Certificate of compliance

[AndyD]

.........and the contractor who swore blind they were registered with the ECB when in fact they weren't.
"Why do they think they'll get away with it?"

Rule 1 of good bullsh1tt1ng;
Stick to your story come hell or high water (or Carte Blanch camera crews for that matter)

*Edit* Link not U16 or politician friendly

[Dave A]

OK - but there we have Chris Greager saying the consumer must be aware and check on the contractor blah blah

And saying that only the correctly accredited persons can work on the DB

So here on video is evidence of illegal work being done on a DB.

*BUSTED*

Now what? Call the SAPS? DoL? Eskom? The metro?

[murdock]

this is the joke with this industry but until the public and contractors stand up and say enough is enough....or the head of the department responsible for the policing of the industry he put in the spot light...nothing will change.

it doent help picking on one or 2 contractors...this is a massive problem...bigger than we all think...but you know what people are making a living out of this system and i for one...skim through inpsection reports at 3 times the speed i use to knowing that i cant get caught...or should i say so long as noody dies as a result you wont get the dol out their office...do as the africans do in africa

[Greg]

Murdock you are spot on with regards to something has got to be done.

If the ECA are not going to do it then the contractors are going to have to come up with ideas. I saw an Australian guy in a shop last year. He was buying some cable. He said it is great in South Africa because you can just walk into wholesalers, shops etc and buy electrical stuff.

He said in Australia you need to produce a licence to buy any electrical stuff.

That to me is a starting point because that affects the fly by nights but being SA they will find ways around it but then it needs to be policed.

[Sparks]

Thanks for the thread Murdock. I am glad to see the fireworks, I was disappointed that the COC I posted did not draw heated comment. I was beginning to think that legit contractors are dying out faster than what I anticipated. Maybe an Independant "Legitimate" Electrician's Association should be started so that a concerted effort can be made to force action to be taken. In this country the only recognised form of communication is striking. If we can find enough "legit" sparkies to join & hopefully bring the industry to a standstill, something might be done. I was actually pondering the "produce your registration" at the counter idea last week. I discovered that the colourful people are buying 2.5 T&E to string between shacks at the same price I get it for at Voltex.

[murdock]

i watched the clip and read some of the comments...i dont get what the objective of the program...we all know that there is a problem with pirate contractors and unskilled labour...what are they planning on doing about it...is there a follow up program...putting the DOL in the spotlight for not policing the industry?

the contractor runs away...big deal...my question is..punishment if any...other than a bit of bad publicity...they will be back in bussiness by this morning.

[Dave A]

With there being a few calls to action now, I think I need to roll back to one of the earlier posts - maybe you folk can help me with what I see as something of a dilemma. The starting point is this:

If i remember correctly Dave mentioned a while back that one of the reasons he started this forum was to address these issues.

True. My goal was to establish an open platform accessible to all of the industry where the issues of the industry could be discussed, bringing pressure to bear on some aspects of how the industry was administered. I identified this need from what I saw as a closed shop approach by an ECA driven by some very narrow vested interests, leading to practices that were patently harmful to the industry.

The difficulty I have is as much as I have issues with some aspects of how the ECA goes about its business (inconsistent application of standards which has come up before, as example), I'm not a fan of undermining the ECA either. I have a very real understanding that in some aspects what the ECA has achieved is remarkable and should not be undone lightly. In particular, its base of membership as a percentage of the number of contractors in the industry is extraordinary. There are very few industries where so many of the businesses are SMMEs that have achieved the kind of membership levels that the ECA has.

The ECA also has enormous credibility and influence on the regulation of the industry, also something not to be undermined lightly.

So I find myself in a dilemma - how does one create an alternative, open outlet and point of influence for the industry without undermining the good in the ECA?

I really think an alternative industry association should be avoided if possible...

[Greg]

Dave

I accept your point. Then the only way is to approach the ECA with enough support and get them on board. Business in JHB for the past two and a half years has been tough. This year has been a disaster. Contractors are closing down left right and centre.

[murdock]

dave the discussion has to involve everyone...eca memebers...non memebers....aia...dol...including the pirate contrators...to resolve these issues.

i agree with you about the eca...they have done excellent work with the electrical industry...and dont believe for a minute we should take anything away from them...or point fingers at them or anyone else for that matter who has attempted to improve the industry and standards.

everyone in the industry must abide by the same rules...in other words the ecb for example must be the govening body because everyone has to be registered with the ecb to operate an electrical company....not everyone has to be a member of the eca

i dont believe we should give them powers nor any other private entity for that matter...but that is open for discussion...it not about me you or any one else who has personal opinions...its about the industry and what is gona be the best for the electrical industry as a whole...

all i know is we need to do something and soon...but need to have the dol on board otherwise it will all be in vain...because there has to be some form punishment...be it fines...suspensions...jail time...what ever...other wise it will just be laughed off as is happening at present

[murdock]

i noted something about the link to carte blanche...PART 1...does this mean ther eare gona be follow up programs?

if this is the case maybe the route they have taken is not so bad...identify there is a problem show evereyone then go for the dol...to find out how they are gona resolve these problems...i get the feeling we are gona have more running away from the cameras.

i just hope they do their homework properly this time and dont caught like they did in the part one...it doesnt help if they also get it wrong...as indicated by the comments...and make sure they show the stove isolator with the socket so that we can all see.

everyone is watching.

[Dave A]

You have to click on the second image below the main video display to get part 2.

One of my staff who actually watched the insert pointed out something else of interest to me:



A little research and it turns out we issued the COC on this installation a little while ago. Given all the fiddling that has gone on in that distribution board since, our COC has been invalidated.

Has a new COC been issued since?

And ordinarily if we had been called back for a claim on that COC we issued with the owner saying "I haven't done anything since you guys were here..."

[murdock]

bummer dave i see they cut out your telephone number with the m.

[Martinco]

Does anybody know what the electric drill has to do with the whole exercise ? And at that.......this make of drill is by far the worst quality that there is.
I opened one the other day, had one look and chucked it into the waste bin.

[murdock]

dave i dont see a label indicating...in case of accidental....switch off main switch....on the main switch.

[murdock]

the only good thing coming of these COC threads is the fact that i have realised i can also get away with it and so i can aslo start making some money and competeing with the rest...without gettting caught or having to worry about any form of punishment...now i know why some companies only do COC making money...spend 20 minute skimming thru the installation and some 3 in an hour...charge R450 and if all the dbs are on one property boy are you gona make money...thats around R1000 an hour more than i will ever make doing intallations or repairs...and i dont even have to dirty my hands or waste money on toolls...it is just so sad...as someone mentioned why fret over things i cant change...if you cant beat them join them...sometimes i forget i live in the new south africa...i have learnt to drive like one...i no longer sit in the lane waiting getting worked up i go with the flow...now i just need to learn to walk like an egyptian.

yeah...i agree whats all the fuss about...when there is some good money out there to be made if you just skim thru the installation...if the building burns down who cares insurance will pay out...there is a COC...and by the way you dont have to feel guilty you didnt do the crap wiring...you signed it over...and what did i hear one of the excuses...i cant be everywhere at the same time.