Basic Electrical Safety Competence (BESC)

Quality Technical Training for the Power Industry

Contact Gill Dillon on

Tel: +44 (0)1623 422099 Fax: +44 (0)1623 420988 e-mail: besc@kefax.co.uk

The Basic Electrical Safety Competence (BESC) passport scheme is intended for anyone who carries out work either directly or indirectly on operational plant and equipment associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity.

KeFax Ltd is a fully-accredited Assessment Centre for this scheme and we offer a full on-site assessment service leading to the issue of the EUSR BESC card and inclusion on the on-line BESC database as required by National Grid. The KeFax assessment process is designed to be flexible and minimise the disruption to routine work activity. Our core team of tutors are all fully qualified assessors with many years experience of safety training in the electricity industry and, in certain circumstances, it may be possible to collaborate with company in-house assessors.

In addition we have developed a series of one-day training courses for substations, overhead lines and underground cables to help prepare your less experienced staff for successful assessment under the BESC scheme.  These courses will be available either on your own site, at a convenient local venue or at our premises in Mansfield. Our scheme administration system is fully computerised and we can offer client companies a range of admin support services if required.

For further information on the BESC scheme see the overview below and/or contact Greg Keogh on 07836 668452 or Greg.Keogh@kefax.co.uk. 

For course/assessment availability and pricing information, or to book places, please contact Gill Dillon, Administration Manager, on 01623 422099, email Gill.Dillon@kefax.co.uk, or complete the form available on this website.

Overview

Energy & Utility Skills provides the framework and regulations for the operation of the scheme, is responsible for the industry standards on which the scheme is based and registers candidates on the scheme.

This is essentially a competency assessment and registration process the standards for which correspond with specific units of the electricity distribution and transmission level 2 and 3 NVQs (City & Guilds 2353-42/2353-43). The standards, which are at a basic level, deal with entering, moving around and exiting work areas in electricity distribution and transmission environments. Three separate standards exist for substations, overhead lines and underground cable work areas.

1. Underground Cable Designated Work Areas

2. Overhead Line Designated Work Areas

3. Substation Apparatus Designated Work Areas

Qualified assessors operating within an assessment centre accredited by Energy and Utility Skills carry out competency assessment and subsequent registration. Following successful assessment, candidates are registered on the web-enabled database for a period of three years after which a further assessment will need to be undertaken to remain on the register. A fuller description of the scheme can be found in the EU Skills BESC Scheme Handbook (abridged).

National Grid originally set a deadline of the end of December 2006 for for all contractor staff working on or near National Grid operational plant and equipment to be assessed under the BESC scheme. However, to allow more time for completion of assessments, at the end of December 2006 NG published a revised deadline of 31st July 2007 for ‘Construction, Alliance and higher value Maintenance Delivery Contractors’. The overall approach is consistent with their Road to Zero safety policy and action plan proposals under the SAFELEC 2010 programme (see the SAFELEC 2010 4th Annual Report April 2005 pp 13 and 21). The scheme leads to registration on the associated Energy and Utility Skills Register, the issue of a personal BESC card and inclusion on an externally accessible Internet Database.  See attached National Grid communication or contact National Grid’s Paul Gomersall at Paul.Gomersall@uk.ngrid.com for further clarification if required. Note that National Grid will still require individuals accessing their sites to hold an appropriate NG authorisation see their document NSI_ 30 for further details (Person and Competent Person are the relevant categories for contracting staff see pages 13-14, 26 and 30)

The standard (see attached summary) is governed by the Energy Networks Association (ENA) and administered by Energy and Utility Skills (EU Skills).  A necessary part of the standard will be assessment in practical situations to demonstrate the candidate’s skills to the satisfaction of an accredited Assessor.  In addition the candidate must achieve a satisfactory level of underpinning knowledge and understanding.