Lightning Protection & Earthing System Site Audits

Protection systems degrade. Standards evolve. Facilities change. The system that was compliant when installed may not meet current requirements today, or may have degraded enough that it's no longer performing. Until something tests it, you can't see the gap.

Aetheric conducts independent site audits across lightning protection, surge protection, and earthing systems. We document condition, verify compliance, identify hazards, and deliver a prioritised remediation roadmap, clarity for your next move.

Site audits serve multiple purposes across the facility lifecycle. If any of the following apply, an independent assessment will give you the information you need to make informed decisions:

• Facility acquisition or transfer: pre-purchase assessment identifying protection system adequacy, SPD condition, and required capital expenditure before you take ownership
• Periodic compliance verification: most asset integrity programmes and standards require inspection at regular intervals (typically 1–4 years per IEC 62305-3)
• Post-incident investigation: assessment following lightning damage to identify what failed, why, and how to prevent recurrence
• Regulatory or insurance requirements: independent verification for facilities subject to occupational safety, environmental regulations, or insurance conditions requiring lightning protection certification
• System modification validation: confirming that changes to the facility or protection system haven't compromised overall performance
• Standards update gap analysis: evaluating whether systems installed to previous code editions meet current requirements (IEC 62305, AS/NZS 1768:2021)

Audits follow IEC 62305-3, AS/NZS 1768:2021, and IEEE 998. Systematic, documented, every layer evaluated:

Documentation Review

The process begins with review of available documentation, original design drawings, as-built records, previous inspection reports, maintenance records, establishing a baseline understanding of the installed system and identifying areas requiring particular attention during the walkthrough.

External Protection Inspection

Air termination systems are assessed for coverage (using rolling sphere analysis), physical condition, corrosion, damage, and mounting. Down conductors are traced from air termination to earth termination, sizing, routing, connections, bonding to structural steel. Earth termination, ground grids, foundation earthing, supplementary electrodes, is inspected for condition, accessibility, and test point availability.

Internal Protection & SPD Inspection

SPDs are checked for correct Type classification per IEC 61643 / AS/NZS 61643, installation quality (lead length, bonding), end-of-life indicator status, and connection integrity. Cable shielding and bonding to services, equipment, and structural elements are verified per AS/NZS 1768:2021.

Selective Testing

Selective testing during audits verifies critical performance parameters. Earth resistance measurements using Megger DET2/3 validate earthing resistance against design requirements per IEEE 81. Continuity tests identify high-resistance connections requiring maintenance. SPD ratings are checked against current IEC 61643 / AS/NZS 61643 requirements.

When visual inspection or preliminary testing reveals potential issues, we may recommend more comprehensive ground testing, including detailed soil resistivity surveys, touch and step voltage measurements, or electromagnetic interference assessment, to fully characterise the issue before recommending remediation.

Audit findings are compared against current standard requirements to identify gaps between the existing installation and best practice. Standards we assess against include:

Gap analysis documents specific non-conformances, rates them by safety and protection significance, and prioritises corrective actions on risk reduction, operational impact, and cost-effectiveness.

Critical deficiencies are flagged for urgent action. The audit report provides a roadmap for system upgrades aligned with your risk tolerance and budget.

Findings are documented for both technical review and management decisions. Each issue includes:

• Description and location (with annotated photographs and marked-up drawings)
• Applicable standards reference (IEC 62305, AS/NZS 1768:2021, IEC 61643 / AS/NZS 61643)
• Risk assessment and safety criticality rating
• Recommended corrective action with estimated scope and cost

Recommendations are prioritised by safety criticality with cost-benefit justification for major upgrades. Multi-building or complex sites are organised by subsystem and priority for implementation planning. Where remediation needs engineering design, the handoff to our design services team is direct.

While audit triggers are often purpose-driven, the technical scope varies by sector. Here's how we tailor our approach across the industries we serve.

Every site audit engagement produces a complete documentation package designed for both technical teams and management decision-makers:

An audit report is only valuable if it leads to action. Aetheric supports you beyond the assessment with clear pathways to remediation: