It Was Tested on the Day. Proving It Later Is the Problem.
- WorkMobileForms.com
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Have you ever sat an exam, passed it, and not thought about it again? At the time, the result was enough.
You knew you’d done what was required and you carried on.
Later, when someone asks what was tested or how you passed, you realise all you really have is the fact that you did.
Passing the test was enough at the time, but it doesn’t always explain itself later.
Electrical testing often works in much the same way.
On the day, tests are carried out properly. Readings are taken, results fall within limits, and there is no reason to hesitate. From the installer’s point of view, the work has passed and the system can be energised or handed over. Nothing feels unresolved while the work is fresh and the equipment is still in front of you.
The difficulty appears later, when those test results are reviewed again.
Electrical installation covers a wide range of work, from traditional wiring and commercial fit-outs to solar PV, EV charging, upgrades, and retrofit projects. Across all of it, testing is routine and expected. Continuity, insulation resistance, RCD performance, commissioning checks are not edge cases. They are part of everyday work.
At the time the tests are carried out, the results make sense. The installer knows what was isolated, what load was present, and what site conditions applied. The numbers are meaningful because they are seen in context. Later, those same results are just numbers on a page.
This usually becomes visible during a later review. An EICR is carried out, a landlord or client asks for confirmation, or an insurer or consultant looks through the records. Someone who wasn’t present on the day tries to understand whether the testing supports what was installed.
The work itself isn’t being questioned. What’s missing is the context that made the results meaningful at the time. Why was that reading acceptable under those conditions? What else was isolated during testing? What assumptions were in play on site?
The answers existed on the day. They don’t always survive in the record.
When test results are reviewed without that context, uncertainty creeps in. Clarifications are requested and comparisons are made against different assumptions. In some cases, additional testing is suggested simply to remove doubt, not because anything was wrong.
For business owners and supervisors, this is where testing stops being a formality and starts becoming a source of friction. Time is spent defending results that were clear on the day but don’t fully explain themselves later.
Use case: test results reviewed after the installation
A common situation is an installation that passed testing without issue. The work is completed, the required tests are carried out, and the results are recorded. Everything falls within acceptable limits and the system is commissioned. There is no reason to pause or question the outcome.
Months later, the installation is reviewed as part of a wider inspection or compliance check. The test results are there, but the reviewer wasn’t present when they were taken. A reading is queried, a result is compared against a different set of assumptions, or someone asks what was isolated at the time or what site conditions applied.
The installer remembers exactly what was done. The record doesn’t. Time is spent explaining results that were never in doubt when they were taken.
On teams using WorkMobileForms, this tends to look different. Test results are captured alongside notes, photos, and job context while the work is being carried out. The conditions under which the tests were taken are recorded, not just the numbers themselves.
When the results are reviewed later, they can be understood in the context they were taken, without needing to reconstruct the moment.
Electrical testing often has to stand up long after the test leads have been packed away. The results may be correct, but they only truly count when they still make sense to someone who wasn’t there.
About WorkMobileForms
WorkMobileForms is a mobile data capture platform used by field teams to record installation work, inspections, photos, test results, and sign-off as the work is carried out.Information is available to office teams instantly, without waiting for paperwork, re-keying, or end-of-day updates.
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