Bureau Veritas has welcomed a U-turn on plans to change the labelling of new electrical installations as part of the 18th Edition wiring regulations.
Originally published on July 2nd, 2018, clause 514.12.1 of the BS 7671 – IET Wiring Regulation 18th edition initially sought to increase the font and size of electrical installation labels.
The change from the existing 17th A3 format was due to apply to all new electrical installations from January 1st, 2019.
However, there has been widespread industry concern that complying with the new rule would prove unnecessarily costly and disruptive.
Therefore, the British Standards Institute (BSI) and Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have now abandoned plans to change the label format.
In a corrigendum – an official notice to highlight and correct errors in the regulations – published in December 2018, the BSI issued a U-turn, stating that the labels will remain in their original layout.
Michael Kenyon, Technical Manager at Bureau Veritas, commented: “Electrical contractors will certainly be glad to hear this change in labelling format for electrical installations will not be going ahead.
“It is great news the BSI and IET have listened and decided against a change in labelling, a move which will be much simpler for contractors and all those concerned.
“Overall, we welcome these new regulations and the onus on improving fire safety across the board.
“However, we understand that compliance can be complicated, so our advice to contractors is to invest time into familiarising themselves with all aspects of the 18th Edition to ensure all work meets the new standard.”
For further information, visit: www.bureauveritas.co.uk.
