OCA electrical inspection in Seville, Spain: preparation and putting defects right

What the OCA inspection is

An OCA (Organismo de Control Autorizado, authorised inspection body) is an accredited organisation that inspects electrical installations to check they comply with the Spanish Low Voltage Electrotechnical Regulation (REBT). There are two kinds of inspection, governed by ITC-BT-05:

• Initial inspection, before certain installations are put into service.
• Periodic inspection, repeated at intervals throughout the life of the installation.

If you are British, think of it as a compulsory, independent periodic inspection for buildings and businesses rather than for individual flats. The electrician does not replace the inspection body: it is an independent organisation. Our role is to get the installation ready before the visit, attend with the inspector and put right the defects they find.

Which installations need the OCA inspection

Under ITC-BT-05, among others:

• Premises open to the public (locales de pública concurrencia): bars, restaurants, shops, academies, clinics or gyms. Periodic inspection every 5 years.
• Communal installations of residential buildings over 100 kW: inspection every 10 years. We go into detail for property managers on OCA inspection for buildings.
• Garages with more than 25 spaces and forced ventilation. See communal garage electrics.
• Swimming pools over 10 kW and outdoor lighting over 5 kW.
• Wet locations over 25 kW and industries above a certain power.

An individual flat is not subject to periodic OCA inspection. If you simply want to know the condition of your home, what you need is an electrical inspection.

Defects that come up most often

• Emergency lighting that does not come on or has flat batteries. See emergency lighting.
• RCDs that do not trip at the correct time or current.
• Earthing with inadequate values or protective conductors left unconnected.
• Fuse boards with no labelling, missing covers or hot connections.
• Damaged cables and conduits in garages and plant rooms.
• Incomplete paperwork: missing diagrams, old certificates or extensions never legalised.

How we work

1. Prior review. Before the inspection date we go round the installation with the same criteria the inspector will apply: fuse boards, protections, earthing, emergency lighting and conduits.
2. Measurements. We measure insulation, earthing and RCDs to find what cannot be seen with the naked eye.
3. Correction beforehand. We quote and correct the defects found before the visit, which is the cheapest option.
4. Paperwork. We gather certificates, diagrams and the last inspection report. If part of the installation lacks a certificate, we put it in order through legalising an installation.
5. Attending the inspection. We are there during the inspection to open fuse boards, explain the installation and answer questions on the spot.
6. Putting defects right. If the report lists defects, we correct them within the deadline and prepare the paperwork to close the file with a favourable result.

OCA inspections in Seville

In the Seville area, a good share of inspections are for residential buildings with a garage and a pool. In more recently built areas such as Sevilla Este or Los Bermejales, many buildings have large garages with forced ventilation and communal areas with a pool, and they are now reaching their first periodic inspections. In Nervión and Santa Justa there are plenty of premises open to the public in ground-floor commercial units, with inspections every 5 years. A typical case: the property manager (administrador de fincas) of a building in Sevilla Este is told the garage inspection is due. The prior review finds emergency lights with no battery and an RCD that does not trip in time; they are corrected before the visit and the inspection is passed first time.

For shops, bars and offices, see also shops and offices.

Guide prices

The inspection body’s fees are quoted according to the complexity of the installation, and the corrections depend on the defects found. You get a fixed price after the prior review. More work on the electrical installations page.