If you live in Australia and run a business, you may notice that there are rules and regulations that require you to have every device tested and tagged properly every so many months in order to maintain them and keep them in your workplace – and we mean EVERY electrical item that plugs into electrical outlets, not just a few of them. In order to have your equipment tested and tagged, there are more than one way, but in this guide we’re going to cover the general ways that pieces of equipment need to be tested and tagged.
Two Ways
The two ways that items are tested and tagged is to visually inspect every single appliance, and even the cord for the appliance. The second part of the test and tag process is to use an electric tester (usually just a portable appliance tester, or ohmmeter as they’re often called). Using these two tools, once the process is complete, the item is properly tagged as passed (or failed if the item needs repaired), and then it can be used or sent to the repair shop depending on the tagged status.
This information is then jotted down into a detailed log that shows what tests were performed to what appliance, and for whom to properly identify the appliance being tested. Sounds easy right? Well, the process is actually quite time consuming, and can actually be quite a pain, especially when you consider just how many electrical items you may have in a place such as a large factory, construction company, etc.
Does Everybody Need to Test and Tag?
Technically every single business needs to participate in test and tag if they have electronic equipment that is used by their workers in any way, shape, or form. This even includes office equipment such as printers, office computers, and sometimes landline telephones that require a power outlet plug-in as well. Depending on your industry, you may actually have to have your appliances tested and tagged in a certain amount of months.
For example, if you work in the demolition or even construction industry, or even the mining industry, you have to have all electrical appliances tested and tagged 4 times a year, at the maximum 90 days apart. The reason that Australia requires this is because these industries have had the most electrical accidents, and the equipment in these industries endures some of the harshest conditions that can affect the quality and operation of the equipment.
Conclusion
Rather than choosing to do things the hard way, and have to hire a team of people that you need to train, certify, expend extra money for payroll, insurance, workman’s compensation, the equipment to test and tag, and more, you should consider investing into a company like Electrical Testing Services NZ test and tag, where the professional electricians there can do this service for you for a lesser charge. You only pay for the work that is done for you when it is done, and don’t have to incur all of those extra expenses out of your pocket, let alone the time needed to perform these tasks.