Page 6 - Help & Advice

Exposure to excess vibration through the hand and arm (HARM) has been known to cause debilitating conditions for nearly a century. The most common permanent condition brought on by excess vibration exposure is hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), commonly manifested in vibration white finger. The condition affects workers across a range of industries with the Health and Safety Executive calculating that nearly two million people are at risk.

As winter approaches and central heating boilers switch on throughout the UK, now is the opportune moment to look at the state of gas safety across the nation and discuss the practical steps everyone can take to prevent incidents related to gas leaks, fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Electric shock is an ever-present danger to professional electricians and maintaining safe working practices is crucial to preventing serious injury and loss of life. Unfortunately accidents do happen so it is important to understand the effects of electric shock on the body, as well as to know the correct response procedure when a colleague is injured.

Introduced in April 2013, Technical Bulletin 143 from the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) outlines a safer procedure for commissioning condensing boilers without air/gas ratio valves. Following a small number of carbon monoxide poisoning incidents involving newly commissioned units, the HHIC, boiler manufacturers and other industry bodies have worked together to produce a new testing procedure that is clear, safe and comprehensive.

‘Wireless’ has become a buzz word over the last 10 to 15 years, suggesting speed, efficiency and modernity. Whilst these advantages remain somewhat ill-defined, it is certain that various methods of wireless communication have filtered onto an ever-increasing array of products in domestic, commercial and industrial environments. The test and measurement sector is no exception. The benefits, however, can remain quite vague so this article aims to give both a basic overview of wireless technology and an insight into how it can help professional electricians and maintenance experts. Most wireless-enabled products on Test-Meter now use one of three principal methods: infrared, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

The word DUCTER was registered by Evershed & Vignoles in 1908 – a shortened version of ‘conductor tester’ that has since evolved into an adjective; similar to HOOVERing a floor or MEGGERing an electrical cable.

Evershed & Vignoles developed the original ‘Ducter’ and were one of the companies that evolved into Megger. Interestingly, Evershed & Vignoles also developed the World’s first high resistance ohmmeter in 1889.

Regular inspection and testing of a Solar PV installation not only qualifies that the system remains electrically safe for continued use, but that it operates as efficiently as originally intended.

The IET guidance note (Code of Practice for Grid Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems) provides engineers with a more user-friendly approach to installing and maintaining a PV system than that of BS EN 62446; the international standard upon which the guidance note is based.

April 2016 saw the arrival of a new batch of Megger multifunction testers. The untrained eye won’t spot any aesthetical or ergonomic differences between the existing MFT1700 series and the 2016 units, however the newer models offer additional, valuable testing features at very competitive prices.

The common misconception of a lack of electric vehicle charging points in the UK is the prime argument for reasons against investing in an electric vehicle.

If truth be told, there are currently 1,500 public EV charging points across the UK. And with the government investing £30m into eight pilot regions, this number is expected to increase to 8,500 over the coming years.

Wireless Technology

Wireless communication is an integral part of today’s society with nearly 800 million households worldwide using a WiFi network. In fact, at the end of 2013 there were more wireless mobile devices on Earth than people.