QENM3-014

Testing Electrical Equipment and

Circuits
By Jordan Leah

1. Before I start and tidying of my work area I must firstly perform some
inspections of the area to ensure that it is safe to approach and begin
working in the area. First I will visually inspect the area to ensure no
dangerous objects are in the area. These could include bare electrical
wires, moving objects and unstable objects. I will also visually inspect the
condition of the floor to ensure no slip or trip hazards are in the work
area.

2. Isolation and lock-out procedures are required in the workplace to

ensure that testing activities on a system or circuit can be carried out
safely. Isolation can be done either by turning an isolation switch or by
flicking a circuit breaker inside an electrical panel, the circuit can be
separated on older electrical boards removing cartridge fuses. It is
important to lock the circuit off so that no one can turn it back on or, if
the fuses are removed, ensure that they are placed away from the board
in a safe place so that they are not replaced, this can be done by
inserting a padlock into the hole in the isolator switch and closing it
when the switch is turned off. This must be done correctly so a permit to
work can be properly filled out.
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3. When testing circuits, harm can be caused to any person when they
are exposed to live parts of an electrical circuit that are either touched
directly or indirectly by a conducting object or material. Voltages over 50
volts AC or 120 volts DC are considered hazardous. Harm can also be
caused by misusing electrical tools, this can be such as incorrectly using
a multimeter or using non-electrically insulated screwdrivers on live
terminals. These hazards can be minimized with proper training when
around electrical equipment, also by using correct equipment for the job
at hand. Also, the safest way of avoiding electrical shock is to isolate the
source of power to ensure even if a live terminal is touched it can’t be
dangerous.

4. When carrying out inspection and testing it is important to ensure

correct PPE is worn, this includes safety boots to protect the feet from
falling objects, flame retardant overalls also protect the arms from
electric shock, helmet to protect the head from falling object and
goggles to protect the eyes from dust. It is also important to know the
circuit you are working on is dead or disconnected when working on its
live components. When carrying out the tests it is important to ensure
you are clear from any live components to ensure no harm comes to the
tester when carrying out the tests.

5. It is important to recognize someone who has suffered from electric

shock in order to protect yourself and the victim’s wellbeing. The main
symptom of a victim who has received a severe electric shock is usually
white or very pale blue skin. The victim may also have weak or no pulse,
burned skin and stiffness of the body. Before you administer first aid you
must ensure the victim is no longer in contact with live parts, or if they
are turn the power source off, this can be done by flicking the nearest
switch or isolator switch to the victim. If you cannot isolate the power,
protect yourself with a dry insulating material such as dry clothing. With
this try to pull, push or roll the victim. It is important you do not touch
the victim’s skin and only touch insulated parts of the victim. Once safe
call for help then start CPR.
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6. Making the workplace safe is the most important job for employers,
and making the workplace safe includes providing protective equipment
for people to be encouraged to work safely and responsibly. Even where
engineering controls and safe work systems have been applied, there
may still be some hazards. PPE is needed in most cases to reduce the risk
of injury or incident. During maintenance activities PPE is worn to
protect the engineer from risks caused by the work being undertaken.
PPE is the last form of defence against a hazard and all possible
preventions must have been taken to try reduce the risk first, for
example filling out a Take 2 booklet and a risk assessment.

7. To prevent electrical systems from fire risk fuses or circuit breakers are
used, circuit breakers and fuses limit the current that can pass through a
cable, and by limiting this current that can pass through the cable it will
not overheat and catch fire. Other devices such as RCD’s detect earth
leakage current, this is in case a cable that is broken or damaged the
device will cut the power, this is useful to prevent sparks flying onto
flammable surfaces and causing a fire.

8. To obtain important documents it is important to have it saved to a

local drive on a computer, this can be using some maintenance reporting
software or just a local shared drive. The best way to find previously
unseen documentation is to use the internet, when performing a search
for the specific document such as a manufacturer’s manual or an
electrical drawing. When the file is found it is important to save it in an
easily accessible place to be able to use it easily the next time it is
needed.
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9. Electrical test equipment includes equipment such as low ohm meter,

ammeter, voltage tester, insulation resistance tester etc. Often all of
these types of tester are joined together in a multimeter, and this piece
of equipment can carry out all the relevant tests for inspection and
testing. An insulation resistance test checks there is no damaged
sections to the insulation of the cable. An earth fault current test checks
the speed an RCD will trip if there is an earth fault and ensures it is
correctly rated to give sufficient protections.

10. Accurate calibrations of electrical test equipment are carried out by

specific companies that provide calibration standards for each piece of
equipment to ensure the readings they give are correct and to the
correct standard to be safe to use, every year an electrical measurement
piece of equipment should be sent off to be calibrated to check it is
within regulations. To ensure its calibrated yourself it is good practice to
find a power source that can be adjusted by hand to a range of voltages
and currents, then when you put your leads on the contacts and adjust
these readings the readings on the meter should change accordingly.

11. To measure resistance, you must place your test leads on either end of
the cable you wish to test, alternatively you can connect 2 cables
together to form a loop which will then provide correct resistance
readings. Current is measured by connecting the test leads in series with
the circuit. Voltage is often measured by putting test leads in parallel
with the circuit and in industry is measured between a positive potential
and a 0 potential e.g. live and earth. RCD disconnection times are tested
by placing a test clamp between the Positive live wire and the earth wire
in the distribution board, this is then tested in the speed that it takes for
the circuit to trip in ms.
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12. External earth fault loop impedance is one test to be carried out to
establish that a good earth exists at the installation in order for the
remaining tests to go ahead. This is done by disconnecting the main
earthing conductor from the main earthing terminal. An earth fault loop
impedance tester is connected at line and earth (main earthing
conductor at the supply side of the installation and a test performed.
Reconnect the main earthing conductor. The result is Ze and recorded
on the sheet. The prospective fault current is measured at the same time
after the reconnection of the main earthing conductor.

13. Test results are recorded on a testing an inspection sheet as displayed

in REF.4, this has several different columns to display different test
results in, such as insulation resistance and earth fault loop etc. it also
has rows to show each different circuit which may be fed from the
distribution board, this document should be left inside the distribution
board for other installers to view if they need, a copy should be
photocopied and kept in a safe place also.

14. Depending on which test is being carried out depends on the value the
tester is expecting to see, for an insulation resistance test a high value is
expected, a value 200Mohms or above is considered to pass this test.
Whereas for a fault loop disconnection test a low result is expected,
anything under 200ms is considered to have passed this test.
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15. The table shown in REF.4 is the table used to fill in circuit test results
according to BS7671 18th edition wiring regulations, this table is filled in
with all results taken from the electrical tests and then a comparison is
made with ideal circuit results to determine if the circuit is suitable for
use. These comparisons are made with tables in the appendix of the
18th edition book and detail certain desired values for each different
circuit type. These tables include certain disconnection times for circuits
with different current ratings.

16. It is important that test equipment is only used in its specific range and
limits because if a piece of test equipment is used outside its limits then
it can become damaged or cause harm to the user. If a multimeter is
rated up to 1000V then if it is used at any voltage above that it will
become faulty and the components inside may become dangerous and
blow up, the test leads also may become hot and burn the user’s hands.

17. Problems that could occur include incorrect test results, this can be
due to a faulty or uncalibrated test meter, and to overcome this it is
recommended that the test meter is calibrated yearly and inspected
quickly each time you use it to ensure no defects have occurred to the
meter. Other problems include human error, this can be due to incorrect
positioning of test leads or incorrect recording of results, this can be
avoided by double checking each step of the testing process and
repeating tests to ensure correct results are taken.

18. The company policy towards testing activities is that each appliance
must be tested on a yearly basis, and each distribution board must be
tested every 3 years to ensure it is still fit for purpose and no defects
have occurred to the circuits which may cause harm to users.
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19. After an electrical test, all reports and results must be recorded inside
the distribution board on the sheet, this is essential to ensure that each
circuit is recognized by next engineer using the distribution board and
what the recorded tests are on that circuit. The test area must be
thoroughly tidied after the paperwork has been done to keep it clean
and equipment stored away to keep it clear of any defects.

20. My authority and role as apprentice electrician allows me to

participate in work activities mostly under supervision of a fully qualified
colleague. This is the case on most jobs unless I have been given a more
simple task to undertake that I can complete myself. If I am stuck and
unsure on anything I will let my maintenance manager know and he will
come and help me get unstuck.

REF.1
This sheet is a legal certificate that includes all the details of the circuit
and the details of each person that has carried out the design,
construction and inspection of the works and contains their signature to
show it complies with the 18th edition regulations.

REF.2 and REF.3

These sheets are a checklist for different properties of the circuit and
they are in place or N/A.

REF.4
This sheet is a schedule of the test results. This is where all the readings
and circuit details are written down. This is filled out by the tester then
provided for the client/project manager.