coming up on this week's news a judge finds a building firm 50,000 pounds after a worker
survives in 11 kV electric shock new figures reveal that electrical fires have soared since
the government introduced specific measures to prevent them and one of our boys has made it an
electrician from Cambridge is crowned tradesperson of the year for 2022 welcome to electrical news
weekly in association with myenergi whether you're listening in the van on site or down
at the wholesale counter I'm Joe Robinson and I've been through the best of the electrical industry
news to save you the trouble and as always if you think you spotted the two words I've been
challenged to slip into this week's show comment with them below for the chance to win a prize
magistrates have found a construction contractor 50,000 pounds after one of its workers received
an electric shock of 11,000 volts the man an employee of Connop and Son of Lemster was pouring
concrete when the floating arm of the pump came into contact with a high tension overhead power
line he immediately lost consciousness and his workmates rushed to perform CPR in an attempt
to resuscitate him the injured laborer was later taken to Oxford hospital where he spent six days
in a coma a health and safety executive probe found that Connop and Son fell far below the
standard expected the company failed to implement the control measures documented in its own risk
assessment Oxford magistrates also find two other workers who they say failed to ensure
the health and safety of the others on the site Connop and Son was also awarded to pay costs in
other news an investigation by ENT magazine has revealed that the number of electrical wiring
fires has increased on a galactic level since the government introduced specific regulations
aimed at preventing them the findings of raised questions about the planned move to expand the
current regulations electrical distribution fires occur within the fixed electrical parts of a home
such as wiring and fuse boards there were almost 4000 of these in 2021 across the UK in comparison
to the 3000 recorded in 2005. that was when the government introduced Part P of the building
regulations in England and Wales ENT says that it has found evidence that some of the electrical
tests carried out in properties are inadequate in some cases testers are incorrectly passing unsafe
properties ENT has also heard evidence of drive-by inspections with the paperwork being filled out
without anyone entering the properties at all this undercuts legitimate electrical contractors
and even puts lives at risk the government is now considering whether to extend the rules to social
housing but Mark Cole's technical boss at the IET has called on the government to review the
existing legislation before extending it he said there were far too many fires of electrical origin
occurring in dwellings in the UK the National Fire Chiefs Council agree it says it's concerned about
the apparent rising fires with causes related to electricity including faulty wiring the government
says that the industry must take responsibility for raising competence and setting standards
in the sector in product news this Autumn RF Solutions have significantly enhanced the Bogey
Box to include LORA or long range spread spectrum technology the Bogey Box allows the electrical
installer to turn any volt free no-volt input into a remote control transmitter capable of wirelessly
switching a paired receiver output over a huge distance the new LORA version means any volt free
buttons switches or other inputs can achieve a wireless switching range of up to five kilometers
line of sight installers can also now choose to power the box from three AAA batteries allowing
for deployment anywhere or via a 5 to 15 volt permanent power supply meaning minimum maintenance
is required on top of this the upgraded Bogey Box now has an optional acknowledgment feature
when enabled this will alert the end user if the transmitter inputs have successfully
operated its paired relay outputs perfect when switching relays over a long distance and for
applications where you can't see the consequence if you'd like more information on the Bogey Box
I've popped a link into the show notes in further product news this month lighting firm Signify has
unveiled not one but two technological firsts the first breakthrough is with the company's
range of WiZ lighting for the home if you want to turn your lights on when you enter a room
you normally have to install a PIR detector or maybe a microwave sensor but now buffins
apparently have come up with a presence detection method that works without any sensors instead it
detects motion using the Wi-Fi signals that are already present in a room these pre-existing Wi-Fi
signals are slightly disturbed when people move around in a space think of it like ripples in a
swimming pool by measuring the small deviations in signal strength caused by those disturbances
the WiZ lights can work out if someone is present clever stuffing the second breakthrough is a range
of light bulbs which achieve an A rating in the ridiculously stringent new energy labeling rules
with the old energy labels and efficiency of just 120 lumens per watt would achieve an A plus plus
score under the new system that would achieve only an E rating to get an A Class now lamps must reach
a spectacular energy efficiency of 210 lumens per watt and well that's exactly what Signify
achieved with its ultra efficient product lineup this includes standard light bulbs you can tell I
didn't write this segment candle lamps LED tubes and GU10s so well done Signify Gary and Gordon
made a whole video about lighting energy labels recently and it's been hugely popular so check out
what all the fuss is about again I've popped the link to the video in the show notes now with 2023
shaping up to be one of the most economically challenging in decades business experts from
Fergus the admin software people have set out their five top tips for electrical contractors
to survive and thrive in a recession their top tip keep records many electricians hate record
keeping but they emphasize that it's the only way to stay on top of your finances the experts
command little and often keep notes of income and spending every day or at least every other
day second understand how you as a business are performing who are the bad debtors which customers
and work generates the best return and so on third have a tidy up write off debts you can't
recover sell stock in assets that don't generate any revenue although this can be painful it's also
remarkably liberating the fourth good habit is to set aside the tax you owe whether you charge vat
or not it makes sense to put these sums in another account as that way you don't think of it as your
money finally remember that a business makes no money until an invoice is sent if creating
an invoice is a pain find a system to make it easier maybe give yourself a little treat for
doing it like a coffee and a slice of battenberg if you get into this habit you'll notice the cash
start to roll in quickly now in the summer we had Dan from the rewired agency come into the
studio to talk to us about his business which is specifically designed to help self-employed
electricians and other trades people get on top of their admin I've popped the link to that video in
the show notes and it's well worth checking out now it's a very exciting time up north in Line
Side Studios not because Gordon's back today to share his holiday pictures with us or that he's
approved an upgrade to Yorkshire Tea Bags or even that Mastab's Curry House on the Keithley road is
bringing back the chicken hyderabaddy no it is none of these admittedly fine things it is of
course because the eFIXX awards are coming up and you our dear viewer have a role to play currently
we're looking for your help in identifying the industry's best employer of apprentices which
firms are going above and beyond the call of duty to give new starters to our industry the
best experience possible you can nominate a firm you know for the apprentice employer of the year
category alternatively you can even nominate yourself tell us what makes the company special
and what it does for its apprentices I've popped the link to the awards in the show notes so get
entering and finally the UK's top tradesperson has been revealed and it's good news as one of
our boys has made it electrician Toby Peacock has been named the Screwfix UK Champion for 2022
the judges were wowed by his professionalism and dedication to the trade and this week his
face appeared on a huge digital billboard in his hometown of Cambridge Toby also walks away with an
ultimate trade bundle consisting of 20000 pounds worth of tools technology and future training the
eFIXX team sends its heartiest congratulations to you Toby that's it for this week but coming up on
our YouTube channel over the next few days we've got a Q and A asking if you can charge your EV
from a normal 13 amp socket outlet a review of the Sterling curve dado trunking from Marshalltufflex
and some more information on the Easy9 compact multi row board from Schneider including a full
install from our time fixer Rick plus all the usual fun and games across our social
media accounts to look forward to if you think you know the words that I've smuggled into this
week's show pop your guests into the comments and we'll dig out a goodie bag prize to the first to
get the right answers last week's words were al fresco and catamaran which are obviously normal
everyday words you'll find on any electrical podcast however they let out pretty quickly
at Zach Wilson who was the first to comment so well done to you Zack please click the link in
the description below to claim your prize and in a podcast first we had someone predicting this
week's words as well a viewer going by the name of Cyrus suggested that they would be diaphanous
and flocculent by saying those words have we gone full matter and self-referential risking damage
to the space-time continuum by creating a time loop or is all this just a red herring make your
guesses in the comments and we'll find out we'd also like to make a small apology to anyone who
heard the raw audio file released as the podcast last week the problem was quickly corrected
and the relevant operative has now had their biscuit privileges temporarily revoked thanks
for listening to this episode of electrical news weekly in association with myenergi make
sure you subscribe to receive the next update thanks for listening and until next time have
a great week stay safe out there and remember there's no such thing as a torque calibrated arm