Thursday, 12 July 2018
Find out what’s changing
From 1stAugust 2018 the ECS card scheme is changing. Site visitors will no longer be able to make a new application, and if they already hold this card, they will not be able to renew it from 1stJanuary 2019.
The rules for labourers, managers, and related disciplines (read: fire industry folk) are also changing. You will have to meet the requirements for the new style of card if you are a labourer or manager, but for ‘Related Disciplines’ such as fire alarm installers/maintainers etc., a new ‘Site Support Discipline Card’ will be introduced from 1stAugust 2018.
In order to be on site, you will need to obtain one of these cards, but the new rules state that you will need to have ‘the achievement of a new ECS Electrical Safety Unit Test’, ‘evidence of sector specific training from the employer or a relevant single stand-alone qualification in the electrotechnical discipline of the card to be issued’, and/or ‘the ECS HS&E Assessment’, says the ECS card website.
Simply put, you will need to obtain a qualification in your specific professional discipline, such as our qualifications in fire detection and alarm design, installation, maintenance, or commissioning.
‘These changes have been introduced so that ECS can continue to meet Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) partnership criteria, following the announcement by the Construction Leadership Council that nationally-recognised qualifications should be in place for all construction-related occupations by 2020,’ says the ECS website.
As part of the FIA’s new Qualification Pathway of courses, learners can study a Health & Safety unit, which uses the same ECS health and safety assessment as the ECS card scheme, but with the added benefit that the card will be issued as an FIA card.
Bottom line – visitor cards for sites will no longer be valid, and those working on site are required to have a qualification in order to obtain a new ECS card.