A paramount concern should be guaranteeing a secure environment in the workplace for your team and clients.
Ensuring the protection of those in the workplace should be a major focus for your business. There are severe consequences for not taking this seriously, and so it is important to be aware of the laws and regulations set in place by Safe Work Australia and the state's workplace safety body. Doing due diligence to make sure your business is following all the requirements, standards and necessary rules is a must to be sure your workplace is safe; testing and tagging is one suggested practice to guarantee safety.
Duty of Care
As an employer, you have a legal obligation to maintain a secure workspace. Ultimately, you are the one being held accountable if the necessary safety standards are not implemented or if the appropriate safety tools are not in place. However, the larger purpose for meeting safety requirements should be to ensure that your employees and business are in a safe and healthy environment rather than merely staying away from any legal action. This is why testing of appliances and electrical equipment in workplaces is highly recommended.
Do I have to Test and Tag?
ANZS 3760.2022 sets out that it is mandatory when evaluating the operation of transportable electrical devices and RCDs (these are also referred to as safety switches). Industries such as construction, demolition, and mining, testing and tagging is compulsory and heavily monitored. If you work in one of those industries, then your portable electrical equipment needs to be tested every three months and tagged with a specified colour that varies according to the season. If your equipment isn’t tested and tagged, then you’re breaking the law if you work on-site in these industries.
As an accountable business leader and owner, you are expected to meet safety standards. If you fail to adhere to them, you are not taking the necessary action to secure electrical safety in your workspace, and you may be fined for not meeting occupational safety protocols or leave yourself open to claims for negligence in the future if an incident occurs. If you neglect to have your equipment inspected and marked, it can have severe consequences; so, it is crucial to have a check and label agenda for your business.
Technicians will be able to explain this to you and leave you with a report that explains the range of equipment they have tested and tagged. Usually, any appliance or equipment with cords, leads, switchboards, rcd, powerpoints, and lights are tested.
Get it right first time and use a professional Test and Tag supplier
It is essential to select a reliable test and tag specialist to carry out electrical testing in your business, as the safety regulation considers you (as the employer) to be the person responsible for the electrical safety of your business. If an unqualified technician is contracted to conduct testing and tagging of equipment in your workplace, and an incident caused by lack of electrical safety arises involving a piece of tested equipment, the responsibility lies with you. Therefore, as a business owner, you are at risk. So it makes sense when considering test & tag services before engaging a company to manage the testing and labelling of electrical equipment in your business and make sure they are authorized to execute the testing in agreement with the Australian security standard AS/NZ 3760.2022.
It is mandated by the safety protocol that electrical equipment must be evaluated and identified by someone who is certified and has the ability, instruction, expertise, and comprehension of the security regulations and PAT testing. Recently, this criteria has been updated to necessitate that test and tag professionals have their skills maintained. This means that when you hire Altona Test and Tag to carry out testing and tagging, at your place of work wherever you are in Melbourne, you can be certain that your organisation is in good hands.
Maintaining detailed records is essential
Aside from having the electrical appliances tested and tagged, the safety criteria also require that you should preserve comprehensive records on which electrical equipment was tested and tagged, the outcomes of the assessment and when the equipment is next expected to be tested. Altona Test and Tag will log this information for you and will also implement a test and tag agenda for your business to guarantee that your business complies with the safety guidelines.
Call the Melbourne Test and Tag experts
Put the electrical safety of your business in the hands of a business that you can trust. Altona Test and Tag are experienced hands when it comes to tests and knowledge in the electrical inspection area. If you have questions about anything to do with electricity service in your business, please give us a call for a no-obligation chat and quote.
