Electrical safety procedure

Electrical work must only be conducted and/or supervised by licensed and competent electricians.

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Electrical workers are to wear clothing and safety equipment that provides appropriate safety protection to the head, body, arms, legs and feet. The level of personal protective clothing and PPE on each site will be mandated by the site’s specific procedures.

Electrical drawings

All electrical drawings must be readily available to everyone working, testing, commissioning or fault finding on switchboards and electrical equipment.

Power boards

Power boards used at workplaces must comply with AS/NZS 3105 – Approval and Test Specification for Electrical Portable Outlet Devices.

Extension cords

Extension cords must:

• comply with AS/NZS 3199 – Approval and Test Specification for Cord Extension Sets
• when used externally, have portable RCDs attached or RCDs integrated as part of the extension cord unless they are connected to an RCD protected circuit
• be fully extended when in use, not placed where they may be lying in water and not placed in such a way that they could be a tripping hazard (e.g. across aisles, corridors or other areas where people walk).

Residual current devices (RCD)

Serious injuries and fatalities can be prevented by using RCDs, referred to as safety switches. RCDs are typically provided at the electrical distribution board for lighting and power circuits. In some situations, RCDs are installed at the socket outlet.

Identify and isolate all potential sources of electricity if the work undertaken places the person at higher risk than normally associated with the job.

Always test equipment to check it is de-energised before performing any work on it using the safety principle: ‘Test for dead before you touch’.

Drawings of electrical circuits must be available at all workplaces. Work may only proceed on de-energised equipment after:

• a risk assessment has been completed
• any part of an installation to be worked on has been isolated and the isolation has been verified.

Working de-energised on low voltage electrical equipment or circuits requires the electrical equipment or circuits to be effectively isolated from all relevant sources of electricity supply. This may be done using opening switches, removing fuses or links, opening circuit breakers or removing circuit connections.

The standard steps in low voltage isolation are:

• Isolation – identifying the circuit(s) requiring isolation; disconnecting active conductors from the relevant source(s), noting there may be multiple sources and stand-by systems/generators/photovoltaic systems as well as auxiliary supplies from other boards; and if a removable or rack out circuit breaker or combined fuse switch is used it should, if reasonably practicable, be racked out or removed then locked open and danger tagged.
• Secure – the isolation locking the isolating switch(es) where practicable or removing and tying back relevant conductors to protect the person(s) carrying out the electrical work.
• Tag – tagging the switching points where possible to provide general information to people at the workplace.
• Test – testing to confirm the relevant circuits have been de-energised and any other relevant conductors in the work area.
• Re-test as necessary – for example, if the person carrying out the work temporarily leaves the immediate area, checks and tests must be carried out on their return to ensure that the electrical equipment being worked on is still isolated to safeguard against inadvertent reconnection by another person; for example, if a wire changes its status when cut, which can occur because it is lifted from earth.

• To secure the isolation and electrical equipment requires the disconnection and/or physical lock and tag applied to prevent unintended or inadvertent energisation.
• The point of isolation should be under the control of the person who is carrying out the work on the isolated conductors.
• Tagging systems should also be used at the point(s) of isolation where possible for general information.
• Locking off – Isolation points should be fitted with control mechanisms that prevent the electrical equipment from being inadvertently re-energised. The control mechanism should require a deliberate action to engage or disengage the device. It should be able to withstand conditions that could lead to the isolation failing, for example, vibration.
• Tagging systems – Danger tags – Isolation involves using suitable warning or safety signs as well as locks or other controls to secure the isolation. Out of service tags – Out of service or caution tags are used to identify electrical equipment that is not safe to use or fit for purpose.

Refer to Managing electrical risks in the workplace – code of practice for guidelines for securing isolation.

• It may be necessary to change an isolation point to allow for testing or fault finding on energised parts, for example testing that may be required before returning electrical equipment to service and commissioning new electrical equipment.
• Any testing or fault finding on energised parts must be carried out in accordance with requirements for energised electrical work, as outlined in Section 7 of the Managing electrical risks in the workplace – code of practice.
• If electricity supply is restored to part of the circuit, then safe procedures for restoring electricity supply must be followed.

You must take all reasonable steps to ensure restoring electricity supply following isolation does not pose a risk to health and safety at the workplace:

• appropriately terminate all conductors
• carry out appropriate testing on any new, altered or repaired electrical equipment, for example, test for insulation resistance, earth continuity, polarity, correct connection and function testing
• remove safeguards, including temporary bonds and short-circuiting devices
• notify all workers working on the electrical equipment and other affected workers at the workplace that electricity is to be restored
• take precautions as appropriate to ensure that other electrical equipment is not inadvertently energised
• follow procedures for removing any locks (or other control mechanisms), tags, notices and safety signs
• carry out a visual inspection to ensure that all tools, surplus material and waste has been removed from the workplace.

When electricity is restored, tests must be carried out to confirm that polarity is correct, actives are switched and, where applicable, phase sequences are correct before electrical equipment is used. For further information refer to AS/NZS 3017:2007 Electrical installations – verification guidelines.

• All persons are prohibited from carrying out any kind of electrical work on any electrical circuit or apparatus that remains in an electrically energised condition.
• The operation manager and/or site manager are responsible for ensuring all electrical personnel are aware of and apply the NO LIVE ELECTRICAL WORK rule.
• Energised electrical work is only to be performed by a contracted appropriately licensed and registered person in accordance with WHS Regulations 2012 (SA).
• Where work involves working near live parts, all exposed conductors and other live parts in the immediate work area must be confirmed as de-energised or if not practicable, protected from inadvertent contact as a minimum using insulating barricades.
• To verify equipment is in a safe condition and is ‘Fit for Duty’, whenever an electrical circuit is newly installed, broken or reconnected, the integrity of the completed work must be tested by a licensed electrician before being energised.

PEER Construction provides competent workers to complete electrical testing and tagging. The supervisor is responsible for identifying equipment for testing. Priority is given to equipment that fits one or more of the risk factors listed:

General risk factors:

• handheld – moved during use
• portable – frequently moved from one location to another
• supply cord is subject to abuse
• supply cord is subject to frequent flexing.

Environmental risk factors incorporate exposure to:

• moisture – used in a wet area, outdoor use or storage
• dust – used in a dusty environment
• heat – positioned adjacent to a heat source
• corrosive environment
• vibration
• mechanical damage.

Portable electrical appliances and tools are to be inspected and records kept in accordance with AS/NZS 3760 – Electrical Safety Standard.

A competent person must inspect, test and tag all portable electrical appliances including hired and personal equipment, flexible extension cords, portable RCDs and power boards.

All portable electrical appliances, flexible extension cords, portable RCDs and electric portable outlet devices (power boards) without a valid inspection tag must be removed from service immediately.

Electrical equipment that fails a test will be immediately removed from use by:

• cutting the plug off and disposing of the item in an appropriate waste stream or
• applying an Out-of-Service tag to the piece of equipment, pending further inspection, repair and testing.