A shock from a tool, or a lead that's hot or cut?
If someone's hurt, call 000, and don't touch them while they may still be in contact with the power. Switch off at the wall or the main switch if you can do it safely. Take the item out of use, label it, and keep it aside for the electrician to look at.
Test and tag under South Australian rules
SafeWork SA is the regulator to check with
Its approved code, Managing electrical risks in the workplace, says plug-in equipment used in conditions likely to damage it must be regularly inspected and tested by a competent person. We couldn't open SafeWork SA's site to read the code in full, so check its current wording before you set a schedule.
Who counts as competent
The code lists a licensed or registered electrician, or someone who has completed a structured training course and been deemed competent with a pass-fail portable appliance tester and in visually inspecting equipment.
What the record must show
The name of the person who tested it, the test date, the outcome and when the next test is due. A tag on the equipment can be the record.
Repairs are registered work
If testing turns up a damaged power point or a circuit that keeps tripping, fixing it is electrical work in SA. That needs a registered electrical worker for a CBS-licensed contractor, and you should get an eCoC within 30 days.
Where your gear actually lives
How often you test depends on how hard the equipment works, and we won't quote one interval for every Adelaide business: the sources we found disagree, and SafeWork SA is the one to ask.
So describe the real conditions to the tester. A drill that rides in a ute tray through a 40-degree week, a kettle in a busy staff kitchen, a power board under a dusty workbench and a monitor lead in a quiet office are not the same risk, and a good tester will set a different schedule for each and explain why.
Questions to ask an Adelaide tester
- Are you a licensed electrician, or trained on a pass-fail tester?
- What will each tag show, and what written record do we keep?
- How often would you test our gear, and what's that based on?
- Will you test our safety switches as well?
- Can you repair faults in the power points or wiring on the same visit?
- What's your CBS licence number, if repairs are needed?
Between visits
You can
- Look over leads and plugs before use and pull anything damaged.
- Keep a list of every item that plugs in, including what's in vans.
- Press each safety switch's test button and note the result.
- Set aside anything that trips the safety switch, with a note on it.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Repairing power points, switches or circuits found faulty.
- Finding why a particular tool keeps tripping the safety switch.
- Adding power points so leads stop running across the floor.
- Any work inside the switchboard.
What we'd tell an Adelaide business owner
We'd book test and tag with an electrician rather than a tester who can only tag, so a faulty power point found on the day gets fixed on the day. We'd ask SafeWork SA, or the tester, which schedule fits our kind of work, write it down, and keep the record where the next person can find it.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.