SELECT inspires West Lothian lecturers to create smart new teaching for electrical apprentices
Posted by: electime 2nd December 2024
Two lecturers from a Livingston college have invent a practical teaching aid to help electrical apprentices get hands-on with a potentially dangerous issue – and now want to share it with the rest of Scotland.
Thomas Barlow and Scott Cavanagh of West Lothian College devised and built an interactive fault board that gives young learners the chance to learn how to test for neutral current diversion (NCD).
The duo were inspired to create the innovative resource by the country’s largest construction trade body, SELECT, which is currently leading the way with a range of resources and information about the issue.
Thomas said: “We got the idea when we received the SELECT posters giving guidance on NCD. We thought it was a good idea but we didn’t have anything to actually show the apprentices, so we wanted to create something they could physically interact with.
“It didn’t take long to put together because we used materials that we’d inherited and had lying around – the board itself is a repurposed white board!
“It’s really part of our overall approach to training because we’re upping our practical environments in the college as much as we can to ensure that, as well as theory, learners are getting the best physical experience they can when they’re attending classes.”
The concept has already attracted interest from other colleges, with SELECT Associate Member company Scolmore also offering to help with production to roll out the units across Scotland.
Scott said: “The board allows learners to test NCD in a simulated, controlled environment, which is invaluable for reinforcing theoretical concepts and giving learners practical insights into fault diagnosis and system behaviour under abnormal conditions most won’t have encountered.
“It also possesses the potential for multi-trade training, in which gas engineers, plumbers and others could be trained to detect the kind of fault they could come in to contact with in everyday scenarios.”
Thomas added: “So far we’re the only college in Scotland that’s got this, but we’d really like to replicate it and give everyone the chance to use it.
“It’s something that a lot of people seem to be reaching out for experience of and could even be used by employers for their own in-house electricians.”
NCD occurs when protective measures fail and current is diverted via exposed metal fixings such as gas, water and oil pipes. Identified as a particular issue in multiple occupancy buildings, this can lead to a build-up of heat and could result in fire or explosion.
SELECT has produced a suite of practical NCD resources for members, apprentices and trainees, including posters for workshops and training centres, a digital flowchart and a pocket-sized foldout designed to be kept in toolboxes.
Bob Cairney, Director of Technical Services at SELECT, who recently visited the college to inspect the NCD board, said: “This is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking which gives electrical apprentices in Scotland such excellent training, delivered under the supervision of lecturers who really care about their subject and their learners.
“Thomas and Scott are to be congratulated on their invention which has the potential to make dealing with a potentially very serious safety issue much easier to grasp for apprentices across a number of trades.”
