Employers and businesses with full control over workplaces in Australia are required to ensure that their establishments are in accordance to the safety and health laws. Among the requirements are regular inspections of electrical systems, fire safety mechanisms including emergency lighting system, testing and tagging of electrical equipment, and ensuring a conducive working environment.
Preventing disasters
It's not a conservative estimate to say that at least 40 people die from electrocution each year in Australia. Thousands of others also suffer various injuries through electric shocks. What the most common causes of electrical accidents each year? In simple terms, the blame is equally shared between the distribution network and wrong installation.
So here are the figures: 4 in 10 were due to metal exposed to electrical current, 18% involve victims who had direct contact with live current, 9% of the incidents are due to faulty insulation, 3% are due to insufficient or absence of earthing. The employer should be proactive instead of just waiting for the incident to happen before actually doing something to rectify the error. Electrical testing and tagging is one such requirement that is fairly easy to overlook but still a crucial element in workers' safety.
Benefits of complying
Aside from protecting yourself from lawsuits, there are other benefits if you comply with the regulations on health and safety as well. For one, being given a certificate of compliance can be used as a value added service to enhance your reputation as a company that will cares about its employees' well-being.
Second, professional testing tagging allows your workers to watch the whole process and this will not appreciate more your efforts to ensure their safety, but also heighten their awareness about the need for such mechanisms in their own homes. Checking your electrical system will also find unstable currents or erratic loads that can have negative influence on employee behaviour. Do you know for example that too much microwave radiation or electrical load in your workplace can lead to nausea, vomiting, constant headaches and lower level of productivity?
Protecting yourself
In face of a fire, electrical testing and tagging will give you the leverage to claim your insurance. There are one too many cases in Australia where the employer could not cash in the insurance policy because he could not supply the proof of test and tag compliance. If that happens, involving the government will only end badly for you because you violated the law in the first place.
Preventing disasters
It's not a conservative estimate to say that at least 40 people die from electrocution each year in Australia. Thousands of others also suffer various injuries through electric shocks. What the most common causes of electrical accidents each year? In simple terms, the blame is equally shared between the distribution network and wrong installation.
So here are the figures: 4 in 10 were due to metal exposed to electrical current, 18% involve victims who had direct contact with live current, 9% of the incidents are due to faulty insulation, 3% are due to insufficient or absence of earthing. The employer should be proactive instead of just waiting for the incident to happen before actually doing something to rectify the error. Electrical testing and tagging is one such requirement that is fairly easy to overlook but still a crucial element in workers' safety.
Benefits of complying
Aside from protecting yourself from lawsuits, there are other benefits if you comply with the regulations on health and safety as well. For one, being given a certificate of compliance can be used as a value added service to enhance your reputation as a company that will cares about its employees' well-being.
Second, professional testing tagging allows your workers to watch the whole process and this will not appreciate more your efforts to ensure their safety, but also heighten their awareness about the need for such mechanisms in their own homes. Checking your electrical system will also find unstable currents or erratic loads that can have negative influence on employee behaviour. Do you know for example that too much microwave radiation or electrical load in your workplace can lead to nausea, vomiting, constant headaches and lower level of productivity?
Protecting yourself
In face of a fire, electrical testing and tagging will give you the leverage to claim your insurance. There are one too many cases in Australia where the employer could not cash in the insurance policy because he could not supply the proof of test and tag compliance. If that happens, involving the government will only end badly for you because you violated the law in the first place.
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