2391 INSPECTION AND TESTING TRAINING COURSE

City and Guilds 2391-52 Course

COURSE 340: 4.5 DAYS: Max 8 Candidates

Aimed at electrical personnel who either carry out or supervise the testing and inspection of installations, this course is designed for candidates who require the City & Guilds 2391 qualification. Most importantly, participants gain the skills and knowledge necessary to actually perform the inspection and testing procedures. The course also satisfies the NICEIC & ECA requirements for Qualified Supervisor status. The course incorporates a practical assessment and a theory examination.

PARTICIPANTS

Prospective candidates should have recently completed the IET Wiring Regulations (City & Guilds 2382) qualification, course 310.

COURSE PRESENTATION

The emphasis is on achieving success and Technical Training pride themselves on their success rate in the examinations. Participants are able to practice on purpose-built training rigs of simulated electrical installations. Full course documentation is provided.

PRACTICAL INSPECTION & TESTING

During the 2391 course, candidates learn how the inspection and testing should be done using training rigs that simulate real electrical installations, using the test equipment provided or their own.

Candidates then complete the C&G 2391 practical assessment.

THEORY of INSPECTION & TESTING

During the course, candidates learn about the complex background technical information concerning the many issues associated with inspection and testing. Many practical examples of the types of questions that might come up in the examination are provided and advice on how these should be answered is provided.

Candidates then complete the C&G 2391 theory examination.

 

Successful completion of the course leads to the City & Guilds 2391-52: Level 3 Award in the Initial & Periodic Inspection and Testing of Electrical Installations.

What do candidates on the 2391 Inspection and Testing course actually do?

PRACTICAL INSPECTION AND TESTING

We begin by looking at how electrical installations should be visually inspected, bearing in mind the type of inspection (minor works, periodic, or initial verification) required. Candidates are provided with course notes to guide them. Candidates go through the long list of inspection items that should be checked, practicing this on demonstration boards that we have specially designed for the course.

One of the simulated electrical installations used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course

One of the simulated electrical installations used on the inspection and testing course

The course then looks at the required testing, and again we have specially designed practice boards that the candidates perform the testing on. These boards are also used for the live tests.

One of the simulated electrical installations used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course

One of the simulated electrical installations used on the inspection and testing course

In order to perform the tests we use a range of industrial test instruments. To begin with we prefer individual test instruments for the testing (rather than multifunction types) as we find the candidates get used to these more easily at this stage of their training.

One of the test instruments used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course - a continuity and insulation resistance tester One of the test instruments used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course - an earth fault loop impedance tester One of the test instruments used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course - an RCD tester

One of the continuity and insulation resistance testers used on the C&G 2391 electrical inspection and testing course

One of the earth fault loop impedance testers used on the C&G 2391 electrical inspection and testing course

One of the RCD testers used on the C&G 2391 electrical inspection and testing course



As well as the above testers we also like to get the candidates to use other types, or even encourage them to bring their own testers along.

We're quite keen on multi-function testers although some candidates can find these a bit daunting to begin with so we allow the candidates to choose which types they feel most comfortable with.

One of the test instruments used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course - an earth fault loop impedance tester One of the test instruments used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course - a multi-function tester

One of the earth fault loop impedance testers used on the C&G 2391 electrical inspection and testing course

One of the Multi-Function testers used on the C&G 2391 electrical inspection and testing course



Isolation procedures are a crucial part of the inspection and testing course. Voltage testers and proving units are used for this (as well as the necessary padlocks, mcb clasps etc). Without a sound appreciation of the procedures the risk of injury is heightened and any unsound practices lead to failure in the practical assessment. (Many of our candidates already know all about this but we need to ensure that they will perform the isolations to the criteria listed in the C&G 2391assessment.)

The candidates are also taught how to correctly complete the IET paperwork - an important part of the 2391 assessment - so we give them the opportunity to practice this too. Below is one of our voltage testers and proving units used on the 2391 course and an example of some of the IET paperwork that one of our candidates completed:

One of the voltage testers and proving units used on the 2391 inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course An example of one sheet of the IET paperwork that candidates on the 2391 inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course complete

One of the voltage testers and proving units used on the 2391 electrical inspection and testing course

An example of one sheet of the IET paperwork that candidates on the electrical inspection and testing course complete

The half-day practical assessment takes place during the course (normally on the third day). The practical assessment is conducted on a specially-designed rig which simulates a real electrical installation. The candidates have to safely isolate and test for dead, perform a full inspection and test (consisting of an initial verification and a periodic test) and complete all the necessary IET paperwork as they proceed.

The assessment rig is subdivided into two parts so that both scenarios (a new installation and an existing one) are covered by the assessment. The candidates therefore have to produce the certificates that relate to both initial verification and periodic inspection, and the accompanying inspection and test results schedules. These should all be completed in their correct context, so that for example, the visual inspection would produce C codes for any faults found in the periodic testing but no faults could be reported within the initial verification.

The other parts of the C&G 2391 practical assessment are 1) A series of 14 short answer written questions, which the candidates need to complete on their own, for example: "Describe what is meant by IP6X" and 2) A set of photographs depicting various electrical faults for which they need to identify the fault and allocate it the appropriate C coding: for example there might be a photograph of a metal socket pattress that doesn't appear to be earthed and they would be expected to identify the fault, describe the danger and allocate it the correct C code.

In order to track the candidates' progress through the practical assessments we use an assessment record sheet so that we can be confident that every candidate is meeting the criteria laid down by City & Guilds. This also helps to boost the candidates' confidence because they feel that they are making progress through the assessment process.

Below is one of our assessment record sheets and an example of one of the candidates' completed test results schedules:

The practical assessment tracking sheet used on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course One of the IET forms completed by our candidates on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course

The practical assessment tracking sheet used on the electrical inspection and testing course

One of the IET forms completed by our candidates on the electrical inspection and testing course

The above assessment is quite a difficult task for many candidates (particularly those who do not have much practical experience of inspection and testing) but we find that our candidates do quite well in this assessment as they pick up all the necessary skills and understanding in the 2 days of the course that precede it.

During the practical part of the 2391 course, candidates are issued with the electricians guide to inspection and testing book.

The electricians guide book contains all the most useful reference material about inspection and testing of electrical installations.

Candidates on the 2391 electrical inspection and testing course are given their own copy of our electricians guide book to keep.

Candidates on the 2391 electrical inspection and testing course are given their own copy of our electricians guide book to keep



THEORY of INSPECTION AND TESTING

In this part of the course candidates are briefed on the quick reference sheets. These help them to revise for the examination. The following are examples of the quick-reference revision sheets.

One of the reference sheets which help to prepare candidates for the exam on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course One of the reference sheets which help to prepare candidates for the exam on the inspection and testing (C&G 2391) training course

One of the reference sheets which help to prepare candidates for the exam on the electrical inspection and testing course

One of the reference sheets which help to prepare candidates for the exam on the electrical inspection and testing course

We then work through our course notes which have several examples of questions similar to recent C&G 2391 exam papers. We suggest the best possible answers that they can give whilst discussing the technical issues.

The theory examination usually takes place on the morning of the last day of the course. It's a computer-based multiple-choice examination. The candidates are allowed two hours and there are 60 questions. It's an open-book test, so the candidates can refer to the wiring regs or the on site guide books during the exam.

Some employers prefer that candidates learn about inspection and testing of electrical installations without having to undergo the City & Guilds examinations: Please call us if you would like to discuss this.


If you would like to see some of the equipment used on the electrical inspection and testing course for yourself, then please call us to arrange a visit to our offices in Kent. Alternatively, we can visit you anywhere in the British Isles.

 

ELECTRICAL COURSES INSTRUMENTATION COURSES MECHANICAL COURSES

Please click on the buttons to return to the course menus