Electrical safety - Flinders University Staff flinders.edu.au Staff Students Library Employee resources Benefits and pay Benefits and pay overview Getting paid Leave Superannuation Employee health plan Employee assistance program Staff discounts and offers P&C forms, documents and guides Working at Flinders Working at Flinders overview Information for new staff All job vacancies Internal job vacancies Enterprise agreement Equal opportunity and diversity Performance reviews Professional Development Professional development overview Academic promotion Manager & supervisor resources Manager & Supervisor resources overview Supervisor reference manual Induction checklist Inducting new staff Workday Flinders Pro iEnrol login Workplace support Doing your job Digital services Travel Work health and safety Finance Finance forms, documents and guides Handling student complaints Policy library Risk management Everyday needs Searchable list of everyday topics Room bookings Flinders Press (Printing and copying) Corporate Word and Powerpoint templates Guide to updating your staff profile Your campus Parking on campus (Bedford Park) Parking and transport (Tonsley) Building work - current projects and campus works Virtual Business Blue and Guest parking permits Contractors Contractor registration and inductions Service One Okta vPermit FlinSafe Teaching and research resources Teaching resources Learning and teaching Timetables Academic integrity Research resources Research support Research contracts Research integrity, ethics and compliance Researcher training, development and communications Research analytics and reporting Research partnerships and commercialisation Funding opportunities Funding opportunities overview Philanthropic funding Research grants and tenders Teaching and learning awards Student Two Web Research Now login Colleges and services Colleges College of Business, Government and Law College of Education, Psychology and Social Work College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences College of Medicine and Public Health College of Nursing and Health Sciences College of Science and Engineering Professional Services Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching Finance and Procurement Services Flinders International Services Governance, Legal and Risk Information and Digital Services Office of Communication, Marketing and Engagement Office of Graduate Research Office of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement People and Culture Property, Facilities and Development Research Development and Support Student Administration Services Student Experience Student Recruitment Service One Staff directory flinders.edu.au Staff Students Library You have no saved courses. Continue to explore your course options. Explore our courses Your saved courses {{{courseName}}} mail_outline delete View all saved courses Quick links Staff directory Workday Service One Flinders dashboard (Okta) Calendar Semester dates Bedford Park campus map Parking Policy library Toggle navigation Electrical safety Workplace support Work Health and Safety Information & documents Topics Electrical safety Navigation Report an accident, incident or hazard Report an accident, incident or hazard FlinSafe information Accident/incident investigation Resolving health and safety issues Emergency and fire safety Emergency procedures First aid Evacuation videos Building wardens Bushfire safety Managing risk Risk management Workplace safety inspections WHS auditing WHS system, roles and responsibilities WHS Management system What we do Health and safety committees Health and safety representatives Document control and record keeping Information & documents Topics Forms Policies and procedures Checklists Brochures Documents out for comment External links Injury management Workers compensation Recovery and return to work Information for supervisors and managers Health & wellbeing Health and wellbeing Employee assistance program Personal safety and security Contact Induction and training Work Health and Safety Regulations describe the requirements for ensuring that persons at work are, as far as is reasonably practicable, safe from the risks of injury caused by electricity; minimising the risk of injury, electrical shock or fire at the workplace; and, ensuring any electrical work performed on an electrical installation or electrical plant is carried out by a competent person. The Code of Practice Managing Electrical Risks in the Workplace provides practical guidance on managing electrical risks in the workplace. In most cases, following the Code of Practice will achieve compliance with the health and safety duties of WHS legislation. However compliance may also be achieved by following other methods, such as technical or industry standards, provided these provide an equivalent or higher standard of work health and safety than the Code. University Electrical Safety Procedures The University's Electrical safety procedures outline the appropriate standards for management of electrical safety in the University. The technical details which qualified electricians and electronic technicians are expected to know have not been repeated in these Procedures. The management of electrical safety is designed to provide protection from: Electric shock arising from exposed contacts, damaged insulation on electrical equipment or extension leads, wet conditions in the area of equipment used. Risk of fire arising from heating equipment, overloaded circuits, loose connections, short circuits, inappropriate electrical equipment in hazardous environments Testing and tagging of electrical equipment Electrical equipment must be electrically tested and tagged in accordance with the Electrical Safety Procedures and at intervals specified in AS/NZS 3760 unless the testing interval has been varied by the completion of a risk assessment. The safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment must be carried out by competent persons. These can be either external companies qualified to do this work or staff members who have undergone training in the use of testing equipment and determination of results. Anyone requiring certification should contact their supervisor/manager. Testing is carried out at regular intervals: Table showing intervals between inspection and tests of electrical equipment Use and Visual Inspection of electrical equipment All users of electrical equipment should: visually inspect all electrical equipment prior to use to check: equipment is free from obvious external damage; component defects - accessories, connectors, plugs, or socket outlets; supply cords - inner cords not exposed, external sheaths not cut, abraded or damaged; flexible cords effectively anchored; security/alignment of any control knobs; covers/guards are secure; mechanical safety facilities/devices (e.g. cut outs) are in working order; ventilation inlets or exhausts are unobstructed; controls or alarms are in working order; cords are not tangled and do not contribute a tripping hazard; powerboards - warning indicating "maximum load to be connected" is visible and legible; the environment is not detrimental to the safe use of electrical equipment. ensure the appropriate area supervisor is notified of any faults and equipment that is out of service for maintenance or repair; use the correct appliance for the specific task; ensure that electrical appliances are dry and clean; ensure that an appropriate power board is used where more than one appliance is required to be connected to a single GPO; not use double adaptors or "piggy-back" plugs; not withdraw a plug from a socket by pulling the cable. Visual inspection should be carried out at regular intervals if equipment issued daily and/or before operation if the equipment is used infrequently or moved around. The following need to be to done when undertaking electrical testing and tagging: Visual Inspection Electrical Appliance Testing Note: some of the above may not apply to all electrical equipment. Some items or hazards that require taking out of service and replacing: Double Adaptors are banned from use in the University Abraded cord on extension lead Abraded cord with fabric outer sheath Calculator cord trapped between two desks rubbed away at the insulation causing the inner cords to become exposed Powerboard with inner cords exposed Slit/Nick in extension lead - provides a hazard. Cable grip is failing to anchor the cord on the plug socket - this could pull the wires from the connectors to provide a hazard Charred double adaptor - overloading electrical items can cause a fire Lead is not correctly anchored into the cable grip of the plug - again this will put strain on the inner cords Electrical Work Electrical work on University premises must be carried out by properly qualified competent persons. The Buildings & Property Division must authorise Competent Persons – Licensed Electrical Worker to carry out or supervise electrical work in the University. The relevant Senior Executive must approve Competent Persons – Electrical/Electronic Technicians and Competent Persons – Testing and Tagging who are to undertake work in their College/Portfolio. Management of Electrical Hazards The general principles and process of risk management (hazard identification, risk assessment, control and review) must be applied to electrical hazards. For more information: WHS risk management procedures Reporting of electric shock and electrical incidents Legislation requires the University to notify SafeWork SA and the Office of the Technical Regulator (for South Australian sites), NT WorkSafe (for NT sites) and WorkSafe Victoria (for Victorian sites), of any accident or incident that involves an electric shock as well as any incident involving electricity that might have caused injury. See Notifiable accidents and incidents for more information. Notification must be within 24 hours. Hence, any injury or incident involving electricity in the University must be reported to the Associate Director, WHS as soon as possible after the event. In addition, as soon as practicable, the Accident/Incident must be reported on FlinSafe as soon as possible. On receipt of a report the Associate Director, WHS will investigate immediately and, if appropriate, contact SafeWork SA, or the relevant interstate authority, which may decide to undertake further investigation. Need more information? Contact Work Health & Safety 08 8201 3024 whs@flinders.edu.au Sturt Rd, Bedford Park South Australia 5042 Glossary of terms and abbreviations Current students Staff directory Flinders website Follow Flinders Feedback and requests Disclaimer Accessibility Privacy CRICOS Provider: 00114A Last Updated: 03 Sep 2019 This website uses cookies Flinders University uses cookies to ensure website functionality, personalisation, and for a variety of purposes described in the website privacy statement. For details about these cookies and how to set your cookie preferences, refer to our website privacy statement. You consent to the use of our cookies if you proceed. Accept and continue
