In order to check your electrical installation is safe, a Periodic Inspection/Fixed Wire Testing or An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) as it is also known should be carried out. This test is currently governed by the IET Wiring Regulations Eighteenth Edition.
 
We will issue you an EICR once the fixed wire testing of your installation has been completed. The report is vital as it will flag up problems or observations, as they are known, within your installation. These observations are duly categorised using four different codes which vary dependent on their risk factor. Once these problems are established, they must be rectified.
 
What does each individual code mean?
 
The all-important Observations are usually found on Page Two of the EICR and they are coded according to their danger level, the codes used in the report are C1, C2, C3 and FI.
 
Code C1
A Code 1 (C1) represents an immediate threat to the safety of your employees, customers or guests and should be remedied as soon as possible.
Live conductors would certainly warrant a Code C1 categorisation as would any instances where maintenance panels have been removed. In general, any situation where conductive parts, not normally expected to be live, become live will always be given C1 status.
Once a C1 threat is established by your engineer the duty holder or responsible person will be notified verbally and in writing of the dangerous situation; specifically, that a risk of injury or even death is present. Our engineer may then also block access to the installation until the violation is rectified to the correct standard.
 
Code C2
A Code 2 (C2) is still a potentially dangerous defect but does not carry an immediate threat to the health and safety of anyone coming into contact with the installation. It is therefore less severe than a C1. Although A C2 is described as 'Potentially dangerous - urgent remedial action required’ a risk of injury from contact with live parts after a sequence of events is still very much possible and therefore urgent action is still required.
 
Code FI
‘FI’ stands for Further Investigation and this code is given when a potential fault or area of concern has been observed by our engineer but not included in the main report. Slightly defective warning lights or old but adequate casing are examples that would warrant an FI Code.
 
Unsatisfactory EICR Report
Codes C1 and C2 immediately trigger an unsatisfactory report rating. In order to ensure compliance, the faults that have led to the ring must be rectified immediately.
If the faults within the report are FI only then this may also result in an unsatisfactory rating. If, for example, work is outstanding on parts of the installation that cannot be verified during testing the inspector would not be able to categorically determine whether these circuits are safe or not and so must give an unsatisfactory rating until such time as the areas of investigation can be tested according to guidelines.

Code C3
Where improvement is recommended a Code 3 rating will be given. A C3 code, in itself, should not warrant an overall unsatisfactory report but the installation will have areas of concern that are not be classed as dangerous.
 
In order to achieve compliance with electrical safety regulations C1, C2 and FI will need to be rectified as soon as practically possible. It is highly recommended that any C3 faults on site are rectified at the same time.
 
It is worth noting that once the installation has been checked you only have to have the problematic areas re-tested once they have been repaired in accordance with the initial report. As an aside it is not a requirement to employ the same electrical contractor to test and to carry out remedial repairs.
 
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
Once faults have been rectified and we will issue you with the relevant paperwork,
 
The Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) or Minor Works Certificate (MW) should be kept together with the Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) to prove all faults have been rectified in accordance with BS7671. These will be supplied to you by our electrician once all flagged-up faults have been satisfactorily dealt with.
 
It is absolutely essential to keep the EICR Fixed Wire Testing report safe as a Court Of Law or an Insurance Company would need to view the document should any accident occur involving the electrics.