Freedom Leisure
Public safety is a priority for not-for-profit leisure trust Freedom Leisure and Calbarrie has been delivering electrical testing services to their sites since April 2017.
The trust manages over 100 leisure and cultural facilities on behalf of partners across the UK and their comprehensive testing programme includes electrical appliances, electrical installations, emergency lighting and any remedial repairs.
Frequent testing is required within leisure facilities. Electrical installations in ‘dry’ areas such as gyms should be tested every three years and poolside or ‘wet’ areas – swimming pools, saunas and changing rooms for example – every 12 months. Poolside testing poses other challenges and specific regulations require the engineer to check that installed fixtures and fittings comply with BS EN 60529 and 60598-2-18 and cabling with BS EN 50525-2-21 and that they are situated in the correct zone as outlined in BS 7671 section 702.
Careful planning and communication are key to minimising disruption to services and to the successful delivery of the testing programme across Freedom Leisure’s multiple sites. Dynamic scheduling relies on accurate forecasting of the number of items to be tested which is achieved through site surveys.
Furthermore, flexibility of testing enables last-minute programme changes and the ability to test at times that suit the client’s business needs. Freedom Leisure has taken the option to have poolside areas tested ‘out of hours’ to ensure that they remain operational with no risk of injury. Powering down of electrical systems can also disrupt operations and the likelihood of this can be reduced by testing outside of business hours.
Early diagnosis and rectification of electrical faults can ensure that Freedom Leisure’s operations continue to run smoothly and safely. During testing any Code One faults that are identified are rectified or made safe by the engineer at the time of testing and any non-urgent faults automatically scheduled for a remedial repair. This streamlining of processes maximises efficiencies and improves performance whilst providing the confidence that electrical systems remain safe and compliant.