EICR checklist for industrial premises: what to prepare, what to expect

An Electrical Installation Condition Report — an EICR — is the periodic inspection every fixed electrical installation in the UK is expected to have. On an industrial premises, it's not paperwork for its own sake: it's the document that tells you whether the electrical infrastructure you rely on every day is still safe, still compliant with BS 7671, and still likely to keep your production line, freezers, motor control centres and life-safety systems working.

The problem is that EICRs are usually scheduled to a date, then quietly forgotten about until the electrician turns up. That's when avoidable disruption happens — panels can't be opened, drawings can't be found, and half the surveys have to be booked again. This guide walks through what a good industrial EICR actually covers and how to prepare so the inspector can get through the work efficiently.

What an EICR really covers

Under BS 7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations, currently in the 18th Edition with amendments), the fixed electrical installation is defined as everything from the point where the DNO's supply enters the premises through to the final circuits — distribution boards, sub-mains, wiring, accessories, motor control centres and connected equipment forming part of the installation. An EICR is a documented condition report on that fixed installation.

Typically it comprises:

• Visual inspection of accessible switchgear, panels, containment and terminations
• Dead testing — continuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance where accessible
• Live testing — earth fault loop impedance (Ze / Zs), prospective fault current, RCD/RCBO trip characteristics
• Verification of protective device selection, ratings and discrimination
• A written schedule of circuits and observations against a defined coding system

On industrial premises the inspector will also want to see any special installations — three-phase distribution, hazardous area equipment, UPS backfeeds, generator connections, external supplies to plant, EV chargers if fitted and standby lighting.

Preparing the site — a checklist

The single biggest cause of an EICR overrunning is access. Every hour the inspector spends looking for a key, chasing an isolator or waiting for someone to sign a permit is an hour of downtime you pay for. The checklist below is the one we hand to clients on booking.

• Drawings. Locate the most recent single-line diagram and distribution schedule. If none exist, expect the inspector to spend time mapping the installation manually.
• Access. Confirm keys, permits and escorts for switch rooms, plant rooms, roof plant, sub-station enclosures and any hazardous or restricted areas.
• Sampling agreement. Under BS 7671 an EICR can be based on sampling, but the sample size and rationale must be agreed and documented. Agree this in writing before the visit.
• Isolations. List anything that must NOT be dead-tested during the visit — process controllers, batching systems, freezers, uninterruptible loads. Agree how these will be handled or deferred.
• Previous reports. Provide the last EICR and any Minor Works or Electrical Installation Certificates issued since, plus records of remedial work.
• PAT scope. Clarify that portable appliance testing is separate from an EICR. If you want it done at the same visit, book it in advance.

Understanding the observation codes

Every observation the inspector records is coded so the overall result — satisfactory or unsatisfactory — is unambiguous:

• C1 — Danger present. Immediate remedial action required. Anything from exposed live parts to broken bonding on a large process installation will land here. Any C1 makes the report unsatisfactory.
• C2 — Potentially dangerous. Urgent remedial action required. A missing earth on a downstream circuit, an RCD that won't trip within its stated time, damaged insulation — issues that could reasonably become a hazard. C2 also fails the report.
• C3 — Improvement recommended. The installation is still safe but not to the current edition of BS 7671; for example, older colour coding or lack of RCD protection where a new install would require it.
• FI — Further Investigation required. The inspector couldn't determine whether the item is safe or not — commonly because of restricted access, unusual configuration or a suspected latent fault. FI also fails the report.

After the report — what to do with it

The report is not the end of the process. A duty holder is expected to act on the findings within a reasonable period — measured in days for C1 items and weeks or a few months for C2 items — and to record what was done. Treat the EICR as the start of a remedials plan:

1. Triage the observations by code and by production impact.
2. Ask the contractor to quote remedials with recommended windows.
3. Schedule works during planned downtime where possible.
4. Retain the follow-up Minor Works Certificates or Electrical Installation Certificates issued for each remedial — these evidence that the original observations have been closed out.
5. Add the next inspection due date to your maintenance calendar and include reactive interim checks under your PPM programme.

Keeping EICRs painless year on year

The premises that get through EICRs most easily are the ones where the electrical infrastructure is maintained the rest of the time. Consistent labelling of distribution boards and circuits, up-to-date schedules, sensible IP-rated enclosures in wet areas, and a thermographic survey between EICRs to catch loose terminations early — all of these turn the periodic inspection from an anxious event into a formality.

A short list of habits that materially reduce the number of C1, C2 and FI observations from one inspection to the next:

• Update the single-line diagram every time a distribution board is modified — not once a year in a rush. A drawing that reflects the installation as it actually stands makes every future inspection, repair and modification quicker and safer.
• Standardise on a single wire-numbering and label convention across the site. When ten different electricians have worked on ten different panels over five years, the inspector has to translate at every stop; standardisation removes half of that time.
• Isolate and label anything that is out of service. An unused motor circuit still connected to the busbar is a fault waiting to happen and an observation waiting to be written.
• Keep RCD test buttons accessible and use them monthly — recording the result. RCDs that have never been tested manually and then fail their trip characteristic at inspection are one of the most common C2 findings.

If it's been three years or more since your last EICR, or if you cannot lay your hands on the report, get one booked. Your insurer, your auditor and — most importantly — the people who work on your equipment will thank you.