ECA calls for petrol and diesel vehicles ban by 2030

New sales of petrol and diesel vehicles should be banned by 2030, according to a submission from ECA to the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). Earlier this year, the government moved forward the date when sales will be banned to 2035. However, many other countries are planning to exceed this timetable, including Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. ECA says a ban by 2030 is only feasible if charging infrastructure is sufficiently upgraded in the meantime and supports a minimum of six rapid DC charge points in operation in every motorway service station by 2023, as well as wider deployment across the entire road network. ECA energy advisor Luke Osborne said, “With the government’s commitment to achieving net carbon zero by 2050, it is crucial that a rapid move to the electrification of transport takes place. The ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars is one key component in achieving this, along with the full de-carbonisation of rail and bus networks.” It is anticipated by ECA that the majority of electric vehicle charging will take place at the home and the office. Nevertheless, the provision of charge points at a range of locations – such as car parks, airports, stadiums and leisure centres – is highly desirable, and could be an income stream for local councils. As well as the ban covering road vehicles (cars, vans, trucks, lorries, buses and coaches), ECA also believes it should be extended to all transport, including boats and ships. Osborne said, “The move to full electrification of transport along with the adoption of electrification for heating will place additional demands on the electricity supply network – which needs its capacity bolstering. “In addition, it is crucial that the UK continues to reduce the carbon content of the electricity grid through increased renewable energy generation. Increased deployment of off-shore and on-shore wind generation as well as enlargement of the capacity of solar PV farms, coupled with the use of electrical energy storage systems, will help to achieve this.” The shift to electric methods of transport is also expected to bring about an increase in the number of related jobs. ECA contends in the submission that these must be filled by competent and skilled workers.

Electrical Safety First’s annual Product Safety Conference

Electrical Safety First’s twelfth annual product safety conference – A Sustainable Future – will be online and free to attend. The event will run over two consecutive mornings, from Wednesday 4th November (9.30am-11.30am), to Thursday 5th November (9.30 am – 12.30pm). This high profile event - which is supported by the Office for Product Safety and Standards - attracts representatives from throughout the supply chain, in addition to major stakeholders and related organisations. Delegates range from government departments, manufacturers, retailers and importers, to lawyers, test houses and fire and rescue services - as well as Trading Standards and safety professionals. This integrated approach to product safety plays a significant part in the event’s success. That, and the fact it provides a platform for highlighting current critical and emerging issues. Wednesday’s agenda will focus on sustainability in relation to a number of themes, from product end-of-life and the circular economy, to the legislative landscape and the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Thursday’s sessions will look at the benefits and risks arising from creative products and emerging technologies. Discussions will consider issues such as the standards ‘gap’ and how industry and regulators are addressing potential threats from IOT technologies. The event will also play host to Electrical Safety First’s Safety Innovation Awards, developed by the Charity to acknowledge companies – or individuals – who put safety at the heart of product design, or go the extra mile in safety advocacy. To find out what the future holds for the industry and to book your place at A Sustainable Future, visit: https://tinyurl.com/y3wmgrvd or click here for more information.

Labour Market Survey seeks contractor views

Electrical contractors are being encouraged to take part in a short labour market survey being carried out by The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership (TESP). Findings from the research will provide TESP with up-to-date information on the industry’s current and future skills needs, business decisions around apprenticeship recruitment and the workforce and what support might be needed to help the industry. The survey will also provide an update on previous findings gathered in 2018/2019, when TESP conducted its first in-depth analysis of electrotechnical skills needs. Running until 16 September 2020, the survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. To take part visit: www.pyetait.com/TESP-LMI-2020

Why fire safety and security must remain a priority

By Marc Gaunt, Category & Segment Marketing Manager, Eaton Since the Electrical Safety Standards in The Private Rented Sector (England) regulations came into force on the 1st July of this year, focus has now turned to what this legislation will mean for the fire safety and electrical industry. Amongst other requirements, property owners must now have the electrical installations in their properties inspected and tested by a person who is qualified and competent, at least every five years. Whilst this is a step in the right direction, more can still be done to make sure suitable technology is fitted in the first place, to make safety and security a priority in buildings across the UK. Recent months have seen the global workforce adapting to remote working, and unsurprisingly, this has brought to light new challenges around fire safety and security standards. In 2020, there has been an increase in weekday fires in the home due to cooking, smoking, electrical items and heating sources being used more frequently as people are spending more time indoors than usual. Yet, we should see this time of change as an opportunity for both businesses and individuals to upgrade fire and security protections in their premises. Every year, the cost of fire damages in Europe is around €126bn, and it is time for facilities managers and building owners to explore how technology can reduce these risks in residential and commercial buildings. A collaborative approach to fire and security safety Whilst it often falls on electrical contractors to make buildings safe by ensuring they adhere to legislation put in place in the UK, new data also shows that fire and rescue services (FRS) are introducing training in line with the changing nature of risk today to help reduce harm. A freedom of information request earlier this year found 34 fire and rescue services up and down the country have gone as far as to introduce specific operational training to improve the response to rescuing individuals from buildings. They now also plan for newer threats such as terrorist attacks, in addition to more 'traditional' threats like fire and flooding. Whilst this is extremely positive, individuals’ safety within buildings cannot rely on fire brigades and electrical contractors alone – we must take a more collaborative, proactive approach to our safety. Building owners and facilities managers should understand the new risks to occupants and infrastructure in UK buildings today, as well as taking steps to mitigate these threats. Building and occupant safety is becoming more challenging as we face a number of non-traditional threats, from power outages to terrorism. The changing profile of risk today requires facilities managers to constantly re-evaluate safety strategies for those who use their premises. 2020 has seen thousands of employees move to remote working, allowing some commercial building owners the time to make major changes to the fire and safety procedures in their building. As 1.5 million SMEs in the UK do not have a business plan in place for improving fire safety in the long-run, the next few months may be the perfect time for leaders to implement large-scale plans. Building owners and managers should assess the need to add features like new fire exits and upgrade security systems such as CCTV, and as workers continue to work remotely, these changes won’t cause disruption to a normal working day. Technology has the potential to mitigate fire risk In addition to new risks, more traditional threats remain just as prevalent – as of 2019 more than 25% of fires are caused by electrical failure. Data shows that almost a third (31%) of respondents reported an increase in primary fires in residential buildings ignited by an electric fault or caused by a problem with electrical distribution compared to five years ago. This leap in primary fires has also led to an increase in the number of people fire brigades have had to rescue from buildings due to electrically-ignited fires or fires stemming from electrical distribution compared to five years ago. In fact, 24% report an increase for these rescues from residential buildings and 26% confirm an increase from commercial buildings. The number of electrical devices in the home and at work has increased significantly as technology has advanced. While this may explain the increase in electrically-ignited fires, technology advances have also led to solutions which can mitigate the risks of these fires and offer better protection to individuals – whether they are on commercial or private premises. Facilities managers and building owners must continually educate themselves on the newest technologies, from Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs) that prevent electrical fires to the latest adaptive evacuation technology which can ease congestion or help guide people safely out of a building when trying to evacuate. In addition to easing reliance on our fire and rescue services, this will improve building safety for everyone – whether that’s staff in an office, students within a university or sports fans in a stadium. It is true that the breadth and severity of safety risks in buildings is expanding. Safety is a key focus for facilities managers and building owners but as they navigate this complicated threat landscape, it’s vital that they explore the technology that can reduce risks. Many electrically-ignited fires can be prevented before they start. Evacuation processes can be streamlined to get people to safety more quickly. This new era of risk requires new and forward-looking defence mechanisms. Without them, there is risk of failing to protect what matters most. Building owners and managers must re-evaluate the way they protect people and property in line with the changing nature of risk and risk mitigation today.

SJIB and Unite the Union welcome consultation ­ calling for regulation of electricians

The Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB) and Unite the Union have welcomed the launch of a consultation exercise which it is hoped will lead to the introduction of a Member’s Bill calling for regulation of electricians. Both organisations are supporting the proposed Bill, which MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston plans to put forward following the new consultation announced last week. The Bill by the Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands is calling for the introduction of protection of title, which would ensure that only properly qualified and experienced professionals could call themselves an electrician. Mr Halcro Johnston said: “Poor quality work has potentially dangerous consequences and presents a risk to neighbours and a financial cost to insurers, as well as placing our emergency services unnecessarily in harm’s way. “The proposed Bill would ensure that electricians undertaking work are qualified to do so and effectively registered. This will not only benefit the end consumer, but also the electrical industry, which depends on the trust of the wider public. “Unfortunately, due to restrictions on parliamentary time, my Bill won’t be able to get through during the current parliamentary session. However, by doing this, we have started a process which could lead to an historic and long overdue change after the 2021 election.” The launch of the consultation was endorsed by the SJIB, which is one of the many organisations backing a rapidly-growing campaign for recognition of electrician as a profession. Fiona Harper, The Secretary of the SJIB, said: “This consultation is the first part of a very important journey to ensure that only those who are appropriately qualified and experienced are allowed to call themselves an electrician. “It adds further momentum to the industry’s commitment to improve consumer safety and is another important milestone in protecting people and businesses across Scotland. “We would like to thank Mr Halcro Johnston for his hard work in getting this important matter to this stage and we look forward to seeing its development.” Pat Rafferty, Unite Scotland Regional Secretary, added: “This announcement is another step on the road to protecting the reputation of properly qualified electricians, both now and for the next generation. “Ensuring that skills, qualifications and competence are properly protected will underpin the future of our industry and help raise the bar across our profession as a whole.” However, Harper added: “Momentum is everything, so it’s vital that regulation happens as soon as possible. Every day we spend debating is another day that the public are exposed to shoddy and sub-standard electrical work, performed by so-called electricians with no qualifications at all.” The SJIB and Unite are among the organisations supporting the #BackTheBrick campaign spearheaded by SELECT, Scotland’s largest trade association. The association has been pressing the Scottish Government for regulation of electricians and has received significant support from MPs, MSPs and major organisations. The issue has already been debated in the Scottish Parliament, with an Electricians Working Group convened to explore the challenges of ensuring the safety of electrical installations and protecting consumers. The consultation can be responded to here and is open until Tuesday 10 November 2020.  

Strong work levels and business optimism for UK tradespeople

UK tradespeople are reporting strong levels of work activity in the first half of 2020 despite the Coronavirus pandemic. According to research undertaken independently on behalf of Screwfix, 88% of the plumbers, electricians, builders and carpenters questioned in Screwfix’s Trade Pulse index, said they are working at the moment, with 72% in work through lockdown during April and 77% in May. More than half (56%) of tradespeople say they are preparing at least as many quotes for jobs as they were this time last year and, nearly one in three (32%) are busier than expected. Many tradespeople remain optimistic for the next 12 months, with more than two thirds expecting business activity to remain the same or improve. John Mewett, CEO of Screwfix, comments: “Remaining open throughout lockdown meant our colleagues were working hard serving our customers to ensure tradespeople could continue their essential work. This enabled us to see first-hand how busy the nation’s tradespeople were, many of whom play a crucial role in keeping homes warm, safe and with power. The past few months have been hugely challenging for everyone and our customers have had to adapt to new ways of working on site to keep themselves and their customers safe. That’s why it’s even more reassuring to see that these latest findings show many tradespeople remain in work and are preparing quotes for future jobs. “We want to thank and reward tradespeople for everything they do and especially for their efforts over the last few months. To do this, we’re launching our annual competition to find Screwfix’s Top Tradesperson, to recognise those who go above and beyond for their customers, the industry and their communities. As previous winners show, winning the accolade can have a positive impact on their business, so it’s definitely worth entering!” Screwfix’s Top Tradesperson is a nationwide competition. One exceptional winner will win the profile-boosting accolade and £20,000 trade bundle. Entries for Screwfix’s Top Tradesperson are open until 30 August. To find out more and to enter, please search: Screwfix Top Tradesperson. 

Keep it simple, keep it smart

More and more of us are looking to make our homes and offices that bit smarter. But that doesn’t have to mean complicated costly technology. For us it means taking the electrical products we use every day and improving them to make your home or office more comfortable, convenient, and secure. At Link2Home, we make products that are attractive, helpful and easy to use and our app enhances this experience. What if all the devices in your home could connect to the Internet? Not just your smart phone or tablet but everything: Speakers, lights, doorbells, cameras, sockets, window blinds, appliances, heating, alarms, you name it. And what if all those devices could all communicate, send you information and take commands all under one application. It’s not science fiction: it’s the Link2Home solution and it is becoming a key component in home automation and smart homes. Smart home is not just about turning your lights on and off through an application, a truly smart homes focus is on home automation. Home automation does exactly what it says: it is the ability to automate things around the home or office at the push of a button, voice command or better yet automatically. There are many smart home product solutions available on the market but what there is not is a one app solution for everything that brings it all together and allows your devices to interconnect and talk to each other. This is where Link2Home’s focus lies in bringing everything together under a one app solution and enabling smart automation without serious investment of time and money. Control your Link2Home devices, switch on and off your sockets, see inside and outside your home with our cameras, control your environment with our lights and receive alerts from our doorbells and never miss a visitor. Receive notifications on your phone or tablet whenever motion is detected from an applicable device. Smart control Link2Homes, smart function and the location of your phone allow you to do the right thing automatically, turning on the lights when you arrive home using your location, send alerts through the app and via text when motion is detected and much more. The Link2Home smart function is split into two categories. The first we call 'tap-to-run'. Using this mode, you can create quick one touch short cuts to a series of events. These events are then added as a shortcut to the home screen. The 2nd smart function is true automation where you can create events to control devices that are activated by external triggers. These triggers include: Inter device synchronisation – activate one product feature when another product feature is activated. Such as a camera device detecting movement and then turning on a light. External environment triggers are split into two categories. Under weather you can link changes to temperature, humidity, weather, sunrise/sunset and windspeed. Under location you can link changes to arriving or leaving a specific location. Finally using schedule, you can create multiple timer settings across specific days. Easy to use Set up of our devices is simple and quick. Our plugs and lamps use WiFi and BLE connectivity which means when you open the box of your new device and plug it in and open your Link2Home Pro App the device will recognised automatically without any menu or button press. This means set up can take as little as 10 seconds. Other set up methods for video devices are easy to follow with on screen instructions where set up takes around 30 seconds. Voice control All our smart products are fully integrated with Amazon Echo and Google Assistant. Turn your lights or sockets on and off through voice and if you have an Amazon Echo Show or Google Screen device including Google Chromecast. Just ask your smart speaker to access your camera device by saying "Alexa show me the driveway" or "Hey google show me the garage on the living room TV". Brand and packaging Our name 'Link2Home' tells you what we do, and our packaging solution carries this messaging forward. Easy to understand and display products with bold colours and feature ICONS all presented in shelf ready packaging. Inbuilt installation guides through the application allow for easy set up as well as two-way messaging service where you can report bugs, suggest new features and get network diagnostics. Keep it simple, keep it smart, make it Link2home

EI Live! postponed until 2021

As we are all aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is still making an impact in the UK across many business sectors. With this in mind, we have been consulting with all EI Live! exhibitors and visitors, with regards to running the show in October 2020 as planned or postponing until 2021. Following several very well-attended Zoom conference calls with exhibitors, and after looking at correspondence from those unable to attend the Zoom calls, we have taken the decision to postpone the show until 2021. The overwhelming consensus of opinion was that exhibitors did not want to run the risk of putting their staff in danger of catching the virus. We also surveyed all pre-registered visitors with a simple question – ‘Should the show go ahead, would you attend, Yes or No’ – and the response was 70% / 30% in favour of not attending. The message from the industry has been that a postponement was the best option. What was coming over loud and clear, was that the industry is desperate to showcase its products and services, but safety comes first. Also, given recent experiences, if we went ahead with the show and the country experiences a spike with the virus, the Government could lock down again, scuppering any plans for this year. So, the decision is to postpone the show until early 2021, and we are negotiating with the venue now to secure dates for next year. Those dates will be communicated to the industry as soon as they are confirmed. However, there will still be a chance for exhibitors to showcase their products and services as we are launching “EI Live! Interactive week”, a virtual event in late October (around the dates the live show would have taken place over the entire week). EI Live! Online October 2020! For this year, EI Live! will present a week-long series of events taking place online with a completely new initiative to provide a chance for EI Live! Exhibitors to demonstrate their latest designs and products. Details are being finalised now and will reach your inbox in the coming weeks. EI Live! is a product of ATM Ltd eiliveshow.com Event Director, David Kitchener  +44 (0)1634 673163, david@allthingsmedialtd.com

Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity offers free wellbeing training for all in construction

As a direct result of the wellbeing issues presented to their 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline, the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity has announced that they are delivering £20,000 of free mental health and wellbeing training to the industry for the remainder of 2020. One of the key findings of the charity’s recently published 2019 Impact Report was that 62% of emergency financial grants were to pay for daily living costs, paying bills and clearing rent arrears and debt. Financial wellbeing is one of the key factors affecting mental health and the introduction of ‘bang on budget’ financial management sessions, aim to directly address these issues. The fallout of Covid-19 has also seen an increasing number of redundancies across the industry and the charity has augmented its wellbeing programme to include two sessions aimed at improving employability with ‘At the Interview’ and a ‘CV Workshop’. Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity said, ”A crucial element of our strategy is to proactively support the industry’s mental wellbeing and ensure the widespread availability of construction focussed training programmes. These range from hour long interactive wellbeing sessions through to the full two day MHFA England approved Mental Health First Aider course. This will ensure that companies have easy access to a robust wellbeing strategy to support every level of their organisation from the boots on the ground workforce through to senior management. We are a CITB approved training organisation (ATO) which means that our courses are delivered to a defined and industry-agreed training standard and most are CPD accredited ensuring they contribute to personal career and professional development.” The charity is also offering it’s Company Supporters priority access to the MHFA England half day Mental Health Awareness course and two day Mental Health First Aider courses. Hill added, “Offering these courses free of charge removes the final barrier for many smaller construction organisations to access these valuable and much needed training courses. Our focus is to continually develop and expand our proactive wellbeing education and training programme, alongside the immediate reactive support provided by our 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline and accompanying app. Thanks to the generosity of our industry’s support, we can make our charitable services accessible to everyone so that we can achieve our mission in ensuring that no worker or their family are alone in a crisis.” Free Wellbeing Sessions: Work, life balance – what is good ‘work life balance’ and how to achieve it Coping with stress – causes and coping mechanisms Mindfulness – what is mindfulness and how can you implement it Resilience – building resilience and keeping it growing Meditation – an introduction to meditation from a construction professional Bang on budget – looking after your finances, budgeting and debt management CV workshop – showcasing your attributes and getting an interview At the interview – tips and skills to shine on the day Free MHFA England approved Mental Health Training for Company Supporters: Half Day Mental Health Awareness Two Day Mental Health First Aider Benefits of mental health and wellbeing training: Build employees’ confidence to have open conversations and break the stigma Encourage people to access support early, for a faster recovery Empower those with a long term mental health issue or disability to thrive in work Promote a mentally healthy environment, stopping preventable issues and allowing people to thrive and become more productive Embed a long term positive culture across the whole organisation, so that employees recognise their mental and physical health are supported as equal parts of the whole person​ ​

ECA launches apprentice support service

A new apprentice secondment service has been launched by the trade association, ECA. The service extends ECA’s already well-established ‘loan labour scheme’ to allow employers to both loan out apprentices and hire them on a temporary secondment basis. The necessity for businesses to loan out apprentices typically occurs for two reasons. Firstly, where the lender has a temporary shortfall in its workload, or where they have limits in the variety of work they undertake. Both scenarios can make it more difficult for the lender’s apprentice to complete the standard apprenticeship curriculum in good time. The borrowing business can help to fill the gap and keep the apprentice working and learning. Clear learning objectives and the early involvement of the apprentice’s training provider are also essential. ECA Director of Employment and Skills, Andrew Eldred, commented: “In these challenging times, some engineering services businesses are facing periods of time when they may struggle to find work for all their apprentices. Other firms are still busy, and are ready and able to help. “Given the critical importance of apprentices to the future of the industry, our new apprentice support service will help ensure that temporary opportunities can be found to keep them learning and in employment.” Research from The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership in 2018/19 found that apprentices deliver a net return to their employer of up to £57,000 within four years of joining the business. ECA has also produced guidance and flowcharts for businesses on how to keep apprentices employed and travelling and working safely during the current climate, with more tools and support to follow in the near future. The apprentice support service forms part of ECA’s broader ‘loan labour scheme’, which gives businesses flexibility to bring in high-quality staff without resorting to agencies. To find out more about ECA’s apprentice secondment service, please click here.