Electricity

Nature of the hazard

Any work on electrical equipment, or an electrical installation, or any part of the equipment or installation, that involves:

  • Installing, altering, repairing, maintaining, or disconnecting the equipment or installation
  • Manufacturing, testing, servicing, calibrating, or adjusting the equipment or any part of the equipment.
  • Supervising any of the work referred to above.

Significance of the hazard

Electricity is a common hazard that is responsible for a substantial number of work-related fatalities and injuries each year.

Risks associated with the hazard

  • Electric shock causing injury or death. The electric shock may be received by direct or indirect contact, tracking through or across a medium, or by arcing.
  • Arcing, explosion, or fire causing burns. The injuries are often suffered because arcing or explosion or both occur when high fault currents are present.
  • Electric shock from ‘step-and-touch’ potentials.
  • Toxic gases causing illness or death. Burning and arcing associated with electrical equipment may release various gases and contaminants.
  • Fire resulting from an electrical fault.

Schools and divisions are responsible for organising workplace inspections, including the inspection, testing, and tagging of electrical equipment. This includes (but is not limited to) ensuring electrical installations, electrical articles, and associated equipment (including cables, appliances, meters, wires etc) are safe to use.

Electrical testing and tagging must be completed at the intervals specified within AS 3760:2022. As a general rule electrical equipment used in the specified hostile environments must be tested at least once every 12 months. More frequent testing may be required, for example in relation to:

  • Electrical equipment used in manufacturing and workshop environments - at least once every 6 months.
  • Commercial cleaning equipment - at least once every 6 months.
  • Hire equipment - at least once every 3 months.

A hostile environment is defined as one in which the equipment or appliance is normally subject to events or operating conditions likely to result in damage to the equipment. This includes but is not limited to mechanical damage, exposure to moisture, heat, vibration, chemicals, and dust.

The following information provides guidance on the use of electrical equipment at Western Sydney University.

New equipment

Brand new equipment which has never been put into use previously, does not need to be tested prior to use. Brand new equipment must be visually inspected prior to each use.

Extension leads

Extension leads must only be used as a temporary solution. For longer term applications a new outlet, or a portable outlet device with overload protection, must be used.

Extension leads must be checked prior to each use to ensure they are in good condition. Discolouration may be an indicator of overheating due to overloading. The lead should be treated as damaged and tagged out.

Consideration must be given for the introduction of a trip risk. Leads should not be used in trafficable areas and must be shielded or taped down. Additionally, heavy equipment rolling over or impacting the lead as it may damage the insulation and wires causing shorting.

Electrical Appliances

Electrical appliances must be regularly visually inspected for damage and must only be used for the application for which they are designed. Where your small appliance trips the circuit, tag it out of service and report the hazard in WESTERN NOW.

Appliances must be used in a dry area. Fixed covers or guarding must not be removed.

Generators

Any new portable generator must have an RCD fitted, and any exiting generator without an RCD still in use, prior to connecting it to any plug-in equipment and or lights, they should be connected to the generator using a power cord or board fitted with an RCD.

Plant and Equipment Cabling

Plant and equipment in the University workshops may have overhead 3 phase cabling and drop-down leads to switches/sockets and or directly plug into the piece of equipment. Dependant on power draw (10, 20 or 32 amperes), the diameter of the wire, distance from the distribution board, cable shielding etc these heavy thick cables can have restrictions of the bend radius as it can damage the cable’s integrity. The outer plastic sleeve may be lighter in colour on the outside radius of the bend where the bend is too great. The bigger the cable the smaller the allowable bend.

Under the wring code, any circuit 32 amps or under should be protected by an RCD. There is an exemption in the code for certain plant and equipment that continues to trip the RCD under normal operation. however, other safety controls must be in place to be exempt from the requirement.

Contact Campus Maintenance and Delivery to report a damaged 3 phase cabling, the cabling has an excessive bend radius, and or the equipment repeatedly trips the circuit.

Power boards

Power boards must have overload protection (typically a there is a black reset button on the board. Power boards that have a built in on/off (Isolating) switch is an optional feature.

Each power board can only be plugged directly into a general power outlet that has been marked to have RCD protection. Boards must be positioned in a well-ventilated area free from dust, dirt, and liquids.

Double adaptors, and similar devices, must not be used.

Power points

Power point circuits are protected by an earth leakage circuit breaker and or safety switches (RCD) and must be labelled to indicate the type of protection is in use and to what circuit it is connected.

Contact Campus Maintenance and Delivery to report a damaged or unlabelled power point.

Residual Current Devices (RCDs)

Western Sydney University has installed RCD’s on all circuits as per the requirements under Australian Standards - (AU/NZS 3000:2019 (Electrical Installations Wiring Rule Book)). What does this mean for you the user: - there is an extra layer of security to protect you the user from electrical shock, when using plug-in equipment into the wall socket or your desk at work.

RCD’s were introduced into Australia in 1982 and RCD’s installation was added to the wiring rules in 1991 allowing RCD’s to be installed in premises. RCD’s became a mandatory requirement for new residential homes from 1 January 2019 to protect you and your family.

If you have a home built before 2019, you should check to ensure your home is protected. Many Australians elected to have this protection installed before it became mandatory.

How does it work? - An RCD is a safety device that protects against injury and death caused by electric shock by detecting an imbalance between the outgoing and incoming total current. RCDs operate by measuring the current balance between two conductors using a differential current transformer, a variation of between 15 mA and 30 mA. RCDs are designed to disconnect the circuit within 25-40 milliseconds of a potentially dangerous electrical event occurring.

Unsafe Electrical Equipment

Equipment, which is inclusive of power points, light switches etc found to be damaged, or is considered unsuitable for use, must be:

  • Removed from service and or
  • Labelled as unsafe for use (tag out)
  • Reported to the supervisor responsible for the equipment, and to the WHS unit as a hazard.

Personal Electrical Equipment

Staff may connect personal phone, headset, notebook, or pad chargers/transformers to WSU electrical circuits; however, these items should not be left unattended whilst connected to a device. The charger and or transformer must be tagged and tested once it is 12 months old.

The use of personal electrical appliances e.g., heaters, fans etc is prohibited unless authorised by Infrastructure and Commercial for connection to WSU electrical circuits. All approved items must be electrically safe, tagged and tested, and their addition to the circuit does not overload the circuit.

Exceptions to electrical devices will be considered where there is a medical need.