Bad appliance testing

I seem to write about this a lot, another electrician who has done bad work.

Here is a photograph of an appliance for you that says volumes about the general quality of work these days.

I couldn’t believe this when I saw it. An electrician appears to have tested this appliance and passed it as safe. Either they didn’t know what they were doing, or they were blind.

It could have been a case of “quick money”, or they may genuinely have thought that this was OK – we may never know.

Dodgy Portable Appliance Testing — The guy who tagged this appliance clearly didn’t understand the principles of appliance testing. Apparently he is an electrician – who’d have guessed. He clearly doesn’t know what he was doing though.

Those cables sticking out, while not live, could become live if a fault occurred – appallingly bad workmanship. If there had been a short circuit in the appliance, or power lead, a user could have been injured or killed.

He (yes I know it was a he 😉 ), thought that putting a bit of tape over the cables was satisfactory, and that the appliance and plug were safe.

Either he didn’t understand the principles of appliance testing, or he didn’t know what he was doing – maybe a combination of both. Either way, this client had a potentially dangerous appliance plugged into the power point.

During testing I had to check if the appliance was Class I, or Class II. I had noticed that the plug had an earth connected to it, which meant that it could be a class I appliance with an earthed chassis.

This meant that I had to check the appliance for earth continuity. As I could not confirm this, I had to partially pull the blind apart to confirm its compliance and my client’s safety. This took over one hour! My client still got charged the same amount as the other appliances, even though it took more than four times longer to test!

I have been criticised by clients and other electricians because I take more time with my work, and I charge a bit more than other electricians.

This appliance is a classic example, and a good demonstration as to why I do.

I put 100% effort into what I do, and I care about my work – my work is always of the highest possible standard; and it is guaranteed to be 100% compliant EVERY SINGLE TIME – unlike the guy who tested this appliance!

It is my job as an electrician to confirm the safety and compliance of every single job that I do – it doesn’t matter how large, or how small the job.

If I can’t do this, and happily sign my name on a certificate for all to see, then I have not done my job properly, and I should be held accountable for the injury or death that I might cause!

With most jobs that I do, I supply my clients with a signed test report – it includes the results of all of my tests.

No other electrician that I have ever come across has done, or would bother to do this. I also supply a MANDATORY Compliance Certificate of Electrical Work (CCEW) which most electricians seem to ignore these days – even though there a large fines in place.

Importantly, my clients get a 10 year workmanship warranty on almost every job. This is MY guarantee, and provides certainty to my clients that I have checked my work, and complied with all of my legal obligations.

My signed certificates and my workmanship warranty are my guarantee that my work is 100% compliant with the Australian Standards.

Can the electrician you employ say the same about their work?

The next time you go to employ an electrician, why don’t you ask them if they will give you a 10 year guarantee and a signed report with all of their test results
– see what they say?

I guarantee without exception, that their price will jump, or they will say NO they can’t guarantee it!