#Project18 Amendment 2 Roadshow

ECA Project 18 Amendment 2 roadshow

#Project18 Amendment 2 Roadshow

As ECA (Electrical Contractors Association) Members, we were able to attend this important roadshow event in Bristol (it’s taken a while to get this written, so I apologise for the delay).

As a new business owner, I am thankful for the services that the ECA provide to us as the company, and in particular this event. Having never been to an “electrical” event before I was really unsure what to expect.

But WOW! Being greeted as soon as we entered the venue by ECA Employees, and given goodie bags (more on those later), and given a brief overview of the morning before being directed to where the presentation was being given- Unfortunately for us we were late so were the naughty ones having to enter with all eyes on us – the shame!

Gary Parker was first up, and what a lovely chap he is! Such a great personality to kick things off. A truly bright soul with tonnes of knowledge and anecdotes which makes him such an engaging speaker.

Now I have to remind you, I am no electrician, but I feel I am totally able to report on events and how supportive the ECA as an organisation is. Having never met any of these people they made great first impressions.

Shahid Khan had what seemed the toughest job with talking about the introduction of new requirements for AFDD in certain scenarios. The technical knowledge from this man and his knowledge of the regulations was very impressive! Our spark Matt P found this the most interesting part of the session.

Luke Osborne, the go to for all green technology was simply fascinating – the changes over the years in technology is interesting – but where the industry is going and the introduction of the Prosumer, is where the really attractive possibilities are happening. Having looked at some new technologies within my own home – seeing the potential for home and businesses to be generating and storing their own power and feeding it back to the grid – I think is awesome!

Next up was someone we all know – Darren Crannis – never one for hiding in a crowd, he strutted his stuff onto the stage in a very fetching striped blazer and awesome shoes to deliver updates on inspection and testing and special locations. Being our previous owner and MD – the team to keen to see how he faired in the new role. Well, we all agreed that he seems to have settled in like a duck to water. He has always loved the industry and it clearly came across in his passionate delivery of his section of the presentation.

The brilliant thing about the ECA and being a member is the access to member only resources which the ECA Technical team has been working on and setting up to support Members with the new amendments changes and documentation to make it easier for the Electrical Contractor to remain compliant.

Extract about BS 7671 Amendment 2 taken from the ECA website www.eca.co.uk:

What is Amendment 2?

On 24th January 2022 the IET announced the release of Amendment 2 (BS 7671:2018+A2:2022) of the wiring regulations which will come into effect on 28th March 2022.

The 2nd Amendment to the 18th edition, originally launched in 2018, encapsulates changes from Amendment 1 as well as additions from the Draft for Public Comment in 2020.

The IET have announced that the significant changes for BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 will include:

  • A new requirement for Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs) in some AC final circuits for installations in some types of higher risk residential buildings.
  • The requirement for the fire safety design of buildings to be documented where specific conditions of external influence exist, such as protected escape routes and locations with risk of fire.
  • Method for determining the requirement to provide overvoltage protection.
  • Changes to identification, labels and notices, such as for consumer units, affecting how safety information is provided to the user of the electrical installation.
  • A Chapter on Prosumer’s Low Voltage Electrical Installations, in a new part, Part 8.