How would you like it if, the next time you have to issue a Certificate of Compliance (CoC), all the repetitive data such as your registration and identification numbers, address and contact details are filled in for you beforehand?
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you only had to fill in site-related information, confident that all the rest is correct? What about completing a CoC in under five minutes while providing the recipient with a clearly legible document? Your dream just might have come true!
The ECA(SA) is proud to announce the arrival of the “E-CoC”, available exclusively to our members.
Due to increasing demand as well as the need to save our members time and to make their lives easier, the management of the ECA has decided to create this awesome time-saving tool.
The introduction of this initiative heralds the end of laborious and repetitive filling-in of the same information, the uncertainty of where the information should go and searching for numbers and information, all this for you!
The only information required to be entered on the new E-CoC is information which varies between CoCs: the site information and technical items only.
All you need to start using this new tool is valid ECA membership and an internet connection. From there, it is simple: contact your local ECA office and request to purchase E-CoCs. The office will need to confirm that all your information contained in the ECA database is current and that your contractors’ registration with the Department of Labour is valid.
Next, you have to purchase the documents by means of exactly the same procedure as purchasing conventional CoCs, the only difference being that, instead of receiving a wad of papers, you are simply issued with a username and password. Initially, you may need to refer to the accompanying free instruction guide.
These new electronic CoCs are priced even better than the conventional ones, at R90 for 60 CoCs. With this username and password, you simply log on to the website provided in the guide, and then follow instructions.
After logging in, you need to insert the address of the installation to log a new CoC to the property. Following that, the CoC becomes available, and you can start completing it as follows:
Page one, Annexure 1 comes virtually fully-completed. The only things to do on this page is to:
Select whether it is an initial or supplementary certificate. If supplementary, insert the supplement number, initial certificate number, and the date of the initial certificate.
Select whether this is a new or existing installation, or a combination.
If you wish, add more address/location information.
Save the page.
Page 4 also comes nearly fully-completed. Do the following:
If applicable, insert comments into the spaces allowed at the top of the page.
Under 5.4, select whether this test report was issued in terms of compliance to a fully compliant recent installation, or to an older one in terms of compliance to the general safety principles and reasonable safety.
All your registration information is already filled in, and all unused fields under sub-sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.5 remain crossed out unless there is information required, which you can insert.
Save, and move on.
Pages 2 and 3 are the ones that differ from site to site, and here tick the relevant boxes and insert values determined by inspections and tests.
Once you have completed all the pages, you can print the CoC, sign and date it and issue it to your client. Unfortunately, the legal standing of online signatures is still under debate.
At any time during the process, you can save the work you have done to date, and simply log on again later to continue. Though not optimised for tablets and smartphones yet, it is possible to complete the CoC on these, but it is cumbersome. It will become fully handheld-friendly in the near future.
Future developments will include the checking of information to ensure that only valid information is inserted, assistance with calculations and the uploading of any attachments for saving with the CoC.
Any future amendments to the test report or Annexure 1 will be updated automatically to your unused CoCs at no additional cost, so you will always be working on the current legal version. Completed and saved CoCs will be stored securely, and can be retrieved as and when required.
As a bonus to our members, the ECA will make five CoCs available to members to explore them. You simply need to request these from your local office and, as long as you are a member in good standing, the CoCs are yours.
Without the dedication and many extra hours committed to this project by our IT manager, Steville Hatting, none of this would be possible, so we wish to thank him publicly for his valued contribution.
Article by Cecil Lancaster, ECA regional director, Bosveld.
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