ACI - Approved Cable Initiative

logo_ACI If there is a positive lesson to be learnt from the recent food standards crisis then it’s the importance of knowing your supply chain. As Tesco undertakes to sell more meat from “closer to home” and others similarly look to reassure customers, Peter Smeeth of the Approved Cables Initiative examines whether this is a pledge that the cable supply industry should be considering to deliver a better and safer product to the market.

As the UK’s supermarkets face a significant drop in sales of processed foods and ready meals, 43% of the 1,000 people surveyed said they were more likely to buy food traceable from UK farms in the wake of the horsemeat scandal, demonstrating a strong demand for British-farmed products.

Q&A with The Approved Cables Initiative

The Approved Cables Initiative (ACI) was established to raise the profile of non-certified, substandard and unsafe cables. In just over three years the organisation has recognised profile within key Government circles as well as within industry and a clear aim to take its message to the wider construction industry. Here Peter Smeeth of the ACI answers some key questions.
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Multi-million metres of defective cable exposed

An Approved Cables Initiative (ACI) investigation has led to more than 11 million metres of cable manufactured by Turkish company, Atlas Kablo, being recalled from the UK market, following the suspension of two of its product certification licences.
The suspension by BASEC (British Approvals Service for Cables) on 17th May of Atlas Kablo’s product certification licence has been followed this week by the announcement that Atlas Kablo’s HAR scheme certification licence for H05VV-F flexible cables from the Turkish Standards Institution, TSE, has also been suspended. TSE is still to advise about the quantities of cabling involved in the latest suspension.
Reports of faulty cabling from concerned contractors earlier this year led the ACI to test samples of product from the Turkish cable manufacturer. The samples were found to have insufficient copper leading to high conductor resistance and did not comply with appropriate British Standards. Independent testing by BASEC later confirmed the ACI’s findings and led to the suspension of Atlas Kablo’s BASEC licence for a serious decline in quality across its range of products.

BBC_ONE Television presenter Dom Littlewood is to raise the stakes in the ACI’s battle to beat defective cable when the extent of the problem is to be highlighted to viewers of BBC One’s Fake Britain programme on Thursday 26th May at 09.15.
Producers for the programme were keen to bring the issue of defective cables to the attention of the public in its new series.
The Fake Britain programme included footage filmed last year as part of the BBC’s investigation and highlights one of the key problems associated with defective cables - the reduction of copper in cables and the dangerous results such practices can present.
As part of the feature viewers were able to see testing of fire performance cable, which is used in essential fire alarm wiring in schools, hospitals and other public buildings, and how cables with reduced copper levels fail current British Standards. During the feature investigators are also taken to a storage warehouse to show how much defective cable has already been seized as part of the ACI’s (Approved Cable Initiative) investigations.

The ACI (Approved Cables Initiative)

The ACI (Approved Cables Initiative) recently formed, led by the BCA (British Cables Association) is an initiative involving the whole cable systems supply chain from end to end – from manufacturer through installer to end user.
To ensure that the cables systems and products purchased and installed throughout the UK are safe, fit for purpose and fully compliant with the requisite specifications, standards and approvals.

APPROVED CABLES INITIATIVE REVEALED TO ELECTRICAL SUPPLY INDUSTRY - "Rogue, dangerous cable to be eradicated in collaborative pledge to cable a safer Britain".

Today, the Approved Cables Initiative (ACI) launched its proactive and co-ordinated plan to investigate and address the issue of unsafe, non-approved and counterfeit cables in the UK marketplace. With an audience of electrical industry professionals, trade organisations, legislators, media and members of parliament, this new industry-wide initiative has the objective to communicate, educate and raise awareness of this serious issue.

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