Testing & Tagging

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Is your workplace electrical safety compliant?

What is testing & tagging?

Electrical equipment testing & tagging or more commonly referred to as testing and tagging or test & tag, is the process of inspecting plugin electrical equipment to ensure that it is safe and meets the required Australian Standards* (the testing).

Next we apply a tag to the electrical equipment or cord, that states the date it was tested, whether it passed or failed and if passed a retest date (the tagging).

If the electrical equipment was faulty or failed the testing process, we would either repair it or mark it with a failed tag and advise the appropriate next steps, this may be to repair or replace the equipment.

Typical examples of electrical equipment are:

• Computers, printers and other office equipment.
• Phone, tablet and laptop chargers.
• Power tools, battery chargers, workshop machinery.
• Extension leads and powerboards.
• Kitchen appliances.
• AV and data projection equipment, lighting and sound gear.
• Basically anything that plugs in to a power circuit.

What type of business does testing & tagging apply to?

All businesses that use plugin electrical equipment require some form of testing & tagging, these include:

• Schools, TAFEs, universities, kindergartens, child care centres.
• Offices, shops, retail stores.
• Hospitality venues (cafes, restaurants, bars, etc).
• Medical centres (doctors, dentists, hospitals, vets, etc).
• Trades (builders, plumbers, painters, tilers, landscapers, etc).
• Building / construction sites.
• Warehouses, workshops and manufacturing facilities.
• Hire shops, second hand shops.
• Plus your business type (if not covered above).

For more information please call 4U safety solutions on 1300 150 661 or use our contact us form.

Why testing & tagging?

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS / WHS) legislation imposes a duty of care for the business owner, manager or OHS representative to provide a safe workplace. Failure to ensure the safety of electrical equipment may result in death or injury to you, your staff or customers. It may also result in hefty fines to both individuals and businesses.

To discharge this duty of care the business owner, manager or OHS representative is required to reduce the risk of electrical shock or fire as far as practicable. Regular testing & tagging of electrical equipment, in line with the Australian Standards* is the best method of achieving this.

The need for businesses to conduct regular electrical equipment testing & tagging has been highlighted by WorkSafe inspectors inspecting all types of businesses, not just tradespeople. Some insurance companies now require electrical equipment to be tested & tagged otherwise they may refuse insurance, reduce or void a claim. Correctly tagged electrical equipment not only gives confidence to the WorkSafe inspector or insurance assessor, it demonstrates to your staff and customers that you care about their wellbeing.

Testing & tagging is about safety, compliance and minimising litigation.

Legal and insurance aspects aside, why take a risk when there is an easy way to ensure safety

Our testing & tagging process:

• A visual inspection is performed to identify any obvious defects.
• Electrical tests are performed using a state-of-the-art Seaward Portable Appliance Tester (PAT) with pre-set tolerances, thus ensuring integrity in the process and compliance with Australian Standards*.
• A computer generated tag is printed, and you are provided with an asset register and electrical test results reports for your records.
• We provide a complimentary reminder service to assist you in easily managing this area of OHS compliance.

Things to Note:
• To assist your business / workplace in meeting Testing & Tagging compliance we will check common locations such as cupboards, drawers, cases, etc. for electrical items that may be used but are out of sight, out of mind.  If you would prefer this didn’t occur for your business / workplace, please ensure we are informed before commencement of works.
• If you have electrical items you are no longer using and don’t expect to use in the foreseeable future, we suggest that you either;
1) dispose of these items so they can’t be used and don’t need to be tested & tagged or
2) store these items in a box / cupboard / storeroom and clearly labeled that those items are Not Tested & Tagged and should not be used.
• From a safety perspective and in regards to the Australian Standards, it does not matter who owns the electrical equipment (business or personal), if the equipment is being used within the workplace it should be tested & tagged in the same routine and timeframe as all other items.

How often do I need my electrical equipment retested?

The retest frequency varies from business to business based on the business type and hostility / harshness of the work environment.

The Australian Standards* list the testing / retesting frequency for electrical equipment and the more hostile the environment the more frequently they are to be tested.  Retesting could be every 1, 3, 6 or 12 months and up to 5 years for computer server equipment.

To find out what testing / retesting frequency best applies to your business situation please call 4U safety solutions on 1300 150 661 or use our contact us form.

Computers and other Technology:

Although all care is taken when testing computers and other technological equipment and the testing process itself is not harmful to these items, in very very rare cases it is possible that technological equipment that may not regularly get turned off (eg: computers, servers, etc…) may not restart / function properly after shutdown.

We have only seen this occur a few in many years of testing and that was three out of thousands of these type of items tested. We believe it’s important for you to know this up front and if you have any concerns regarding specific equipment please discuss these with us prior to commencement.

*Applicable Australian Standards:

• AS/NZS 3760 – In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment.
• AS/NZS 3012 – Electrical installations – construction and demolition sites.

Questions & bookings:

For more information and to make a booking please call 4U safety solutions on 1300 150 661 or use our contact us form.

Service areas for testing & tagging:

We generally service the Greater Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and Surfcoast Regions of Victoria. We also service selected businesses and schools in Colac, Melbourne CBD and Melbourne’s West.

For suburbs included in our regular service area check here or contact us.

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