NEW ZEALAND ELECTRICAL INSTITUTE Inc
National Secretary/Manager: Allan Hill
New Zealand Electrical Institute Inc
PO Box 64-258, Botany, Manukau 2163
Phone: 0800 NZEI IN (693 446), Email: nzei@nzei.co.nz
30 July 2013
To all NZEI Inc. Members
Our Ref: 130730 - L-NZEI-Newsletter July 2013
Subject: Newsletter for July 2013
Dear Members,
The National Secretary’s office has fielded a large amount of enquires from members and nonmembers who are confused and worried about their obligations as a result of the changes that
came into effect on the 1 July 2013. The Auckland branch has been running educational seminar
for clients of electrical wholesalers to bring them up to speed. The lack of understanding by the
average electrician worries us. The Institute has been sending out information and links to the
appropriate government accruements since late last year. If any member requires further
clarification or information please contact the National Secretary/Manager or one of the
Councillors.
The planning for the 2014 AGM / Conference has commenced in Auckland with plans for Bigger
and Better Technical Forum and Trade Shows.
Follow the hyper link below to the Institute’s You-Tube channel to view the videoed speech
presented by Mr Peter Morfee, the Principle Technical Officer of Energy Safety during the
Technical Forum at the Institute’s 2013 Conference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQeG0zOLnDQ
Follow the hyper link below to the Institute’s You-Tube channel to view the videoed speech
presented by Mr John Sickels, Registrar of the EWRB during the Technical Forum at the Institute’s
2013 Conference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKbE82Lvi_w
Revenue growth for the Institute
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CoC and Electrical Safety Certificates
With a view to providing the Institute members with increase useful information and
services the current Council have granted Electrical Certificates New Zealand (ECNZ) the
use of the NZEI Inc. logo on their CoC and Electrical Safety Certificates for 1 year. ECNZ
have taken all of the risk, produced the art work, and printed the certificates for issue of the
certificates nationwide. The Institute members obtain a great discount of 15% off sales
purchased on-line. The Institute obtains a commercial benefit of 15% from all sales of the
Certificates based on a monthly report from ECNZ to the Institute. This revenue will be
used to fund the Institute’s benefits to all members, nationwide.
•
Institute Website Advertising
The Secretary/Manager is promoting the advertising by an electrical wholesaler, or
wholesalers on the front page of the Institutes website. This will fund the on-going
development of the website for the benefit of all members. The use of modern marketing
tools such as this has been well overdue. The Institute should have been run under a
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business model years ago, rather than draw off cash reserves built up many years ago. In
the last 9 months we have revamped the website, added a LinkedIn group, set-up a
Facebook and YouTube channel. These modern media tools are working well with many
membership applications coming in from these sources.
Remits from the Institute’s Conference to Standards NZ:
That Standards New Zealand be requested to include the permanent polarity marking of Mains
Entry Boxes as a compulsory requirement in the Wiring Rules (AS/NZS 3000).
Notes:
1. The connection of the consumer’s mains to the aerial cabling is often carried out by
different work groups; this means that clear unambiguous marking is essential.
2. It is a current requirement that all terminals of equipment (excepting mains entry boxes) for
the connection of external wiring is a compulsory requirement.
3. There have been reports of sufficient levels of reversals in the consumer’s mains
connections in areas of overhead lines, and the provision of clear polarity marking of the
mains entry box may assist in the reduction of reversal of the active and neutral
connections.
The Institute Secretary/Manager has had feedback from Mr John Kelly, Senior Manager –
Electrical at Standards NZ is “apparently all the proposals for changes, including the NZEIs, were
tabled at the meeting on the 16 & 17 July and accepted for consideration once the project to
develop Amendment 3 has been approved by Standards Australia. Approval is expected in
October so the work on Amendment 3 will start in earnest at the November EL-001 meeting”
Electrical Workers Registration Board
The Institute has written to the Board suggesting the updating and reissue of the highly popular
Testing Requirement booklet as issued by the Board after the release of AS/NZ3000 in 1997 and
2000. The Institute has suggested that now would be an opportune time after the release of
AS/NZS3000:2007 Amendment 2 and the Electrical (Safety) Amendment Regulations 2012. We
will keep you informed on the Boards response to this request. .
Standards Representation
Unfortunately one of our four members on the TR 6117 committee, Mr Allen Davies has had to
withdraw from the committee due to personal reasons. Allen’s input would have been invaluable
due to his extensive experience in this area.
Allen has made the following comments to SNZ for consideration by the committee. .
“Possibly of interest to you though when I was actively involved in providing advice on Dairy Sheds
and looking into the stray voltage problems that dairy owners were having, we had a brochure
which I believe was put out by the Electrical Development Association (EDA). The brochure was
particularly helpful and provided some important information to the dairy owner”.
“I do not believe that the EDA any longer exists, but they provided a lot of material and I among
others was involved in assisting them on stands at Field Days at Mystery Creek”.
“It was also very important where a new Dairy Shed was being planned that they involved us right
from the beginning. This was to ensure that all of the steel reinforcing in the foundations and floors
was adequately bonded together, preferably welded into a continuous mass of steel and that all
steel stanchions were also connected to that mass. From my research and involvement I believe
adequate bonding to be the most important aspect of the electrical installation in a Dairy Shed and
this must be done before the electrician would normally come on site”.
One of the things I found as cause of stray voltages was faulty hot water elements, that is elements
that had ruptured, but were still functioning”
End of comment from Mr Allen Davies
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If any of the other Institute members would like to have input into TR 6117 the please submit your
comments to the secretary /manager in the first instance, who will pass them onto the Institutes
representatives on TR 6117 for consideration and presentation to the TR 6117 committee.
Health and Safety (Pike River Implementation) Bill
The Bill seeks to implement the legislative changes from the Royal Commission’s (on the Pike
River Coal Mine Tragedy) recommendations by;
• Establishing a new crown entity, WorkSafe New Zealand (WorkSafe)
• Amending the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE), as well as amending
other legislation such as the Electricity Act, Gas Act, Hazardous Substances Act,
Electricity (Safety) Regulations, Gas (Safety & Measurement) Regulations and others.
• Repealing the existing Mines Rescue Trust Act and creating a new Mines Rescue Act
Establishment of WorkSafe
• WorkSafe is established under the Crown Entities Act 2004. It is not a company, but is
wholly owned by the Crown and must give effect to government policy. In this respect it is
important to note that it is not tasked with providing policy advice to the government – this is
to remain MBIE’s responsibility
• WorkSafe’s establishment (its Board, power to set up advisory groups) as well as provision
for the transfer of some of MBIE’s employees are contained in the Bill
• WorkSafe’s main objective is contained in the Bill (being to promote and contribute to the
prevention of harm to all people at work and in, or in the vicinity of, the workplace and
acting to further the objective of the HSE. (It is important to note that this focus is on
workplace safety, as opposed supposedly to public safety covered by the Electricity and
Gas Acts and their regulations)
• WorkSafe’s functions are contained in clause 10 of the Bill, including provision of advice,
guidance etc., recommend improvements, monitor and enforce compliance, develop codes
of practice, cooperate with other associated organizations
• Clause 10 of the Bill also contains the monitoring and enforcement aspect of WorkSafe’s
functions, being more particularly to monitor and enforce compliance with “relevant health
and safety legislation”, which is defined in clause 3 as including any provision of the
Electricity Act and Gas Act under which WorkSafe has functions (see later in this
submission regarding the amendments to the Electricity Act and Gas Act and Key Issues)
• WorkSafe will retain the Energy Safety group, and assumes significant functions under the
Electricity and Gas Acts.
Amendments to HSE
• Definitions are key
• The amendments to the HSE for mining operations appear to apply to the electricity
industry in respect of tunnel construction:
o mining operation is essentially all activities associated with the extraction of coal or
minerals, quarrying operations and tunneling operations;
o • a quarrying operation relates to extraction or processing of any materials other
than coal or minerals, and a tunneling operation relates to activities in order to
extract fill to create a tunnel or shaft.
• An Order in Council may be made to exclude certain quarrying or tunneling operations (see
Key Submission Areas below)
• There is specific provision for information regarding monitoring of any mine worker or
operation to be given to the worker
• Mine operators are to take all practicable steps to supervise and train mine workers
Introduces requirements to involve mine workers in health and safety matters, adopt their
proposals and to develop a (mine) worker participation system within 3 months of the
mining operation beginning (or, where that is not done, comply with regulations to be made
for that purpose)
• Introduces requirements to involve mine workers in health and safety matters, adopt their
proposals and to develop a (mine) worker participation system within 3 months of the
mining operation beginning (or, where that is not done, comply with regulations to be made
for that purpose)
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There are requirements to elect mine health and safety representatives (who must be
qualified to meet the competency requirement prescribed by regulations). They have a
number of quite extensive powers, including (among other things) investigate complaints
from mine workers, identify hazards in the mining operation and monitor measures taken by
the mine operator relevant to health and safety. They also have powers to attend interviews
relating to health and safety with the mine worker’s consent, enter and inspect mining
operations for purposes consistent with their functions. Further, there are obligations on
mine operators/senior executives to not prevent a representative from carrying out their
functions, or penalise the representative
WorkSafe may remove the health and safety representative if they consider that the
representative is not performing their functions satisfactorily, but there is a right of appeal
from that and election of a replacement cannot be undertaken until the end of the appeal
period (28 days from their removal)
There are also a number of provisions relating to mining industry (union or group of mine
workers) health and safety representatives, which are also extensive
WorkSafe may issue codes of practice that consist of statements of preferred work
practices, aims or principles (such as protective equipment and clothing) preferred
arrangements or characteristics for manufactured protective clothing and equipment etc.
There is a process for codes of practice to be approved by the Minister, and a discretion on
courts in determining whether a person has failed to comply with the Act to having regard to
any approved code of practice in force
A Mining Board of Examiners is established and has functions such as advising WorkSafe
on competency requirements for mine workers, and issuing and suspending certificates of
competence
Regulations under the HSE are amended (where relevant) to reflect the above provisions in
relation to mine operations and workers, as well as impose duties relating to the health and
safety of such workers
New sections in the HSE providing for health and safety inspectors to issue improvement
notices and prohibition notices in relation to mining operations
New Mines Rescue Act
• Repeals and replaces the current Mines Rescue Trust Act (which did not apply to the
electricity supply industry)
• The scope of the proposed Act is limited to what is defined as a “Mining Operation” (the
EEA notes that this is a limitation of what is defined in Part 2) and includes tunneling
operations but only tunnels that are, or are intended to be, at least 150 metres long. It is
therefore possible that the proposed Mines Rescue Act applies to the electricity supply
industry during tunnel construction (the current Act is quite clear that its scope is confined
to coal mines)
• The new Act has a requirement to pay a levy; it will be in regulations to be made which are
to, among other things, specify how and when the levy is to be paid, and those exempt from
paying it.
• There is also a requirement for the imposition of costs incurred in an emergency, on the
mine operator of the mining operation where the emergency occurs, with the ability of the
Board established under the Act to recover any unpaid costs as a debt due. This provision
applies to the direct and indirect costs incurred by the Board in deploying rescue brigades
etc. and providing advice to mine operators during emergencies.
Amendments to Other Legislation
• Schedule 1 of the Bill provides for amendments to a number of Acts, including the
Electricity Act. Schedule 2 of the Bill provides for amendments to a number of Regulations
but these are not significant as they simply replace various references with “WorkSafe”
• The amendments to the Electricity Act of note are
o The duties under the Electricity Act are being divided between WorkSafe and the
Secretary (presumably MBIE)
o Replacement of section 5 and new section 5A. Section 5(1) replicates section 5 of
the Electricity Act but, where currently the functions are those of the Secretary,
these are to become WorkSafe’s functions. The functions are broadly described,
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o
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o
including carrying out inquiries, tests, investigations to determine compliance with
the Electricity Act, take lawful steps necessary to ensure the safe supply and use of
electricity, and perform other functions provided for in the Act. A new section 5A is
proposed, to which section 5 is subject. Under section 5A the Secretary must carry
out their functions under the Act or regulations, and may carry out a function
conferred on WorkSafe for a specified matter – being those specified by the Prime
Minister by notice in the Gazette. Accordingly, the scope of WorkSafe’s functions
under the Electricity Act is broad; given that the Electricity Act (and the Electricity
(Safety) Regulations largely) govern public safety, but WorkSafe’s main objective
under clause 9 of the Bill is to “promote and contribute to the prevention of harm to
all people at work in, or in the vicinity of, the workplace”. Those matters which are
public safety rather than workplace safety fall outside the main objective of
WorkSafe to be responsible for. This is covered more particularly under Key Issues
for the
Section 5B requires WorkSafe and the Secretary to share information to carry out
their functions under the Act
Replacement of section 16A, so that in relation to specified matters, any notification
to WorkSafe of an accident must be transferred by WorkSafe to the Secretary
The Energy (Fuel, Levies, and References) Act is to be amended to remove the
provision that surplus electricity levies will be refunded.
Key Issues for the Industry and Proposed Submission
Most of the amendments proposed by the Bill are supported by the EEA, particularly the
establishment of a stand-alone entity to provide regulatory coverage for workplace safety
Set out below are those issues proposed as key for the industry. While the Regulations to be made
under the proposed Act at a future date will clarify the full extent of concerns, the EEA submission
will set out the industry position on its possible concerns which may arise under those Regulations
The Electrical Engineers Association (EEA) Intends to submit as follows:
• WorkSafe’s functions are set out in clause 10 of the Bill, and include ‘to monitor and
enforce compliance with relevant health and safety legislation’. “Relevant health and safety
legislation” is then defined in clause 3 of the Bill as including any provision of the Electricity
Act 1992 and Gas Act 1992 under which WorkSafe has functions. The EEA notes that the
amendments proposed to the Electricity Act essentially transfer the functions currently
those of the Secretary to WorkSafe. Those functions are broadly described, including
carrying out inquiries, tests, investigations to determine compliance with the Electricity Act,
taking lawful steps necessary to ensure the safe supply and use of electricity, and
performing other functions provided for in the Act. This is of concern because the Electricity
Act (and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 largely) govern public safety rather than
workplace safety, and this is reflected in section 1A(c) of the Electricity Act. Given the
stated objective that WorkSafe covers solely workplace safety, it is inappropriate that they
assume responsibility for any functions to do with public safety matters. Similar principles
apply to the amendments proposed for the Gas Act.
• The functions assumed by WorkSafe under the amendments to the Electricity Act are
subject to the Secretary carrying out its functions under the Act or regulations, and the
Secretary may carry out a function conferred on WorkSafe for a specified matter. This is
potentially confusing – see submission details below regarding the amendments proposed
to the Electricity and Gas Acts.
• The EEA has since the mid 1990’s promoted the separation of workplace safety regulation
and public safety regulation, and was pleased to welcome the introduction of the Energy
Safety legislation in 2006. The EEA is very concerned about any move to blend the
boundary between workplace safety requirements and public safety requirements, with the
possible re-introduction of duplicate legislation.
Amendment to HSE
• The definitions in clauses 19L, 19M, 19N and 19O are key as they define mine operator,
mining operation, quarrying operation and tunneling operation. These terms are broadly
defined and, under clause 19O, could extend to tunnels owned by some electricity supply
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•
industry members (for purposes such as discharge/conveyance of water for hydro
generation, and routing of power cables from one location to another). However, it is noted
that while a tunnel under construction or being extended may be a “mining operation”, any
other circumstance should not be a “mining operation”, e.g. once construction is complete.
It is also noted that Clause 19O(c) allows exclusions to be made by Order in Council under
clause 19P. The EEA submits that any coverage of electricity supply industry tunnels
beyond the construction phase is possibly unintended and is unnecessary because: o The EEA notes that the Bill seeks to implement the recommendations of the Royal
Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy – the latter concerned with
establishing an effective regulatory framework for mining;
o The Explanatory Note to the Bill focuses on the management of hazards in the
mining industry;
o The electricity industry must comply with the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010.
These contain extensive safety requirements which cover public safety - as well as
workplace safety to some extent. This is in addition to the requirements of the HSE
Act and those contained in the Electricity Act. General safety rules apply to all
works, which may also be covered by a Safety Management System
o Tunnels (post construction) used by the industry are typically not accessed or used
on a daily basis by workers and most are flooded. There will be periodic checks
carried out to ensure safety, as well as upkeep, but there are not the issues which
may arise or hazardous conditions to which workers are exposed daily which arise
in mining.
o The EEA acknowledges that tunnel construction in relation to industry tunnels may
be more hazardous where construction workers are on site daily;
o An exclusion should therefore be made under those regulations to ensure that
electricity industry tunnels post construction are outside the scope of the HSE
amendment.
The Board may impose a levy on mine operators to fund them (if regulations to that effect
are made). The EEA interprets the Bill to provide that a levy will not apply once
construction of a tunnel which is not part of a mine is completed
New Mines Rescue Act
• The scope of the proposed Act is limited to what is defined as a “Mining Operation” (the
EEA notes that this is a limitation of what is defined in Part 2) and includes tunneling
operations but only tunnels that are, or are intended to be, at least 150 metres long. It is
therefore possible that the proposed Mines Rescue Act applies to the electricity supply
industry during tunnel construction. The EEA also notes that the current Act is quite clear
that its scope is confined to coal mines. While the EEA acknowledges that if inclusion of the
construction phase of an industry tunnel is to be covered by the HSE amendments, then it
is likely that the Mines Rescue Act will also apply during that construction phase. However,
the EEA submits that:
o Post construction, it is unnecessary for tunnels/industry workers to be covered by
the Act, as they are not accessing or using the tunnel on a routine basis;
o Other legislation exists to ensure the safety of the workers, including daily hazard
identification and management, as well as regular training and competency
o In the event that the Board deploys a mine rescue brigade (or other resources)
during an emergency, there is nothing which prevents it sending a bill to cover its
costs to the relevant industry tunnel owner/operator.
• Any provision in Regulations for payment of a levy by mine operators which covers both the
direct and indirect costs incurred by the Board should not apply to electricity industry
tunnels (although we note that if inclusion of the construction phase of an industry tunnel is
to be covered by the Mines Rescue Act the requirement to pay a levy is also likely to apply
during that construction phase). The EEA submits that:
o Costs should not be incurred by the industry because it has its own requirements
regarding training, experience, competency etc and industry documents (SM-EI)
and Codes of Practice which establish training systems and emergency
preparedness/emergency management plans;
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o
The costs incurred by the Board should be reasonable and limited to the “direct
costs” incurred for the relevant purpose. Including the recovery of indirect costs
would enable the Board to recover costs not specifically associated with the
performance of particular functions and these should not be recoverable. Costs
which are direct would presumably cover those which are incurred by the Board in
the performance of particular functions as would be expected. However, indirect
costs could extend to matters outside the normal course of the Board performing its
functions and should not be covered by the levy. Further, any levy should be limited
by a “reasonableness” test – that is, the Board should not be entitled to recover a
levy for costs which are not reasonably incurred by it in the performance of its
functions;
Amendments to Electricity Act/Electricity (Safety) Regulations
• The functions assumed by WorkSafe under the amendments to the Electricity Act are
broadly defined (being those currently of the Secretary) and are subject to a new section
5A, which provides for the Secretary to carry out its functions under the Act or regulations,
and further provides that the Secretary may carry out a function conferred on WorkSafe for
a specified matter. This is potentially confusing and as a result it is unclear whether
WorkSafe or the Secretary carry out various functions – such as issuing Codes of Practice
under the Electricity Act, some of the disciplinary provisions, and investigations.
• Further concerns arise in relation to the amendments proposed to the Electricity (Safety)
Regulations 2010, which largely govern public safety rather than workplace safety. Given
the stated objective of WorkSafe to cover solely workplace safety, it is inappropriate that
they assume responsibility for any functions to do with public safety matters. The EEA
notes that the matters which WorkSafe assumes from the Secretary under the Regulations
all cover requirements which address public safety, such as Safety Management Systems,
reconnection of low voltage installations, safety of fittings and appliances.
• It is therefore submitted that the functions assumed by WorkSafe under the Electricity Act
should be subject to further deliberation, as well as those requirements which WorkSafe
assumes responsibility for under the Regulations
Amendments to Gas Act/Gas (Safety & Measurement) Regulations
The same amendments proposed for the Electricity Act and Electricity (Safety) Regulations should
apply to the Gas Act and Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations
Additional Amendment to HSE Act – No Fault Reporting
The EEA has previously submitted that when incidents occur the parties involved should be able to
disseminate key information on the incident to the industry sector for the purpose of alerting others
to those issues. The notification needs to be able to be provided without fear of the information
being used by the regulator for prosecution purposes. The EEA submits that this principle must be
included in the amendments to the HSE Act
If any of the Institutes members would like to make a submission please contact the National
Secretary /Manger in the first instance.
Report from the NZEI (Inc.) representative on Standards New Zealand.
Standards EL-001 and EL-001-24 committee reports
The Joint Standards EL-001 committee which controls AS/NZS 3000, Electrical installations Wiring Rules for Australia and New Zealand and EL-001-24 committee which controls AS/NZS
3010, Electrical installations – Generating sets meet recently in Brisbane.
EL-001 committee (AS/NZS 3000)
It has been decided by Standards Australia that the upcoming proposed amendment of AS/NZS
3000 will result in the amendment of AS/NZS 3000 as being considered a technical revision and
this will result in the year reference of the current issue being advanced to the year in which the
new amendment to the standard is approved and published.
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A wide ranging discussion has held on the requirements of the current issue of AS/NZS 3000 that
need correcting or updating. A limited discussion also took place of new material that should be
added.
The bids by committee members and from written submissions made for the amendment for
AS/NZS 3000 will now form part of a formal project to update AS/NZS 3000. Formal project
approval is expected late 2013. Before work starts on the AS/NZS 3000 amendment, a formally
approved Standards Australia project is required to allocate sufficient funds to fund and to carry out
the work required.
It is not expected that major changes will be made to AS/NZS 3000, but the main changes will be
clarification of existing requirements, and where necessary, the adoption of recently revised
standards called or cited by AS/NZS 3000.
There is one area in which, from a New Zealand point of view, a major change is required and that
is in clause 4.5.2.3 Recessed luminaires. The publication of NZ ECP 54 and the extensive
development and testing work by New Zealand luminaire manufacturers has provided New
Zealand (and Australia if they wished to purchase and use NZ sourced luminaires) with very good
luminaires which can be safely installed in ceilings with thermal insulation, provided that the
manufacturer’s instructions have been followed correctly.
With this source of good luminaires available in New Zealand, the recessed luminaire requirements
will likely to default to clause 4.5.2.3.4 only. Until the standard and its new amendment this should
only be considered a typical change that is under discussion and will be verified when the AS/NZS
3000 is re-published in 2014.
The next meeting of the committee will be November 2013.
EL-001-24 (AS/NZS 3010)
Following some debate on the scope of AS/NZS 3010, it has been agreed that coverage of
AS/NZS 3010 be limited to generating sets which connected to an electrical installations by
installation wiring or by a plug and socket arrangement only as an alternative supply source for that
electrical installation.
All applications of generating sets which use the generating set as prime or standalone power
supply to directly supply an electrical appliance or a portable tool, such as the generator set is on
the back of truck and is being used to directly supply an electrical drill, will detailed in an AS/NZS
3010 Appendix pending the relocation of such material to a generator set standard, for example AS
2790. As AS 2790 is not under the control of EL-001-24, the co-operation of another Standards
committee will be required for the relocation of this material to occur. In the meantime, an AS/NZS
3010 informative appendix will be used as a short term arrangement to contain and detail the
requirements pending the shift to AS 2790 and be made joint standard.
Progress on the development of the provisions for synchronised changeover when restoring the
supply from the generating set output to the mains supply has been slower than expected, but it is
hoped at the next meeting of the committee in September that this item will be finalized. This
requires extensive revision of changeover device requirements to prevent “back feeding”
(exceeding a few seconds only) from the electrical installation into the electrical distributors
network.
Attention is also being given to use of generating sets to augment the mains supply to “safety
services” (section 7.2 of AS/NZS 3000) in high rise buildings. The Australian Building Code has
extensive requirements in this area, and a check of the New Zealand Building Code is being made
to verify the applicable requirements in New Zealand.
It is hoped to have the revised standard completed for release as a public comment draft approval
by EL-001 at its November meeting. The public draft for comments is expected to be released late
2013 /early 2014.
The next meetings of this committee will be September and November 2013
A Cuthbert
NZEI Inc. – Represented to Standards NZ
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Auckland Branch Newsletter
Dear Members,
The 1 July 2013 has come and gone and the new regulations and wiring rules are now in force.
There is still a bit of confusion around concerning the Certificate of Compliance and Electrical
Safety Certificates. The NZEI Inc. Auckland Branch has and is holding small seminars for the
clients of Auckland Electrical Wholesalers, for a small fee, which helps build up the branches
funds, explaining to their customers what their requirements and responsibilities are with the
changes as a result of the Electrical Safety Amendment Regulation 2012. There has been good
feedback and we have also managed to recruit new members from those gatherings.
One of the council’s aims is to try and streamline the Institutes operation and to provide better
service to our members and the Electrical Industry as a whole. Since we finally appointed a
Manager/Secretary and this year’s conference we have completely revamped our members data
base, upgraded our website, added Face Book, LinkedIn, You tube as links to the website and as a
trail videoed some of the conference speakers on line for our members to see. We have and are
still perusing various outlets for discounts to our members. We are actively finding ways that the
NZEI Inc. can generate finances so that in the long run we can operate efficiently and not rely on
entirely the membership subscriptions to fund it.
Another part of the streamlining would be to centralise all billing and postage from one office which
would mean that the burden for branch secretaries will be lifted and they can concentrate on
setting up technical meetings for their members. Details on how it will operate will be posted in
due course.
Some other changes we wish to implement are setting up interest groups in areas where we have
a pocket of members so that they can network.
We are also in the process of updating the Constitution and Rules of the NZEI to bring them into
line with the way we operate today.
There is a copy of the Electrical (Safety) Regulations dated 1 July 2013 available through Google
to download for free.
Our next conference is late March 2014 in Auckland and we are actively moving to get more
displays for our first day.
Kind Regards,
John Brothers,
Institute President & Auckland Branch President
- End Auckland Branch Report -
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Wellington Branch Newsletter
JULY AUGUST 2013 WELLINGTON BRANCH NEWSLETTER
President: Roger Whittaker
Secretary:
Alan Cuthbert
Treasurer:
68 Melrose Road
Wellington 6023
Phone 383 8550
Email agcuthbert@xtra.co.nz
Harold Knight
PO Box 41-015
Eastbourne
Lower Hutt 5047
Phone: 562 7301
May and June meetings were EWRB Competency courses and it is not proposed to conduct any
more courses this year.
July Meeting
The July meeting will be a general meeting of the branch.
WHAT:
GENERAL MEETING
WHERE:
“DRAMA CHRISTI” ROOMS, WESLEY CHURCH
75 TARANAKI STREET, WELLINGTON
(Down right hand side of church at rear)
WHO:
ALL OF US
WHEN:
WEDNESDAY 17TH JULY 2013 AT 7-30 PM
Special August meeting:
Advance notice, the August meeting, 21st August 2013 at 7.30 pm, will be a special meeting to
consider all future aspects of the Branch.
IMPORTANT: The Drama Christi rooms are not available for August 2013, and the meeting will be
held in a room at the rear of the church instead. The access to the room is by the staircase at the
rear right hand corner of the church building, when looking from the street, and adjacent to the
vehicle driveway past the end of Drama Christi building.
Changes in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010
Effective 1st July 2013, there are substantial changes in the certification of Prescribed Electrical
Work, and including the certification of replacement of damaged fittings in an installation. There is
also a further change coming which updates the year of issue for many Standards cited in the
Electricity (Safety) Regulations, the issue date of the second amendment is currently unknown, but
is expected to be late July /early August 2013.
The Branch has covered these changes in previous meetings, but at this time the best publication
and be able to copy a paper on the actual changes is on the Energy Safety Website at this
address, http://www.med.govt.nz/energysafety/documents/about/publications/publications-forindustry/practitioner-guides/practitioner-guide-regulatory-changes-certification-PEW-may-2013.pdf
there is a video on the same website which also gives a brief overview of the changes.
Alan Cuthbert, Wellington Branch Newsletter editor.
-Wellington Branch Report End -
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Death Notices:
•
KERNAGHAN, Raymond (Ray). Of Glen Eden, Auckland, passed away peacefully after a
short illness on 29th June 2013 at Waitakere Hospital.
•
Mc CRAE, Robert Owen, 11 Hihi Place, Waianae, a Wellington Branch member passed
away 21 July 2013
New Members:
A very warm welcome to the following new members:
•
Auckland Branch Members
o Nil for the month
o But many strong leads form enquiries via the Website and Safety Show
•
National Branch Members
o Milnes, Fred, Whangarei
New Member Profiles:
Mr Rhys Casley, Auckland
Phone: +64 21 376 021, Email: rhys.casley@gmail.com
Rhys is a marine electrician specialising in power generation along
with instrumentation and control systems. Rhys completed his trade
in the Royal New Zealand Navy and achieved the rank of Chief
Petty Officer, and served primarily on the ANZAC Class Frigates.
He left the military in 2009 after spending 6 months in Afghanistan
as the senior electrician at Kiwi Base, Bamyan Province. Rhys
joined the Ports of Auckland 2009 as a shift engineer, where he can
use his mechanical experience and electrical trade to maintain and
operate the tug fleet, where he still works today.
Mr Graeme Morris, Auckland
Phone: +64 21 250 5352, Email: morrismob@orcon.net.nz
Graeme did his apprenticeship as an Electrical Fitter with the
Devonport Dockyard at Auckland, attaining registration and
advanced trades as a tradesman and then NZCE as a technician in
the Electronic systems department.
Graeme left the Navy in 1990, to work as an electronics technician,
with ABB specialising in drives and other electronics. He joined
Singer Automation in 1999 to work on a wide variety of equipment,
mostly repair and maintenance.
Graeme recently obtained qualification as a level 1 Thermograher.
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Mr Dan Fiveash, National Branch
Phone: +64 21 314 091, Email: dan@4nes.co.nz
Dan began his career with the RNZN. After a couple of years he
moved home to Southland and has worked for various contracting
companies since then. Dan is running the Gore branch of an
Invercargill-based contracting and high voltage Installation
Company called NES. Dan is working towards registration as an
Electrical Inspector.
On The lighter side…….
Sales Talk
During a visit to a mental asylum, a visitor asked the director what the criteria was that defined
whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
“Well” said the director, we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to
patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.”
“Oh I understand,” said the visitor. “A normal person would use the bucket because it’s bigger than
the spoon or teacup.”
“No.” said the Director.” “A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a room with or without
a view?” ☺
Best Regards
Allan Hill
National Secretary/Manager
New Zealand Electrical Institute (Inc,).
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