Requirements

Testing and tagging of electrical equipment depend upon many factors but the most important factor is the environment in which appliances are used or located. The least possible testing and tagging intervals are mentioned in AS/NZS 3760 standard. However, these testing intervals also depend upon the WHS Risk Assessment strategies of different companies.

Testing frequencies for some of the common environments are given below:

Construction Sites Requirements:

Construction sites are considered one of the most hazardous or hostile environment. This is because there is a greater probability of getting appliances damaged. There are two types of construction projects. The first type is a commercial construction site which needs to be tested every 1 month. The second type is a domestic construction site which needs to be tested every 3 months.

Factories or Workshops Requirements:

Factories, workshops, warehouses etc. are not considered as hazardous as construction sites but the appliances in the factories such as pallet wrappers, scales, conveyor belts, power tools, grinders, sanders, sanders, drill machines, lathe machines, saws etc. are in continuous use this is why all the electrical equipment inside factories needs to be tested every 6 months.

Cleaning Equipment:

Commercial cleaning equipment such as vacuum machines, blowers, dehumidifies, extraction machines, industrial floor scrubbers etc. needs to be tested every 6 months.

Environment where Power Lead is Prone to Flexing:

In some environments, there is a probability that the leads of the equipment may flex or bend. Typically in office kitchens leads of kettles, sandwich makers, coffee machines, blenders and mixers can bend while being used. Even in some offices, people use power boards (placed on the floor) and extension leads to connect IEC leads of monitors, computers, printers, speakers, laptop chargers etc. In this scenario, equipment needs to be tested every 12 months or 1 year.

Residential Areas:

Residential areas include hotels, motels, boarding houses, aged care centers etc. which need to be tested every 24 months or 2 years.

Non-Hostile Environment:

Environment where the lead of equipment may not flex, or bend is called a non-hostile environment. A few examples of this environment are communication rooms or server rooms with server racks that contain different network switches and routers. As these server rooms are only accessed by qualified IT specialists for configuration purposes so there is a very rare chance of getting any equipment damaged. That is why it is called a non-hostile environment. This environment needs to be tested every 60 months or 5 years.

Hire Equipment:

According to test and tag AS/NZS 3760 standard hire equipment needs Requirements visually inspected before hiring and then tested and tagged for 3 months.