TEMPORARY ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS: TRAINING COURSE on BS7909

COURSE 370: 1 DAY: Max 8 Candidates

This course deals with the requirements of BS7909 - The Code of Practice for the creation and operation of Temporary Electrical Systems for Entertainment and Related Purposes. BS7909 is used in a huge range of events beyond the scope of the IET Regulations. The Standard outlines the necessary management arrangements and the required range of electrical supplies, heavy-duty flexible cables and portable distribution units needed. The systems used range from very simple to highly complex and the Standard gives recommendations for all temporary electrical systems.

PARTICIPANTS

The course is intended for all those involved in electrical work that is required to comply with BS7909. For candidates expecting to gain the necessary understanding to allow them to do work in temporary installations, an understanding of electrical principles together with an appreciation of electrical installation working practices is a pre-requisite of the course, and these participants should possess a recent City & Guilds 2382 qualification (IET Wiring Regulations, BS7671). For studio managers, production directors and other non-electrical candidates who need to gain an understanding of the Standard without the need to actually perform electrical work in temporary installations, there are no pre-requisites to the course.

COURSE PRESENTATION

The course is presented in a helpful and informative way, making frequent reference to the typical electrical problems encountered in these systems and offering practical solutions. Students are loaned copies of BS7909 for use during the course – and are provided with Technical Training Solutions’ course notes which provide explanations of the various requirements.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course is designed to provide participants with the knowledge necessary to successfully sit Technical Training Solutions’ multiple-choice examination, as well as gaining useful information about the event management and technical issues in the Standard that will help in their own work activities and ensure compliance with the H&S issues.

On completion of the course, participants will understand

Successful completion of the course leads to the award of the Technical Training Solutions Certificate of Achievement in the Requirements for Temporary Electrical Systems - BS7909.

What do candidates on the BS 7909 course actually do?

The course on BS 7909 is often 'tuned' to suit the audience on the day, (dealing with mixtures of production managers and electrical engineers, for example) and our instructors promote structured debates on all the topics within the Standard which are of interest to the candidates.

Candidates on the BS7909 course analyse the various links between the EAW Regs, the HSW Act, the wiring regulations and the Standard itself. This drawing is taken from the course notes.

The Legal Implications: We begin by analysing the legislative links between the Health & Safety at Work Act, the Electricity at Work Regulations, the Wiring regulations and the Standard itself. Candidates learn about the relationships between each of these.

Candidates are engaged in this part of the course by exploring the various scenarios that might arise - for example: Would non-compliance with BS 7909 be a criminal or a civil offence? In what situations would compliance with BS 7909 be necessary? Would a defence be needed to prove compliance with the Standard?

This analysis of the legal situation helps the candidates to clearly see the scope of the Standard - to whom, where, what and when it applies.

We then look at the terms and definitions used in the Standard, ensuring that candidates understand what is meant by each. We go on to look at the important management requirements - in particular the responsibilities of the 'Event Manager' (which is one of the key issues in the 2008 Standard) and how his/her responsibilities can be discharged to others. Each of these issues is reinforced and made more engaging by involving the candidates in the learning process, using assignments that they complete themselves. The candidates refer to the actual text of the Standard, discuss with their instructor, or refer to their course notes as necessary to complete these assignments (there are several of these for them to complete through the course of the day).

This is page 6 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, listing some of the definitions used in the Standard. Candidates discuss what each of these terms mean This is page 7 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, describing the management requirements for temporary electrical installations This is an example of one of the  assignments completed by our candidates

Page 6 of the course notes for the BS 7909 course, listing some of the definitions used in the Standard. Candidates discuss what each of these terms mean

Page 7 of the course notes for the BS 7909 course, describing the management requirements for temporary electrical installations

This is an example of one of the assignments completed by our candidates

The course goes on to look at the requirements of small/simple events and this is contrasted with the requirements for large/complex events. We then look at the requirements for design and setting-up of temporary electrical systems to BS 7909. The course also deals with the important aspects of the required use of RCDs, earthing and bonding and the discrimination issues.

This is page 9 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, describing the requirements for small/simple events This is the page 12 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, describing the requirements for large/complex events This is the page 15 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, describing the requirements for designing and setting-up a temporary electrical installation

Page 9 of the course notes for the BS 7909 course, describing the requirements for small/simple events

Page 12 of the course notes for the BS 7909 course, describing the requirements for large/complex events

Page 15 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, describing the requirements for designing and setting-up a temporary electrical installation

We keep the focus of the course on the practical issues, for example where discrimination issues might occur, where earth loop impedance values should be known (and the import of dangerously high values of earth loop impedance), and also what sensitivities of RCDs should be used and where.

We look carefully at the requirements for inspection and testing recommended by BS 7909, and candidates are given the opportunity of completing them for a simulated situation under the guidance of our instructor. This helps us to focus on the problematic issues like unnecessary workload and the (often inadequate) time allowed to complete the paperwork etc to the fore, and we can then provide guidance on how best to alleviate these problems.

This is page 28 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, describing the requirements for inspection and testing This is a BS 7909 completion certificate filled in by one of our candidates This is a BS 7909 schedule of test results form filled in by one of our candidates

Page 28 of the course notes for the BS7909 course, describing the requirements for inspection and testing

This is a BS 7909 completion certificate filled in by one of our candidates

This is a BS 7909 schedule of test results form filled in by one of our candidates

The course finishes by summarising the main requirements of the Standard that have been taught and reminding the candidates what they should have learned from them. The candidates' completed course notes (and assignments) provide a useful reference tool for future use, and to ensure that they have the correct information, we issue the definitive answers to each of the assignments.

In order to ensure that the candidates have understood each of the key objectives of the course properly, we issue a multiple-choice assessment paper which they have to answer and return to our instructor. The instructor then fully debriefs each and every question, ensuring that every single candidate has understood all of the important points of the day.

This is the first page of the multiple-choice assessment paper used on the BS7909 course This is the second page of the multiple-choice assessment paper used on the BS7909 course This is the third page of the multiple-choice assessment paper used on the BS7909 course

The multiple-choice assessment paper used on the BS7909 course



If you would like to learn more about the course on BS7909 - Temporary Electrical Installation then please call us.

 

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