Maintaining portable and transportable electrical equipment

Transcription

1 Health ad Safety Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet This is a free-to-dowload, web-friedly versio of HSG107 (Secod editio, published 2004). This versio has bee adapted for olie use from HSE s curret prited versio. You ca buy the book at ad most good bookshops. ISBN Price 7.95 Nearly a quarter of all reportable electrical accidets ivolve portable or trasportable equipmet. If you use this type of equipmet i your workplace, this book ca help you to maitai it i a safe coditio ad prevet accidets. This ew editio cotais updated advice, with ew sectios o cables ad repair/replacemet. HSE Books Page 1 of 18

2 Health ad Safety Crow copyright 2004 First published 1994 Secod editio 2004 ISBN All rights reserved. No part of this publicatio may be reproduced, stored i a retrieval system, or trasmitted i ay form or by ay meas (electroic, mechaical, photocopyig, recordig or otherwise) without the prior writte permissio of the copyright ower. Applicatios for reproductio should be made i writig to: The Office of Public Sector Iformatio, Iformatio Policy Team, Kew, Richmod, Surrey TW9 4DU or [email protected] This guidace is issued by the Health ad Safety. Followig the guidace is ot compulsory ad you are free to take other actio. But if you do follow the guidace you will ormally be doig eough to comply with the law. Health ad safety ispectors seek to secure compliace with the law ad may refer to this guidace as illustratig good practice. Page 2 of 18

3 Health ad Safety Cotets Itroductio 4 Duties uder the law 5 Explaatio of terms used 6 Cotrollig the risk 6 Use of the equipmet 8 Costructio of the equipmet 8 Cables 8 Eviromet 9 Maiteace 9 Repair ad replacemet 14 Appedix 1 Legal requiremets 15 Appedix 2 Summary 16 Refereces 17 Further iformatio 18 Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 3 of 18

4 Health ad Safety Itroductio 1 Nearly a quarter of all reportable electrical accidets ivolve portable equipmet. The vast majority of these accidets result i electric shock. This book gives advice o how to maitai portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet safely ad avoid such accidets. This ew editio cotais updated advice, with ew sectios o cables ad repair/replacemet. 2 The guidace covers equipmet that may be coected to the fixed mais supply, or to a locally geerated supply, ad could result i a electric shock or bur, or fire due to damage, wear or misuse. It covers electric drills, extesio leads, portable hadlamps, portable griders, pressure water cleaers, floor cleaers, electric kettles ad similar equipmet used i all eviromets. It also gives advice o what the legal requiremets for maiteace ca mea i practice. 3 This book should assist employers, employees ad the self-employed who use, or have cotrol over, portable or trasportable electrical equipmet. It describes what actio ca be take to maitai the equipmet i a safe coditio, wherever it is used, ad help prevet dager arisig. The recommeded maiteace strategy is based o a straightforward, iexpesive system of visual ispectio that ca be udertake by a employee. The strategy is explaied i more detail i paragraphs People i cotrol are, however, free to take other actio or use alterative cotrol measures that achieve a equivalet stadard of safety. 4 I additio to the geeral priciples set out here, more detailed guidace has bee produced for offices ad other low-risk eviromets, for the hotel sector, 1, 2, 3 ad for costructio sites. 5 Portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet should oly be used for its iteded purpose, ad i the eviromet it was desiged ad costructed for. Maiteace will ot allow safe use of equipmet i circumstaces it is ot iteded for, eg usig a table lamp as a had lamp, or equipmet that is ot waterproof i a wet eviromet. Examples of portable ad trasportable equipmet Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 4 of 18

5 Health ad Safety 6 Major items of plat, such as vehicles, craes ad geerators, are beyod the scope of this book, as are electromedical equipmet ad electrostatic sprayig equipmet, ad equipmet used below groud i mies, for which there are special requiremets. 7 Specialised busiess equipmet, such as computers, priters, photocopiers etc, does ot preset the same degree of risk as equipmet such as electric drills, providig the leads ad plugs are protected from mechaical damage or stress. Movemet, ad therefore damage through beig moved, is less likely to occur, ad the equipmet is ofte double-isulated ad used i a dry, clea eviromet with o-coductig floors. 8 Detailed iformatio o ispectio ad testig of electrical equipmet has bee produced by the Istitutio of Electrical Egieers (IEE). 4 This documet gives guidace both for those with maagemet resposibility for electrical maiteace, but who may have little techical kowledge, ad for those who actually carry out the ispectios ad tests. The IEE documet gives advice ad makes recommedatios o what may be cosidered to be pass or fail coditios. I the past there has bee a uecessarily high failure rate for certai types of equipmet, ofte due to isufficiet iformatio or kowledge. Duties uder the law 9 There are legal duties o maufacturers ad suppliers coverig the iitial itegrity (safety) of ew work equipmet. There are geeral duties coverig the use ad maiteace of work equipmet, desiged to esure that it remais i a safe coditio. Further details are cotaied i Appedix The particular legal requiremets relatig to the use ad maiteace of electrical equipmet are cotaied i the Electricity at Work Regulatios 1989 (EAW). These Regulatios apply to all work activities ivolvig electrical equipmet. They place duties o employers, the self-employed ad employees (subsequetly referred to as duty holders). These duties are iteded to cotrol risks arisig from the use of electricity. 11 The Regulatios are goal-settig, describig safety objectives to be achieved, without prescribig the measures to be take. This allows the duty holder to select precautios appropriate to the risk rather tha havig precautios imposed that may ot be relevat to a particular work activity. For further iformatio see the Memoradum of Guidace o the Electricity at Work Regulatios 1989 (EAW Memoradum) EAW Regulatio 4(2) requires that all systems be maitaied, so far as reasoably practicable, to prevet dager. This requiremet covers all items of electrical equipmet icludig fixed, portable ad trasportable equipmet. Particular actios that ca be take i order to maitai portable ad trasportable equipmet, ad thereby prevet dager, are described i paragraph 34 of this book owards. The Memoradum also gives guidace o the meaig of reasoably practicable. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 5 of 18

6 Health ad Safety Explaatio of terms used Hazard 13 A simple defiitio of a hazard is aythig that ca cause harm if thigs go wrog (eg a fault o equipmet). Risk 14 A simple defiitio of risk is the chace (large or small) of harm actually beig doe whe thigs go wrog (eg risk of electric shock from faulty equipmet). Portable ad trasportable 15 There is o uiversally accepted defiitio of what is meat by portable or trasportable electrical equipmet. However, i this guidace it meas equipmet that is ot part of a fixed istallatio, but is iteded to be coected to a fixed istallatio, or a geerator, by meas of a flexible cable ad either a plug ad socket, or a spur box, or similar meas. This icludes equipmet that is either had-held or had-operated while coected to the supply, iteded to be moved while coected to the supply, or likely to be moved while coected to the supply. The electrical supply to the equipmet is assumed to be at a voltage that ca give a fatal electrical shock to a perso, ie more tha 50 V ac or 120 V dc. 16 Examples of portable equipmet iclude: tools ad extesio leads i the costructio idustry (high-risk); griders ad hadlamps i geeral maufacturig (medium-risk); ad floor cleaers ad metal-bodied kettles i offices (medium-risk). Extesio leads, plugs ad sockets, ad cord sets that supply portable equipmet, are classified as portable equipmet because they operate i the same eviromet ad are subject to the same use as the equipmet they serve. Note: The word portable is used subsequetly to mea both portable ad trasportable. Cotrollig the risk 17 Failure to maitai the equipmet is a major cause of accidets ivolvig portable equipmet. The likelihood of accidets occurrig ad their severity will vary, depedig o the type of electrical equipmet, the way i which it is used ad the eviromet i which it is used. A pressure washer 18 A example of a high-risk activity is the use of a pressure water cleaer, powered by a 230 V electrical supply, with the cable trailig o the groud where it ca be damaged by vehicles ad other equipmet, ad where water is preset. Damage to the cable or other parts is likely to expose the operator or others to electric shock. 19 Similar risks result whe electrical equipmet such as drills or portable griders are used i a harsh ad sometimes wet eviromet such as at a costructio site, where there is a high probability of mechaical damage. 20 Lower risks result from floor cleaers or kettles that are geerally used i a more beig eviromet, eg offices ad hotels. But such equipmet ca still be subject to itesive use ad wear. This ca evetually lead to faults that ca also result i a shock, burs or, more rarely, a fire. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 6 of 18

7 Health ad Safety 21 Cotrol of risks arisig from the use of portable electrical equipmet should be based o a risk assessmet. Guidace o carryig out a risk assessmet is give i paragraphs Risks ca be maaged ad cotrolled by settig up a appropriate maiteace system icludig the measures referred to i paragraphs A electrical accidet ca lead to a potetially fatal electric shock, or fire affectig the whole premises. The maiteace system should therefore be desiged to be proactive, ie plaed to prevet icidets arisig, rather tha reactive, where actio is take followig a icidet/accidet. The measures take should be appropriate to the risk. Procedures will eed to be carried out more frequetly where the risk is high, eg o costructio sites, ad less frequetly where the risk is lower, eg i offices. 23 Much uauthorised equipmet is brought to work by employees (eg electric heaters, kettles, coffee percolators, electric fas). Use of such equipmet should be cotrolled ad it may eed to be icluded i the maiteace regime (particularly the formal visual ispectio described i paragraphs 41-46) if its use if permitted. Equipmet that fails a user check (paragraphs 39-40) or a formal visual ispectio should ot be used util it is properly repaired. 24 If you are settig up a maiteace regime for the first time, see Table 1 (after paragraph 59) for suggested iitial itervals betwee both formal visual ispectios ad combied ispectios ad tests. Duty holders may use the suggested itervals as a startig poit, but every situatio has to be cosidered i relatio to the type of equipmet, its use ad its eviromet. Duty holders may therefore choose itervals that they cosider to be appropriate. (The suggested frequecies for ispectio ad testig give i Table 1 are recommedatios ad are ot legal requiremets.) 25 With practical maiteace experiece, it may be possible to exted maiteace itervals if few faults are foud. However, if faults are commo it may be ecessary to reduce itervals, or take other actio to improve maiteace ad reduce risk. Cable damage Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 7 of 18

8 Health ad Safety Use of the equipmet 26 Portable equipmet ad the electrical coectios to it (eg the plug ad flexible cable ad its termiatios) are likely to be subjected to, ad more vulerable to, physical damage ad wear or harsh treatmet i use tha equipmet which forms part of the fixed istallatio. The fixed istallatio is usually provided with a sigificat degree of protectio agaist damage by the fabric of the buildig or fixed eclosure. (But the same legal requiremets apply to both portable ad fixed equipmet.) Damaged plug casig 27 Equipmet that is held by had or hadled whe switched o will preset a greater degree of risk because, if it does develop a dagerous fault, the perso holdig it will almost certaily receive a electric shock. Costructio of the equipmet 28 For safety reasos some electrical equipmet relies o the metallic (exposed coductig) parts of the equipmet beig effectively earthed. This type of equipmet is kow as Class I. If this earth coectio is lost there is a possibility of the exterior of the equipmet becomig live, with a potetially fatal result. Ayoe touchig live metal will be i cotact with electricity. Lost earth coectio 29 Aother category of electrical equipmet, kow as Class II (which icludes double-isulated equipmet marked ), is costructed with high-itegrity isulatio ad does ot have or eed a earth coectio i order to maitai safety. Cables 30 The most vulerable item is ofte the cable (sometimes called cord or lead) that supplies the equipmet. Most portable equipmet is supplied by a flexible cable, which is made up of thi, flexible wires covered i isulatio ad the eclosed i a overall sheath. The cable may deteriorate due to ageig or evirometal effects, fail because of repeated flexig, or suffer mechaical damage. The most obvious examples of mechaical damage are beig struck or peetrated by objects. Damaged cable 31 Repeated or excessive flexig will evetually cause the coductor to fracture ad the sheath to crack. Damage usually occurs first at the cord grip or glad where the cable eters the equipmet or its plug. The damage is usually apparet at the user check (see paragraphs 39-40) ad should be reported. The cable should be replaced before a dagerous fault develops, such as exposure of coductors, or possibly arcig betwee broke coductor eds. 32 Some portable equipmet (such as floor-polishers, hedge-trimmers, saws ad solderig iros) is capable of causig damage to the sheath, or eve to the isulatio, of its ow flexible cable. The cable should be secured i such a way that it does ot come ito cotact with parts that are movig or hot. The users of such equipmet should always be o the alert to avoid such damage. If damage does occur they should stop usig the equipmet ad report it. Damaged cable grip Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 8 of 18

9 Health ad Safety Eviromet 33 The risk of receivig a electric shock will be greater whe the user of portable electrical equipmet is stadig o a surface that is a good electrical coductor (such as the groud outside, a cocrete floor or o scaffoldig) tha if they are stadig o a woode floor or dry carpet ad ot i cotact with earthed metal work. Maiteace 34 Although a good iitial level of safety ca be achieved by correct selectio ad use of equipmet ad its coectors ad cables, lastig safety ca oly be attaied by ogoig ad effective maiteace (see paragraphs 36-37). Users should treat their equipmet reasoably, icludig stoppig it if defects occur ad reportig them. Cracked casig ad damaged cable sheath 35 I may cases (eg Class I equipmet), the safety of portable electrical equipmet depeds o the cotiued itegrity of the earthig, ad correct coectios, of the fixed electrical istallatio up to ad icludig the socket supplyig the equipmet. So you should also correctly select, use ad maitai the fixed istallatio, although this is outside the scope of this book - see Ispectio ad testig (Guidace Note 3) from the Istitutio of Electrical Egieers (IEE) 6 for guidace o ispectio ad testig of the fixed electrical istallatio. 36 Maiteace ca iclude visual ispectio, testig, repair ad replacemet. Maiteace will determie whether equipmet is fully serviceable or remedial actio is ecessary. Routie ispectio ad appropriate testig, where ecessary, are ormally part of ay overall strategy for esurig that work equipmet is maitaied i a safe coditio. 37 Cost-effective maiteace of portable electric equipmet ca be achieved by a combiatio of: checks by the user; formal visual ispectios by a perso traied ad appoited to carry them out; combied ispectio ad tests by a electrically competet perso or by a cotractor. 38 Maagemet should follow up these procedures by moitorig the effectiveess of the system ad takig actio where faults are foud, particularly whe faults are frequet. User checks (visual) 39 The perso usig the equipmet should be ecouraged to look at it critically ad check for sigs that it may ot be i soud coditio, for example: Cable damage covered with tape damage (apart from light scuffig) to the cable sheath; damage to the plug, for example the casig is crackig or the pis are bet; iadequate joits, icludig taped joits i the cable; the outer sheath of the cable is ot effectively secured where it eters the plug or the equipmet. Obvious evidece would be if the coloured isulatio of the iteral cable cores were showig; the equipmet has bee subjected to coditios for which it is ot suitable, eg it is wet or excessively cotamiated; Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 9 of 18

10 Health ad Safety damage to the exteral casig of the equipmet or there are some loose parts or screws; evidece of overheatig (bur marks or discoloratio). 40 These checks also apply to extesio leads ad associated plugs ad sockets. The user should make visual checks whe the equipmet is take ito use ad durig use. Ay faults should be reported to maagemet ad the equipmet take out of use immediately. Maagemet should take effective steps to esure that the equipmet is ot used agai util it is repaired by a perso competet to carry out the task (eg the defective equipmet could be labelled as faulty ad its associated plug removed). Formal visual ispectios 41 The most importat compoet of a maiteace regime is usually the formal visual ispectio, carried out routiely by a traied perso. Such ispectios ca pick up most potetially dagerous faults ad the maiteace regime should always iclude this compoet. 42 To cotrol the risks ad to moitor the user checks, a competet perso should carry out regular ispectios that iclude visual checks similar to those i paragraphs but udertake i a more formal ad systematic maer. Additioal checks could iclude: Homemade fuse removig the plug cover ad esurig that a fuse is beig used (eg it is a fuse ot a piece of wire or a ail etc); checkig that the cord grip is effective; checkig that the cable termiatios are secure ad correct, icludig a earth where appropriate, ad there is o sig of iteral damage, overheatig or igress of liquid or foreig matter. 43 The formal visual ispectio should ot iclude takig the equipmet apart. This should be cofied, where ecessary, to the combied ispectio ad testig. Missig screw o earth coectio 44 The traied perso ca ormally be a member of staff who has sufficiet iformatio ad kowledge of what to look for, ad what is acceptable, ad who has bee give the task of carryig out the ispectio. To avoid dager, traied people should kow whe the limit of their kowledge ad experiece has bee reached. Simple, writte guidace relatig to the visual ispectio ca be produced that summarises what to look for ad which procedures to follow whe faults are foud or whe uauthorised equipmet is foud i use. This guidace ca also help equipmet users. 45 The formal visual ispectios should be carried out at regular itervals. The period betwee ispectios ca vary cosiderably, depedig o the type of equipmet, the coditios of use ad the eviromet. For example, equipmet used o a costructio site or i a heavy steel fabricatio workshop will eed much more frequet ispectio tha equipmet such as floor cleaers i a office. I all cases, however, the period betwee ispectios should be reviewed i the light of experiece. Faulty equipmet should be take out of service ad ot used agai util properly repaired. If ecessary, it should be tested. 46 The patter of faults ca help maagemet decide what actio to take, depedig o whether the faults show: the wrog equipmet is beig selected for the job; further protectio may be ecessary i a harsh eviromet; the equipmet is beig misused. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 10 of 18

11 Health ad Safety Combied ispectio ad tests 47 The checks ad ispectios outlied i the previous paragraphs will, if carried out properly, reveal most (but ot all) potetially dagerous faults. However, some deterioratio of the cable, its termials ad the equipmet itself ca be expected after sigificat use. Additioally, the equipmet itself may be misused or abused to the extet that it ca give rise to dager. Some of these faults, such as loss of earth itegrity (eg broke earth wire withi a flexible cable), or deterioratio of isulatio itegrity, or cotamiatio of iteral ad exteral surfaces, caot be detected by visual ispectio aloe. Periodic combied ispectio ad testig is the oly reliable way of detectig such faults, ad should be carried out to back up the checks ad ispectio regime. Testig is likely to be justified: wheever there is reaso to suppose the equipmet may be defective (but this caot be cofirmed by visual ispectio); after ay repair, modificatio or similar work; at periods appropriate to the equipmet, the maer ad frequecy of use ad the eviromet. 48 The ispectio carried out i cojuctio with testig should usually iclude checkig: the correct polarity of supply cables; correct fusig; effective termiatio of cables ad cores; that the equipmet is suitable for its eviromet. 49 Such combied ispectio ad testig requires a greater degree of competece tha that required for ispectio aloe, because the results of the tests may require iterpretatio ad appropriate electrical kowledge will be eeded. However, it ca ofte be carried out by a competet employee. 50 People carryig out testig of portable electrical equipmet should be appropriately traied for this work. It is the employer s duty to esure that they are competet for the work they are to carry out. Basically, there are two levels of competecy. Portable appliace tester (PAT) The first level is where a perso ot skilled i electrical work routiely uses a simple pass/fail type of portable appliace tester (PAT), where o iterpretatio of readigs is ecessary. The perso would eed to kow how to use the PAT correctly. Providig the appropriate test procedures are rigorously followed ad acceptace criteria are clearly defied, this routie ca be straightforward. The secod level is where a perso with appropriate electrical skills uses a more sophisticated istrumet that gives actual readigs requirig iterpretatio. Such a perso would eed to be competet through techical kowledge or experiece related to the type of work. 51 Some combiatio of the actios i paragraphs should provide the most cost-effective way of esurig, so far as is reasoably practicable, that equipmet will be maitaied i a safe coditio wherever it is used. The actios i paragraphs are relatively simple. The more extesive ispectio ad testig described i paragraphs ca be carried out less frequetly if the maiteace system icludes formal visual ispectios ad moitorig of the user checks described i paragraphs Testig ca be carried out at miimal cost where a employee has bee traied to a suitable level of competece ad provided with appropriate equipmet. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 11 of 18

12 Health ad Safety Maiteace ad test records 53 Although there is o requiremet i the EAW Regulatios to keep maiteace logs for portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet, the EAW Memoradum 5 does refer to the beefits of recordig maiteace, icludig test results. A suitable log is useful as a maagemet tool for moitorig ad reviewig the effectiveess of the maiteace scheme ad also to demostrate that a scheme exists. It ca also be used as a ivetory of equipmet ad a check o the use of uauthorised equipmet (eg domestic kettles or electric heaters brought to work by employees). 54 The log ca iclude faults foud durig ispectio, which may be a useful idicator of places of use, or types of equipmet, that are subject to a higher tha average level of wear or damage. This will help moitor whether suitable equipmet has bee selected. Etries i a test log ca also highlight ay adverse treds i test readigs that may affect the safety of the equipmet, thus eablig remedial actio to be take. Be careful whe iterpretig treds where a subsequet test may be doe with a differet istrumet to that used for a earlier test, as differeces i the results may be due to differece i the istrumets rather tha deterioratio i the equipmet beig tested. 55 Records do ot ecessarily have to be o a paper system. Test istrumets are available that store the data electroically, which ca the be dowloaded directly oto a computer database. Duty holders with large amouts of equipmet will fid it useful to label equipmet to idicate that the equipmet has bee tested satisfactorily, ie has bee passed as safe, ad whe the date for the ext test is due. Otherwise, idividual items may be missed o cosecutive occasios. Frequecy of ispectio ad combied ispectio ad testig 56 Decidig o the frequecy of ispectio ad testig is a matter of judgemet by the duty holder, ad should be based o a assessmet of risk. This ca be udertake as part of the assessmet of risks uder the Maagemet of Health ad Safety at Work Regulatios Paragraph 59 ad Table 1 ca help ay duty holder decide how ofte to carry out a formal visual ispectio as well as combied ispectio ad testig, particularly where a maiteace regime has ot previously existed. Alteratively, seek advice from a competet perso who has the kowledge ad experiece to make the ecessary judgemet, eg maufacturers or suppliers of equipmet, or relevat trade associatios. 58 Factors to cosider whe makig the assessmet iclude the followig: type of equipmet ad whether it is had-held or ot; maufacturer s recommedatios; iitial itegrity ad soudess of equipmet; age of the equipmet; workig eviromet i which the equipmet is used (eg wet or dusty) or likelihood of mechaical damage; frequecy of use ad the duty cycle of the equipmet; foreseeable abuse of the equipmet; effects of ay modificatios or repairs to the equipmet; aalysis of previous records of maiteace, icludig both formal ispectio ad combied ispectio ad testig. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 12 of 18

13 Health ad Safety Table 1 Suggested iitial maiteace itervals 59 Table 1 sets out the suggested frequecy of formal visual ispectios ad combied ispectios ad electrical tests for portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet. It gives suggested startig itervals whe implemetig a maiteace programme. Where oe figure is give, this is a guide for aticipated average use coditios; more demadig coditios of use will require more frequet formal visual ispectios, ad/or combied ispectios ad tests. Where a rage is show, the small iterval is for more demadig coditios of use ad the loger iterval is for less demadig oes. It is up to the duty holder, with appropriate advice where ecessary, to assess the coditios affectig equipmet, which may lead to potetial damage ad/or deterioratio ad should determie the maiteace regime. Type of busiess User checks Formal visual ispectio Combied ispectio ad test Equipmet hire N/A Before issue/after retur Before issue Costructio (For idicatio oly. See Electrical safety o costructio sites 3 for more detail) 110 V Weekly 230 V mais Daily/every shift 110 V Mothly 230 V mais Weekly Light idustrial Yes Before iitial use the 6-mothly Heavy idustrial/high risk of equipmet damage Office iformatio techology, eg desktop computers, photocopiers, fax machies Double-isulated equipmet ot had-held, eg fas, table lamps Had-held, double-isulated (Class II) equipmet, eg some floor cleaers, kitche equipmet ad iros Earthed (Class I) equipmet, eg electric kettles, some floor cleaers Equipmet used by the public, eg i hotels 110 V Before first use o site the 3-mothly 230 V mais Before first use o site the mothly 6 12 moths Daily Weekly 6 12 moths No 1 2 years Noe if double-isulated, otherwise up to 5 years No 2 3 years No Yes 6 moths 1 year No Yes 6 moths 1 year 1 2 years By member of staff 3 moths 1 year Cables ad plugs, extesio leads Yes 1 year 2 years 60 I premises where portable electrical equipmet is used by the public, ad where a duty holder does ot have direct cotrol over the way it is used, formal visual ispectio may eed to be doe much more frequetly. This should be determied by kowledge of the likely risks, ad subsequetly modified i the light of experiece. 61 I may premises, eg i the health service, or i educatio, hotels ad offices, more tha oe ispectio ad test regime may apply to differet types of equipmet. Some trasportable electrical equipmet may be less susceptible to mechaical damage, eg a table lamp i a office, which is supplied from a plug ad socket ad is rarely hadled or moved. I a relatively beig eviromet, these coditios ca be described as similar to those for fixed istallatios ad the eed Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 13 of 18

14 Health ad Safety for examiatio ad test set accordigly, for example i their guidace 6 the IEE recommed every five years for busiess ad commercial premises. 62 However, these coditios do ot apply to all office equipmet. Some frequetly used items (floor cleaers, kettles, free-stadig electric heaters etc), which may be likely to suffer abuse ad damage, would eed to be ispected ad tested more frequetly, util results ca be studied ad failure rates aalysed. 63 After the first few formal visual ispectios, the iformatio obtaied ca be used to give a idicatio as to the itervals before further ispectios are carried out. The same is true for combied ispectio/testig. A low failure rate would idicate that the iterval ca be icreased ad a high failure rate that the iterval should be shorteed; see paragraphs o record keepig. Repair ad replacemet 64 The repair of most portable electrical equipmet requires specialist kowledge ad expertise if the faulty or damaged equipmet is to be restored to the ecessary safe coditio. It is ofte more cost-effective to replace cheaper items tha to repair them. Similarly, it is better to replace tha to repair faulty or damaged plugs, coectors ad flexible cables. 65 Where flexible cables have bee i use for a log time, it is better to replace rather tha repair them because coductor wires, isulatio ad sheathig materials deteriorate. Replacemet of relatively short legths of usatisfactory cable is usually cheaper tha carryig out repairs. 66 Where loger legths of cable are ivolved, if the damaged part is close to oe ed, cut it off. If the damage is ot ear oe ed, after removig the damaged sectio, you ca joi the healthy sectios by usig a proprietary cable coupler. If a coupler is used, the socket part should be o the sectio fed from the electricity supply side ad the plug part should be o the cable coected to the equipmet. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 14 of 18

15 Health ad Safety Appedix 1 Legal requiremets 1 The iitial itegrity (safety) of ew work equipmet whe first supplied is covered by: sectio 6 of the Health ad Safety at Work etc Act 1974, 8 which requires ay perso who desigs, maufactures, imports or supplies ay article for use at work or ay article of fairgroud equipmet: (i) to esure, so far as is reasoably practicable, that the article is so desiged ad costructed that it will be safe ad without risks to health at all times whe it is beig set, used cleaed or maitaied by a perso at work; (ii) to take such steps as are ecessary to secure that persos supplied by that perso with the article are provided with adequate iformatio about the use for which the article is desiged or has bee tested ad about ay coditios ecessary to esure that it will be safe ad without risks to health at all such times as are metioed i paragraph (i) above ad whe it is beig dismatled or disposed of ; the Electrical Equipmet (Safety) Regulatios 1994, 9 which require certai safety objectives to be met, icludig desig ad costructio to assure protectio agaist hazards arisig from the electrical equipmet, ad protectio agaist hazards that may be caused by exteral iflueces o the electrical equipmet; the Supply of Machiery (Safety) (Amedmet) Regulatios 1994, 10 which cotai a geeral requiremet for protectio agaist electrical hazards. 2 The geeral duties coverig the use ad maiteace of work equipmet i additio to the Electricity at Work Regulatios are cotaied i: sectio 2 of the Health ad Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which requires the provisio ad maiteace of plat so far as is reasoably practicable safe ; the Maagemet of Health ad Safety at Work Regulatios 1999, 7 which require a employer to make a suitable ad sufficiet assessmet of the risks to health ad safety of employees for the purposes of idetifyig the measures he eeds to take to comply with the requiremets imposed upo him uder other relevat law. Such a risk assessmet should iclude risks arisig from the use of electrical equipmet; the Provisio ad Use of Work Equipmet Regulatios 1998, 11 which require the employer (perso i cotrol) to select suitable work equipmet (regulatio 5) ad to esure that work equipmet is maitaied i a efficiet state, i efficiet workig order ad i good repair. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 15 of 18

16 Health ad Safety Appedix 2 Summary You ca use this summary to check whether you are maagig the risks from portable electrical equipmet effectively. Set up a system of maiteace for portable (ad trasportable) electrical equipmet. Idetify which portable electrical equipmet eeds to be maitaied ad fid out where it is used ad how. Decide what to do about uauthorised equipmet brought i by employees. Provide straightforward traiig ad iformatio for all users (icludig yourself) to help carry out user checks. Set up a formal visual ispectio system ad trai someoe to carry this out. Cosider producig brief, writte guidace o the formal visual ispectio, what to look for ad procedures to follow whe faults are foud ad whe uauthorised equipmet is i use. Decide o the appropriate frequecy for formal visual ispectio. If records of formal visual ispectios are kept, the fidigs ca be reviewed ad the records used to help you decide how frequetly these ispectios should be carried out. Assig someoe to test equipmet that: is suspected of beig defective (but this caot be determied by visual examiatio), has bee repaired or modified; is due for a combied ispectio ad test (or has ever had oe at the start of a maiteace regime). Esure that the perso carryig out combied ispectio ad testig has sufficiet kowledge, traiig ad experiece as well as access to further iformatio ad advice where ecessary. Decide o a appropriate frequecy for combied ispectio ad testig where this is ecessary. Review records of test results ad use these to decide o how frequetly you should carry out combied ispectios ad tests. Moitor all the arragemets ad esure that follow-up actio is carried out, icludig a review of the frequecy of formal visual ispectio. Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 16 of 18

17 Health ad Safety Refereces 1 Maitaiig portable electrical equipmet i hotels ad tourist accommodatio Leaflet INDG237 HSE Books 1996 (sigle copy free or priced packs of 10 ISBN ) 2 Maitaiig portable electrical equipmet i offices ad other low-risk eviromets Leaflet INDG236 HSE Books 1996 (sigle copy free or priced packs of 10 ISBN ) 3 Electrical safety o costructio sites HSG141 HSE Books 1995 ISBN Code of practice for the i-service ispectio ad testig of electrical equipmet Istitutio of Electrical Egieers (IEE) 2001 ISBN Memoradum of guidace o the Electricity at Work Regulatios 1989 HSR25 HSE Books 1989 ISBN Ispectio ad testig Guidace Note 3 Istitutio of Electrical Egieers (IEE) 2002 ISBN Maagemet of health ad safety at work. Maagemet of Health ad Safety at Work Regulatios Approved Code of Practice ad guidace L21 (Secod editio) HSE Books 2000 ISBN Health ad Safety at Work etc Act 1974 Ch37 The Statioery Office 1974 ISBN Electrical Equipmet (Safety) Regulatios 1994 SI 1994/3260 The Statioery Office 1994 ISBN Supply of Machiery (Safety) (Amedmet) Regulatios 1994 SI 1994/2063 The Statioery Office 1994 ISBN Safe use of work equipmet. Provisio ad Use of Work Equipmet Regulatios Approved Code of Practice ad guidace L22 (Secod editio) HSE Books 1998 ISBN Maitaiig portable ad trasportable electrical equipmet Page 17 of 18

18 Health ad Safety Further iformatio IEE publicatios These are available from The Istitutio of Electrical Egieers (IEE), PO Box 96, Steveage, SG1 2SD Tel: Fax: The Statioery Office publicatios The Statioery Office publicatios are available from The Statioery Office, PO Box 29, Norwich NR3 1GN Tel: Fax: Website: (They are also available from bookshops.) Statutory Istrumets ca be viewed free of charge at HSE publicatios HSE priced ad free publicatios ca be viewed olie or ordered from or cotact HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA Tel: Fax: HSE priced publicatios are also available from bookshops. For iformatio about health ad safety rig HSE s Ifolie Tel: Fax: Textphoe: [email protected] or write to HSE Iformatio Services, Caerphilly Busiess Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GG. Published by HSE 11/09 Page 18 of 18