3/4/2018 Apprenticeship ApplicationsThe response has been fantastic to our Stirling Electrical Services Apprenticeship Trials which opened for applications just last week.
We have an application form live on our website for suitable candidates to submit, so if you know anyone looking to have the chance to start their journey to becoming a qualified electrician please forward these details onto them. The application form can be found at this link. 2/4/2018 Summer Security System SaleFinalising your Summer Holiday plans while off work this Easter?
Our Summer Security System sale is now live. While you enjoy the sun and sea this summer make sure your property back home is safe and secure. Contact us over the Easter break and we will be in touch to book in your free site survey. Have an existing alarm system - then that's fine as we can service it. 10% OFF Alarm and CCTV systems - www.stirlingalarms.co.uk 7/3/2018 Scottish Apprenticeship WeekIt is Scottish Apprenticeship week and at Stirling Electrical Services we are pleased to offer our support and commitment to employing and training apprentices.
Every one of our existing skilled team members are either currently an electrical apprentice or our qualified electricians including myself have all progressed to full electrician status via the recognised electrical apprenticeship scheme in Scotland organised by SECTT. The value of apprenticeships should never be underestimated and in my opinion apprenticeships should be more widely encouraged within secondary education. Each one of our electrical apprentices have to train for at least 4 years combining college theory and practical learning work as well as gaining on-site experience working alongside our qualified electricians. I fully support the drive this week to increase awareness highlighting the important role that apprentices can play within businesses and the long term benefits they can bring. Right from the very beginning of Stirling Electrical Services in 1996 I have always been keen to employ apprentices within the business. So during this important Scottish Apprenticeship Week I am pleased that we have made a double Apprentice commitment. Firstly we have this week employed a 3rd year electrical apprentice who unfortunately was made redundant at his previous company in late 2017. Qualifying as an electrician after 4 years of apprentice training can set people on the road to a rewarding career and with 3 years apprenticeship training under his belt it was important to take this apprentice under our wing and help him train and study over the coming months to allow him to prepare for his final electrical exam. Secondly we are also committing to employing a new 1st year electrical apprentice during the Autumn college intake with a commitment to employ them for the duration of their 4 year apprenticeship training. We will announce more details around May this year regarding how people can apply. Apprenticeships are crucial for the electrical industry, fast track electrical training courses are a waste of space and I would argue even dangerous for the electrical industry. For those that are considering an apprenticeship especially in the skilled trades then don't let anyone including school careers advice put you off from becoming an apprentice. If you turn up with an attitude to put in the hard work and commit to learning your trade then an apprenticeship can be a worthwhile long-term career move. There has been a positive step in the drive to regulate the electrical industry in Scotland with MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston tabling a motion in the Scottish Parliament.
The motion tabled by the Highlands and Islands Conservative politician can be viewed below and is calling for cross party support. (image from The Scottish Parliament website) 4/3/2018 Plunged Into DarknessIt should be rather embarrassing for an electrical business to be plunged into darkness but like tens of thousands of other businesses across Scotland we have been closed and left in the dark for the past few days due to the heavy snow.
With snow falling and the unprecedented red weather snow warning looming we took the decision to close last Wednesday at 14.30 and as the snow continued to fall and aided by the windy conditions the roads deteriorated quickly so for safety reasons travelling was a no go meaning we were also closed on Thursday and Friday. I can't remember another time in nearly 25 years of business that we have had to totally close for a full working day but the safety and wellbeing of our team members comes first. Some of our team have been out and about this weekend clearing snow from our office car park and we plan to flick the ON switch on Monday and have our services operate near to normal as possible. We had to cancel many jobs last week and will review our job schedule over the coming days and look to reschedule those cancelled jobs as soon as we can. It has been a frustrating past few days for us all whether in business or parents having to make alternative plans due to schools being closed and I ask that our customers show us a little patience over the coming week as we look to turn the lights back up to full brightness as soon as possible. Below some photos of our office snow clearing work.
This past week has seen an upsurge in calls for tighter regulations over electrical white goods after a recent study suggested faulty appliances could "cause 60 fires a week".
The issue has even been on the agenda of our local Stirling MP Stephen Kerr who, in his latest Stirling Observer newspaper column(see below), said he has been involved in looking into this matter at UK Government level. MP Kerr's involvement and the awareness within the news media recently should be welcomed as the lessons learned after the terrible tragedy at Grenfell must be acted upon quickly. I have been involved in the electrical industry for 25 years and while tighter regulations may indeed have to be introduced into the manufacture and warranty procedure of white goods, the lack of regulation is more widespread than just white goods - the whole electrical installation industry needs to be more tightly controlled and regulated.
You may be surprised to find that there is currently no legislation in place to prevent an individual with no electrical skills or qualifications whatsoever from placing an advert in the local newspaper advertising as an electrician, willing to undertake electrical work in homes and business premises.
The law (in Scotland) currently allows anyone to carry out most electrical work, with no mandatory formal checks to confirm that the individual has been trained and is qualified to the latest regulations. A recent survey found that up to 2000 unqualified electrical businesses are potentially putting the safety of the Scottish public at risk - that figure is staggering and could be quite literally 'shocking'. View the video and visit the link to read and watch the disbelief as members of the Scottish public who thought electricians were currently regulated were told that no such thing is in place. http://www.select.org.uk/scottish-public-expresses-shock-disbelief-select-reveals-dangers-rogue-electricians/ View More Videos
There are a few non-mandatory trade organisations databases including a building standards database in Scotland available for consumers to check if electricians are registered - these databases list the electrical individuals and companies who have up to date qualifications and are already committed to upholding the safety and carrying out work in accordance with the latest electrical regulations. More info for the public at SELECT website as well as at the Electrical Safety Council.
There is some hope though as Scotland's largest electrical trade organisation SELECT are determined to address the issue and improve public safety and have started a movement to regulate the electrical industry in Scotland. By making the job of an electrician a 'Profession' it would become an offence to carry out electrical work in Scotland when not qualified to do so. Did you know that a door steward in a night club has more legal and mandatory checks carried out on them than an electrician? To give some context to the idea of regulation that affects the electrical industry, in December 2015 it became mandatory in Scotland for Private Rented Landlords to have electrical wiring testing carried out every 5 years and a short time before that date new fire safety regulations were introduced increasing the number of smoke/heat detectors installed within properties rented to private occupiers. For the past few years at Stirling Electrical Services and at other qualified electricians in the Stirling area, we have been into many hundreds of private rented properties and because of the mandatory testing, landlords (including myself) have been 'forced' to increase the safety of the electrical installations with many life saving devices such as smoke alarms and RCD switches being introduced. I say 'forced' because unless the mandatory testing regulation was in place then a large percentage of the rented properties would still have life-risking and fire-causing electrical problems present. Having mandatory regulation works - the vast majority will adhere to it meaning safety to all will increase - and those that don't adhere to the rules should be punished. Over the past year or so SELECT have been in discussion with the Scottish Government and as part of their campaign have submitted a report and evidence to support the idea of regulating Electricians. An idea that would bring electricians and electrical work in line with gas engineers and gas work where tighter regulations already apply. Listen below to a 2017 BBC Interview with SELECT MD Newell McGuinness about the campaign.
I have said for many years that to get a light or socket to work is relatively easy with a little knowledge, but to make sure the work involved (and the end result) is SAFE to YOU and YOUR PROPERTY is an entirely different scenario - and that is why only qualified electricians with up to date training and qualifications should be allowed to carry out electrical work in homes and businesses throughout Scotland.
If they do not have up to date electrical qualifications then it is time to stop - the kitchen fitter, plumber, joiner, man at the pub and even electricians who were qualified many many years ago but have no up to date training from carrying out most electrical work. For safety reasons electrical regulations change and are updated every few years and without up to date training and qualifications you cannot carry out electrical work to the current safety standards. A regulated industry would also raise the standard of those electricians currently qualified as it would mean we would always be kept on our toes knowing we had to maintain our standards to remain on the mandatory register of electricians. It is time for the electrical industry to be regulated as an equal to gas and while the current movement to increasing the safety of white goods should be welcomed I would like to make our local politicians aware of our current electrical industry situation. As SELECT continue to have discussions with Scottish Government officials it would be reassuring to know that our own MSP Bruce Crawford is aware of the situation and I would also hope our Stirling MP Stephen Kerr would offer his support where he can - they, you and I all have homes and work in or visit business premises and it would be good to know that the person you ask to come into your property to carry out electrical work involving 230 and 400 dangerous volts of electricity is qualified and competent to do so - and that they have been audited by an official register before they come into your property. It's time we stopped taking chances with electricity - the mandatory regulations in rented properties brought in so far have made a big difference so it's about time we went all the way and made sure the people carrying out all electrical work are trained and qualified to do so - surely life and fire safety are not worth taking a 'chance' on. What are your thoughts on the plans to regulate the electrical industry - did you just presume the person who you let into your property to carry out electrical work was qualified, did you carry out competency checks on them beforehand ? Post your thoughts in the comments below. Follow the campaigns latest news - https://twitter.com/regulate_SELECT
The images below are all real examples of dangerous electrical work or faults we have encountered in recent months.
SELECT TV advertisement from SELECT on Vimeo. 15/2/2018 Apprenticeship Week #ScotAppWeek18Scottish Apprenticeship Week is a time when we can share our apprenticeship success stories, shout out loudly the message that apprenticeships especially within trades is a good lifelong career move and where companies can commit to employ and train the next generation.
In the lead up to, as well as the week itself I will give more details about how a trade apprenticeship has been beneficial to myself as well as to our electricians who have all been through 4+ years of training before qualifying. More details at www.apprenticeships.scot 13/2/2018 Elon Musk - Mars and More
With last weeks (mostly) successful Falcon Heavy mission Elon Musk and SpaceX have rarely been out of the news and within all the media clippings I stumbled across this TED interview with Elon from April 2017.
It's a fascinating 40 minutes insight into his thoughts and the current developments at SpaceX and Tesla as well as digging tunnels and missions to Mars. If your interested in what the future and even near future holds for us all grab a cup of tea and settle down to listen to what one of the worlds most influential entrepreneurs has to say. 3/2/2018 Fire SafetyThis week one of our experienced fire alarm engineers installed a new system within a large domestic property to BS 5839 Part 1 standard.
Whether you have a domestic or commercial property we can design, install and commission smoke / fire alarm systems. www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk www.stirlingalarms.co.uk 30/1/2018 Maintaining StandardsEvery six months we are inspected by NSI - the most respected security system accreditation body in UK.
It was a proud moment for our team when we were awarded NSI GOLD status in August 2017 and we are pleased that our install technical audit today went very well. Huge praise to our team and thank you to our customers for their custom and continued support. No TV, no boiling the kettle, no house or street lights and a race against time to save the food in the freezer - a few common problems that occur when there is a power cut in your neighbourhood. To top it off, somewhere in your street there is an intruder alarm siren sounding during the power cut - you’ll notice this most during the middle of the night! - but how can it sound without electricity? An intruder alarm system’s main source of supply comes from normal mains electricity, but the alarm control panel has a built in battery that will kick in and power the alarm system in the event of a power cut. At least that’s what should happen if the system has been regularly serviced, a well maintained alarm system should not sound during a power cut. Apart from a warning light/beep/notification on the alarm control panel or keypad informing the user that the electricity is off, the alarm system should work as normal for a good number of hours on battery power. With security in mind I won't go into technical details how - but during a power cut, intruder alarm systems which also have a dead control panel battery will sound. So a very high percentage of the time when you hear an intruder alarm system sounding during a power cut it usually means the alarm’s control panel battery needs replacing. Control panel back up batteries should be replaced after a maximum period of 5 years With various codes and security measures built into alarm systems and with safety a high priority alarm control panel batteries should be replaced by trained security system engineers. The good news is that a new battery and even throwing in an alarm system service can cost as little as £50.00. A small price to pay for not only a good night’s siren-free sleep but also for security and protection of you, your loved ones and your property. 4/1/2018 FeedbackEach day and each job our goal is to provide a professional and efficient service to customers who put their trust in us to carry out their electrical and security system work. Of course there are a small amount of times due to varying reasons when our service dips below our acceptable standard and in those circumstances we do our best to learn and improve but at the same time it is satisfying to receive feedback like below from customers, as during the hustle and bustle and high and lows of everyday business positive feedback from customers gives us the boost and acknowledgement that our hard work and our systems in place are providing a positive experience for our customers. Very impressed by the service I have received from Stirling Alarms. The time taken from my initial call to completion of the work was so short and that was especially good given that it was the week before Christmas and I had been very worried about not having an alarm in place over the holiday period. 3/1/2018 2018 DawnsWhile some of our services are available 24/7 our office team were back today for their first working day of 2018 and they were pleased to be available to book in a number of security system installation jobs as well as have our engineers attend and repair several alarm faults. It wasn't only our security system team who were busy our electricians were also on hand to attend and repair several faults and carry out a number of pre-planned jobs. This year we would love to hear from you if you require new alarm, cctv, door access or electrical systems while we can also repair and maintain existing systems. It's not only customers we look forward to hearing from as we have a number of job vacancies open at present and want to hear from electricians and security system engineers who will meet our criteria and join our team as we look to increase our capacity. More details of our vacancies can be found here. www.stirlingalarms.co.uk www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk 22/12/2017 New Year New Job - Join Our Team2018 is already shaping up to be a busy year for us and we are looking to expand our team with a number of job vacancies available ranging from Electrician, Security Engineer and Pat Tester. If you know anyone who can match these skills or who currently work at other local companies but may want a new direction and challenge then please pass on our details. More information at: http://www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk/recruitment 18/12/2017 Improving Our StandardIt's been another year where our priority has been to improve the standard we operate to and also the service we provide to our customers. Our NSI Gold and BS EN ISO 9001:2015 accreditation awarded in September 2017 complimented by our SELECT membership for electrical work helps reassure and provide guarantees to our customers that we operate to a very high standard. Regular external audits are in place to make sure we maintain our high standard as well as ensuring that all our electricians and engineers continue to have up to date training and qualifications. www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk www.stirlingalarms.co.uk 17/12/2017 Loch Katrine Eco CampWe are proud that both Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. (SES) & Stirling Alarms have been involved in this project at Loch Katrine installing #Electrical #Alarms #CCTV #CarChargers
With bookings opening soon this is set to become a popular base to stay and explore our local area. https://www.lochkatrine.com/accommodation/pods/ The movement to regulate the electrical industry in Scotland continues and we will stand alongside SELECT in helping to make sure that those that carry out electrical work in YOUR home and business properties have up to date qualifications and are registered. Did you know that anyone in Scotland can currently call themselves an electrician or carry out electrical work without someone checking that they know what they are doing or checking for any qualifications or training. Using existing electrician registers and making these registers mandatory would not cost the public anymore, it would ensure registered electricians have up to qualifications and it would massively improve safety and provide reassurance to YOU that the person or company carrying out electrical work for you is doing it correctly and not putting YOUR life at risk. 6/11/2017 Electrical Industry RecognitionOur recent NSI Gold news has been recognised in the latest edition of Scotland's electrical industry magazine CABLEtalk.
Our Stirling Alarms service is making inroads in the security sector across Central Scotland and it was not only ourselves flying the flag for our area with another Stirling company Moray Robertson Electrical Services also featuring in the magazine for recognition of their recent work in the renewables sector. 30/10/2017 Alarm Customer FeedbackRecent feedback from a new Stirling Alarms customer. Alarm had failed due to a battery failure so it was to reset the system and replace the battery and a door magnet. Very good service and will use you again either to upgrade the alarm system and/or a service. 29/10/2017 Home Security GuideIn association with Sainsbury's Bank a handy home security guide is published below.
Now that the clocks are back and the long winter nights are ahead our team at Stirling Electrical and Stirling Alarms can offer information on as well as install security alarms, CCTV, external/internal lighting and sockets with motion and timer controls. Our security system team are featured in the October 2017 issue of Professional Security Installer Magazine. Interview with Scott McLean - Stirling Alarms
www.psimagazine.co.uk Do you use a distributor or buy direct from manufacturers? For intruder alarm products we mainly go through the manufacturer RISCO but for other products we use our network of electrical distributors. Is third party accreditation beneficial to you? Most definitely. We have been an accredited member of SELECT (The Electrical Contractors Association of Scotland) since 2005 for our electrical work. When we rebranded our security division in November 2015 as ‘Stirling Alarms’ we had no hesitation in applying for NSI membership. Just three months later we were accredited as Systems Silver and in August 2017 we were delighted to achieve NSI NACOSS Gold level. We pride ourselves in our customer service and being a member of these highly reputable accreditation bodies gives our clients the reassurance of our technical ability and good business practices and standing. What would be a typical project for you? Locally we are seen as a go to company for faults, maintenance and testing so we are involved in a mixture of repairing and servicing older security systems as well as our installation service for homes and businesses where we install a mixture of smartphone controlled and monitored/police systems. Our CCTV installs have also increased recently especially for the domestic market where we install a mixture of HD and IP systems. Our well-established electrical service and customer base also gives us an opportunity to increase our security system business. Do you think there is a skills shortage in the industry? Any trouble recruiting? In our industries it is important to employ engineers with not only the required technical skills but also excellent customer service awareness and this helps us focus in on individuals when recruiting. Making sure every person works for the whole team and not just solely for their own best interest is crucial and we look to employ for the long term so we can be selective when choosing candidates. Are there any common requests from customers that give you problems? (ie impossible expectations). A high number of our security system installs now come with apps on smart device and computers. While setting up these apps initially to the system at the time of install is relatively straightforward our aftersales support is increasing due to apps updating and not functioning correctly or the customer changing settings and not operating the apps correctly. All of this is out of our control but we are expected to return to site and help repair and change their phone or tablet settings as part of the original job. What is the security industry’s biggest myth? Some people believe our engineers are able to gain access and work on any existing intruder alarm system. If we are contacted to service and takeover a system that was installed and coded by others, we will do all we can to help but sometimes it’s just not possible. What will be the impact of smart/home automation on the security sector? While business opportunities in this market have already begun for installers including ourselves and it is something we are excited about, the surge in consumer retail outlets selling smart security/home automation goods has taken off and the amount of off the shelf poorer and cheaper DIY systems may have an impact in our domestic market when it comes to pricing and trying to sell professional equipment that installers know is trustworthy and reliable. What would make your job easier? Customers giving design specification and type of equipment more weight in they’re decision making over cost. Each install is different and we prefer to discuss and meet with the customer and give them design options which we believe to be in their best long term interest but other companies will quote with minimal equipment and less specification to win the job. We may lose out on some occasions but we believe our method is the correct way to do business. What is your ultimate/fantasy electronic security product? For the home environment integration between many smart home devices. Intruder, CCTV, Home Automation all voice, touch screen and smartphone app controlled. Voice activation with Apple Siri and especially Amazon Alexa is starting to play a big part in home automation and will only increase. It is possible to do all this just now by combining various systems but over the coming years systems for the mainstream will start to merge giving many security functions all within one app and system. Activation and control with voice and facial recognition will soon become a big part in our everyday life and it will be interesting to see how these are developed and integrated into security products Finally Will England ever win the football World Cup again? If they do then I will hopefully not hear about it for a while because I’ll be at the top of Ben Nevis with 5 Million other Scots with no TV or Phone signal making sure we can’t hear the commentators ;-) Seriously though, England on most occasions will always be in the latter stages of tournaments so the chance of going all the way and winning will always be close to achieving. If you won £25,000 what would you do with it? I plan to invest it all back into my company and team of course…. until my wife finds out. |
Scott McLeanBusiness , Weather, Community, Charity Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|
5/4/2018
0 Comments