Preparing for a Part P Assessment- from the point of view of an unskilled person

Each year Electricians must undergo a Part P Assessment, which I can only liken to an Ofsted Inspection.

From a teacher in a previous career, I recognise the dread, the uncertainty and the ignoring it- hoping that it will go away. Well, It’s coming up, but to focus on it required too much head space and a completely numb blank feeling. I’ve never done one of these assessments, I’ve never had to. But now- with it being my company, I am the Principal Duty Holder.

I have Rob by my side as our Qualifying Supervisor, who is also going through this for the first time. Just like anything Crannis Technology Services LTD does, we’ll smash it together.

Taking over an Electrical Contracting Company with no electrical experience was madness, but I have such confidence in my fabulous team and I know that if they continue to deliver to the CTS standards of high quality service and installation, passion for what they do, a superb wealth of knowledge and willingness to learn and complete dedication to their roles and the company, I knew I could dig deep and work on developing my management skills and find some business acumen- unfortunately you can’t buy that on Amazon prime. So taking on the company, the government backed Help to Grow Management course, Business mentoring and some excellent support in the background- I think we’re doing ok so far.

Adding to the fact that ELECSA, our certificating body for the last 11 years is retiring and we are being moved to the NICEIC, there feels like added pressure.

The process for this assessment started in December, knowing that personnel changes needed to be made ahead of “the call”. Unfortunately our pro-active nature was ignored- and things only started to move when it suited them (NICEIC)- but then it turned to harassment. This threw me off completely. My first encounter with our new certificating body was my email being ignores and then threatened and harassed due to something they had failed to action. A few complaints later the date was set. I put in the diary and forgot about it.

What you don’t see is the work that has to go on behind the scenes for just the assessment.

The requirements are:

• Have a minimum of £2million Public Liability Insurance
• Certificates of Technical Qualifications achieved by the Qualifying Supervisor
• Hold a current edition of BS7671, HSR25 (E@wr89) and any other technical reference guides relevant to the range and scale of work we undertake
• Maintain a record of the ongoing accuracy and consistency of test equipment used for certification and reporting purposes
• Appoint at least 1 QS- with at least 2 years responsibility for electrical work
• Have a safe isolation and re-energisation of installations procedure in place
• Have a written Health and Safety policy statement and carry out Risk Assessments as appropriate
• Make available for assessment sufficient examples of domestic electrical installation work completed with appropriate certification in the last 12 months. Have a number of these works available for the day of the assessment
• Evidence of relevant qualifications, training and experience for all employed persons undertaking electrical work
• Maintain records for a minimum of 6 years, including but not limited to: specifications, certificates, records and complaints.

I have a few more bits to get together ready for D-Day, but what added pressure do I NOT want or need this week?! COVID! Yep I’ve finally been caught with it and am struggling to think, let alone plan how to manage things this week.