AI is improving how teams react to EICRs by sifting through long documents, complex tables and finding important codes buried in small print in a matter of seconds.
AI makes it easier for your teams to identify what needs fixing without tediously trawling through pages of reports.
You get actionable tasks in seconds rather than hours.
Contents
- Why EICRs matter
- What are EICR remedial actions?
- Compliance tracking and EICRs
- What happens when AI reads an EICR report?
- How to get the most out of AI for compliance
- Where to go from here
Why EICRs matter
An EICR (electrical installation condition report) is required for compliance, but it can also tell you a lot about the risks in your building.
Missing a code could seriously injure someone, and getting on top of the report can keep your building compliant and safe.
Many teams shy away from parts of the report because of how the EICR is structured. An electrician will action the parts the report flags, but this information isn't always easy to translate and explain to FMs when they need to implement the report across multiple sites.
This usually falls to one person to translate all the important pieces in the report. This used to mean someone spent an afternoon with a highlighter. But with AI to help, this is no longer the case.
What are EICR remedial actions?
Remedial actions are the follow-up required after an inspector's visit. The code rating shows how urgently these actions must be addressed.
The codes and their meanings are as follows:
C1- A danger is present. This must be fixed now.
C2- There is a potential danger. This must be fixed as a priority and as soon as possible.
C3- Improvement recommended. This is an advisory recommendation. In some cases, carrying out the work may improve the installation’s safety, but a C3 observation on its own does not make the EICR unsatisfactory. Review the inspector’s recommendation and plan any improvement work as appropriate.
FI- Further investigation is needed. You'll need to take out a further inspection before you know what you need to fix.
As you can see, each code points to a different type of follow-up. Unfortunately, your EICR doesn't always group those findings. You'll have to find the codes scattered across the pages.
The codes themselves are difficult to understand; it's the scanning through pages to find them that takes effort. This is where facilities management AI software saves time.
Compliance tracking and EICRs
The problem that usually occurs in the compliance process is when a building has an EICR and then a five-year EICR retest. Each new EICR report should sit alongside previous reports in one place, creating a clear inspection history over time.
When the EICRs are filed and tracked separately, it's more difficult to stay on top of when electrical installation certificates lapse or what recurring potential issues may arise.
In the long term, treating EICRs as completely separate means cross-referencing numerous data-entry points. Existing systems often include inboxes, multiple spreadsheets, and multiple alerts, created by different team members (sometimes people who are no longer part of the team). This is where risk assessments get forgotten, and ensuring nothing is missed can require continuous monitoring.
This costs businesses when fines are incurred, but it also costs hours spent finding reports, certificates, and sifting through emails.
Where good EICR software helps
If you already use FM software, then you might know the benefits it can bring in terms of streamlining your processes.
Compliance automation with EICR reports means your software can scan the report and pull out the remedial actions and sort them by priority.
This software frees up your team's time to action these issues, and in the future all the information you need will be there for the team to access.
What happens when AI reads an EICR report?
AI in facilities management is not there to replace people or human judgement. You and your team still make the final decision on who does the work and when.
What AI removes is the manual element of reviewing. You don't have to read every single line. With expansive's AI remedial extractor, the process is simple:
- Upload the report, and our AI pulls out every remedial action
- These actions are tagged high, medium or low
- Each item is linked to a work order and team members can be assigned to take accountability.
The AI remedial extractor helps to reduce the risk of missed recommendations, speed up response times and improve accountability for actions.
The AI remedial extractor supports safer operations and stronger compliance management.
Learn More about expansive's AI tools in our knowledge base.
How to get the most out of AI for compliance
It's logical, but you need to put quality information in to get quality information out.
A poorly scanned EICR report or a document with missing pages means the AI software doesn't start with all the information and will inevitably provide lower-quality results.
Instead of spending hours reviewing the report, a few extra minutes to check that it's formatted correctly can make all the difference. While AI is great at extracting information, you still need to spend time making sure you are putting quality data in.
Compliance and building management systems
EICRs are important, but they are not the only compliance document your facilities team deals with. AI can help to analyse fire safety certificates, gas safety records, and any other document an inspector hands you.
With the right CAFM system, your compliance will stop being a folder full of PDF certificates and become a compliance system. It can also assist with asset management and planned maintenance, so that all work orders are filed in the same system.
An AI-integrated CAFM system can analyse any structured inspector report, then follow up with the necessary actions.
Where to go from here
Finding remedial actions line by line in a report is no longer necessary. There is nothing wrong with doing it the old way. But there is a quicker, easier way to get the same information.
Using AI to pull out and prioritise the actions means work orders are scheduled quickly. Which is important when you are fixing issues around compliance and risk management.
