Record of Inspection (ROI) for electricians in Auckland

ROI, COC and ESC: how do they fit together?

High-risk work ends with three documents from two people. On an eCertify job, you issue the COC and the ESC, and eCertify issues the ROI.

• Certificate of compliance (COC). From the electrician who did the work. Regulation 65(1) requires one for all general and high-risk work, and regulation 66(1) has the manufacturer's instructions and supplier declarations of conformity you used attached to it.
• Record of Inspection (ROI). From the independent inspector, with your COC attached (regulation 72(3)).
• Electrical safety certificate (ESC). From the person who completed the work, once satisfied the installation is safe to use (regulation 74A(1)), and as soon as practicable after connection (regulation 74C).

Regulation 65(4) ties them together: high-risk work is not complete until the COC and the ROI are both issued. Insurers and councils often call the whole family "energy works certificates". That is the everyday umbrella name, not a legal one, and eCertify's guide to electrical certificates sets them side by side.

What to have ready before the inspector arrives

eCertify asks for the items below on site before the inspector arrives. A missing item that forces a second visit is charged as a re-inspection.

Mains work:

• The main earthing conductor tagged or identified at the switchboard end.
• The main earth labelled at the electrode, with the warning AS/NZS 3000 clause 5.5.1.3 requires.
• The main earth clamped firmly to the electrode, not loose. AS/NZS 3000 clause 5.5.1.2 requires a connection that conducts properly and is protected against corrosion, so check an existing earth for corrosion if you are keeping it with new mains.
• The electrode location written legibly at the switchboard, as AS/NZS 3000 clause 5.3.6.4 requires, and the electrode connection accessible for inspection and testing.
• Main earthing conductor resistance tested. AS/NZS 3000 clause 5.5.1.4 caps it at 0.5 ohm.
• Mains polarity tested against an independent earth, and earth fault-loop impedance tested. AS/NZS 3000 clause 8.3.3.1 makes both mandatory tests.
• The MEN link fitted in the main switchboard. Under the MEN system, AS/NZS 3000 clause 5.1.3 has the supply neutral earthed at every installation.
• Pole fillers in every empty space on the switchboard. AS/NZS 3000 clause 1.5.4.4 requires live parts to sit inside an enclosure or behind a barrier.
• Any meterboard switch fully enclosed.
• Your COC on site, and your ESC if you have issued it.
• Access arranged, including any locked board space.

Solar PV and parallel generation:

• Your inspection and test results. AS/NZS 5033 clause 4.7.1 requires a PV array to be inspected and tested before it goes into service, and clause 4.7.3.1 adds the AS/NZS 3000 mandatory tests.
• Your COC, with the inverter and battery manufacturer's instructions and supplier declarations of conformity attached or referenced (regulation 66(1) and 66(3)).
• Access to the full DC cable run, so eCertify can sight all of it and confirm the run is correct and compliant.
• The system documentation on site. AS/NZS 5033 clause 6.1 requires it at completion, and clause 6.2 sets out what the system manual holds: system and component ratings and the commissioning date, the equipment list with models and serial numbers, the shutdown and isolation procedure, a connection diagram with the array's ratings, where the disconnection devices are and how the cables run, the commissioning records and installation checklist, and the manufacturers' documentation for the equipment. eCertify expects a full dossier on every solar job, and more is better than less.

eCertify sends the full pre-inspection checklist when you book.

What electricians most often forget, in eCertify's experience, are small things: the electrode location sticker on the switchboard, pole fillers in the board, and a loose clamp on the main earth. Now and then the MEN link is missing altogether. Jordan Statham, eCertify's director, puts that at "maybe 10% of cases". The switchboard sticker is a quick fix, and eCertify has the electrician put it right while it is on site.

eCertify tests mains polarity against an independent earth on every job, and one mains job shows why. The overhead service cables had not been sleeved or identified (AS/NZS 3000 clause 3.8.1 requires every conductor to be clearly identified), and they had been terminated into the new point of entry crossed: phase in the neutral terminal, neutral in the phase terminal. The network had already livened the service at the street, but the main switch had not been turned on. eCertify's polarity test found the crossed mains, the pole fuse was pulled, and the conductors were swapped at the point of entry, where the service line was colour-coded, before the installation was put back into service.

Polarity testing matters because a crossed connection can kill. In 2010 an Auckland homeowner died after the phase and neutral were swapped at his new mains connection, which made the earthed metalwork in the house live. The Electrical Workers Registration Board found that the electrician did no testing, and that the inspector did not carry out the tests that would have caught the swap. That is why eCertify never skips the polarity test.

How fast do I get the ROI, and does eCertify lodge it on the High Risk Database?

eCertify puts the ROI in your hands within 48 hours of the inspection, and eCertify lodges the job on Energy Safety's High Risk Database for you. Regulation 74F(1) makes lodging the inspector's job, not the electrician's.

eCertify keeps a copy of every ROI for at least seven years, as regulation 72A(1)(b) requires, so if a customer asks you for it in year five, eCertify can produce it.

In a hurry? If a livening or a customer is waiting on you, say so when you book. eCertify can often fit in an urgent inspection, depending on the day's bookings.

The regulations set their own outer limits as well. An inspector has 20 working days after issuing an ROI to give a copy to the person who contracted for the work (regulation 72A(1)(a)), and 20 working days after its date to lodge it (regulation 74F(1)). Those are legal limits, not eCertify's service standard.

Frequently asked questions

What does ROI stand for in electrical work?

In New Zealand electrical work, ROI stands for Record of Inspection: the written record an inspector prepares after inspecting high-risk prescribed electrical work, as regulation 72 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 requires. eCertify issues ROIs for mains work and solar PV across Auckland.

Who is not allowed to inspect my work?

Regulation 71(2) of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 bars anyone who carried out the work, supervised someone carrying it out, or issued its COC. That rules out you, anyone who worked on the job with you, and whoever supervised you on it. eCertify checks all three roles before accepting a booking, and an eCertify inspector who held any of them declines the job.

What happens if the work does not pass?

eCertify gives you a written list of what needs fixing, each item tied to the regulation or standard it does not meet. A finding eCertify cannot cite is not a finding. What eCertify finds is mostly small: on mains work, a loose earth clamp, a missing electrode location sticker or a missing MEN link; on solar PV, the wrong conduit, missing or mixed-up labels, or DC cable left exposed or lying on the roof. Where it can, eCertify has the electrician put these right on site before it passes the job. Fix the items and eCertify re-inspects, for a re-inspection charge. If the work presents an immediate danger, regulation 19 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 requires the inspector to tell the owner or occupier and WorkSafe. eCertify isolates the affected part with the owner's permission first, then reports.

Does eCertify do meter work?

No. eCertify is not a metering equipment provider (MEP) and does not install, relocate, re-seal or inspect energy meters. Metering work goes through the property's energy retailer or its metering equipment provider, and is inspected by a network warranted electrical inspector. Tell eCertify if metering is in scope and the office will point you to one in your area.

In short

eCertify inspects mains work and parallel generation, including solar PV and battery or generator systems, for electricians across Auckland, and issues the Record of Inspection that regulation 65(4) says high-risk work needs before it is complete. eCertify's fixed prices are NZ$349.90 including GST for mains work and NZ$449.90 including GST for solar PV up to 10 kW, and larger solar and battery or generator systems are quoted. eCertify puts the ROI in your hands within 48 hours of the inspection and lodges the job on the High Risk Database. The inspector is independent of your work, as regulation 71(2) requires, and eCertify is not a metering equipment provider.