| Live services (electricity): electric shock or burns from live conductors while the consumer unit is changed and the installation is tested | Operatives by shock or burns, which can be fatal. Occupants and visitors if the board is left open or live. | Qualified electrician (18th Edition, NVQ Level 3, ECS card). Electrical isolation permit. Tested multifunction tester. | 3×5=15 | Eliminate the risk by isolating the whole installation at the main switch and proving it dead before touching any conductor (Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Regs 4, 12 and 14). Do all connections dead, and limit live work to the preliminary and final tests that cannot be done dead. Lock off with a personal padlock and danger tag, use GS38 probes and a proving unit, and use insulated tools. Prove-test-prove every time. Tell the occupier not to touch the board, and only the person who locked off removes the lock. Insulated gloves and safety glasses (BS EN 166) are the last line of defence. | Medium |
| Live services (electricity): incoming supply (meter tails, cut-out and supplier fuse) stays live when the main switch is off | Operatives by shock, arc or burn when disconnecting or reconnecting the tails. Occupants if the tails are exposed. | Qualified electrician. Electrical isolation permit. | 2×5=10 | Before starting, confirm where the supply is isolated and whether the main switch isolates the tails. If the tails must be disconnected live, stop and have the supplier or network operator isolate the supply. Do not break supplier seals without permission. Where the supply side cannot be made dead, do not proceed as planned. Shroud exposed terminals with insulated barriers, keep the area clear of others, and use insulated tools to Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. Insulated gloves and eye protection as backup. | Medium |
| Live services (electricity): fault, short circuit, arcing or fire when the new board is re-energised, including faults in the existing circuits | Operatives by arc flash and burns. Occupants by fire or shock after the operatives leave. | Qualified electrician. Multifunction tester. | 3×4=12 | Complete the dead tests (continuity, insulation resistance, polarity) and check all connections and covers before switching on. Switch circuits on one at a time after the main switch and be ready to switch off. Tell everyone in the flat before re-energising. Do the live tests (polarity, earth fault loop impedance, RCD operation) to BS 7671 and keep the results for the certificate and report. Keep a suitable fire extinguisher accessible. Safety glasses and non-melting clothing as backup. | Low |
| Occupied site: residents, visitors, children, pets and other trades or staff of Maple Property Management entering the work area or touching tools and open equipment | Occupants and visitors by electric shock, trips, cuts or contact with tools, cables and dust. Operatives from interruption and distraction. | Operatives sign in and introduce themselves to the occupier. | 3×4=12 | Agree the work area, working hours and power-off times with the occupier and Maple Property Management before the day. Screen or barrier the work area, put up warning signs and keep the board covered whenever the operative leaves it. Do not leave tools, cables, ladders or open boards unattended. Brief the occupier on the area to stay out of, and have one person act as point of contact. Keep the consumer unit isolated and locked off whenever it is open. Tidy as the work goes. | Medium |
| Occupied site: loss of power to the occupier's essential items (fridge, freezer, medical or mobility equipment, smoke and heat alarms, security, heating, broadband) while the board is dead | Occupants, especially vulnerable people and anyone on powered medical equipment, by loss of life-safety systems, spoiled food and no lighting. | Occupier told about the power cut. | 4×3=12 | Ask the occupier before the day whether anyone depends on powered equipment. If so, agree alternative arrangements or reschedule. Keep the power-off period as short as possible and agree a start and end time. Do the labelling and preparation before isolating, and test and restore circuits as soon as practicable. Check smoke alarms after re-energising. Tell the occupier which circuits are off and when each is back. Give the occupier a working torch or other lighting if the flat will be dark. | Medium |
| Working at height: falls from the step ladder when reaching the board or running cables at high level | Operatives by falls from a low height, leading to sprains, fractures or head injury. Occupants if the ladder is knocked over. | Step ladder supplied. Competent operatives. | 3×4=12 | Keep work at floor or waist level where possible, and avoid the ladder if the board can be reached from the floor (Work at Height Regulations 2005). Check the ladder before use, set it level on firm ground, fully open and locked, and keep three points of contact with no overreaching. Use the ladder only for short-duration light work. Keep others out of the area under and around the ladder. Safety footwear (BS EN ISO 20345) as backup. | Low |
| Manual handling: carrying tools, the new consumer unit, cables and waste into and out of the flat | Operatives by back, shoulder and hand injuries. | Competent operatives. | 3×2=6 | Plan the route to the flat and keep loads small, using more than one trip or a sack truck for bulky items (Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992). Split heavy loads and get help for anything awkward. Keep the working area uncluttered and avoid working in cramped or twisted positions for long. Gloves and safety footwear as backup. | Low |
| Slips, trips and poor lighting: trailing cables, tools, floor protection and dust, and a dark cupboard or hall when the supply is off | Operatives, the occupier and visitors by trips, falls and bruising. | Operatives keep tools tidy. | 3×2=6 | Keep cables, leads and the tool bag off walkways, and lay floor protection that does not slip or curl. Provide a head torch or battery work light before the supply goes off, so the work area is lit when the board is dead. Clear waste as the work goes, and keep the access route clear. Use safety footwear (BS EN ISO 20345) as backup. | Low |
| Live services (electricity, gas, water): striking hidden cables or pipes when drilling or fixing for the new board and cable entries, and disturbing gas or water pipework when checking bonding | Operatives by electric shock, gas leak, flooding or injury. Occupants by gas escape, fire, water damage and loss of supply. | Electrical isolation. Qualified electrician. | 3×5=15 | Use the existing fixings where practicable. Scan the area with a cable and pipe detector before drilling, and mark and avoid routes. Do not cut into or disturb gas or water pipework, only inspect and connect bonding to the accessible pipework at clamps. If gas is smelt, stop, open windows, leave the flat, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999, and do not operate switches. If a pipe is struck, shut off the water at the stopcock after locating it before work starts. Eye protection as backup. | Medium |
| Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust | Operatives doing the work and anyone nearby, including occupants, by breathing dust from drilling or fixing into masonry, brick, block, concrete, mortar or plaster. Long-term lung disease can follow repeated exposure. | Operatives are experienced in fixing consumer units. | 3×4=12 | Plan the work to reduce drilling and cutting by using existing fixings and cable entries where possible. Use on-tool extraction (M-class or H-class vacuum) or water suppression on every drill used on these materials. Keep others out of the area, and clean up with an H-class or M-class vacuum, never dry sweeping or compressed air. Wear RPE with an assigned protection factor of at least 20 (FFP3 disposable or equivalent), face-fit tested and worn clean shaven. Follow the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002 and HSE Construction Information Sheet CIS36 Construction dust. The workplace exposure limit for RCS is 0.1 mg/m3 (8-hour TWA) in HSE EH40/2005. | Medium |
| Disturbing unidentified asbestos-containing materials when drilling into, cutting or removing parts of the wall, backboard or surrounding fabric around the consumer unit (building age not stated) | Operatives and occupants by breathing fibres, with serious long-term lung disease. | Visual check of the area before work. | 2×5=10 | Check the client's asbestos register or management survey for the flat and the work area before work starts (Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, Regulation 5). If the register does not cover this area for intrusive work, a refurbishment survey of that area is needed first. Make this check the first step in the method and brief all operatives. Stop-work rule: if any suspect material is found, stop, keep people away, do not disturb it, and report it to Maple Property Management before work carries on. Do not use any RPE or PPE as a way to carry on working with suspect material. | Medium |
| Sharp edges, cuts and tool injuries from the metal enclosure, cable stripping, knockouts and hand tools | Operatives by cuts, abrasions and eye injuries. | Tools in good condition. | 3×2=6 | Deburr or file sharp edges and knockouts before fitting, and use correct, undamaged insulated hand tools (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998). Cut cable and strip insulation away from the body and keep the work area tidy. Cut-resistant gloves (BS EN 388) and safety glasses (BS EN 166) as backup. | Low |
| Dangerous or potentially dangerous defects found during the condition report (such as damaged cables, overheated connections, missing earthing or bonding) | Occupants and operatives by fire or electric shock after the work. | Competent person completes inspection and testing. | 3×4=12 | Record every observation with the correct classification code. If an immediate danger is found, tell the occupier and Maple Property Management straight away and make safe or isolate that circuit before leaving. Do not re-energise a circuit with a dangerous defect. Give the written report to Maple Property Management with the recommended actions and timescales. Tell the occupier what has been isolated and why. | Low |