As an employer, you have a duty of care to provide a safe working environment for your employees. To that end, you are required by law to regularly tag your electrical equipment to safeguard against electrical faults and electrocution in your workplace. The following will give you a quick rundown of everything you need to know about electrically tagging your equipment. More information can be found by talking to an electrical services company that specialises in tagging.
What do I need to tag?
- Any appliances that are designed for connection to a standard low voltage supply (240V) by means of a flexible cord. This includes most appliances such as power tools and equipment, computers and associated equipment, CD players, fridges, microwaves, ovens, televisions, game consoles. Basically anything that is plugged in to a regular power socket will need to be tagged. The tag includes the cord with which the appliance is attached to the power supply
- Extension cords and power boards. Anything that current flows across.
- Residual current devices (RCDs). RCDs are also known as safety switches. Safety switches monitor the current in a circuit and will switch off in less than 300 milliseconds if any danger is present.
- Appliances used under special conditions will be given extra consideration. This includes:
- Hostile environments, where the appliance is subjected to any damage, physical or otherwise, or is exposed to corrosive chemicals, radiation, dust or fumes. This will include equipment used outdoors, in kitchens and in workshops.
- Portable electrical equipment. This includes appliances that are commonly in movement when they're being used, such as electrical mowers, floor-polishers and vacuum cleaners.
- Portable devices that are often in transit between one location and another. This includes laptop computers, power tools and overhead projectors.
Frequency of tagging
There are a few different rules about the frequency of tagging your equipment. Electrical equipment can become unsafe very quickly if in certain environments. Here's a quick summary.
- Before using any equipment, have it tagged and checked. The manufacturer of the product should, by law, have had the equipment tested and tagged. When the equipment arrives, check it for any possible damage that could have occurred during transit. Use this date as a baseline, from which all other tagging can be scheduled.
- Any equipment that has been repaired or serviced must be tested and tagged. Repairs and servicing can create problems in appliances due to occasional mistakes. Have the equipment tagged as safe before putting it back into play.
- Environment that the equipment is used in will dramatically alter when you will need to have it tagged.
- If the equipment is subjected to abuse or in a hostile environment or even if the cord is bent during normal operation, the equipment must be tagged every 12 months.
- If the equipment is is under no general stress or in a hostile environment, and if the cord is not flexing during normal usage. the equipment need only be tested every 5 years.
Inspection and Testing
Having your equipment tagged should be done by an electrician or a company that offers electrical services. Ensure that they have an understanding of the requirements of the Australian Standard before they undertake the testing. The testing, once done, will be followed by a tag indicating if the equipment is fit to use. If so, the tag will include the person inspecting the equipment and both the date it was inspected and the next inspection date.