As a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) working on electrical equipment (electrical work) you are required to ensure you comply with electrical safety laws in Australia and New Zealand.
What is electrical work?
Electrical work means:
- connecting electricity supply wiring to electrical equipment or disconnecting electricity supply wiring from electrical equipment
- installing, removing, adding, testing, replacing, repairing, altering or maintaining electrical equipment or an electrical installation
All Electrical Work must be provided with a certificate must contain a suitable certification statement. For example:
- electrical equipment – a statement that certifies the electrical equipment (to the extent it is affected by the electrical work) has been tested to ensure it is electrically safe
- electrical installations – a statement that certifies the electrical installation (to the extent it is affected by the electrical work) has been tested to ensure it is electrically safe and is in accordance with the requirements of the AS3000 wiring rules and any other standard applying under the Electrical Safety ES Regulation to the electrical installation.
The enforcement of electrical safety falls with each Australian state, which has enacted electrical safety legislation. Liaison between Australia’s eight States and Territories and New Zealand is performed by ERAC (the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council), while it is accepted that an approval gained in 1 State/Territory is acceptable in all other States/Territories.
What are electrical risks?
Electrical risks are risks of death, electric shock or other injury caused directly or indirectly by electricity. The most common electrical risks and causes of injury are:
- electric shock causing injury or death. The electric shock may be received by direct or indirect contact, tracking through or across a medium, or by arcing. For example, electric shock may result from indirect contact where a conductive part that is not normally energised becomes energised due to a fault (e.g. metal toaster body, fence)
- arcing, explosion or fire causing burns. The injuries are often suffered because arcing or explosion or both occur when high fault currents are present
- electric shock from ‘step-and-touch’ potentials
- toxic gases causing illness or death. Burning and arcing associated with electrical equipment may release various gases and contaminants
- fire resulting from an electrical fault.
The risks associated with electrical work are:
- Isolation and access
- Working near sources of arcing, explosion or fires
- Working in unsafe atmospheres
- Modifying or repairing existing low-voltage electrical installations
- Testing and fault finding low-voltage equipment and installations
- High fault currents – working, testing or fault finding energised
- Testing, fault finding or working on or near low voltage equipment
- Other Hazards
To ensure you comply follow the Code of Practice MANAGING ELECTRICAL RISKS
IN THE WORKPLACE
This Code provides practical guidance for persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) on managing electrical risks in the workplace. It applies to all workplaces where a person conducting a business or undertaking:
- has management or control of electrical equipment, including electrical installations, or
- carries out electrical work on or near energised electrical equipment, including electrical installations.
When tendering and quoting on electrical projects you need to allow for the cost of activities associated with providing safe systems of electrical work…Why?
Firstly, to provide a safe working environment for all workers as the electrical industry is a high risk business that needs a great deal attention.
Secondly, Electrical contractors, and workers completing work on behalf of an electrical contractor, must provide their customers with either a:
- ‘certificate of testing and safety’ for work on electrical equipment
- ‘certificate of testing and compliance’ for electrical installation work.
Thirdly, all mains powered electrical products sold or used in Australia must be safe and a basis for determining electrical safety is compliance with AS/NZS3820 (Essential safety requirements for Australia & New Zealand). This standard in itself is not a test standard and references/relies on compliance to relevant product specific safety standards.
Electrical Tenders and Quotes must allow for Safe Systems of Work that include:
- THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS
- SPECIFIC HAZARDS AND RISK CONTROL
- MANAGING THE RISKS OF ELECTRICAL WORK
- RISK CONTROLS – WORKING DE-ENERGISED
- LOW VOLTAGE ISOLATION AND ACCESS
- RISK CONTROLS – ENERGISED ELECTRICAL WORK
- RISK CONTROLS – WORKING NEAR ENERGISED ELECTRICAL PARTS
- TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT – INSPECTION AND TESTING
- DETAILED ELECTRICAL REPORTS
- ENERGY CONSERVATION
- ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
- ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS TESTING
Underquoting electrical projects without the consideration that electrical work is a high risk activity by providing a safe working environment and cutting your quote to the bone means you are taking short cuts in workplace safety including Electrical Safety that exposes you and your colleagues to risks of death, electric shock or other injury caused directly or indirectly by electricity.
ARE YOU READY TO USE COMPLIANT ELECTRICAL ESTIMATING AND TENDERING PROCESSES KNOWING EVERYONE IS SAFE GIVING YOU PEACE OF MIND AND STILL MAKE A PROFIT?
If your answer is YES, then our simple-to-use step-by-step proven training is for you!
You have two options:
Option 1. is the online training click the link below:
Online Electrical Estimating Course
Option 2. is the face-to-face with ELECTROGROUP click the link below to send your expression of interest: ELECTROGROUP By the Industry, For the Industry
