It has been a summer of progress for the electrical contracting industry.
The M&E Forum for the Major Projects M&E Agreement (MPA) held its first meeting in July, chaired by Sir Michael Latham. This was a major step in the implementation of the agreement, designed to deliver a leading edge framework for industrial relations. It is based on incorporating a culture change which leads to improved performance on major project implementation.

  On a separate matter, before the summer recess, the Government confirmed its intention to include electrical safety, Part P, within the scope of the Building Regulations. The ECA is working with the NICEIC to ensure that the UKAS-accredited Electrotechnical Assessment Scheme (EAS) is established as the benchmark for the evaluation of technical competence. Indeed the Government has acknowledged that the EAS scheme would provide the minimum basis for assessing technical proficiency.

Furthermore, the non-proprietary nature of the EAS means that existing and new certification bodies would be able to compete in offering certification to its standard.

It is my strong view that this really would result in consistency of inspection for consumers and competitive assessment costs for contractors. This is the message that the ECA continues to make to Government.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor