New Thermal Imaging Camera from Fluke

Fluke has announced the introduction of the new TiS20+ entry-level thermal imaging camera, the ideal troubleshooting tool for electricians, first line industrial maintenance and HVACR technicians. The new Fluke TiS20+ features IR-Fusion technology, which blends visible and infrared images to help to exactly pinpoint the location of a problem. More information about the TiS20+ can be found at www.fluke.co.uk. The Fluke TiS20+ handheld thermal camera puts the power of thermal imaging at the user’s fingertips. It is designed to make the job quicker and easier. In thermography, context matters. Fluke IR-Fusion makes the job easier by using a thermal image overlaid on a visual light image to give the full picture of where the issue is before it becomes a problem. By simply sliding a finger across the screen, the level of infrared is adjusted. Whether finding an uneven load on switchgear or inspecting a ventilation system, the Fluke TiS20+ helps detect issues quickly. The Fluke TiS20+ Thermal Imaging Camera features a 3.5 inch touchscreen, offering 120 x 90 infrared resolution for use in a temperature range of -20°C to +150°C. It is designed to withstand a two metre drop and is water and dust resistant to IP54. It also has the longest ever battery life in a Fluke thermal camera. The TiS20+ can work without a break, with a battery life of over five hours of continuous use. Sleep mode saves the battery life in between inspection points: simply pressing the power button one time gets the camera back up and running. The TiS20+ is compatible with Fluke Connect, which allows users to record and share thermal images in real time via their smartphones or tablets and automatically upload them to the cloud. Fluke Connect desktop software enables creation of professional reports in minutes while efficiently capturing full radiometric data to support the maintenance program. Fluke Connect Asset Tagging can help eliminate hours at the computer organising captured thermal images. By scanning a QR code on each asset alongside the capture of thermal images, they are automatically sorted by asset. Thus, time can be spent analysing images and creating reports instead of sorting files one at a time. For more information about all Fluke products, visit the Fluke website at www.fluke.co.uk.

Fife Council Upgrades All Properties With Aico Alarms

Fife Council has engaged in a rolling programme to upgrade all of its 32,000 properties with Aico 3000 Series Alarms. Fife Council has been installing alarms to the LD2 category of protection for many years, so changes in Scottish legislation, introduced early in 2019, which raises the minimum level of fire safety, did not affect the Council. Jim Macdonald, Fife Council Compliance Manager, explains: “We have been installing alarms to LD2 for a number of years as the safety of our tenants is paramount.  We take into account social and health issues when conducting risk assessments. We still have a number of smokers who continue to smoke in their bedrooms despite the health and safety warnings we are all familiar with.  In these instances we go beyond LD2 by putting alarms in bedrooms; LD2 Plus, if you like! “You can’t put a cost on someone’s life, but you can put a cost on the potential damage and the resulting costs and that cost can be over £1 million. That’s a direct cost to the Council.  If we can avoid just one fire by fitting the best level of protection possible, we have actually saved money and, more importantly, protected lives. Using the 3000 Series alarms provides us with the best possible protection and helps us future proof our fire alarm systems.” Fife Council is fitting Aico’s latest 3000 Series throughout its properties, including the Ei3024 Multi-Sensor and the Ei3028 Heat/Carbon Monoxide alarm. The Ei3024 features Optical and Heat Sensors which constantly monitor and analyse smoke and heat levels providing the best response to all fire types and reduced false alarms.  The Ei3028 has been designed for use in kitchens and garages and provides protection from both fire and Carbon Monoxide in one compact unit, whilst being highly resilient to false alarms. All alarms are interconnected using Aico SmartLINK wireless technology which minimises disruption in properties by removing the need for unsightly cabling between alarms and also provides greater system flexibility to match the needs of different tenants.   Fife Council recognised the benefits of this technology and used when it was first introduced under the RadioLINK brand over 15 years ago. In addition, Fife Council is making full use of Aico’s extensive range of alarm accessories, including the Ei450 Alarm Control Switch which enables remote test, locate and silence facilities across all alarms on a system from one device; relays; and the Ei414 which is an easy to use interface between Aico alarms third party systems such as telecare/warden call devices and sprinkler systems. Fife Council has installed Aico alarms for 15 years due to the product quality and reliability.  But for Jim Macdonald it goes further than that: “The product is excellent and highly reliable but what’s more, Aico is willing to listen to what we want and work with us to develop solutions”.   A prime example of this was the Ei414 - a product developed directly as a result of working with Fife Council to find a reliable, simple method to integrate Aico alarms with a warden call system.  The product has proven highly popular throughout the social housing sector and has been further developed to interconnect to panel based fire alarm systems. Fife Council has also benefitted from Aico’s Expert Installer training, which has been provided free of charge and delivered to a wide range of relevant people, including Direct Labour Organisations (DLO) and external contractors, sheltered housing officers, call centre staff and even tenant association groups.  “The training is very good” states Macdonald “and makes us feel like we are in a safe pair of hands.” Expert Installer provides customers with the information they need to install and manage domestic Fire and Carbon Monoxide Alarm systems.  The training is modular, allowing customers to choose the appropriate topics. Many of the modules are CPD accredited, allowing up to 5 hours 15 minutes to be earned of CPD time. The upgrade to the Aico 3000 Series alarms started in Fife Council’s sheltered housing and is now being rolled out to all housing stock, including new build properties.

Rexel Launches Smart Home Offer For Installers

Rexel has announced the launch of its new Smart Home offer - partnering with market leading brands to offer innovative solutions across the smart security, smart heating, smart electrical, smart control and smart EV charging sectors. Already available at 63 specialist Smart Home Rexel branches, the new offer makes smart technology easily accessible to installers nationwide, with essentials available in branch or via same or next day delivery with online ordering. Shaun Morgan, Head of Category at Rexel, says: “Smart technology can now provide homeowners with security, comfort, convenience and energy efficiency, simply by using their voice or a smartphone app. A survey carried out this year by Smart Home Week revealed 57 per cent of homes now have some form of smart device in their home. With our new offer, installers can easily access the products their customers need, with expertise in branch to support them and their requirements.” Key new products include the smart control Nest Hub by Google, which, with the Google Assistant built-in, brings users visual help at home. With voice activation the Nest Hub brings users the latest events, reminders and news from a single dashboard, all within a digital photo frame. Smart Security is a key sector of the smart home, and the new Rexel offer features a variety of new, state of the art products for the home. One of these is the Yale Conexis L1 Smart Lock, which gives users the power to secure their home without a key. The lock carries the British Standard Kitemark, and features a range of access options, from in-app control, key cards, key tags or phone tags. Cameras are also key within the smart home security market. The Nest Hello Video Doorbell enables you to stream 24/7 to a device, so users can see who is at the door at any time or from any location. If no one’s in, they can still answer the door using the doorbell’s HD talk and listen functionality. Being able to control the home from afar is a key attraction for the smart home market. In the Smart Electrical sector, the category of switches and sockets features many new products, including the Lightwave Starter Kits. These enable users to control their lighting from afar, to ensure that their home lighting is on, even when no one is home. These sockets are also very easy to install.  During the winter months being able to remotely control heating is also a growth market. A new product in the Smart Heating sector of the Rexel Smart Home catalogue is the Elnur Ingenium Radiator with 24/7 Digital Timer. This oil filled electric radiator has wireless control and an accurate precision built-in thermostat. This additional control and ability to segment heating within the home also enables people to cut costs and be economical and eco-friendly in their energy usage.  All these products and more can be ordered in branch or online, and delivered the same or next day, depending on the delivery location. 

Midlands electrical contractor welcomes new apprentices

I.C. Electrical, an electrical contractor based in Burton upon Trent, has welcomed its latest group of budding young apprentices. The five young engineers will be joining I.C. Electrical’s team, working on a range of projects across the UK and abroad. Alongside their on-the-job training, the apprentices will be studying for their qualifications at Loughborough College, with additional training both on and off site. New joiners to the business include Ryan Sumpter, Georgina Pope, Jessica Robinson, Harry Rapley and Harry Tivey. In their first months, they will be gaining hands-on experience, learning about all aspects of a process installation, as well as further understanding the role and responsibilities as part of their initial four-year journey to become a fully qualified electrician. I.C. Electrical, part of international Finnish company, VEO Group, provides complete engineering solutions including the designing and building of control panels, high- and low-voltage electrical systems, as well as communication and automation systems. Over the course of the last five years, I.C. Electrical has welcomed over 20 apprentices through its doors, many of whom have remained with the business and progressed through their careers as process industrial electricians. Shaun Marriott, Engineering Director at I.C. Electrical, says, “Our apprentices are some of the most important team members at I.C. Electrical - after all, they are the next generation. We are lucky to have such an enthusiastic and hard-working group join us and I am sure they will all go far, learning from their studies and on-the-job experience. “Forging links with local colleges, schools and training institutions is extremely important for us, not only in supporting the local economy, but also strengthening our employment pipeline for the coming years. We’re looking forward to working with all our apprentices and seeing them grow into their new roles. I’m confident they will be great assets to the business.”

ALLroundWork jackets and gilets from Snickers Workwear

New ALLroundWork Jackets and Gilets are just what the name suggests – delivering a great all-round performance on site with a Ripstop water-resistant outer fabric and a coated inner fabric for extra durability. They’re wind-resistant too, and all have the features and functionality that you’d expect in Snickers Workwear clothing. Designed for optimum comfort and flexibility when you’re on the move, they’re great-looking working clothes that will keep you feeling comfortable wherever you are and whatever you’re doing at work in cold and windy weather. With smart designs and an ergonomic fit, Snickers Workwear ALLroundWork garments are packed with must-have features that focus on functionality and freedom of movement as well as using innovative fabrics that deliver long lasting protection. There’s also a range of base and mid-layer garments plus accessories like gloves, hats, face warmers and beanies to ensure that every part of you stays dry and warm. For further information, visit snickersworkwear.co.uk

Boost your security with the Kasp van lock

A recent survey of 1,000 tradespeople by insurance company, Simply Business, revealed that one in three have had tools stolen, proving extremely costly. The Kasp Security Van Lock & Hasp provides the best protection against common forms of attack on vans. Its shackle-less lock, enclosed within the walls of the hasp, offers virtually no points of effective attack. Renowned for locks you can trust, the Kasp Security Van Lock & Hasp offers some great features and benefits, providing a strong and effective solution for keeping valuable tool kits out of the reaches of unwelcome hands. For example, the Kasp Van Padlock features a chrome plated hardened steel body for extra strength and protection from corrosion. The padlock’s shrouded steel shackle offers maximum protection against hacksaw and cropping attacks. Other important features include a six-pin cylinder, for extra protection against picking, plus a corrosion resistant mechanism for reliability in potentially harsh environments. For further information, visit kaspsecurity.co.uk

IR35 Reform Rolls Out To Private Contractors in April 2020

The UK's estimated 1.8 million contractors face an uncertain year in 2020 as HMRC presses on with its plans to roll out its IR35 reforms to contractors working in the private sector.  With controversy still raging around its CEST tool, despite a revamp, HMRC will be passing responsibility for checking employment status onto private sector employers in medium and large organisations. David Redfern, Managing Director of DSR Tax Claims Ltd and tax preparation expert, explains what the new year will bring for contractors working across a range of industries. Contracting has grown as an employment option and there are an estimated 1.8 million contractors and freelancers, over a range of industries including construction and IT, with a further 230,000 contracting or freelancing as a second job. Due to concerns that some employers are using disguised employment practices to cut down on tax liabilities, as well as contractors potentially claiming erroneous tax advantages, HMRC has made a concerted effort to reduce the opportunities to falsely claim self employment.  Redfern explains: "The advantages for employers with regard to contractor use are quite obvious - not only do they have full flexibility of their labour force, able to match resource to need, they are able to do so without the requirement to provide employment benefits or pay employer NICs and for contractors, their lack of employment stability is made up for by the ability to attract a higher reward for their labour and many contractors value the flexibility that contracting provides. HMRC is right to crack down on those abusing the contracting industry where contractors are employees in all but name - however, the IR35 reforms risk damaging the contractor sector irreparably.” HMRC's IR35 reforms set out to shift responsibility for determining employment status for taxation purposes from the contractor or their Personal Service Company to the end client as it was felt that contractors and PSCs had too much of a vested interest in determining themselves as contractors. Initially only applicable to contractors in the public sector, next year's reform sees these reforms rolled out to medium and large private sector companies.  However, as Redfern explains: "The initial reform rollout to the public sector has perhaps had unintended negative consequences for both employers and contractors alike. If you take the NHS as an example, which employs a phenomenal number of contractors - not only to work on large-scale IT projects, but also as locum doctors and healthcare workers - determining the employment status of each and every contractor employed within such a large organisation would be an unfeasible task so instead, blanket decisions have been taken and in many cases it has led to the majority of contractors to be labelled as employees for ease. Unfortunately not only does this cause difficulties in the present for contractors, it could also encourage HMRC to look at their past employment status decisions and potentially create the situation where contractors find themselves landed with large historical tax bills.” HMRC's tool for determining employment status, CEST (Check Employment Status for Tax), has itself come under fire in recent years for its potential to produce inaccurate results with contractors and experts within the contracting sector claiming that the tool is too basic to accurately deal with the complexities of the modern contracting sector. Recent HMRC changes to CEST have not ended the controversy.  Redfern states: "Employers are expected to use CEST to ensure that they are correctly determining the employment status of any contractor they intend to use and HMRC have taken some of the concerns surrounding CEST into consideration and it has now been updated to assist employers in determining employment status, however it still has a number of gaps in its understanding of the contracting sector and the issues surrounding mutuality or MOO have still not been addressed.” MOO refers to a mutuality of obligation in any working arrangement between a contractor and company, regardless of the nature of the terms of employment for the contractor and assumes that an obligation exists for work to be provided in exchange for pay. Looking forward to the new year, Redfern states: "The private sector IR35 reform comes into force at the start of the new tax year on 6th April and all indications suggest that it is going to be just as, if not more, problematic in the private sector as it has been across the public sector. No one would suggest that HMRC is wrong to crack down on tax evasion and employers and contractors alike trying to shirk their tax responsibilities through disguised employment but the wide scale disruption seen across public sector contracting would be an unwelcome addition to the workforce.”  HMRC provides guidance in IR35 for those affected by the changes.

EDA Appoints New President And Vice President

CEF Director of Operations, Chris Ashworth, has taken over as President of the Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA) following the resignation of Chris Gibson from his role as Projects Director at Rexel UK Ltd. Gibson began his two-year tenure as EDA President in March 2019 but his decision to leave his role means he relinquishes the post.  “Chris Gibson has done a fantastic job both as President and as a Board colleague before that and he will be sorely missed,” comments Ashworth. “I am honoured to be given the opportunity to help lead the EDA’s strategy. The continued digitalisation of our sector is a priority for the Association, as is our work in training and apprenticeships, and strengthening relationships along the supply chain.”  With over 34 years’ experience in wholesaling in the UK and Germany, all with CEF, Ashworth joined the EDA’s Board of Management in March 2016. He volunteers as an EDA Education & Training Ambassador, a panel of senior influencers who help drive the EDA’s skills and training agenda for our sector.  Hands-on too, Ashworth was one of the employer Trailblazers who developed the EDA-led Trade Supplier Apprenticeship Standard for wholesalers in England, as well as leading the team developing the Cables and Cable Management training course, one of the EDA’s newly-launched suite of 12 Product Knowledge Modules.  Ashworth, who will serve until March 2021, is supported by newly elected EDA Vice President Stearn Electric Co Ltd’s Managing Director, Charlie Lacey, and by Immediate Past President, Simon Barkes of BEMCO: together they form the EDA’s Presidential Team.  

Making Sense Of The Future Home Standard

With the recent introduction by Government of the Future Homes Standard Consultation, Elmhurst Energy has hosted a timely conference for energy and housing professionals in England and Wales, focussing on the new regulations and the impact of potential changes.  The consultation, which was released by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in October and closes in mid January 2020, introduces proposed changes to Part L (fuel and power) and Part F (ventilation) in England to help the UK reach its target of net zero greenhouse gas by 2050.  Housing will play a large part in this ambitious aim as homes, both new and existing, account for 20% of emissions. The Government has committed to introducing the Future Homes Standard by 2025 and expects that a home built to the new standard will have 75 to 80% less carbon emissions than one built to the current Part L (2013) standards.  The conference was attended by key industry figures and speakers included Martyn Bridges of Worcester Bosch who looked at what fuels we can expect to see in homes of the future and Max Halliwell of Mitsubishi Electric, who examined the impact of heat pumps on the UK’s housing carbon emissions. Peter Thom, Managing Director of Green Heat Ltd and a long-standing champion of energy efficiency also spoke on his view of the future.  Following Elmhurst sessions on Part L, Part F and Elmhurst’s response to the Future Homes Consultation, the conference concluded with an opportunity for delegates to put questions to all speakers.   “It is essential that we move our homes towards higher energy efficiency standards and Part L and F are long overdue an update,” says Martyn Reed, Managing Director of Elmhurst Energy. “Our conferences give delegates a chance to hear insights and expertise on this important consultation, with interesting discussion about the future direction of the new build sector.” Elmhurst Energy encouraged delegates to respond to the consultation and have their say on this potentially radical change to the Building Regulations. 

You're Hired! Ellis Patents Takes On Two Apprentices

Ellis Patents has signalled its commitment to developing young careers in Ryedale by taking on two apprentices to work in key areas of the business.  The Rillington-based company, which has distributors in 39 countries and actively exports to more than 40, has appointed Adam Shaw (17) as an apprentice machinist and Jade Greenwell (19) as an apprentice general office assistant.  Adam, who comes from Haxby in York, is working towards becoming a Level 2 qualified welder and a Level 3 machinist; while Jade, who lives in Rillington and is following her mother, father and uncle in building her career at Ellis, is working towards both Level 2 and Level 3 business administration qualifications.  Richard Shaw, managing director of Ellis Patents, says: “We take great pride in developing careers for young, local people and our intention with Adam and Jade is to give them the very best start to their working lives, and we do hope that once finished and qualified they will choose to stay and grow with us.” Ellis has a rich tradition of bringing on apprentices, with its toolroom being a prime example of the benefit of this approach. In addition to current apprentice, Adam,  three of the full-time team began life at Ellis as apprentices; while the fourth, tool room manager, Mark Angus has carried out an apprenticeship prior to joining Ellis.  In addition, the company’s mechanical engineer, Harry Taylor joined Ellis straight from school and was put through a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Hull while working. He graduated with a 1st class honours degree in 2018 and is now a key member of the product development team, which this year alone has launched an innovative twist foot fitting mechanism for its Emperor and Vulcan+ cable cleats that will save time and money for installers; and redesigned its popular cable hangers so that they are not only stronger, but cheaper to buy.  “As a business we have a global reach and a reputation to match,” continues Richard. “But at the heart of all our success is the fact that we are still very much a local business staffed by a predominately local workforce; many of who kick-started their careers at an early age with us and have gone on to really make their mark.”