John Bradley: on understanding and applying the IET Wiring Regulations
John began his career in the electrical industry in 1965 as an apprentice electrician. Even at this early stage of his career, he had heard of the Wiring Regulations and knew they were important.
“Life would be harder without the Wiring Regulations for anyone trying to construct or maintain an electrical installation for safe operation,” he says. “The law alone wouldn’t be of much help. The Wiring Regulations give practical ways to meet legal requirements and show compliance.”
As his career progressed, John saw that the Regulations not only help electricians to stick to legal requirements; they also introduce important safety improvements for electrical installations.
“One of the main improvements introduced during my career was disconnection times based on research into the effects of electric current on humans and livestock,” he says. “Others were RCD additional protection for socket-outlets, cables concealed in walls and final circuits in bathrooms.
“I’ve also seen improvements to fire safety by things like metal-cased consumer units, targeted use of protective devices and more detailed advice on sizing cables buried in thermal insulation.”
More complex regulations
At first John worked with the 14th Edition, which he says was “the last of the old style of Wiring Regulations”. The regulations in that edition were generally more prescriptive and simpler to apply, but they did not give John all the answers he was looking for.
“Some of the different types of protective device becoming available were not so well catered for by the requirements as they are now,” he says. “And the content on isolation and switching was really too simple to be easily interpreted for more complex installations, in some cases.”
John worked in consultancy for 21 years, designing and managing electrical installation projects, before joining NICEIC as an Inspecting Engineer, then the Principal Engineer. More recently, he has become a self-employed consulting engineer and UK Standards Manager for Schneider Electric. Over the course of his career, the Wiring Regulations have changed.
“They have become less about telling people what to do and more clearly based on reasoning,” he says. “This gives more flexibility to designers and installers on how they should do things. But it also demands more effort and ability from electricians to interpret and apply the requirements.”
Understanding the new regulations
John is familiar with the feeling of opening a new edition of the Wiring Regulations and the challenges of using it.
“You have to keep abreast of the changes in the Regulations,” he says. “When you’re working on an installation, you have to recognise situations where specific regulations apply.
“You need to know where to find what you’re looking for in the book and understand the implications of what you read. You also need to know when to ask for help.”
So how does John recommend electricians overcome these challenges? “Personal study of the Wiring Regulations is necessary, but may not be enough on its own,” he says.
“Other things you can do to improve your understanding are to attend training sessions and discuss the Regulations with more experienced colleagues.”
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the publisher of the Wiring Regulations, also provides guidance materials, events and training to help electricians and engineers familiarise themselves with the latest edition.
If you’d like to improve your understanding of the 18th Edition, join the IET at our BS 7671: 2018 seminar on 7 January 2019. John and other experts will be on hand to explain what the latest edition contains and how your work will be affected.
As well as chairing the joint IET/BSI Committee JPEL/64 for the Wiring Regulations, John serves on IET, BSI, IEC and CENELEC committees relating to electrical installations.