Education

As a Chartered Electrical Engineer, I am an expert in the electrical contracting industry.

I have recently worked closely with a number of Schools and Academies to assess and report where improvements were required within their electrical installations. Unfortunately, these improvements were required on both recent and historical expansion projects which had been undertaken by various parties.

QUALIFICATION:

My name is Barry Kelly. I am a European Electrical Engineer registered with the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI) and a Chartered Electrical Engineer (C.Eng). I am a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (MIET - formerly IEE) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (ACIArb).I am a fully qualified, time-served electrician, with over 30 years’ experience in the electrical contracting industry. I am qualified to and hold a current City and Guilds 2382-10 (BS7671: 17^th Edition) certificate. In June 2003, I graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours - LL.B (Hons).  

I am registered with the UK Register of Expert Witnesses

ELECTRICAL SAFETY: Are your students and staff safe? Are the people working and/or using your premises safe?

• August 28 2013: Father of two, 24, is electrocuted and dies whilst fixing a cooker in a primary school, just months before his third child is due to be born.

• July 19 2013: A worker who was electrocuted whilst removing asbestos from a  school, died as he was working in a suspended ceiling space at a high school

As you can see, it’s not just the potential for electric shocks being limited to electrical work.

How confident are you that the electrical system is fit for purpose; that it is actually safe and suitably maintained? Is it inspected and tested as necessary and does it satisfy the legal and technical obligations placed on the Management/Duty Holder?

WHO SUPPORTS YOUR SCHOOL/ACADEMY AND YOUR MANAGEMENT WITH REGARD TO ELECTRICAL ISSUES?

B M Kelly and Associates Ltd offer a wide range of ‘tailor made’ Electrical Engineering options for schools/Academies. We have recently worked with several schools/academies as can be seen from our Case Studies. Central to our company’s approach is the delivery of a customer focussed service that is effective and appropriate.

FACTS: Consider the question:Are your students/staff safe from electrocutions?

A number of recent prosecutions include:

• City of Edinburgh Council: Fine £8,000.00 25/02/2014
• City of Salford Council: Fine £20,000.00 04/04/2014
• Thornton Grammer School: Fine £5,015.00 19/02/2014
• Burnley College: Fine £20,000.00 23/10/2014
• Stoneyhurst College: Fine £100,000.00 29/05/2014

How would fines like this affect your budgets? Let us take the strain and assist to ensure that your students and staff are safe. Please call us, at your convenience, for a chat.

BUDGET CUTS: Difficult times

According to a recent report, despite a Coalition Government promise to maintain spending on education, the majority of state schools will be forced to cut their budgets next year.

A survey of nearly five hundred school leaders showed 55% were looking to reduce their costs in the next twelve months. The situation in secondary schools was more acute, with 71% set to prune their spending.

According to Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, which conducted the survey jointly with law firm Browne Jacobson, the cuts would mean a rise in class sizes and schools having to reduce subject options at GCSE and A-level. “Everybody’s got to tighten their belts,” he said. “If they’ve got post-16 students, they’re not covered by the pledge to maintain spending.”

Maintenance budgets are often one of the first to be hit; sometimes it takes time to feel the effect from these cuts. However, isn’t it ‘prevention that is better than cure’. 

SERVICES AVAILABLE: How does your School/Academy deal with the following:

Electrical Design and Consultancy: New/proposed installations and/or verification of existing systems

Electrical Installation Condition Reports: Reviews of existing Reports – Support and guidance for Schools/Academies and electrical contractors.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediate or Adjudicate between parties where electrical technical issues/anomalies exist.

Power Quality Analysis (PQA): Undertake PQA where necessary to assess any potential problems in existing installations

Expert Witness: When it all goes wrong

Chartered Electrical Engineer – Reports and Court Reports

Technical Support and Training: Bespoke presentations for School/Academy Staff and/or Electrical Contractors.

Getting any of these wrong could have a significant effect for you and your School/Academy. Please read our Case Studies

EXAMPLES – CASE STUDIES

• Blackwood School – Sutton Coldfield

I was appointed to produce an Expert Report on the condition of the electrical installation, following the electrocution of two individuals who were installing data cabling at the time.

It should be noted that a staggering 12 bare, live cable ends were located above the classroom false ceilings forming part of a recent rewiring contract. Have you got any false ceilings? When were these last checked?

It is clear that significant details recorded at the time were incorrect and inadequate. The school thought that as the contract had been arranged by the local authority and that the electrical contractor was ‘approved’, that they would by safe and covered.

The electrical contractor had failed to suitably consider issues of design, installation, inspection, testing, certification and verification; it is only by luck that the failures of the workforce employed on this project, had not resulted in a death.

The condition of the electrical installation was dangerous, requiring immediate attention in order to mitigate the situation. The installation was not fit for purpose and the school should not have been occupied in that condition.  Additional work was required and was subsequently carried out by suitably ‘competent persons’ as a matter of urgency. If you have ANY doubts or concerns, call us today on 01332 294659.

• Chellaston Academy – Derbyshire

The Academy had undertaken several consultancy led expansion projects over recent years. Various low voltage distribution cables had been installed and the electrical system had been regularly, periodically inspected and tested.

Unfortunately, the earthing and protective bonding systems were inadequate and several distribution cables were undersized, or they would not disconnect under fault conditions or they had been mechanically damaged and required replacing.

B M Kelly and Associates Ltd were initially instructed to assess the results of a Periodic Inspection, discuss the technical anomalies with the contractor and the Academy and to compile and present the required resolution. This work included a significant amount of power quality analysis, in order to ascertain the ongoing electrical usage on site.

Our instruction was then extended to include the design and supervision of a significant Low Voltage Distribution Upgrade, including the installation of new distribution cables as well as the connection of existing distribution cables into both new and existing switchgear. Thus keeping everyone safe and protected against electric shock.

Contact - Mr P Thompson: Chellaston Academy, Premises Manager Mb: 07800 57893