Blogs

A Persistent Safety Gap in Highway Lighting Across the highway lighting industry, one safety issue continues to cause concern: the inconsistent and sometimes unsafe slinging of lighting columns during lifting operations. Despite improvements in other areas of health and safety, column lifting remains a weak point. These inconsistencies increase the risk of serious accidents, near …

Raising the Bar on Slinging Techniques for Lighting Columns Read More »

Does the addition of a small flag or banner create a structural risk to the lighting column?

The Problem with Outdated Systems Imagine driving down a motorway at night, only to find vast stretches plunged into darkness. Beyond the inconvenience, these outages pose safety risks, escalate maintenance costs, and present compliance challenges for local authorities and contractors alike. In the past, the highway electrical sector relied heavily on paper-based inspections, disconnected systems, …

How APIs Are Revolutionising Highway Electrical Asset Management Read More »

Across the UK, structural safety of lighting columns is a matter of public trust, engineering integrity, and increasingly, legal and financial liability. Yet, while most local authorities appreciate the importance of inspecting their street lighting stock, many still rely on non-accredited providers or procurement processes that prioritise cost over competence. It’s time for a sector-wide …

Why National Accreditation Should Be the Minimum for Structural Inspection of Lighting Columns Read More »

A Case Study in Highway Electrical Operations Creating a robust safety culture is both an art and a science. For organisations in high-risk industries, the challenge lies in translating theoretical safety principles into practical, measurable improvements. This article chronicles our journey in the highway electrical sector from 2020 to 2024, showcasing how we progressed from …

The Evolution of Safety Culture Read More »

Competent Persons Schemes, HERS, and UKAS Accreditation: Ensuring Quality in Highway Electrical Contracting In the complex world of highway electrical contracting, ensuring both the competence of individuals and the robustness of assessment processes is paramount. Clients need confidence that their projects are in capable hands, and this is where schemes such as the NICEIC Approved …

Capable Hands. Prove it! Read More »

I was pretty sure about the distances required for vertical clearances between overhead lines and goalposts at a work site this week, but I thought I’d double-check with ChatGPT — you know, just to feel comfortable, like getting a reassuring hand on the shoulder. What I didn’t expect was to have my confidence undermined by …

The Risks of Relying on AI for Safety Advice: A Cautionary Tale About Overhead Line Clearances Read More »

For National Apprenticeship Week 2024, we want to spotlight the real value and success stories of apprenticeships. These aren’t just training courses; they’re stepping stones to brilliant careers. Our apprenticeship programs have led to some amazing career achievements and even caught the eye of national award panels. Our Apprentices’ Success Stories Our apprenticeship programs do …

Celebrating Success: Our Apprenticeships and Their Impact on Careers Read More »

At Electrical Testing Ltd (ETL), we’re proud to announce a major achievement. Our team of cable jointers has successfully completed an intensive year-long training programme under the EUSR Power Skills Programme. This is a major achievement, showing the hard work and dedication of our team. Every jointer has come out of this programme with improved …

Setting the Standard: Success in Delivering the EUSR Power Skills Programme Read More »

We are thrilled to announce that Electrical Testing Ltd (ETL) has been honoured with the Safety Initiative Award at the prestigious Highway Electrical Association (HEA) Awards 2023, which took place at the HEA Annual Conference Exhibition & Awards on 26 October 2023. Our submission, titled “The Future of Traffic Management Training: ETL’s Virtual Reality Initiative,” …

The Future of Training – Innovative Safety Initiative Read More »