NECA has developed an app that provides its members with current, wide-ranging information at the touch of a button – and better yet, it’s free. Kate Jordan has the story.

Currently, the Australian Standards are expensive, cumbersome and heavy, and can also become outdated. Furthermore, the standards are just one part of the mass of information that electricians need to be able to access, such as Service and Installation Rules, the National Construction Code and forms from energy distributors. Even in this age of information, it has been difficult for electricians to find the information they need – until now.

NECA has just released the Technical Knowledge Base (TKB) app that solves the above problems. It’s essentially an online database that’s accessible from smart phones, tablets and desktop computers. TKB will provide NECA members with access to up-to-date standards (see full list in the pull-out box) and information relevant to their state as part of their membership fees.

The TKB originated in Western Australia when the state’s NECA branch set up a searchable database on its website. With good feedback from members there, NECA decided to expand the initiative.

Rod Lovett, senior member services officer for NECA Victoria, is fervent in his praise of the app.

“The biggest advantage of it, from a contractor’s perspective, is that the information is always current. It’s every standard that most contractors use and if there are any amendments, it updates automatically,” he says.

“The other big advantage is that it’s fully searchable. If I put in ’emergency and exit lighting’, it will come up with all the relevant standards and regulations that apply to that.”

The app is designed so that each state can upload the information that is most relevant to its members.

“Some of the information will be common, but we will run information that is specific to Victoria. For example, Western Australia only has one distributor. Here in Victoria, we have five,” Rod explains.

For example, the Victorian members will have access to:

–           Victorian Service and Installation Rules

–           Electricity Safety (Installations) Regulations 2009 v5

–           Energy Safe Victoria Alerts and FAQ

–           Relevant sections of the National Construction Code

–           Electrical Product Recalls

The sheer mass of information that will be available could be overwhelming, but the app is designed to be easily navigated and is fully searchable.

With the TKB app, NECA will also have the ability to anonymously track which queries are most common and then provide targeted education on those matters. Rod gives an example:

“There’s a requirement now as part of the standard testing in Victoria to do fault loop. We know that a lot of contractors and electricians don’t fully understand it. So, if we found that we were starting to get lots of people searching for ‘fault loop’, we could then run some free information sessions on how to calculate fault work.”

Access to TKB is simply through the NECA Vic website www.neca.asn.au/vic. TKB will form an integral part of the technical support services that NECA currently offers and is fully supported through their Technical Services Department.