Dealing with anything electrical can be frightening for some people, and for good reason. Toby Lancaster, on the other hand, discovered his passion at a young age after following in his father's footsteps into the trade.
2006 was Toby’s official start in the electrical industry. Seventeen years and one extensive hands-on career later, Toby has joined NZI to play a key role in identifying customers’ electrical hazards which are proven to be key contributors to commercial fires.
Toby is one of NZI’s new electrical experts, who are part of the wider risk consulting team. While Toby will be travelling the length of the South Island to provide electrical insurance assessments and hazard prevention information to customers, Zak Dean will look after the North Island.
“Commercial fires affect hundreds of businesses every year, and NZI has seen this first hand, with a notable increase of large loss fires within its commercial customers. Half of these are due to electrical faults, but some of these hazards can be mitigated by simply choosing a proactive approach. And that’s where I come in.”
A role with strong purpose
If you asked Toby years ago if he ever thought about working at an insurance company, he might have wondered how his trade would even fit. This has taken a 180-degree turn.
“When I first saw the role advertised, I was fascinated at the idea of using my skills and electrical knowledge to make positive change in the world.
“I was also ready to shift the direction of my career to make a difference in electrical safety, and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. There’s so much that can be done to help identify some of the electrical hazards that lead to fire.”
Toby and Zak's goal is to provide key insights to NZI customers, protect them from asset and property loss, and, most importantly, save lives.
“This will be an exciting year for my colleague Zak and I, as we will be out and about visiting customer’s sites, identifying their electrical fire hazards, and providing recommendations to help prevent these from happening in the first place.”
Set and forget? Think twice
Until now, Toby and Zak have been busy analysing NZI’s historic claims data, and have been able to identify some of the common electrical fire hazards by industry, as well as ways faults could be detected ahead of time.
“Switchboards can be a common cause of electrical fire. These are the central point for electrical loads and a place where cables and electrical equipment are concentrated.
“Once switchboards are installed, people may 'set and forget’ and don’t think about them until they stop working. A lot of customers aren’t getting regular electrical maintenance done, when in fact this is critical.”
Experiencing a fire can be a significant disruption for a business. They might not be able to operate for an extended period of time, not to mention loss of revenue and the impacts to their staff. This is where a proactive approach can make a difference.
“Generally speaking, doing electrical maintenance at least every two years minimum is key. Some businesses, especially those linked to the woodworking industry, are at higher risk, so the more often professional maintenance is done, the better.
“Electricity can be dangerous as it’s something you can’t see, but it’s a necessity, which is why we need to look after it and take the right level of precaution. And with the world going more electric, this also brings new challenges that we need to be aware of,” adds Toby.
A passion through generations
Toby considers himself a hands-on person and is always busy finding new things he can fix and build, or something exciting he can tackle.
“I’ve always had an interest in electronics and everything electrical – my dad played a big part in that. He was also an electrician and qualified electrical inspector, and very handy at doing things around the house. Growing up I would always help him on his house projects and learned a lot from him.
“I love doing things on my own and spending time in my garage. I work on my own cars and do all the maintenance. I have a Subaru WRX and I take it to the track every now and then for fun. I also repair my kids’ toys and I’ve just finished building our deck.”
And when the opportunity comes to pass on his wisdom, Toby is happy to become a teacher.
“I have two girls, Brooke (six) and Natalie (nearly four). Brooke has been showing interest in the things I do and loves helping me in the garage. She likes building and fixing things too – this passion hasn’t skipped a generation, and it makes me so happy to be able to show her what I do.”
Aside from this passion, Toby has been playing football since he was five and is currently part of a winter and summer league in Christchurch.
“Brooke will be starting football this year and that brings another smile to my face.”
2023 is set out to be an exciting year for Toby’s passions both at work and at home. Keep an eye out for useful resources coming from NZI’s team of electrical experts later this month.
