Emergency Temporary repairs what are the limits?

[ericmark]

From another post where it would seem it was not intended as a temporary repair I see there is a wide difference of opinion as what is acceptable.

We all know in theory there is no difference between temporary and permanent but in real life we will come across time constrains which mean we can’t do the job correctly and either we turn off the power or we use some unapproved quick method to make the job reasonable safe until we can return.

I have in my younger days done some really bad work including connecting earth cables to gas and electric meters which did not join together quickly before inspector arrived clearly extremely bad. My boss knew I had done, it was fact his suggestion, and we were to return and do it correct, but he was bought out days latter.

Missing screws where extra long 3.5mm socket screws required, where wall which was due to be plastered was boarded I had 20 screws and 30 sockets, so 20 had single screw. With these jobs we always intend to return, but although B&Q was 200 yards down the road, I had to travel 25 miles to get spares, and if supplier was out of stock had to just place on back order.

I believe many temporary jobs were not corrected so I do not like doing any temporary jobs now, and will try to never do them. But because I did it with my bosses blessing they could have all been corrected.

In the Falklands we run out of cable joints so used Denso tape making careful notes where used so we could return latter. Clearly one was missed and some three years latter my and my boss were looking at the power from the generator and the power being used and were trying to work out what was using power as two figures did not match. We were lucky light snow that night highlighted where the problem lay and we were able to dig up the Denso tape job and replace with proper joint. Down some 6 foot unlikely it was a danger but does point out problems with temporary fixes.

So we know it breaks the rules which is in its self a problem as we hid the temporary repairs and do not document them as we don’t want to be dragged over the coals for doing them. All it takes is a boss sending one to a different job next day and it’s not corrected.

So faced with either finding hotel accommodation for home occupants, or doing a temporary non compliant repair, how far should one leave the straight and narrow to avoid the hotel bill and disruption?

 

[JohnW2]

From another post where it would seem it was not intended as a temporary repair I see there is a wide difference of opinion as what is acceptable. ... So faced with either finding hotel accommodation for home occupants, or doing a temporary non compliant repair, how far should one leave the straight and narrow to avoid the hotel bill and disruption?

Some may be, or feel, constrained by their employers or others (e.g. scheme operators) but, for those in a position to make the decision themselves, it's surely just down to plain common sense, backed by expert knowledge, isn't it?

In the other thread you're mentioning, despite multiple non-compliances with regs, there were no immediate dangers resulting from the work, so I don't think many people would have a problem with that as a genuinely temporary measure. In fact, that case probably isn't a very good example since, even as a permanent situation, the risk associated with the non-compliances is probably extremely small - and, indeed, something one might find in the permanent installations of many a UK house!

As you imply, the most crucial thing is that one must be certain that a temporary fix is temporary. If the subsequent permanent job is overlooked, or otherwise doesn't happen, then one simply has unacceptable non-compliant work.

Most trades and professions involve practices 'which are not talked about', but which happen on the basis of expert/professional judgement and common sense, and I suspect this is an example of that!

Kind Regards, John

 

[westie101]

Temporary fixes are a fact of life to us, with limited times to restore supplies the use of temporary joint configuations and denso are common place.

The trick is to properly manage these to make a permanent repair ASAP, no diverting to other jobs, no "it'll be alright for another day".
As an example, our practice requires us visit any densoed joint every 24 hours to check it's integrity and if damp conditions prevail break it down & remake it.

 

[JohnW2]

Temporary fixes are a fact of life to us, ... The trick is to properly manage these to make a permanent repair ASAP, no diverting to other jobs, no "it'll be alright for another day".

Indeed. As both eric and I have said, that is the most crucial thing - failure to adhere to which (seemingly not in your walk of life) only too often is the string in the tail of 'temporary' fixes.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Adam_151]

The problem these days can be that when faced with a job ticket a maintenance contractor is allowed to go up-to a certain invoice value, over this it won't be paid, So the contractor is expected to make safe and gather information to enable his office to prepare a quatotion for the works required. However once made safe and quote sent he often hears nothing more.

For quotes which are actioned undoubtly the final cost is greater than if the contractor has just been left to do the job first time.