My money would be on Grant figuring out smart ways to ensure his team follows the first rule of yacht racing, get in front, second rule; stay in front. Rule three? see rules one and two :grin:

Hey, Mr Ed, have you made any progress with getting a smoke free work place?

and yet most organisations don't address adequately fatigue. — Sheri Greenwell

Many organisations actively cause employee fatigue by way of call out rosters that see a service technician work an 8-9 hour working day , head home,only to be called out one or more times during the night, and then have to front up at their normal starting hour for the following days work, and then a repeat of the call out routine the following night.

Most prescription medications carry warnings about the possibility taking them may cause drowsiness, what is less obvious are interactions between different medications, both prescribed and over the counter.

Since neither Prequal nor Sitewise gets off their rear ends and actually goes out to where it matters: on SITE! - good documents is ALL it shows — Jan Hall

Be nice if there were only two Jan a couple of years ago it seemed like every second emailwas an invitation to register with our preferred "prequal company" at varying degrees of cost, one of our big clients decided that they were going with a US based one, $2,300 for me to register our business with them, plus the time taken to jump through their hoops, I just said "no thanks", it meant kissing goodbye to $35K worth of work PA. In the end, a lot of their subbies revolted and gave them the advice that involves sex and travel, and they backed down and went with SiteWise. Much more cost effective, but you are totally right, no boots on the ground to confirm that practice matches documentation.

While you need to have a system to measure the competence etc.of your contractors, I don't think these large formal and expensive prequalification systems have saved anybody's lives. — Mike Massaar

It's more a butt covering exercise from my observation, than anything to do with life saving

The temptation is to hide behind it, when what we should be doing is far more active management of this brand of "worker". — Simon Lawrence

Having seen some of the larger Civil Engineering companies "out source" this aspect of their operations to third party pre qual operations, who then make a buck out of charging both the principals involved, and subbies,with nothing changing except more cost and time spent shuffling existing paperwork such as Insurance Certs for the poor subbies, who have most likely had their payment terms pushed out to 60 or 90 days, and can't afford to list with every random pre qual agency- bah humbug

With the focus in recent years on critical risks, have we collectively forgotten about the widespread but non-fatal risk of musculoskeletal disorders? And can worker-led job design steer us towards better?
The folks doing the job almost always know how to do the job easier, probably with better outcomes, but not necessarily safer. Wouldn't disagree that the highest priority has to go to the really nasty issues, but the outcome of a gradual process injury shouldn't be lost sight of,as long term it could well just about as bad. Yes I know being dead is worst than being cast into a wheel chair, but if either scenario is avoidable by improvements to how work is done, then it isn't defensible not to do that

.

Topic 3:
Put proposals out, get employees and involved and encourage feedback BEFORE spending the money on projects to benefit H&S instead of AFTER spending the money and telling the staff what the benefits are — Tracy Richardson

Isn't this veering off into Worksafe directing the scope of a significant project order?

3. Loot should go to the victim — Andrew

Restore the right to sue for damages, whether by act, omission, poor product design, defective manufacture or import and sale of non compliant equipment with stated New Zealand requirements, or purchase and use of such equipment by a PCBU, or requiring it to be used in an employment situation

If WorkSafe aren’t going to protect our workplaces what hope do you have with the smoke free regulatory body. You may as well join the employee and light up in the spirit of “if you can’t beat them , join them” — Allister Rose

Yes, OP is probably on a hiding to hell to get his boss (the business owner) to tell the Pet Rat to pull his head in and only smoke in the designated area.

After a number of years in different businesses,I've found the ones with morale problems, which usually translate into productivity and problems with the Pet Rat not following H&S rules etc,are unsolvable unless the company owner (or Directors) can be got on board and are prepared to follow due process to liberate the Pet Rat to the wild.

This typically doesn't happen because the Pet Rat went to school with the boss, or is believed to possess knowlege/skills etc which will spell the end of the business if Ratty is sacked. Generally this isn't the case but perception is reality

All employers are required to comply with the Smoke Free Environments Act and clients would have an expectation that the workplace would be safe to enter. — Denise

Technically, there is a bunch of legislation that businesses must comply with, but these are rarely enforced unless there is a catastrophic failure and even then perhaps not

We have one worker that decides that it is his right to smoke where ever he sees fit. In the workshop, toliet, smoko area...etc etc.

Would this worker be a long term employee of the business you work for? Sounds like it might be a case of Pet Ratitis, this is where an employee seems to hold sway over a business owner, and pretty much gets away with doing what ever they want.

Have a look at Clauses 17 to 18, you'll need to provide evidence of smoking taking place ( are there signs prohibiting it? mentioned in your H&S docs? You'll want some witnesses, and a video/photograph or two wouldn't hurt, probably want to capture those "inadvertently" while taking pix of a project or other employee (with their consent). Your employer then has 40 days to sort out/stop the problem child otherwise push it up food chain to the Director General of Health, who has the power to cause it to be investigated

Essential PPE For Test & Taggers

If you,or anyone whose life you are responsible for tests and tags electrical appliances and leads, do yourself (and them) and obtain one of these.


It's a 10mA Type1 Inline RCD, plug this into the nearest outlet to the spot you/they are testing at, and plug your PAT into it. In the event that you,or the test probe on the PAT into exposed live metal on the item under test, it will trip when 10 mA of current inbalance is detected, as opposed to the more usual Type 2 RCD which trips when it detects 30mA of current inbalance. Unlike a lot of things in this life, where electrical current flowing through you is concerned- less is best



Can't buy these off the shelf, you'll need to get your friendly "qualified electrical worker" to make one up for you.

Thin gloves are also good precaution when handling items that punters have sneezed and wheezed over, or in the case of plumbers, drainage contractors and civil engineering workers may have been in contact with ...................????

Guess you have a number of questions about the above, hopefully, you are coming to the conclusion that it's not (or at least shouldn't) be some random Tom, Dick or Harry, giving a lead a bit of a look and then, hooking it up to their PAT machine and slapping a pass tag on.

(1) Safety Features- why do these have to be present, unmodified and undamaged to pass any
item when testing and tagging to the requirements of AS/NZS 3760:2010? To gain deemed safe
status the responsible person on the site we are testing items at, has decided to comply with the
recommendation that Electrical (Safety) Regulation 26 provides. To pass a 3760 lead test,, we
follow the guidance of clause 2.3.2 Inspection and perform the checks listed there (time to buy
that copy of AS/NZS 3760:2010 from Standards NZ $82 +GST for a PDF license to print two copies,
absolutely necessary for your Competent Person to have a copy with them at all times when
testing ) FYI Insulated plug pins and skirts on socket connectors were required on new leads and
appliances sold after March 2006.

(2) Does the current rating of the plug match or exceed the current rating of the socket connector ? This is to comply with Electrical (Safety) Regulation 23
An appliance is deemed to be electrically
unsafe if the appliance is fitted with a plug of a
rating less than the rating specified on the
rating plate

This means a lead with a 10 Amp plug and a 15 Amp socket connector is an illegal device as it
has to be regarded as unsafe, likewise an item that draws more than 10Amps must have a plug
of a suitable rating (15Amp, 20Amp 32Amp. It's scary the number of electrically "qualified"
taggers who will happily put their name and PL number on a Pass tag. This is one of the
regulations that Worksafe don't seem to be aware of, or prepared to enforce

(3) Is the lead rated for use at 230V?Nominal Voltage:Electricity throughout New Zealand is
supplied at a nominal voltage of 230 volts and frequency of 50 hertz.
Electrical (Safety) Regulations- Interpretations:
standard low voltage means,—
(a) in respect of electricity supplied by either a single-phase MEN system or a multiple-phase
MEN system, a nominal voltage of 230 volts AC between phase and neutral;

4) Are the plug and socket fitted to the lead compliant with AS/NZS3112? Wiring installations in
New Zealand have to comply with AS/NZS 3000:2007 Clause 4.4 specifies that socket outlets
shall comply (mandatory statement from a Standard cited in legislation. with either AS/NZS3112,
AS/NZS3123, IEC 60309, or AS/NZS3131, in practice most outlets taggers encounter will be ones
that comply with AS/NZS3112 for single phase leads and appliances.

You might want to have a look at this thread The Test & Tag Thread over the next few months, I'll add to it.
It's not intended to replace someone doing a test & tag course, but given the feedback I've had when running such courses, it will certainly add to their body of knowledge

Haven't updated this for a while, thought it was time now that I've pulled the pin on working for a living :smile:

Visual Inspections When Test and Tagging (Extension Leads, IEC Leads)

First disconnect and remove the plug end from the socket outlet (if it's plugged into one), if you do the visual checks in the order I've listed them, you'll find any issues and get through a pile of leads really quickly- if a lead "Fails" any of these, Danger Do Not Use tag and next please. Don't assume that the person who put a pass tag on a previously tagged lead, actually knew what they were doing- frequently taggers both of the electrically qualified or The Competent Person persuasion don't know this stuff

(1) Check that the safety features fitted to the plug and socket are present and unmodified (yes
Gladys, it's a Fail if the shroud is missing/damaged on the socket, or the insulation on the shank of
the Active and Neutral pins of the plug is damaged missing, any signs of overheating/over loading.
Are the grommet/strain relief devices fitted to plug and connector ok, shake the plug and connector, are there any sounds that indicate conductor terminations may be loose?)

(2) Does the current rating of the plug match or exceed the current rating of the socket connector ? (sorry Bob,fitting a 15A Socket to a 10A plug is also a Fail- unless there is a 10A MCB
limiting the load carried by the plug to 10 Amps, filing down the Earth pin on a 15 Amp Plug so
it's fits a 10 Amp outlet is also a cause for celebrating by sticking a Fail Tag on the item)

(3) Is the lead rated for use at 230V? (Give a ways that it isn't are weird plugs/sockets Doris)

(4) Are the plug and socket fitted to the lead compliant with AS/NZS3112? (Insulated pins, a
safety skirt on the socket connector are clues to look for here Fred, if the lead exits from the top
side, it's a domestic Chinese plug and N/C for NZ Use, we also want confirm that if the lead has a
3 pin plug and a 3 pin socket connector, that the lead has three cores, a 2 core lead would fail as
would having a two pin plug supplying a 3 pin connector)

(5) Ok, now we want want to visually examine the entire length of the lead from the plug to the socket connector (do one of Test & Tag Training's courses and you'll find out how to do this quickly and
effectively-but we're looking for any exposed conductors, banding tape covering damaged
insulation, or heat shrink tubing- HS isn't a compliant repair. The outer layer of insulation will
frequently pull out of the plug top exposing the underlying conductors, if there is only one layer of continuous insulation, it's a Fail even if it's covered with tape or HS. Is ya head spinning yet
Harry?)

Having completed a thorough visual examination to the requirements of AS/NZS3760, we now perform the required electrical tests. It's important to note that your PAT machine DOES NOT DO VISUAL CHECKS That's up to the person doing the testing, are you getting the picture that there is actually quite a bit to this testing and tagging caper yet? Also important to note, where an appliance has a detachable lead, the lead gets tested as a lead and gets it's own tag, then the appliance gets tested as an appliance connected by that lead. Typically, this is where electricians go wrong, they'll test something, god knows what and how, and then stick a tag on the lead telling the world it's a "computer". Same deal with laptop chargers, lead first, then power supply connected to your PAT machine as an appliance, tag on lead, tag on power supply.

Consider the cost and quality of your multi-plugs as you generally get what you pay for and their overload protection does wear out which can lead to fire.
As for double-adaptors; work places might do well to ban these altogether as they have no overload protection and rely solely on people using them wisely.

Actually Michelle, the thermal cutouts fitted to powerboards both expensive and cheap, frequently don't work from the get go. Frequently you'll find them in cafe/smoko rooms supplying a kettle (8 amps load) a toasted sammy maker (6 amps load) a Microwave oven (4-6 Amps load) and least of all the fridge (perhaps 2 amps when the compressor is running).

If you want to use multi outlet boards, get one that has a Miniature Circuit Breaker in it, This will prevent the board from being overloaded (don't ever, ever plug any heater/heating device into a power board. If you need more outlets, get your friendly electrical to replace your two way, with a four (f this is OK depending on your installation) this will cost a little, but gets away from a yearly TnT and makes things much safer is great advice from Michelle.

If you are buying PSOAs for building site use, only consider Jackson Lifguards, they are the only ones that are compliant with the requirements for Portable Socket Outlet Assemblies, are long lived( I tested one every three months for over ten years without it failing) and if something gets damaged, are repairable.

Morning folks

Is test and tag a legal requirement, no, it is a way to deemed safe (apart from two specific instances). What absolutely is a legal requirement (and our friends at WorkSafe don't appear to know this), the person responsible for an electrical installation is responsible for the safety of the installation and appliances connected to it under the Electrical (Safety) Regulations 2010
15 Using works, installations, fittings, appliances, and associated equipment

• (1)A person who owns or operates works, installations, fittings, or appliances must not use, and must not allow any other person to use, the works, installations, fittings, or appliances if the works, installations, fittings, or appliances are electrically unsafe.

Worksafe also appear not to have read the legislation that brought them into existence:

38 Duty of PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant
at workplaces

(1) A PCBU who manages or controls fixtures, fittings, or plant at a
workplace must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that the
fixtures, fittings, or plant are without risks to the health and safety of
any person.

So how do we not be reckless about the safety of appliances used in our workplaces? (applies to items used when working from home)

(1) Where possible we supply them through electrically safe RCD's which are regularly tested
(2) All appliances are tested and tagged by a suitably qualified/trained and experienced person
(3)Persons using appliances perform regular pre use checks (cord & plug, controls, guards present
and unmodified (90% of items fail a visual check)

So how do we reduce the cost of test & tag?

Don't accept the cheapest quote, the responsible person has to ensure that whoever is TnT'ing, knows what they are doing (most electricians/ESTs/EASs don't) Cheapest almost certainly won't detect all the issues.Leckies hate TnT, it's below their dignity and will slap five year tags on all office items, they also don't look at voltage and current ratings to determine what plug is required

Be aware that some TnT service providers will overtest things, by this I mean that things like Office Kitchen appliances should be TnT'ed yearly, likewise laptop chargers, heaters, extension leads, fans, power boards. Items such as monitors should only need to be tested on their introduction to service and then retested every 5 years, likewise terminals the IEC leads that supply them, printers and their IEC leads likewise.

In a factory/workshop six monthly retesting complies with Table 4 of AS/NZS760, being aware that an office in the middle of a factory gets items in it tested yearly/five yearly

Hire equipment every three months, with a visual check before each hire

Building site gear, you fellas/fellesses get to deemed safe by testing and tagging to AS/NZS3012 and Table 3 Periodic Verification specifies 3 monthly retests

For the last two, you cannot do a risk assessment and vary the retest interval (except to test more frequently)

When legally must an item be tested and tagged, if it is being sold secondhand, and if it is repaired and that repair could compromise it's electrical safety. So chuck something on TradeMe, must be TnT'ed first, send your drill into get a new chuck fitted, no, send the same drill in for a new cordset then yes
(Noting that second hand items get tested to AS/NZS 5761:2011 and repaired items to AS/NZS 5761

One thing you can do is to triage your appliances, as I said above 90% of fails will be visual, so before your TnT provider does his or her thing, do a walk round, remove disused IEC leads/power packs etc, check extension leads (after unplugging them) look for any sign of damage, if you have tools, are the guards present? (sparkies usually get this wrong too) Do switches and controls work? Rating plate present and readable (legal requirement).

If you think you are being ripped off,contact me for a chat, they are free

FYI- Registered Electrical Service Technician, JTT Franchisee for ten years, Indy tagger for a year, and a contract trainer for a company specializing in TnT training, Contributor to the article on Test & Tag in Safeguard Mag

than a 6-month/12 month/18 month/5 year testing schedule.

Was the 18 months a typo Jos? 24 months is the retest interval for items in a Hostel/residential institution.
When I was running Test & Tag training courses, I suggested to those attending that there were three parts to electrical safety in the workplace, and all of equal importance
(1) Electrically Safe RCDs
(2) Test & Tag done correctly to the standard (frequently not the case)
(3) User checks

Bit like a tripod, take any leg away and it falls over, just need to beware that RCDs don't always trip (either fast enough or at all), there are some scenarios that will see an RCD not protect someone from an electric shock which may be lethal) . And see my reply above to Mike about some of the limitations of user checks. Folk used to tell me that they had received a shock from some dodgy item, but had never reported it to Worksafe or seen a doctor, this may explain Worksafe's complacency regarding electrical safety

I have a longer reply awaiting moderation

Test and tag is not mandatory. We have changed our policy so that office stuff is just subject to a visual check of cords, plugs etc. which anyone can do,

That's great for the things that can be seen Mike, what about the IEC lead made from dodgy reclaim that has an IR value of less than 1 Meg? or has a two core lead and a standard IEC female and three pin plug without the protection provided by having an earthed appliance connected to the installations earth? or where the lead was incorrectly manufactured with the Active & Neutral reversed?

What about the items purchased from China while the MD was on a trip there that have Chinese domestic plugs fitted and are rated at 220V? What about the folk that get sent office items from the good ole USA where such things are rated at 120V and they buy travel adapters to run them off a standard outlet at 230V?

I could go on and on,but you blokes really do need to stop listening to the folk at Energy Safety and their advisers, and read what the regulations say and what they require to discharge the obligations they impose.

Hmmmm, wasn't it on National's watch that saw the scrapping of the mines inspectorate as a part of the last "silly rules reduction" exercise to help our mates do things at lower cost, where did that one go?

But,hey in the interest of giving the Nat's some workable policy, here ya go scrap ACC and give workers back the right to sue where they are damaged, drop the wordy HSAW 2015 and replace it with. "Your business shall not in pursuit of it's activities cause harm to any employee of your business or person that comes into contact with your businesses activities, products or services, whether immediately upon contact, or by gradual process or transmission"

I've had a bit of skim through the new version of AS/NZS3012, and covered what changes I've noted so far in the blog I maintain on our website, you can read those here

Buy a copy of the new standard from Standards New Zealand

In my experience strategic H&S plans fail for two reasons,
1. They are too complex and no one can understand “the why” so no one buys in to the company direction — Matt Sadgrove

I bought a franchise Matt, as apart of the deal it came a Health & Safety plan, looked really impressive, wound up ticking the boxes to get accredited as complying with both OHSAS18001 & AS/NZS4801.

2. They are not written with the input of those actually undertaking the day to day action so not a reflection of what is really going on at the coal face. — Matt Sadgrove

That certainly appeared to be the situation in the case I'm familiar with, a few years ago, retaining the certification became to expensive and it lapsed, no change to the H&S system, when I decided not to renew my contract, I had to put my own H&S policy in place. I did that, it took me two goes to get to SiteWise Green. A few of my former colleagues submitted the group H&S system to SiteWise assessment, and didn't

AS/NZS 3012:2019 Electrical Installations- Construction and Demolition Sites
Over year ago, the joint standard for electrical work on construction and demolition sites went into review, I hope everyone who has some interest in this standard put in a submission on changes they'd like to see, hope they got their wish, Standards New Zealand released AS/NZS 3012:2019 last week.
A quick look through,shows there have been some tweaks around PSOAs (RCD protected Portable Socket Outlet Assemblies). The standard has caught up with the requirement laid out in AS/NZS3000 that all Residual Current Devices used for personal protection in New Zealand shall be Type A. (we cover why in the C&D testing appendix that I add to the Test & Tag Courses that I run).
A small title change, Table 3 Periodic Verification Intervals in the 2010 becomes Table 6 in the 2019 version- but there is no change in the retest intervals portable equipment of three months for (wish I had a dollar for everyone who told me they were going to six months).
There isn't any change in the requirement (in order to comply with this standard) of the requirement to keep a register of all equipment, a record of all inspections and tests, a repair register and a record of all faulty equipment- Clause 3.10 in 2010 goes to 3.9 in the 2019 version. So just buying the cheapest PAT on the market, and putting stickers on items, isn't necessarily going to get you to "deemed safe" under Electrical Safety regulation 25 D,unless you've taken the time to record those details.