Assisting in the installation of workplace environmental control equipment
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to assist in the installation of workplace environmental control equipment, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to assist in the installation of equipment that will control or monitor a number of different systems, including heating and ventilation, air conditioning and ventilation units, chillers, boilers, lighting, lifts, building/room access, fire systems and CCTV systems. The installation will also include sensors, actuators, switches, motor starters, electrical and network cables, thermostats, electronic meters, safety systems/devices, monitoring equipment, inverters, uninterruptible power supplies, control panels, printed circuit boards, controller units, computer systems, peripheral devices and environmental monitoring and targeting software.
You will be required to use the appropriate tools and equipment throughout the installation activities, and to apply a range of installation methods and techniques to position, level and align the equipment, and to make connections to the required services. The installation activities will include making checks and adjustments, in line with your permitted authority, and assisting others to ensure that the installed equipment functions to the required specification.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the installation activities undertaken, and to report any problems with the activities, tools or equipment used that you cannot personally resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You must check that all tools, equipment and materials used in the installation activities are removed from the work area on completion of the work, and that all necessary job/task documentation is completed accurately and legibly. You will be expected to work to instructions, alone or in conjunction with others, taking personal responsibility for your own actions, and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out.
The installation activity may be carried out as a team effort, but you must demonstrate a significant personal contribution to the installation activities, in order to satisfy the requirements of the standard, and you must demonstrate competence in all the areas required by the standard.
Your underpinning knowledge will be sufficient to provide a sound basis for your work, and will enable you to adopt an informed approach to applying installation procedures to workplace environmental control equipment. You will have an understanding of the equipment being installed, and its installation requirements, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the installation process safely and effectively.
You will understand the safety precautions required when carrying out the installation activities, especially those for ensuring the safe isolation of services. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout, and will understand your responsibility for taking the necessary safeguards to protect yourself and others in the workplace.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
- follow all relevant instructions/documentation for the installation being carried out
- use the correct tools and equipment for the installation operations, and check that they are in a safe and usable condition
- assist in the installation, positioning and securing of the equipment, using appropriate methods and techniques
- carry out and/or assist in checking the installation, and make any adjustments in accordance with the specification
- assist in using fault location methods and techniques on the installed equipment
- deal promptly and effectively with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved
- dispose of waste items in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner
- assist in the completion of installation documentation
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the health and safety requirements of the area in which the installation activity is to take place, and the responsibility these requirements place on you
- the isolation and lock-off procedure or permit-to-work procedure that applies
- the specific health and safety precautions to be applied during the installation procedure, and their effects on others
- the hazards associated with installing workplace environmental control equipment, and with the tools and equipment used, and how they can be minimised
- the importance of wearing protective clothing and other appropriate safety equipment (PPE) during the installation process
- what constitutes a hazardous voltage and how to recognise victims of electric shock
- how to reduce the risks of a phase to earth shock (such as insulated tools, rubber mating and isolating transformers)
- how to obtain and interpret information from drawings and other documents needed in the installation process (such as drawings, specifications, manufacturers' manuals, BS7671/IET regulations, symbols and terminology)
- procedures for ensuring that you have the correct tools, equipment and fasteners for the installation activities
- the types of tools and instruments used to position, secure and align the equipment
- the techniques used to position, align, level, adjust and secure the equipment
- methods of lifting, handling and supporting the equipment during the installation activities
- the basic principles of how the equipment functions, and its operating sequence
- the procedures and precautions to be adopted to eliminate electrostatic discharge (ESD)
- the techniques used to assemble electrical equipment (plugs, soldering, screwed, clamped and crimped connections)
- the use of IET wiring, and other, regulations when selecting wires and cables, and when carrying out tests on systems
- how to make adjustments to components to ensure that they function correctly
- methods of connecting equipment to service supplies (such as electrical, fluid power, compressed air, gas and water supplies)
- why electrical bonding is critical, and why it must be both mechanically and electrically secure
- the devices and systems for storing programs
- how to conduct any necessary checks to ensure the equipment integrity, functionality, accuracy and quality of the installation
- how to recognise installation defects (such as leaks, poor seals, misalignment, foreign object damage or contamination)
- the problems that can occur with the installation operations, and how these can be overcome
- the fault finding techniques to be used if the equipment fails to operate correctly
- the recording documentation to be completed for the activities undertaken
- the extent of your own responsibility and to whom you should report if you have problems that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Carry out all of the following during the installation of the workplace environmental control equipment:
- adhere to procedures or systems in place for risk assessment, COSHH, personal protective equipment and other relevant safety regulations
- confirm that authorisation to carry out the installation activities has been given
- check that safe access and working arrangements for the installation area have been provided
- confirm that services have been safely isolated, ready for the installation (such as mechanical, electricity, gas, air or fluids)
- check that all required installation consumables are available
- leave the work area in a safe condition and free from foreign object debris
Assist in the installation of equipment for workplace environmental control systems that control/monitor two of the following:
- heating and ventilation
- CCTV
- intruder/alarm systems
- air conditioning and ventilation
- chillers
- building/room access
- boilers
- lift control
- lighting
- fire systems
- other specific system
Assist in the installation of one of the following:
- trunking and traywork
- electrical cables
- network cables
Plus: assist with the installation of five of the following:
4. motor starters
5. electronic control panels
6. building management system (BMS) remote PC
7. vents/diffusers
8. circuit protection devices
9. switches
10. safety systems
11. BMS controller units
12. sensors
13. overload protection devices
14. BMS terminal (PC, server)
15. thermostats
16. annunciation panel
17. PC peripheral devices
18. electronic meters
19. printed circuit boards
20. monitoring/targeting software
21. heating elements
22. monitoring equipment
23. inverters
24. actuators
25. modems
26. uninterruptible power supplies
Apply installation methods and techniques, to include five of the following:
- marking out of locating and securing positions
- connecting wires and cables
- drilling and hole preparation
- securing by using mechanical fixings
- fitting inserts (such as rag bolts or expanding bolts)
- securing by using masonry fixings
- positioning the equipment
- applying cable clips and ties
- levelling the equipment
- making installation connections (such as mechanical, electrical, fluid power, utilities)
Carry out five of the following installation activities:
- terminating mineral and armoured cables
- bending and forming conduit
- bending and forming trunking and trays
- sealing and protecting cable connections
- making mechanical/screwed/clamped connections
- attaching suitable cable identification
- attach equipment identification labels/markers
- heat shrinking (devices and boots)
- crimping (tags and pins)
- stripping cable insulation/protection
- removing cable end fittings
- extracting/inserting components
- routeing and securing wires and cables
- soldering and de-soldering
Use three of the following instruments during the installation activities:
- multimeter
- insulation resistance tester
- phase orientation tester
- watt meter
- light meter
- self-diagnostic software
- voltmeter
- earth-loop impedance tester
- ammeter
- continuity tester
- other specific test equipment
Carry out all of the following checks and adjustments, as appropriate to the equipment being installed:
- making visual checks for completeness and freedom from damage
- making sensory checks (sight, sound, smell, touch)
- checking the security of connections/terminations
- checking the system for leaks
Plus: Assist with three more from the following:
5. checking signal transmission (electrical, electronic, pneumatic, mechanical)
6. confirming that signal measurement and transmission are satisfactory
7. checking and modifying software programs
8. final start-up of the system and removal of any trip defeats
9. testing that the equipment operates to the installation specification
Assist in dealing with two of the following conditions during the installation process:
- installations with no faults
- partial equipment malfunction
- complete malfunction of equipment
Assist in using fault location methods and techniques on the installed equipment, to include one of the following:
- diagnostic aids (such as company records/history, manufacturers' manuals, fault analysis charts, troubleshooting guides)
- fault finding techniques (such as six point, half-split, unit substitution)
- function testing the installation/running equipment self-diagnostics
Produce installations which comply with one of the following:
- equipment manufacturer's operation range
- BS, ISO and/or BSEN standards
- company standards and procedures
- customer standards and requirements
Assist in the completion of relevant paperwork, to include one from the following:
- installation records
- company-specific documentation
- job card