The maze of regulations and rules surrounding businesses could be blinding at the best of times, but the last thing you wish to do is break a principle that is easy to include place. Whether you’re a fresh business owner, or manager of an established business with new equipment, electrical safety in the workplace is one requirement which can be easily fulfilled.
As the law doesn’t require electrical testing to be carried out, it will require your electrical equipment to be safe at all times.
Electricity will always find the easiest path to earth. Any faults or weaknesses within your electrical installation or portable appliances can go undetected. In the case of another fault developing, this could lead to serious risk of fire, electrocution or death. For instance, a 13-amp ring-main without earth continuity could render all metal parts of appliances attached to it “LIVE” if one item on the ring developed a mistake to earth.
In 1989 The Electricity at Work Regulations arrived to force, which clarifies the need to maintain electrical systems safely. Electric Safety Inspection Services in Delhi Regulations require that “all electrical tools and equipment used by construction workers should be safe to use” and that “any electric tools hired out to end-users should be safe to use” ;.In the workplace the regulations specify that employers take steps to limit the risk of harm from electricity and electrical systems, and this includes both electrical installations and electrical equipment.
These regulations apply to the majority of electrical equipment – consumer, commercial and industrial – operating between 50 volts and 1,000 volts AC or between 75 volts and 1,500 volts DC.
The only way to ensure every effort is created towards a safe workplace, and to ensure you are able to back up your work if things fail, is to have regular electrical testing carried out on all the electrical equipment at your workplace. This can accurately identify faults, their locations and usually the recommended solution.
Increasingly, insurers are insisting that inspection and testing be carried out on a regular basis. In the event that you suffer an avoidable accident, then under law if found guilty you is going to be deemed to have committed a criminal offence. Insurers won’t pay fines or compensation suffered resulting from a criminal offence
Compared to the hassle and possible costs of a problem developing, having your installations and appliances tested is easy and normally quite affordable.
The IEE recommend that Electrical Installations are tested every 10 years (for domestic), 5 years (for commercial) or 3 years (for industrial). With respect to the risk-rating for a particular item, Portable Appliance Testing should really be carried out every 3-24 months. High risk items include site equipment and workshop equipment, often associated with heavy workloads under arduous conditions, and far more likely to develop a mistake in a shorter period of time than office equipment.
Worries over power-interruptions and work disruption could be eased, as electrical testing rarely causes such delays. A brief power outage can be likely on each circuit within the machine as testing is carried out, but because the majority of the testing is carried out whilst the machine remains live, these outages could be planned around your daily activities.
When selecting an Electrical Testing Surveyor and other contractor to transport out your tests, ensure they charge by circuit numbers and not floor space (which has no bearing how much circuitry there may or might not be in any given square foot). Also ensure you are going to receive proper and elaborative reports and paperwork for the reports, to give you ample documentation for the efforts.
It is also a good idea to look for a company that holds a certificate from the UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service), ensuring they’re accredited with the correct qualifications and standards for the job.
Finding such a qualified professional to transport out your electrical testing satisfies all of the legal requirements for the workplace, and covers you and your employees for future years in the eyes of what the law states – subject, of course, to any remedial work requirements being addressed as identified by testing.