Electrical

• Overview
• Precautions
• Risk management
  • Hostile operating environment
  • Testing and tagging protocols
• Resources

Overview

Clause 64 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 states that:

"An employer must ensure that...all electrical installations, electrical articles and associated equipment at a place of work are safe to use and are regularly inspected, tested and maintained to ensure they remain safe for use and are repaired or replaced if unsafe...".

All items of electrical equipment at UTS should be assessed for the degree of risk they present and control measures put in place to manage that risk.

Supervisors of work areas having electrical appliances must ensure that:

• electrical appliance risk assessments are performed to determine what requires inspection, test and tagging and how frequently
• inspection, test and tagging is conducted in their area of control on those items determined to require inspection, test and tagging.

Precautions when using electrical equipment

Electrical appliances

• Use the correct appliance for the specific task.
• Ensure that electrical appliances are dry and clean.
• Do not use general purpose electrical appliances when wet or in wet areas without suitable safety switches (always push-button test the residual current device before each use).
• Keep loose cables off the floor.
• Do not:
  • withdraw a plug from a socket by pulling the cable;
  • attempt to replace faulty lamps in light fittings
    contact UTS: Building services for assistance; or
  • connect power boards to electrical outlets
    contact UTS: Building services if you require extra power outlets.

Extension cables

• Extension cables should only be used as temporary tool.
• Avoid the use of extension cables along walkways and corridors.
• Safety switches should always be used with extension cables.

Electric heaters

• Electric bar heaters should not be used - fan heaters with thermostats and timers are recommended.
• Heaters are not to be used in air conditioned spaces.

Risk management

Step 1: Identify the hazard

Identify items of plug-in electrical equipment in your area that may require regular inspection and testing.

Electrical equipment in a hostile operating environment, extension leads and power boards (EPODs) should be inspected and tested. Residual current devices (RCDs) should also be tested regularly.

Hostile operating environment
is defined in the OHS Regulation as one where the electrical item is likely to be damaged under normal operating conditions, this includes an environment that may:
(a) cause mechanical damage to the article, or
(b)expose the article to moisture, heat, vibration, corrosive substances or dust that is likely to result in damage to the article.

Electrical equipment risk assessment and inspection record

List these items in the electrical equipment risk assessment and inspection record, download the template:
Electrical equipment risk assessment and inspection record template (doc, 45 kB).

Step 2: Assess risk

Develop a test / inspect / tag protocol based on risk assessment.

Determine how often each item requires testing based on level of risk from the above template. Some particularly high-risk items may regular 6 monthly inspections. Some items require less frequent inspection or just formal visual inspection (e.g. equipment rarely moved or NOT in a hostile operating environment). Some items may not require testing or inspection at all (e.g. fixed equipment, office equipment and equipment that is never moved).

Choose a colour combination of tags for alternating years e.g. orange and green. Red tags signify failed items.

Further information is available on some current UTS testing and tagging protocols - note that a UTS staff log-in is required to view.

• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• UTS Business School (Haymarket campus)
• Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
• Human Resources Unit
• Information Technology Division
• UTS Library
• Printing Services / Information Technology Division
• Faculty of Science

Step 3: Controlling the risk

Perform testing according to your test protocol.

Items must be tagged to show when they were inspected and by whom. Failed items must be tagged as unsafe and removed from service.

Only a "competent person" should perform any testing and inspection of electrical equipment. A "competent person" is someone who

• has been trained to use the portable appliance tester, or
• is a licensed electrician

Resources

Australian Standards / New Zealand Standards

• HB94-1997 Electrical Safety in the Workplace
  Australian Standards
  ISBN 0-7337-1136-7
• AS/NZS 3760:2003 - In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment

State government legislation

• Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 (opens an external site)

WorkCover Authority of NSW

• Competent person for testing and tagging electrical equipment (opens an external site)
• Electrical equipment risk assessment checklist (opens an external site)
• Electrical safety (opens an external site)