ECA President opens Half-house full of sustainable potential

Stuart Smith, President of the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA), was among dignitaries at the launch of the Half-house to teach sustainable building practices. The Half-house is located at Farnborough College of Technology’s construction campus. Students have the space of a cross-section of a house to do practical work, and learn about safety, using sustainable technology and building practices such as electric vehicle charging, heat pumps, battery storage and solar panels. Stuart Smith, ECA President, says, “This a fantastic opportunity to inspire and train young engineers of the future in renewable energy. The targets to decarbonise UK power by 2030 will simply not be met without the investment in training of young engineers. “This facility is a first-class opportunity to give hands-on experience and knowledge and hopefully inspire these students to become renewable experts. “This ties in nicely with the current ECA campaign called ‘Electrifying Our Future’, which highlights the importance of the electrical sector in the UK’s clean energy transition by 2030.” The launch event was held at the new facilities on the college campus where students and apprentices look to pursue a career in industries such as electrical contracting. For more from ECA, click here.

Markel Direct reveals most common construction injuries

A new study by Markel Direct, a specialist insurer of tradespeople, has revealed the most common injuries faced by those working in the construction industry. The survey, which asked over 300 tradespeople about the impact of workplace injuries and illness, found the most common causes of workplace injuries for tradespeople, with 44% of tradespeople reporting that “faulty equipment or tools” as the reason for their injuries in the workplace - whilst other reasons given were “Lack of PPE” (38%) and “Poor safety regulations on site” (36%). The most common causes of workplace injuries to tradespeople in full: Faulty equipment or tools (44% of tradespeople) Lack of PPE (38%) Poor safety regulations on site (36%) Personal mistake (29%) Mistake or fault of others (16%) Injured while handling, lifting or carrying (13%) Not adhering to health and safety regulations (12%) Weather conditions (11%) Slips, trips or falls on same level (10%) Falls from a height (6%) 41% of respondents who had experienced an injury reported that it was as a result of a third-party (such as a co-worker), whilst a fifth of respondents reported not always taking the necessary health and safety measures at work, potentially putting themselves at risk of harm. The study also found that head injuries and concussion are the most common injury sustained by tradespeople, with over a third (37%) of respondents having experienced this in their line of work. The second most common injury was minor broken bones, including fingers or toes, which 33% have experienced. Whilst this type of injury isn’t usually a cause for concern, in manual skilled trades it can significantly impact the ability to work, which in turn leads to a loss of earnings for the tradesperson. The third most common was back injury, impacting 28% of tradespeople in the UK. The 10 most common injuries for tradespeople in the UK: Head injury/concussion (37% of tradespeople) Minor broken bone: fingers, toes, nose etc. (33%) Back injury (28%) Shoulder injury (27%) Knee injury (20%) Strain or sprain: ankles, wrists (18%) Large cuts or wounds (18%) Eye injury (15%) Neck injury (15%) Dislocation (9%) The survey also found that half of respondents had lost income or a contract as a result of their injury. But, despite the risk of injury (and accompanying income loss) in the construction industry, more than four in 10 tradespeople reported not having insurance to protect them against accidents on site, putting their finances and livelihood at risk. Rob Rees, Divisional Director at Markel Direct, comments, “Taking adequate health and safety precautions is key to staying safe, but it’s important to have a safety net in the event something happens. Arranging insurance cover – such as occupational personal accident insurance – can help support you financially if you can’t work because of an injury on the job, minimising the impact of lost days on your income”. To read the full study, click here. For more from Markel Direct, click here.

NAPIT supports plans for tougher sentencing of tool thieves

NAPIT has welcomed plans calling for changes to the law so that tool thieves face tougher sentences reflecting the full impact of their crimes. Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North, and the sister of an electrician, has tabled the Tools of Trade Theft (Sentencing) Bill, which will have its second reading in Parliament on 25 April. She is calling for changes so that theft of tools is classed as causing “significant additional harm” and sentencing should factor in total financial losses - not just the value of stolen tools but also repair costs and lost work. This would mean tougher sentences of between six months and two years in prison instead of a community order, reflecting the impact of the offences. The campaign was launched at an event in the House of Commons in front of tradespeople and MPs, including Mansfield MP Steve Yemm whose constituency includes the NAPIT head office. They heard first-hand about the impact tool theft has on individuals, business and families. Theft of tools happens every 22 seconds in the UK and it can take a few minutes to empty vans or premises of thousands of pounds worth of essential equipment. NAPIT Managing Director, Frank Bertie, says, “We are pleased to add our support to this very important initiative and thank Amanda for raising the profile of tool theft which impacts far too many people. “It is not just the financial loss that hits tradespeople hard, but the impact it has on businesses, family members and the mental health of those worried about how they will work without their tools. “People may buy tools at car boot sales or down the pub but they need to be aware of the impact tool theft has on others, and if this Bill is adopted it could provide a real deterrent to those stealing tools.” Amanda Martin is urging tradespeople to contact their local MP about the issue and sign her petition at Labour Surveys ahead of the next reading of the Bill. For more from NAPIT, click here.

Trilux launches Osido outdoor wall light range

Trilux has unveiled Osido, a new outdoor wall light range that delivers harmonised aesthetics, intelligent technology, and enhanced sustainability for building surrounds. The series launches with four shapes - square, rectangular, round, and oval - offering a consistent design language across different outdoor applications. Developed with flexibility and ease of installation in mind, Osido features an innovative one-person mounting system, a face illumination module for improved safety, and a specially angled indirect light component that directs illumination onto façades, reducing scattered light in the upper half-space and enhancing architectural staging. Available since February 2025, the range will soon expand to include bollards, spotlights, and ceiling luminaires. A cohesive lighting concept for building surrounds Exterior façades, staircases, pathways, and entrance areas often require different lighting approaches, leading to inconsistent visual designs. Osido eliminates this challenge with a coordinated family of luminaires, ensuring a harmonised appearance while maintaining exceptional lighting performance. The series also integrates seamlessly into indoor spaces, providing design continuity across entire buildings. The Osido wall lights boast a modern, minimalist aesthetic, featuring gently rounded edges and a high-quality die-cast aluminium housing with no visible screws. Standard finishes include elegant anthracite, with custom colour options available on request. Quick, secure and tool-free installation A standout feature of Osido is its newly developed Plug & Play installation system, enabling fast, one-person mounting. A larger cavity behind the mounting plate allows easy cable routing, while a fixed plug connector ensures a secure electrical connection. Thanks to an automatic safety catch, the luminaire housing attaches to the mounting plate without tools, providing tamper resistance and theft protection. Versatile optics for many lighting requirements Osido offers a diverse selection of MLT optics, allowing the luminaires to meet both functional and decorative lighting needs. Options include: • Direct and direct/indirect distribution for different lighting effects • Narrow or wide beam angles for targeted illumination • Asymmetrical light distribution for pathway lighting • A face illumination module directs soft lighting towards pedestrians, improving visibility and enhancing perceived safety in outdoor spaces With luminous flux packages ranging from 500 to 4,000 lumens and three light colour temperatures (2,700K, 3,000K, 4,000K), the range provides complete design flexibility. Sustainability meets smart technology Osido combines high energy efficiency (≥ 143 lm/W) with a long service life of 50,000 hours, reinforcing Trilux's commitment to sustainable lighting products. A unique six-degree angled indirect light component ensures precise façade illumination, reducing spill light and enhancing architectural integration. For further energy savings and automation, the luminaires can be equipped with smart control options, including: • Switchable (ET), dimmable (ETDD), and Casambi (ETBLE+CAS) variants • An emergency lighting version with a monitoring module • Full integration with Trilux LiveLink light management system for networked control and automation With Osido, Trilux delivers a future-proof lighting innovation that merges design, smart control, and sustainability. For more from Trilux, click here.

Electrical phase identification device to enhance efficiency

PENTA has unveiled a new device that has been designed to optimise workflow while ensuring safety and precision in electrical phase identification and analysis. Engineered for professionals managing electrical networks, the Phantom electrical phase identifier offers a range of features that are designed to simplify operations and improve performance. The Phantom quickly identifies electrical phases (L1, L2, L3) at any point in the network, allowing for precise phase detection, accurately indicating in seconds phase shifts caused by transformers, displaying results in angles or time indexes for easy interpretation. With instant feedback, users can efficiently prepare operations or make real-time decisions, even without Internet or GPS connectivity, the deferred mode ensures continued operation. While a single reference module seamlessly connects with multiple measurement modules, enhancing usability. Compact and lightweight, it is easy to handle in the field. Offering flexible measurement options, allowing for remote, proximity, or contact measurements with live parts, it is compatible with all AC voltage levels, making it adaptable to various network configurations. This Phantom is the perfect solution for modern electrical network management. By streamlining operations, reducing downtime, and ensuring unmatched accuracy, it empowers professionals to work more efficiently while maintaining the highest safety standards. Whether for restructuring projects or network maintenance, this tool delivers the reliability needed for seamless reclosure. For more from PENTA, click here.

UK Power Networks developing platform to safeguard networks

UK Power Networks is helping to develop and test a new digital platform which could help power lines weather any storm. In collaboration with organisations from across the utility sector and beyond, UK Power Networks is developing a digital platform called CReDO+ (Climate Resilience Decision Optimiser), which aims to help safeguard networks against the effects of climate change. The Artificial Intelligence tool works by creating a digital replica, or twin, of infrastructure assets then combining historic and predictive data to simulate how resilient power lines would be during different types of extreme weather. By consolidating data from across the electricity, water, gas and telecommunications sectors, CReDO+ maps out how different infrastructure systems depend on each other, to understand risks that can spread across sectors. The platform then creates new models that predict where utilities should invest to improve resilience. The project is being developed with partners including Connected Places Catapult, Computational Modelling Cambridge, Science and Technology Facilities Council (Hartree Centre and STFC Scientific Computing’s Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure), Cadent Gas, National Gas, SP Energy Networks, National Grid Electricity Transmission, National Energy System Operator, Anglian Water, Thames Water, BT and the University of Edinburgh. The collaboration on CReDO+ represents a shift towards more holistic risk management in the face of climate change. In today’s interconnected world, sharing data between different utilities can enable them to make better long-term investment decisions to prevent climate change causing widespread disruption to services. CReDO+ is one of three UK Power Networks projects that secured funding from the Strategic Innovation Fund, an Ofgem programme managed in partnership with Innovate UK, to start large-scale trials. During earlier funding phases, CReDO+ developed and validated its digital twin technology, while also establishing clear guidelines for data sharing, security and regulatory compliance. Over the next three years, CReDO+ will work on expanding its impact by making its digital twin technology accessible for more regions and sectors. It will also refine its use of AI and machine learning for better climate planning and standardising ways to share data. Luca Grella, Head of Innovation at UK Power Networks, says, “With CReDO+, we're unlocking invaluable insights that will transform the way we understand and prepare for the challenges of climate change. “By harnessing the power of data and advanced predictive modelling, CReDO+ will give us a clearer, more detailed picture of how extreme weather will impact our infrastructure. The ability to simulate these scenarios allows us to proactively safeguard our networks and ensure we’re not only resilient today, but future-ready for the evolving challenges ahead." Dr Elliot Christou, Data and Technical Lead at Connected Places Catapult, and CReDO lead, adds, "CReDo+ will help us to deliver a digital twin platform that will better understand infrastructure interdependencies, improve conditions for planning investment into climate resilience, and evaluate the benefits of taking action. We look forward to working with UK Power Networks and other partners in the development of this project." For more from UK Power Networks, click here.

Legrand launches training portal for electrical contractors

Legrand UK & Ireland is furthering its commitment to supporting electrical contractors with the launch of its new online training portal. Developed to provide electrical professionals at all levels with easy access to training resources - and to complement the training already offered in Legrand Training Academy centres in London, Birmingham, Reading and Dublin - the online portal currently features over 20 courses covering healthcare, education, data centres, office environments and other project applications. To maximise convenience, the courses are accessible on the portal throughout the year and presented in easily digestible bite-sized sessions. The training content consists of information on a specific product or application, followed by a brief quiz. The portal then saves users’ progress, so they can make the training fit their schedule without the worry of losing track of which courses have been completed. Matt Crunden, Training & BIM Manager at Legrand UK & Ireland, says, “We are proud of our Training Academy, and the new online portal shows just how committed we are to educating electrical professionals across the industry. We understand that it’s not easy for contractors to find time to learn about product applications, so the portal has been designed from the ground up, with convenience in mind. “Contractors can search by application or by product type to find training that benefits them. The courses themselves are bite sized taking no more than 20 minutes each to complete. “Legrand’s training portfolio empowers contractors to increase their knowledge and skill with the blend of in-person academy training supported by online resources that best suits their schedules.” For more information on the training academy and to access the portal, click here. For more from Legrand, click here.

MSP adds support for SELECT's electrician campaign

Scotland’s largest construction trade association, SELECT, continues to draw cross-party support for its activities in its 125th year, with another prominent MSP publicly supporting its campaign for protection of title for electricians. Lorna Slater, Scottish Green Party co-leader and former Minister for Green Skills, the Circular Economy and Biodiversity is the latest politician to add her name to the campaigning trade body’s Wall of Support. Showing her support with a virtual ‘brick’, the MSP for Lothian Region says, “Currently within Scotland, due to a lack of regulation anyone can claim to be an electrician and carry out electrical work without proper qualification or oversight. “The installation of electrical work by unqualified or inadequately trained individuals is a major safety concern and risks potential harm to people and businesses. “I therefore welcome SELECT’s campaign for the regulation of the electrical industry and to make electrician a protected title to aid the protection of the people and the profession.” Lorna – who was born in Canada and worked in Scotland as an engineer in the renewables sector – has also joined 25 MSPs from across the political divide who have backed the recent tabling of a special motion in the Scottish Parliament, congratulating SELECT on representing the electrical industry since 1900. The motion was lodged by Monica Lennon, Labour MSP for Central Scotland, who also singled out the ongoing contribution of SELECT and its members to renewable technology and apprenticeships and training. SELECT Managing Director, Alan Wilson, comments, “As we celebrate our 125th anniversary as the world’s oldest electrical trade body, it is gratifying to see our ongoing work being supported by such a large cross-section of politicians. “We very much welcome Ms Slater’s expression of solidarity for our campaign for regulation of the electrical industry. It has been a long, hard road but we will continue to focus all our efforts in bringing it to a successful conclusion. “We are also very grateful to the MSPs who have backed Ms Lennon’s special motion highlighting just how much SELECT has done to promote the cause of public safety and the contribution the electrical sector makes to it.” As well as a number of MSPs, other bodies that have contributed a brick to the Wall of Support include the Scottish Joint Industry Board, Unite the Union, Electrical Safety First, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Scottish Association of Landlords, the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group and the Energy Saving Trust. SELECT has been campaigning for years with other leading industry bodies, such as the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust and the SJIB, to make sure that those who work in the industry do so in a safe and competent manner. For more from SELECT, click here.

Solar Pavilion returning to InstallerSHOW 2025

InstallerSHOW, which is taking place at the NEC Birmingham this coming June, has announced the return of the Solar Pavilion for the 2025 event - and it will once again be supported by Solar Energy UK. Building on the success of the Solar Pavilion following its debut at InstallerSHOW 2023, this year's pavilion will see a renewed focus on providing visitors the information and tools they need to succeed in the growing solar sector, which is vital for decarbonising UK homes and businesses. It will also incorporate interactive demonstration sessions to boost knowledge in the solar space. Solar Energy UK is a non-profit trade association which works for and represents the entire solar and energy storage value chain, encompassing a member-led community of more than 400 businesses and associates. Its mission is to help lead the transition to a clean and resilient energy system for the UK. Chris Hewett, Chief Executive of Solar Energy UK, comments, “Britain’s solar energy sector is growing at remarkable pace, from home rooftops and commercial premises to solar farms, driving down bills and carbon emissions together. So I am delighted to confirm we will be showcasing the best of the industry again, by bringing the Solar Pavilion back to InstallerSHOW this summer.” Michael Costain, Managing Director of InstallerSHOW organiser Lyrical Communications, part of Nineteen Group, adds, “The buzz that the Solar Pavilion has generated over the past two years is clear for all to see, and we’re delighted that Solar Energy UK is continuing to lend its support as we enhance our offering to drive the net zero agenda in conjunction with key industry stakeholders.” InstallerSHOW takes place on 24-26 June at the NEC Birmingham. To register for a free ticket, click here. Car parking at the show will also be free of charge. For more from InstallerSHOW, click here.

Rexel boosts delivery services with Podfather software

Rexel UK, a distributor of electrical products, is using Podfather fleet planning, route optimisation and electronic proof of delivery software to strengthen its supply chain. With some 250 locations across the UK, Rexel offers a next-day delivery service for most of the UK and a same-day delivery service in major towns and cities. Podfather is helping Rexel ensure the highest standards of fleet management and improved customer service. Operating a mixed fleet of nearly 400 vehicles, ranging from 3.5 tonne vans to 18 tonne trucks, Rexel makes around 5,000 deliveries a day. The roll-out of Podfather across Rexel UK, which also includes the Denmans brand, has been described by Chris Davey, Supply Chain Director at Rexel, as, “The best digital implementation we have done – simple, straightforward and it works!” Rexel serves a broad range of sectors including contractors, commercial and industrial organisations with electrical products, site supplies, and solutions. It carries wide product ranges from the UK’s leading suppliers, from lighting and circuit protection to electrical wiring, industrial controls, safety and workwear, as well as power tools and site equipment. Rexel uses Podfather to manage overnight deliveries from its hubs, including a newly opened multi-million-pound distribution centre in Aylesbury, to branches across the UK. The logistics solution is also used at a regional level for ‘last mile’ deliveries from branches to customer sites or home locations. At the start of each shift, all Rexel drivers are guided through a series of customised vehicle checks to ensure both driver and vehicle are roadworthy and ready for the day, or night, ahead. These checks include welfare questions in accordance with Rexel’s FORS (Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme) accreditation, as well as routine safety checks, and all responses are recorded using the Podfather app, making them easy to access for fleet management and compliance reporting. For ‘last mile’ deliveries, Podfather is used to plan routes and optimise vehicle journeys ensuring customer time windows are met, unnecessary mileage is reduced and vehicle capacities are maximised. Details of the route are sent directly to the driver’s mobile device, removing the need for paper tickets and delivery manifests, and ETA notifications are sent by email and text. This has transformed Rexel’s customer facing interactions and removed the disconnect between sales and warehouse operations. Podfather’s electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) app is used to capture date, time and location stamped photographs and signatures as evidence of where, when and to whom a delivery was made. This information is available to branch and support staff, in real time, to answer queries - and it can also be accessed via the Rexel hub, allowing customers to self-serve delivery information. “Using Podfather, we have professionalised our delivery service from the start of each driver’s shift right through to the point of delivery,” Chris Davey continues. “We know that our drivers and vehicles are fit for purpose, we know our operation is as efficient as possible, and we have real-time visibility of schedules as they unfold. “This information is easy to access and easy to share, meaning that our warehouse and branch operations are better connected and that our customers are well-informed. This has reduced unnecessary interactions, as customers and branch managers know what is being delivered and when to expect it, and it means we can answer queries relating to what was delivered, when it was delivered and where it was delivered at the touch of a button.” For more from Rexel, click here.