I assume many others have been affected by the latest batch of building closures, that appear to be due to lacking electrical signoffs or record keeping of them.
Has anyone had any luck on simple solutions yet such as paying for a local electrician to come and do an electrical inspection/signoff?
I would await the HQ response to it before paying out of squadron funds or it may be wasted money.
(Preamble - my experiences are not with RFCA managed facilities)
I spoke to the contractors who recently did our EICR inspections, and we spoke at length about who bears the responsibility of having the test done, but also complying and paying for any remedial works that may need to occur. Interesting to note that due to regulation changes, things that may have passed an EICR 5-10 years ago, or categorised as a C3 are now much more problematic, and will require significant funds to remediate. Funds which likely arenât available to units.
There is also the contractual element of âare units permitted to employ their own electriciansâ, and I suspect the answer is no.
I went on an ACF course and found out that CFAVs arenât even allowed to mow the grass at RFCA managed facilities - which shocked me greatly.
I am deeply saddened to hear of these failures, and we are in talks to provide temporary facilities to our local units should they require them due to facilities shutdowns.
Not strictly true, you will need to raise a âLow Value Minor Worksâ request through RFCA providing a method statement and risk assessment to do so. This is true for all maintenance around the unit above daily cleaning and pick up litter on the site. Also I believe that cadets cannot use power tools only hand tools. Donât ask where I read this but I distinctly remember doing so.
Thank you for the clarification - much appreciated. The (multiple) CFAV I spoke to made it seem like it was impossible and had to be done by PSS.
An announcement has just gone out.
So so the units that are closed do the OC units know yet or will that filter out over next day or so?
Ultimately itâs RFCAâs who bear the responsibility and the cost. . . Whether they then try to charge that cost onto the Cadet Forces using that building/site is another matter.
Was this on SP or elsewhere? I canât see anything on there, but we in W&W had an all units email through from RC last week
Edit: Apologies, disregard - I was looking in the wrong place, got it now. The email was also at the start of this week and not last week, to fact check myself!
If your unit was closed then the OC would have likely received a call from region yesterday.
It would have been nice if they gave an answer to the simplest solution to outdated electrical safety checks⌠pay for one from someone qualified.
A cost we shouldnât have to locally fund but i think everyone can see how competent RFCAâs have been with maintaining our buildings
Is there any idea of the scale of this? The announcement just says âseveral unitsâ. But why do I get the feeling it will be loads of units?
My guess based on what i know is between 1/4 and 1/2 of sqns
So how does RAFAC, and ACF, think they can meet the 30 x 30 initiative if buildings are being closed, even in the short term. Its a joke.
That was also the impression I got based on the tone of our regional email, but it was similarly vague. It did however note that units needing to pay for alternative venues could try to seek funding (full or partial Iâm not sure) via WExOs which the announcement at a skim omits
But the announcement says RHQs/WHQs should be helping to find alternative venues, which sounds counter to what youâve been sent.
This isnât surprising to be totally honest. I always thought weâre pretty lax on statutory checks. For months, we had a fire door that wasnât legal. I reported numerous times, so did someone else. But nothing ever got done.
And given the RFCAs use the lowest bidder cowboy tradies, it wouldnât surprise me if things were actually dangerous, not just out of date.
Iâm assuming (even without a proper security marking) it would be unwise for me to share the email publicly, but Iâm happy to elaborate in a PM if desired
I was doing fag packet maths yesterday with some others and we suspect over 100 units in total.
Absolutely correct. As the responsible persons for the building, the RFCAs must ensure that their buildings comply with the statutory regulations, unless they want to have the power disconnected completely and the building condemned (even a dormant building with no occupants requires an in-date EICR and Emergency Lighting).
The concern is that if Cadet units begin to pay for their own inspections and works, it sets a dangerous precedent as to who is responsible for the building.
Yeah I agree completely, however while the whole situation is shockingly poor, I canât help but commend the comms from on high on this occasion.
I canât speak from the perspective of someone with a closed unit, but for the rest of us having a clear announcement (or email) explaining whatâs going on and what theyâre doing remediation wise is refreshing. Obviously thereâs still a whole host of issues with the situation but (vagueness around the number of impacted units aside) the comms seem good.