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Presiding Member's Report
The Electrical Workers Registration Board has pleasure in
presenting its Seventh Annual Report.
During the 1999/2000 year the Board has consolidated the
initiatives and improvements of the last two years and has taken
significant steps toward resolution of a number of issues that
had been of widespread concern for some time. Those concerns have
been communicated from a number of industry sources and the Board
has been conscious that their resolution was proving more
protracted than industry would have liked.
The Board too has been concerned at the time taken, however
budgetary constraints and the need to prioritise certain
activities over others made some delays unavoidable.
In our 1998/99 report we reported ongoing progress toward the
objective of the Board becoming more independent of the Ministry.
The year had been one of steady migration toward that goal. This
year the establishment of the Electrical Workers Licensing Group
was another major step and in June, as the year came to a close,
the EWLG and the Board moved from the Ministry building to
stand-alone premises on Lambton Quay. This has resulted in a
significant saving in accommodation costs which in future can be
applied to furthering the Board’s objectives under its business
plan.
Complaints and Discipline
During the year the Board continued with its policy of holding
additional disciplinary meetings to eliminate the backlog of
cases that had built up over several years. The complaints
assessment system was streamlined, additional resources were
allocated by the Ministry and as the backlog cleared, additional
reports were released to be heard by the Board.
As a result the disciplinary process is now fully up to date
and the Board is hearing cases as soon as practicable after the
Complaints Assessment Committee report has been received.
The Board has recently come under public criticism over
aspects of the conduct of some Complaints Assessment Committee
hearings. Unfortunately this process does not lie under the
Board’s control or jurisdiction as the complaints assessment
process is independently administered by the Ministry at arms
length from the Board. While the criticisms related in the main
to cases that were heard several years ago, meetings have been
held between representatives of the Board, the CAC administration
and key members of the Committees to seek ways to improve the
process and reduce the risk of further complaints being raised.
However, these actions can only minimise future criticism, not
eliminate it completely as the hearing of a complaint is by its
very nature an unpleasant and stressful experience for the
electrical worker concerned.
The Board has continued to develop its disciplinary operation
manual in conjunction with standing orders and the increased
levels of fines imposed when workers are found guilty of serious
disciplinary offences have continued. Wherever possible however,
the Board seeks to impose conditions intended to encourage future
compliance rather than adopt a purely punitive approach.
Appropriate levels of costs continue to be ordered so that
industry is not obliged to bear the full costs of the
disciplinary process. Although the Board does not expect
respondents to necessarily be pleased with the outcome of their
hearing if found guilty of a disciplinary offence, no complaints
have been received about the conduct or fairness of the Board’s
hearings.
Electrical Worker Competency (Audit)
The Board’s risk management audit programme is now under full
implementation with all non-practising licence holders whose
occupational status is not known to the Board being individually
contacted by telephone to ascertain that status and determine
whether or not a practising licence should be obtained. Where
necessary those calls will be followed up by personal visits from
representatives of the Board to ensure that the worker becomes
compliant.
While audit attention is currently focused on electrical
workers who do not hold current practising licences, the next
phase will examine those who are not using certificates of
compliance or electrical safety certificates. These programmes
will address the complaints received from industry that
non-compliance was not being followed up. The present programme
is both efficient and cost effective, and it is no longer
possible for electrical workers to evade their obligations under
the Act.
Communications and Advertising
The Board's website has been expanded over the year and now
contains an extensive range of information for the assistance of
both electrical workers and the public. In particular a number of
application forms required for various purposes may now be
printed from the site as an added convenience and further
enhancements are planned for the future.
The Board has continued with an advertising strategy aimed at
educating the public about the need to only employ licensed
electrical workers, and encouraging them to ask for safety
certification to be provided at the end of the job. It is a
challenge to maintain a constant presence in the marketplace with
the limited budget available, however the existence of the Board
along with its primary role of promoting the electrical safety of
consumers through ensuring the initial and ongoing safety
competence of all electrical workers is steadily becoming more
widely known. This strategy works in close conjunction with the
risk-management based audit regime to lead unlicensed electrical
workers toward compliance through consumer pressure in the
marketplace.
Board Membership
The year saw a further change to the membership of the Board
with the resignation for personal reasons of Tony DellaBarca in
August 1999, when only part-way into his second three year term.
Unfortunately his position was not filled due to the impending
appointment of two new members and the Board completed the year
one member short. Tony made a valuable contribution to the Board
and our thanks are extended for his years of service.
Finally, the Board wishes to record its appreciation to the
staff members of the Energy Inspection Group of the Ministry for
the services provided to the Board through our Service Level
Agreement, and the services of the staff of the Electrical
Workers Licensing Group subsequent to establishment on 1 December
1999.
The Board also expresses its sincere appreciation for the
dedicated and professional services received from the Registrar,
Mr John Sickels and from the Board's secretary, Mrs Janine
Anderson.
John Churchill
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