Colourblind

[swidders]

Nah, harmonisation is to do with us bowing to brussels and bringing in a worse colour scheme.
Anyone know why all new fire extinguishers are now red?

Er don't you mean green

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Nah, harmonisation is to do with us bowing to brussels and bringing in a worse colour scheme.

Unless your mind is made up and you don't want to be confused by the facts, read the links from this page:

http://www.theiet.org/publishing/wiring-regulations/colour/

 

[stargazer]

...3 nice easy distinguishable colours vs brown, black and grey. Even I can struggled to tell the difference between some of the blacks and greys without having them next to each other, and I ain't colourblind.

I couldn't agree more.
I am red-green coloured blind (not a spark) and had no problems at all with the old 3 core colours. I recently wired up some 2 way lighting at home and had to get Mrs Stargazer to identify all the conductors on harmonised 3 core and earth cable.
I for one will not accept the argument that BS7671 is always about safety - sometimes this is sacrificed on the altar of European harmonisation.
To the OP, if you have the same colour vision as me you are going to need help using 3 core cable on domestic work, and I would forget about working on any sort of 3 phase installation.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I am red-green coloured blind

How much does that stop you distinguishing brown/black/grey?

 

[stargazer]

Those colours are a particular problem.
Red green colour blindness is a generic diagnosis.
It doesn't mean that the only colours one has trouble with are red and green.
I have difficulties in distinguishing between colours which look very similar (to me). For example I can have problems with
Blue / purple
Yellow / orange
Brown / red
Brown / grey
I can see very vibrant versions of a colour, which is why I had no problem with the old 3 core colours since they were so distinctively different.
I can easily spot the red, green and blue in the graphic below, but struggle to identify the magenta, cyan and yellow.

 

[bernardgreen]

It can help to have a credit card size colour chart to compare the image of the un-known cable colour with the images of labelled colours on the card.

And I consider the "harmonising" of colours was driven more by trade and commercial pressures than technical and safety related reasons. As were several "harmonisations" in the electronics industry

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I am red-green coloured blind

I can easily spot the red, green in the graphic below

I think I'm going to have to bow out at this stage...

And I consider the "harmonising" of colours was driven more by trade and commercial pressures than technical and safety related reasons.

1) There's nothing wrong with that - we all want cheaper goods and services.

2) Cheaper goods and services are safety-related - the easier it is for people to afford to replace dodgy old stuff they are more likely to do it.

3) If we want to encourage greater freedom and flexibility to travel and work there is a genuine safety aspect of harmonisation. IIRC East Germany, for example, used to use red for earth.

 

[bernardgreen]

IIRC East Germany, for example, used to use red for earth.

Pre-war Germany used red for earth on some equipment. There were other colours as the separate states of Germany had different rules. Post war both east and west Germany went to green for earth.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Pre-war Germany used red for earth on some equipment. There were other colours as the separate states of Germany had different rules.

OK. Given the different economic environments in E & W after the war the presence of red earth wires probably persisted in the East for some considerable time....

Post war both east and west Germany went to green for earth.

Don't you think that that was in any way a safety improvement?

 

[bernardgreen]

Did that make things safer?

I cannot answer that. Something I didn't look into when living out there.

I do know that when in 1950 a soldier bought home to the UK an "abandoned" German washing machine he had found a lack of common standards created a risk.

He wired it UK style to a UK plug and the resulting live metal work was bit of a fright.

 

[stargazer]

I am red-green coloured blind

I can easily spot the red, green in the graphic below

I think I'm going to have to bow out at this stage...

It's not like you to give up so easily
I know it sounds counter-intuitive but some things in life are not black and white, pun intended.
I am red-green colour blind but I can see vibrant versions of both colours.
Who was it who said that if you could inhabit somebody else's brain it would be like moving to a different planet…

 

[Pensdown]

The very fist part of my apprenticeship, before even being accepted onto the training scheme was a colour blindness test.

I don't know if this is still the case though,

Yes it is. All applicants still have to take a colour blindness test before they are accepted onto one of the training schemes.

However, I'm not sure what constitutes a fail because there must be various levels of colour blindness?

 

[swidders]

The very fist part of my apprenticeship, before even being accepted onto the training scheme was a colour blindness test.

I don't know if this is still the case though,

Yes it is. All applicants still have to take a colour blindness test before they are accepted onto one of the training schemes.

However, I'm not sure what constitutes a fail because there must be various levels of colour blindness?

May still be worth a shout on the off-chance, given that I only want to run cables and connect to 2 or 3 -core and earth supplies, all of which colours are easily distinguishable to me. Furthermore, selecting types of cable, and using prescribed runs, and continuity and earth-loss checks (or whatever they're called, I'm not trained!!) don't require the full spectrum of colours to be available.

Black and white, ink on paper, and the ability to read/research and follow reg requirements is of importance. I am disappointed that self-certification up to this level is not available, since it would lead to fewer people doing their own thing regardless, in an attempt to avoid paying professionals for what is basically a monkey's job!

I would imagine that for a large majority of people, some of whom colour deficient like myself, would be more than happy to spend a few hundred quid to be qualified and able to sign off simple installations. I know there is a can of worms here, (such as who decides the original system is safe), but you catch my drift.

 

[sblakey1]

Im red/green colour deficient! never stopped me working as a military electrician (although my trade was changed from aircraft which have a tentency to fall out of the sky (and are full of electronics and other silly components) to ships/submarines).. it did however stop me getting in the fire brigade ! im currently converting my quals to C&G stuff and no where along the line have i been asked colur stuff!!! not even for Public liability insurance or Indemnity



oh yeah im colour perception level 4 (according to military)(nhs just said i was red green deficent.)..... i failed the silly isharrah test and also failed the lantern test.... i did pass the connecting wires test though....

ironically i passed the other colour test used for the police ,its called the "city test"

 

[Adrian80]

i would have thought one of these would help.

http://szsuji.cn/cvc/en/color reader.htm

i am sure there are more compact ones.

It tells you the difference between two colours.

well if you had a card with the wiring colours on, and then you matched the wire to the colour on the card. you could safely determine what was what.

I bet institute of the blind would be able to help locate something like this but uk spec.

It may take you longer, and in real life you might never be quick enough to be a full time sparky. but as your a plumber i can see this being a problem.

I would have thought if you could prove a device like this really worked for you they would have to let you do it..

Anything else would be discrimination.

just a thought.