sparks
ELECTRICAL NEWS
june 2014
10
contractors’ corner
Working knowledge by Terry McKenzie-Hoy
A guide to corruption and site theft
THIS is your guide to corruption and site theft –
your real, genuine guide. I amnot saying,“If you
can’t beat‘em, join‘em!”but I would like to lay
out, once and for all, some of the dirty tricks – on
and off site – that can be pulled by dodgy and
crooked contractors.
If you’re honest, this guide should help you
to avoid the pitfalls (if you don’t know them
already); and if you are a bit dodgy, then nothing
I write will make youmore so... Perhaps you’ll get
too dodgy for your own good and end up in one
of South Africa’s fabulous‘holiday homes’…such
as Pollsmoor or Sun City (also known as Johan-
nesburg MediumCorrectional).
How to steal froma contractor’s
container store
Watch the contractor’s container. Very often, the
container is locked with a padlock but when
it’s open, the padlock is just left open, hanging
on the staple part of the hasp and staple. Note
what type of padlock it is and buy one that looks
the same. Then, when you have a moment and
nobody is looking, swap the padlock you have
bought (opened and unlocked) with the contrac-
tor’s padlock hanging (open) from the staple.
Later, the contractor will close his container and
push the padlock (which he thinks is his original
one) closed. During the night, you will be able to
open the container, clean it out and re-lock it us-
ing the contractor’s original lock. In the morning,
the contractor will open the container with his
key and – surprise! – find an empty container.
And he won’t know how it happened.
The blasted copper thieves trick
Lay cable in a trench with the right-sized copper
earth wire. Fill in the trench leaving a piece of cable
and earth wire exposed so that the consultant can
witness that the installation is correct. Then, when
the inspection is complete, pull out the earth wire
and replace it with a much smaller one. Where
the cable comes out of the trench, join a bit of the
right-sized cable onto an earth bar. This works best
on long runs of street lighting. You can blame the
“blasted copper thieves”.
What shall we do? I’ve found
another cable…
When digging a trench, lay a length of old
cable lengthwise across the trench. An 11kV
paper cable is best. Bury it about twometres
on either side of the trench. Tell the consultant
that you’ve found a cable and ask whether he
would like you to get your‘friend’to use his
cable locator to locate it.
The only problem is that your‘friend’has to
work on weekends. About 90% of consultants
would agree and won’t pitch up to witness the
tests. On Monday, you tell the consultant that
the cable was dead and has been removed.
You quote for a weekend variation order. You
and your friend split it.
Stealing angle grinders and drills
on site
Look around the site. Sooner or later you will
find a workman working with an electric tool
connected to a very long extension lead, which
is plugged into a socket some distance away.
You and a mate work as follows: The mate
hangs around the workman. You switch off at
the distant point and plug in your drill.
The workman will either come to see what
has been switched off or he will send his
helper. If the helper investigates, just keep on
drilling. If the workman leaves his workplace
to investigate, your friend picks up the electric
tool, squeezes the trigger and shouts to an
imaginary friend:“Still not working!”and walks
off with the tool.
I don’t knowmuch about transformers
If you are working near a transformer (live or
dead) get a syringe and squirt water into the
silica gel breather. It will turn yellowish. Tell the
consultant. Ask if he would like you to get the
oil filtered. Youmention that you have a‘friend’
who does this, but the only problem is that
your‘friend’has to work on weekends.
Again, about 90% of consultants would
agree and won’t show up to witness the tests.
Over the weekend, change the silica gel and
quote for a weekend variation order for filter-
ing the oil. You and your friend split it. Tell the
consultant that your friend says“the windings
may be damaged”and he can do a“polarisa-
tion index test to check this”. But only during
the weekend...
Same procedure. All good? Got it?
A cautionary note: Don’t try any of this with
me if I am the consultant.
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