The IET is preparing to publish the Draft for Public Comment (DPC) of the 18th Edition of BS 7671. This is your chance to have your say about the development of the new edition of the Wiring Regulations.

Important dates

Please note, the below dates are expected dates only and are subject to change.

• DPC availability and commenting period: June 2017 – August 2017.
• IET and committees review DPC comments: August 2017 – November 2017.
• Changes approved; final draft produced; reviewed and proofread: November 2017 – April 2018.
• Official JPEL/64 committee sign off: 4th April 2018.
• BS 7671 new edition available for purchase: 1st July 2018.

BSI and its role in setting Standards

BS 7671 is a British Standard. It is published jointly by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the IET. BSI is the UK’s National Standards Body (NSB).

Standards are developed by committees of dedicated experts. In the case of BS 7671, there are four committees that feed into the main BSI/IET joint technical committee JPEL/64:

• JPEL/64/A – covers verification and inspection and testing (Part 6 and Appendix 6 of BS 7671) plus any work relating to Parts 1, 2 and 3 of BS 7671.
• JPEL/64/B – covers cable sizing and installation and related matters (some of Parts 4 and 5, Appendices 3 and 4 and some Part 7 items of BS 7671).
• JPEL/64/C – covers earthing installations and related matters (some of Parts 4 and 5 and some Part 7 items of BS 7671).
• JPEL/64/D – covers the remainder of Parts 4 and 5, some Part 7 items and some Appendices of BS 7671).

Together, these groups are responsible for UK input into international and European technical committees IEC/TC 64 and CENELEC/TC 64, which produce the IEC 60364 standards series and the European implementations HS 60364 series. These standards are then implemented here in the UK as BS 7671.

Updates to BS 7671

As technology develops and is used differently, BS 7671 needs to be updated to ensure good practice across the industry. Updates can be in the form of an Amendment or an Edition:

Amendment – alteration and/or addition to previously agreed technical or editorial content of an existing standard.
Edition – a new edition of an existing standard will either be published after several amendments (usually, a maximum of three) have been published or a major revision of the technical content has taken place.

The committees will discuss how sections  of BS 7671 may need to be changed to either remain aligned to the international and/or European Standards or take into account national issues Any changes proposed are debated, refined and finalised at JPEL/64.

The updated BS 7671 will then be released in the form of a Draft for Public Consultation (DPC). This is when you will have the opportunity to read the expected changes in BS 7671 and to have your say.

Comments on the standard can be submitted to the Secretariat at any time but will usually be held for consideration at the next Amendment/Edition cycle.

Comment on the DPC of BS 7671

The DPC of the draft 18th edition of BS 7671 will be published on the BSI Standards development portal: https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/.

First, register following the on-screen instructions. Once you have successfully registered, you can log in to read and comment on proposed and draft standards, including BS 7671. You can also go into your Account to update information about yourself, change your password and personalize your preferences.

When commenting on draft standards, use the ‘Comment on this section’ field to make your comments and the ‘Proposed changes’ field for any clarification and to make a suggestion for improvement.

More details available here