Why is Inspection & Testing Important?

There are so many electrician courses out there, sometimes it can be hard to differentiate the courses and get what you need. This short article will explain what Inspection & Testing courses are and why it is an important thing to have a qualification in. Our City & Guilds qualification is aimed at practising electricians who have not carried out Inspection & Testing since qualifying or who require some update of training.

What is Inspection & Testing?

Inspection & Testing or 2391 is exactly what it sounds like the inspection of installations to check for any issues or faults and testing is to check if the installation is in working order and functions as it should. At Able Skills, we offer Inspection & Testing courses that are 6-days in total and will be theory-based. The instructor will go through everything that you will be expected to know about Inspection and Testing on both new and existing installations.

Inspection & Testing course

The process of Inspection & Testing

The fundamentals of Inspection & Testing is that you first inspect, meaning to make sure everything seems correct with the electrical installation and secondly test it to make sure that it functions correctly.  This seems very simple but in actuality, the course will cover a huge list of different aspects including:

  • Safe isolation of electrical circuits and installations
  • Requirements for initial verification of electrical installations
  • Requirements for completing the inspection of electrical installations prior to their being placed into service
  • Requirements for the safe testing and commissioning of electrical installations
  • Requirements for testing before circuits are energised
  • Requirements for testing energised installations
  • Requirements for the completion of electrical installation certificates and associated documentation
  • Safety of systems and equipment prior to completion of inspection and testing & commissioning
  • Inspection of electrical installations prior to them being placed into service
  • Commissioning electrotechnical systems and equipment
  • Requirements for inspecting, testing and recording the condition of electrical installations
  • Requirements for completing the periodic inspection of electrical installations
  • The differences between periodic inspections and initial verifications
  • Requirements for the safe testing of electrical installations which have been placed in service
  • Understand and interpret test results
  • Requirements for the completion of electrical installation condition reports and associated documentation
  • How to confirm safety of system and equipment prior to completion of inspection, testing and commissioning
  • How to carry out inspection of electrical installations prior to them being placed into service
  • How to test electrical installations prior to them being placed into service
  • How to produce a condition report with recording observations and classifications

Is this a requirement?

It is extremely important as Inspection & Testing is an essential skill that any electrician should know, the qualification is simply proof of this ability. The theory learnt whilst completing this award is required to professionally install and carry out initial verification and periodic inspection and testing on electrical installations which is the bread and butter of an electrical installers arsenal. Therefore it is an important qualification to pickup when aiming to become a professional working in the industry!

To gain a Level 3 Award in Inspection & Testing you must complete the following:

Candidates must successfully complete one online multiple-choice examination, comprising of 60 questions - the examination has a maximum duration of 120 minutes. This is an open book exam and permitted materials are:

  • BS 7671
  • IET On-site Guide
  • IET Guidance Note 3

Candidates will also have to undertake a written assignment (80 minutes) comprising of 4 short-answer questions, again this is an open book assignment and permitted materials are:

  • BS 7671
  • IET On-site Guide
  • IET Guidance Note 3

In addition, candidates will; also need to successfully complete a two and a half hour practical assignment; comprising of a full Initial verification and a Periodic inspection (combined within the same assessment) of a three-phase electrical installation, including completion of all appropriate documentation.

More Details?

If you would like some more information about our Inspection & Testing courses then feel free to get in contact with us. There are a few ways to do this, first and most convenient is to simply give us a call on 01322 280 202. You can also come straight into our over during opening hours and we will answer any questions, show you around and give you an idea of what training here would be like.

We are open every day of the week between the hours of 8:30 - 4:30 Monday - Sunday. Our office and training centre and where you will take one of our Inspection & Testing courses are all on the same location, we are based in Dartford just outside London.

K5, Riverside Industrial Estate, Riverside Way, Dartford DA1 5BS