• know the safety requirements for working with gases and heat-producing equipment;

• know the safety requirements when using access equipment;

• know the safety requirements for working safely in confined spaces and excavations;

• be able to apply safe working practices to manual handling and using access equipment.

This chapter has free associated content, including animations and instructional videos, to support your learning.

When you see the logo, visit the companion website for more on this topic www.routledge.com/cw/linsley

Safety regulations and laws

At the beginning of the nineteenth century children formed a large part of the working population of Great Britain. They started work early in their lives and they worked long hours for unscrupulous employers or masters.

The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act of 1802 was introduced by Robert Peel in an attempt at reducing apprentice working hours to 12 hours per day and improving the conditions of their employment. The Factories Act of 1833 restricted the working week for children aged 13–18 years to 69 hours in any working week.

With the introduction of the Factories Act of 1833, the first four full-time Factory Inspectors were appointed. They were allowed to employ a small number of assistants and were given the responsibility of inspecting factories throughout England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. This small, overworked band of men were the forerunners of the modern HSE Inspectorate, enforcing the safety laws passed by Parliament. As the years progressed, new Acts of Parliament increased the powers of the Inspectorate and the growing strength of the trade unions meant that employers were increasingly being pressed to improve health, safety and welfare at work.

The most important recent piece of health and safety law was passed by Parliament in 1974 called the Health and Safety at Work Act. This Act gave added powers to the Inspectorate and is the basis of all modern statutory health and safety laws. This law not only increased the employer’s liability for safety measures, but also put the responsibility for safety on employees too.

Health, safety and welfare legislation has increased the awareness of everyone to the risks involved in the workplace. All statutes within the Acts of Parliament must be obeyed and, therefore, we all need an understanding of the laws as they apply to the electrical industry.

Definition

Statutory Regulations have been passed by Parliament and have, therefore, become laws.

Statutory laws

Acts of Parliament are made up of Statutes. Statutory Regulations have been passed by Parliament and have, therefore, become laws. Non-compliance with the laws of this land may lead to prosecution by the Courts and possible imprisonment for offenders.

We shall now look at some of the Statutory Regulations as they apply to the electrical industry.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Many governments have passed laws aimed at improving safety at work, but the most important recent legislation has been the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The purpose of the Act is to provide the legal framework for stimulating and encouraging high standards of health and safety at work; the Act puts the responsibility for safety at work on both workers and managers.

The employer has a duty to care for the health and safety of employees (Section 2 of the Act). To do this he or she must ensure that:

• the working conditions and standard of hygiene are appropriate;

• the plant, tools and equipment are properly maintained;

• the necessary safety equipment – such as personal protective equipment (PPE), dust and fume extractors and machine guards – is available and properly used;

• the workers are trained to use equipment and plant safely.

Employees have a duty to care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions (Section 7 of the Act). To do this they must:

• take reasonable care to avoid injury to themselves or others as a result of their work activity;

• cooperate with their employer, helping him or her to comply with the requirements of the Act;

• not interfere with or misuse anything provided to protect their health and safety.

Failure to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act is a criminal offence and any infringement of the law can result in heavy fines, a prison sentence or both.

Figure 1.1 Both workers and managers are responsible for health and safety on site.

Enforcement of Health and Safety Regulations

Laws and rules must be enforced if they are to be effective. The system of control under the Health and Safety at Work Act comes from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which is charged with enforcing the law. The HSE is divided into a number of specialist inspectorates or sections which operate from local offices throughout the United Kingdom. From the local offices the inspectors visit individual places of work.

The HSE inspectors have b...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 C&G unit 201/50.1: Health and safety in building services engineering
• Chapter 2 C&G unit 202: Principles of electrical science
• Chapter 3 C&G unit 203: Electrical installations technology and renewable energy systems
• Chapter 4 C&G unit 204: Installation of wiring systems and enclosures
• Chapter 5 C&G unit 210: Communicating with others in building services engineering
• Answers to check your understanding questions
• Preparing for assessment
• Appendix A: Abbreviations, symbols and codes
• Appendix B: Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publications and information
• Appendix C: Environmental organizations
• Glossary of terms
• Index