Electrical contractors, consultants and specifiers worried about the new British Standard ‘BS 62305: Protection Against Lightning' can save themselves hundreds of pages of reading thanks to a handy, new webcast from Omega Red Group.
The company has responded to demand by producing five short webcasts, lasting around 45 minutes in total, and posting them on the Omega website (http://www.omegaredgroup.com/). Mike Henshaw, who wrote the guidance notes for the British Standards Institute, and colleague Andy Malinski use diagrams and simple, straightforward language to explain the key provisions of the new standard, which comes into effect on 1 September.
"Contractors and consultants are busy people so we wanted to save them time and take away some of the hard work as there is a lot of confusion," says Andy Malinski. I don't think anybody in our industry has ever done it this way before but so many people were asking us for advice that the internet seemed the most appropriate and effective way to reach them with an easy-to-understand, accessible guide.
"It's an introduction rather than a comprehensive explanation but we think a lot of people will find it useful. We've broken it down into small chunks so people can dip in and out as it suits them. This is the biggest change to hit the industry in decades and has many merits but the Standard's provisions do require a complete rethink about the way lightning protection companies, consultants and contractors work with each other."
Omega is the UK market leader in Earthing and Lightning Protection and the company has worked with the BSI (British Standards Institution) and ATLAS (Association of Technical Lightning and Access Specialists) to produce the industry guide to the practical application of the new Protection Against Lightning Standard BS EN 62305.
The company has put all of its existing engineers and designers through a rigorous training programme regarding the new Standard. Omega employs more than 220 people and supports the rail, construction, power, telecoms and renewable energy industries through its regional branches in Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, London and Bristol.
Watch the first part of the video here: