When times are tough, it is easy for building owners and building services managers to want to choose low-cost wiring devices. However, it is the responsibility of those with electrical engineering jobs to remind their clients that the dangers of cost cutting in electrical installations far outweigh the short-term financial benefits. It is literally the matter of life and death for all parties involved.

All construction projects rely on the expertise of qualified and experienced electrical engineers to design and install electrical systems that are safe, cost-effective and energy-efficient. Among these three requirements, safety is certainly the most important and should be treated with ultimate respect. The task of those with jobs in electrical engineering, therefore, is to ensure that their clients choose the safest wiring devices, whatever the cost.

Indeed, instead of the finest products, those clients who are keen to cut costs can easily pick cheaply imported wiring devices that look similar and claim to perform to a similar standard. However, those with electrical engineering jobs would know that such choice certainly will not save money when the full ?install and life cycle??? costs are calculated. This means that in the long run, business owners and building services managers will end up spending much precious money -- and time -- hiring electricians to fix faulty installations. Worse, to have such flawed installations modified or completely replaced will cost considerably more.

Those with jobs in electrical engineering would also know that their reputations in the construction industry are heavily reliant on quality of work, in which the quality of the materials used plays a significant part. If any electrical engineer makes compromises and allows inferior wiring devices to be installed in his or her projects, then he or she eventually will have to suffer the consequences.

In the UK, as in any other country in the world, all leading manufacturers of electrical wiring devices have built their reputations on the quality of their products. Although these products meet the installation needs and end-user requirements designated by the construction industry and have the kinds of lifespan demanded by building owners and building services managers, it is the responsibility of those with electrical engineering jobs to ensure that they are chosen and properly installed.

Specifically, because the specification and installation of wiring devices is a fundamental part of all construction projects, it is often ignored by clients who are more excited about the aesthetics of the completed buildings. Knowing that building owners and building services managers only want products that are easy to operate, long-lasting and fault-free, it is up to those with electrical engineering jobs to carefully consider and make appropriate decision on the broad variety of complex issues such as safety, flexibility, functionality and future-proofing. One should have confidence that cheaply imported wiring devices will fair to deliver in some, if not all, of these areas. Again, among these factors to consider, protection of the safety of both installers and end-users is and will always be the most important.