Revision of the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (October 2021 edition)

A new revision of the EAS document has recently been uploaded to the IET website and is available for free download. This EAS document (October 2021) replaces the previous EAS document (January 2020) and is the fifth revision since the document was published on the IET website in 2012.

The main purpose of this revision is to remove the redundant parts of Appendix 4 that ceased to be applicable to the qualification of Qualified Supervisors at the end of August 2021, but the new document also contains other amendments.

The main amendments are:

*The implementation dates listed in the table above can be used voluntarily before that date by Certification and Registration Bodies.

Learning and updating skills should be a continual process throughout ones working life as technology continues to develop and change; new health, safety and technical legislation and regulations are frequently introduced. It is noted in the new CPD definition that it includes formal and informal learning, and it is useful for an operative to maintain a record of formal learning and significant informal learning items taken over time.

Appendix 4A of the January 2020 EAS document which contained Tables 4A, 4B and 4C has been completely removed from this new EAS document and the previous Appendix 4B has been renamed Appendix 4. The minimum technical competence criteria required for a proposed qualified supervisor for electrical installation work in dwellings only - was withdrawn at the end of August 2021 and the minimum technical competence criteria for a proposed qualified supervisor is now the same for all electrotechnical work. The previous minimum technical competence criteria of a Qualified Supervisor for all electrotechnical work, and specifically for registration for carrying out periodic inspection and testing can now be found in greater detail in the EAS Qualifications Guide (the Guide is downloadable free from the IET website [PDF, 260KB])

In this new EAS document, the minimum technical competence for the identified work categories are identified in Table 4A of Appendix 4 and these are clarified in the Appendix 4 Tables.

A new Clause 24 has been included to provide guidance for enterprises on the transfer of certification. This is defined as the recognition of an existing and valid management system certification granted by one Certification or Registration Body by another Certification or Registration Body, for the purpose of issuing its own certification. This will come into effect next October to allow time for the requirements to be assimilated by relevant enterprises.

Finally, a new Appendix 12 has been introduced to allow the agreed reduction of Certification or Registration Body surveillance visits to well-managed enterprises. Six relevant criteria have been identified for the Enterprise to meet, and upon their ability to demonstrate compliance against the EAS requirements covering their scope of work categories and achieve satisfactory outcomes in all criteria, the period between surveillance visits may be increased. The enterprises’ checks of compliance with the EAS requirements will still be required on an annual basis (e.g. confirmation that relevant effective insurances are still held) and this may be done by physical assessment or by the enterprises self-declared information.

The EAS Committee meets generally four times a year and has wide-ranging membership in the electrotechnical industry including trade and industry bodies, safety organisations, certification and registration bodies, training organisations and support from Government departments of the devolved nations.

The Committee considers matters relevant to the electrotechnical industry and enquiries from other relevant bodies are welcome. Please contact Secretary Leon Markwell in the first instance.