FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
APPSAFE offers specialist electrical testing and tagging services to
businesses all over Australia.
| What are the legislative requirements regarding Testing and Tagging? If you are an employer or self-employed person, you have a duty of care to ensure that employees and visitors to the workplace are safe from injury and risks to health. You must, therefore, manage any safety risks surrounding electrical hazards, in accordance with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (the Act) and the Regulation. To support the application of a risk management approach to electrical safety, you must also comply with the specific legislative requirements outlined in clause 64 and 65 of the OHS Regulation 2001. Clause 64 (2) requires,
In clause 64 of the Regulation a hostile operating environment means an operating environment at a place of work where an item of electrical equipment is, in its normal use, subject to operating conditions that are likely to result in damage to the item of equipment. This includes an operating environment that may:
The main factor in determining a suitable retest interval is the environment it is normally used in. The more “hostile” the environment, the more frequent the retest intervals need to be. A hostile environment is one in which the equipment or appliance is normally subject to events or operating conditions likely to result in damage to the equipment or a reduction in its expected life span. Table 4 of the Standard AS/NZS 3760 sets out some indicitive retest intervals for various environments. How often does the Construction Industry need to test? This sector is covered by Standard AS/NZS 3012 and states that testing is mandatory every 3 months. If equipment has not been tested and tagged in the appropriate manner you may be denied entry to or ordered off a site Who should comply? In short every enterprise e.g. All Businesses, schools, government departments, factories, workshops, hotels, motels, restaurants, engineering & construction companies, offices, health care facilities, trades people etc. What types of appliances need testing? Basically any piece of equipment, which is powered by electrical energy and that, can be plugged into a socket. How long should I keep my test records? Records of maintenance, including (but not limited to) inspections and tests, should be kept throughout the working life of the electrical equipment. Such records are a useful management tool for reviewing the frequency of the inspection and Testing, and ensuring that regular inspection has been carried out. The Standard AS/NZS 3760 recommends that inspection and testing records be retained for a period not less than seven years. Are there any special requirements for construction work? Yes. Due to the hazardous nature of construction work regular inspection and testing of electrical equipment must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the OHS Regulation. The requirements are outlined in the WorkCover Code of Practice - Electrical practices for construction work. Are there any special requirements for hired electrical equipments? Yes. Hired electrical equipment is used in a diverse range of working environments outside the control of the equipment owner. Clause 124(2) of the OHS Regulation requires that a person who hires or leases plant (electrical equipment) to another person must ensure that the plant is regularly inspected. The best way of achieving compliance with the above legislative requirement is to regularly inspect and test electrical equipment that is hired in accordance with the provisions of the Standard, AS/NZS 3760. Are there any special requirements for serviced or repaired electrical equipments? Yes. Electrical equipment that has been serviced or repaired, which could have affected electrical safety must be inspected and tested in accordance with the provisions of the Standard, AS/NZS 3760 prior to the equipment being placed back into service at the workplace. Are there any special requirements for the amusement ride industry? Yes. Due to the hostile operating environment of the amusement ride industry regular inspection and testing of electrical equipment is warranted and must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Australian Standard (AS/NZS 3002) Electrical installations - Shows and carnivals. What are your hours of operation? APPSAFE operates flexible hours to suit your needs. We can arrange to visit your workplace after-hours or on the weekend to ensure, there is minimal disruption to your business. What is the relevant Australian Standards for electrical appliances? Australian Standard AS/NZS 3760:2010 is the relevant standard for the safety inspection and testing of electrical appliances. Where can I get a copy of the Australian Standard AS/NZS 3760 WorkCover does not sell Australian Standards. Standards can be purchased from Standards Australia either in hard copy format, or they can be purchased as a download from the Standards Australia website. Contact Details: SAI Global 286 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000 Customer Service Centre on phone: 131 242 Website: http://www.saiglobal.com/shop What equipment needs tested? Any appliance within a business that has flexible cord that plugs into either a single phase 240V power outlet or 3 phase 415V power outlet need to be tested regularly to ensure that the appliance is electrically safe to use within the work place. This equipment needs to be tested, and continue to be tested at regular intervals in order to adhere to Occupational Health and Safety regulations, and comply with Australian Standards in AS/NZ 3760:2010. What does the inspection and testing involves? Our Qualified test and tag technicians come to your workplace at a time that is convenient for you. Each appliance is disconnected from the power and then visually inspected. This includes examining the plug, the flexible cord and the cord anchor. Depending on the type of appliances, we then use electrical testing instruments to test for invisible laws such as broken earth connection or flawed insulation. Once the appliances pass the tests, a record is made in the appliances test log and a durable tag bearing information about the date of testing is affixed to the cord. After the completion of testing at your work place we will issue you with a copy of the Appliance Test log for your records. How do I know if I have a safety switch? Check by looking at your switchboard for a TEST/REST button. That tells you have a safety switch installed. When you open your switchboard, you should see something like this. Typical switch board this shows the main switch, safety switch with test button and circuit breakers. All homes have a circuit breakers or fuses. These are designed to protect wiring and appliances within your home; only safety switches are designed to protect people. We have a safety switch installed aren’t we protected? No not entirely. A safety switch or residual current device (RCD) only protects against certain type of electrical faults, it is recommended that all homes and workplaces be fitted with RCDs. the use of an RCD however, is no excuse for compliancy when it comes to the regular inspection and testing of a electrical appliances. Does our Safety Switch (RCD) need regular testing? Yes our RCDs need to be tested to ensure that they will respond to a fault situation quickly enough, and before there is enough current flowing to give a person a dangerous electric shock. APPSAFE electrical appliances testing can test your RCDs to ensure they comply with the standard. How long does it take to test and tag? The time to take each device is different. For example, a power-board needs to have every outlet tested individually, and therefore takes longer tests. As rough guide, we find that 15-20 appliances can be properly tested by one technician in one hour. Our power tools and appliances have worked fine for years. How can any thing go wrong with them? Appliances can still function when they are unsafe. Here are two common scenarios.
All clients receive a complete Appliance Test Log, and where necessary a Defective Equipment Log. You can elect to receive your log in hard copy format, either Adobe . PDF file or Excel spread sheet . You will also receive an itemized Tax invoice. What about appliances at home? Electrical safety is just as important in the family home as it is in the workplace. You can help to keep your family safe from electrical shock or electrical ire by having your appliances checked. Changing your appliance plugs too. What do I do when I have an electrical safety audit coming up? Obtain all previous testing information, phone APPSAFE and we will re-test your work environment and update your existing equipment register. |
WHAT IS TESTING & TAGGING
Testing and Tagging is a necessary procedure for the electrical safety checking of appliances which minimise the risk of electrical hazards.
READ MOREWHY TEST & TAG
It is mandatory of all employers and self-employed to ensure electrical equipment is safely maintained as part of fulfilling their obligation under the Electrical safety act No AS/NZS 3760:2010.
READ MOREWHY USE APPSAFE?
We are customer focused and specialise in testing and tagging of all Electrical portable appliances. We offer our customers service in VIC, NSW, QLD, TAS, SA & WA.
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