The Installation Was Finished. Finding the Certificate Is the Problem.
- WorkMobileForms.com
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Have you ever been to a show where everything went fine? You got in, found your seat, and didn’t think about it again.
At the time, there was nothing to dwell on and no reason to go back over it.
It only becomes awkward later, when someone asks which tickets you had or where you were sitting, and you realise you now need to go back and find them.
Electrical installation work often ends in a similar way. The system is in place, power is live, testing or commissioning has been completed, and from the installer’s point of view the job is finished and ready to be left behind. Nothing feels unresolved while everyone is still on site and the work is fresh.
The difficulty starts later, when the certificate is needed.
Electrical installation covers a wide range of work. Traditional wiring, commercial fit-outs, solar PV, EV charging, upgrades, and retrofit projects all rely on formal documentation at the end of the job. Certificates, test results, commissioning records, and sign-off are part of the installation itself, not an optional extra. That is well understood by anyone doing the work.
On the day, priorities are practical. Access is available, testing is completed, readings are taken, and the system is handed over. Notes are made with the intention of being written up properly later, once the next job is out of the way. For a while, that approach works.
The problem is that by the time the documentation is requested, the context that made it easy to complete has already gone. Another job has taken its place, devices have been put away, and details that were obvious on site now have to be recalled rather than confirmed.
Records from installation work tend to end up spread across different places. Some sit in PDFs, others are scanned or photographed, and test results, photos, and notes are saved separately. Over time, jobs overlap and the thread that tied everything together loosens. Nothing is missing in a dramatic sense, but the information is no longer together in a way that stands on its own.
When documentation is requested later, answering what should be a simple question turns into a search.
That search rarely causes immediate disruption. It shows up when a client asks for handover information, a landlord requests compliance evidence, or a system is reviewed as part of a wider inspection. At that point, the question is not whether the work was done, but whether the record can support it without explanation.
Time is spent checking files, confirming readings, and making sure the paperwork reflects what was actually installed. The installation itself is not in doubt. The completeness of the record is. For business owners and supervisors, this is where small delays begin to stack up. Jobs remain open longer than expected, invoicing waits, and time is spent chasing information that once felt settled. - View Case Study
Use case: producing installation records after the job has moved on
A common situation is a routine installation completed without issue. The work is finished, testing or commissioning is carried out, and the installer moves on to the next job. Everything passed at the time and there was no reason to pause. The documentation was always going to be completed later.
Weeks on, the records are requested. The files exist, but they are incomplete. A test value needs confirming, a photo does not clearly show a label or connection, and something that was obvious on site now needs checking. Time is spent going back through messages and folders to make sure the records reflect what was actually installed. The job itself is not being questioned, but the paperwork is.
On teams using WorkMobileForms, this tends to look different. Installation details, test results, photos, and sign-off are captured together as the work is carried out, and the records are built from that same information rather than assembled later from fragments.
When documentation is needed, it can be produced without retracing steps or relying on memory.
Electrical installation work is often reviewed long after the tools have been packed away. The system may be in place and working, but it only truly counts when the records can still be produced without having to go looking for them.
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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