Who checks electrical distribution boards in Garowe?

Weak supervision of distribution boards in Garowe rarely shows up as a smoking board. It shows up as a board with no circuit schedule, no test record and no one able to say which breaker feeds which room. The fix is one named person checking the board against the drawing, the schedule and the test results before the supply is switched on.

What does weak distribution board supervision actually miss?

It misses the checks that only happen when someone stands at the board with the drawing open. A board can be wired, glanded and closed in a day, and every one of those steps can be done in a way that looks finished. Watch for circuits landed on the wrong breaker, neutrals shared across circuits that should be separate, and labels written from memory rather than from the schedule. Ask the site supervisor for the board schedule, the cable sizes and the protective device ratings, and compare them with the single line diagram. If the diagram is missing, that is the first finding. Confirm the required enclosure rating against the project's specification and the actual site conditions, and ask the electrician to show the gland plate, the enclosure rating and the cover fixings. None of this needs a laboratory. It needs one person who was not part of the installation to walk the board and write down what does not match.

Why do unsafe circuits survive to handover?

They survive because the energising step is treated as the end of the job, not as a test. When the board is live, rooms have power, and the client is happy. The circuits that carry a fault are the ones nobody uses yet: the spare way, the water heater point, the external socket, the submain to a future extension. Ask for the insulation resistance test, the polarity check and the earth continuity result for each circuit, with the board reference and the date. If the contractor ran the tests, the records exist. If the records do not exist, ask how the board was proved safe before energising, and ask the electrician to repeat the tests in the presence of the supervisor. Confirm the test method and the acceptance values with the project engineer and the electricity provider before you accept the record.

How do you close the supervision gap on the next board?

Close it by putting the checks into the programme, not into a conversation. Name the person who signs the board off, and name the person who checks that signature. Before energising, require the circuit schedule fixed inside the door, a labelled way for every breaker, gland plates fitted, and test records handed over with the board reference. Photograph the board before the cover goes on, with the schedule visible. After energising, ask for a load check on each circuit and a walk of every room fed from that board, with the socket tester and the label list in hand. Keep a snag list at the board and sign off items one by one. Ask two suppliers what enclosure rating they stock for outdoor positions. The contract should say who pays for retesting after a failed check. Read what your contract allows before you agree.

What to do next

Pick one board on the current job, open the door and ask the site supervisor to show the circuit schedule, the test record and the name of the person who signed it off. Write down every circuit that does not match the drawing or the label. Set a date to repeat the tests with the electrician present, and hold the energising of any other board until that one passes.