SCIOS scope 8 inspection file
Scope 8 covers the fixed electrical installation, with an initial special inspection based on NEN 1010 and periodic inspections thereafter. Appfront builds the software in which your inspector records those measurements and findings on site, and in which the installation details from the initial inspection remain available for the periodic inspections years later.
What a scope 8 file must contain
Scope 8 falls within the SCIOS sub-scheme for electrical equipment and focuses on the fixed electrical installation. The first special inspection assesses the installation following handover or before it is brought into use, drawing on NEN 1010, the standard for low-voltage installations, and in particular on the section covering inspection. Periodic inspections follow, with the baseline established at the EBI remaining the point of reference.
What sets a scope 8 file apart from a general inspection is that it is built around the installation, not the visit. Distribution boards, circuits, earthing arrangements and protective devices each get their own place, with the measurements that belong to them: insulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance, continuity, disconnection times. At the next inspection you want to be able to compare that series, because a value that slowly drifts says more than a single reading on its own.
In practice, many inspectors work from a template in a spreadsheet or from a measuring instrument that produces its own export, which the back office then combines into a report. Every transfer between them is an opportunity for error, and during an audit by your certifying body, that is exactly where questions are asked: where does this figure come from, and how do you know it belongs to this circuit?
How we build your scope 8 software
We begin with the structure of the installation, not the report template. If the structure is right, the report follows from it; the reverse does not work.
Distribution boards, circuits, final circuits and the measurement points that go with them. This hierarchy is the foundation: everything you later want to compare over the years depends on it. We also determine how changes made to the installation between two inspections are handled.
The first special inspection records the baseline and asks more than the periodic inspection that follows. We design the two as separate forms on the same installation, so that an inspector carrying out a PI can see what was established at the EBI.
We work in sprints and start with the periodic inspection, where the volume lies. Your inspectors take part and, early on, enter a working version against a real distribution board; that is the only way to find out whether data entry is faster than on paper.
We investigate what your measuring instruments can export and connect whatever is feasible. Then we hand over to your office team, with a trial run in which we check a completed file against the questions your certification body asks.
What the software actually does
Six components that together form the file. Which ones you need depends on the size of the installations you inspect.
Installation tree with measurement points
The installation built down to circuit level, with the values for each measurement point matching the type of protective device and earthing arrangement. The inspector works through the tree rather than a list, and sees along the way what they have not yet covered.
Measurements with limit values
Insulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance, continuity and disconnection times, each with the limit that applies to that situation. A value outside its limit stands out immediately, and the series over the years shows whether something is drifting.
EBI as the reference for every PI
At a periodic inspection, the app shows what was recorded at the first special inspection and what has changed since. Without that reference point, a periodic inspection is merely an isolated snapshot.
Findings with classification
Each finding is classified and remains open until it has been rectified and verified. At the next visit the inspector sees what was still outstanding, so they do not report again something that has already been resolved.
Recognition on site
A code on the distribution board opens the correct part of the file directly. In a building with twenty distribution boards, that saves searching and, more importantly, prevents recording against the wrong board by mistake.
Reporting and client portal
The report is drawn up from the recorded data and signed by the inspector. Your client retrieves it from a portal in which they see only their own installations, along with the outstanding findings.
Who we build for
Four situations where this system delivers the most value. The difference lies in the size of the installation and in who will read the report afterwards.
Certified inspection companies
The core. Your certification depends on the quality of the file, and your margin on the turnaround time per installation. If you also inspect boiler installations, scope 1 to 6 is the same system with different forms.
Industry with an in-house electrical engineering department
Large installations with many distribution boards and an in-house team. Here, the scope 8 inspection often overlaps with routine maintenance and with your own statutory inspection duty as an employer.
Property management and institutions
Many buildings, each with its own installation, where a central overview matters more than depth per building. The question is usually: which buildings have outstanding findings?
Work driven by insurance requirements
Some assignments arise from a policy condition. In that case, what matters most is that the report is demonstrably complete and on time, and that the client can show that findings have been rectified.
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What we deploy depends on your situation. Meter cupboards and plant rooms rarely have coverage, so offline working is a requirement, not an extra. What we connect to test equipment depends on what your instruments release as data.
Why Appfront
The structure makes all the difference
An inspection app that ticks off a checklist on each visit cannot show a trend. We build around the installation, because that is where the value lies, accumulating over the years.
Measurements belong to a point
An insulation reading without a circuit is just a number. By attaching every measurement to a measuring point, you can compare results and see deterioration before anything fails.
Connecting to what is already running
Your scheduling, invoicing and measuring instruments stay in place. We build the layer in between via integrations, so an inspection does not get entered twice.
Honest about the boundary
We are not a certifying body and we do not assess inspections. We build the system in which your inspector records their work; the professional judgement remains theirs.
Security and privacy
The file contains little personal data, but it does record which inspector carried out which inspection and under which professional competence. That can be traced back to an individual and touches on their certification. We use that record for the purpose it serves and direct reporting at the installation, not at the individual inspector.
More weighty is that you work with data on your clients' installations, including outstanding defects. This is information you would not want leaking to other clients or to outsiders. Access is therefore strictly per client, with a portal that shows only their own installations. A finalised report cannot be altered silently: a correction is visible as a correction and does not overwrite the original, because a report that can be changed unnoticed after the fact has no value in an audit or following an incident. How we handle security ourselves is set out in our information security policy; reports from outside reach us through our responsible disclosure policy.
Frequently asked questions about scope 8
Scope 8 covers the fixed electrical installation and falls under the SCIOS sub-scheme for electrical equipment. The first special inspection assesses the installation after handover or before commissioning, using NEN 1010, the standard for low-voltage installations. Periodic inspections follow. Loose electrical work equipment is not part of scope 8; it belongs to scope 9, and inspection for fire risk falls under scope 10.
Scope 8 covers the installation, scope 9 covers electrical work equipment, and scope 10 covers inspection of electrical equipment for fire risk, which corresponds to NTA 8220. They sit within the same sub-scheme but answer different questions: is the installation in order, is the equipment safe to use, or does the equipment pose a fire risk? We set out scope 10 separately on that page.
NEN 3140 is the standard for the safe operation of electrical installations and is aimed at the employer: which installations and work equipment do you have, how often do you inspect them, and who is designated to do so. Scope 8 is a certification scheme for an inspection company that carries out a specific inspection and issues a report on it. For the employer's side, we cover that on the NEN 3140 page.
Often partly. Many installation testers can export measurement series, which can then be linked to the test points in the file. What exactly comes out, and whether it can be traced per circuit, varies greatly by make and model. We establish that during the discovery phase rather than promise an integration that falls over on your instrument, and we make sure manual entry is at least quick.
Yes. Meter cupboards, plant rooms and cellars have poor coverage, and that is exactly where the installation sits. The app stores data locally and syncs as soon as there is a connection, with a clear view of which inspections are still outstanding. What we design for explicitly is the situation where two inspectors have worked on the same installation offline.
This is one of the trickiest points in this kind of file, and it is a design question rather than a data-entry problem. An extended distribution board must not erase the history of the existing groups. We therefore model changes as additions with a date, so that at a periodic inspection you can see which part is new and which part has a history.
Yes, and that saves your office a great deal of email traffic. Each client gets a portal in which they see only their own installations, with the reports and the outstanding findings. For managers with multiple sites, this is the most requested feature, as they mainly want to know where something is still outstanding.
That depends on how deep you want to model the installation and whether integrations with test equipment and scheduling are involved. A file at distribution board level is considerably lighter than one down to final circuit. We advise on that, because deeper is not always better: it has to match what your inspectors actually record in practice. We will give a reasoned estimate after the discovery phase.
Ready to have a scope 8 file built?
Tell us how your inspections are recorded now and where the office loses time, and we will help you think through the installation structure, the measurements and the integration with your measuring equipment. We build this as a standalone application and as part of a wider custom software or app project. If you supply new builds in consequence class 1, your declaration belongs in the Wkb file for the competent authority.