Managing electrical equipment and installations

Tools, instruments, equipment and PPE must be selected to be suitable for purpose and must be inspected regularly and maintained according to manufacturer’s instructions. Workers conducting inspection, testing and maintenance must be suitably trained and competent to undertake those tasks.

Equipment used for detecting an energised source should be trialled, immediately before and after the testing, to ensure that it is functioning correctly.

A business needs to ensure that:

• power circuits are protected by appropriately rated fuses or circuit breakers
• electrical leads are not arranged so that they are easily damaged, run across floors or doorways, or over sharp edges
• only leads and tools designed for wet or damp conditions are used in those conditions
• circuits where portable equipment may be connected are protected by RCDs
• if any current protective device (RCD or circuit breaker) is triggered, the system is not re-energised until the reason has been identified by a competent person
• equipment identified as unsafe is disconnected or isolated and labelled as unsafe and not reconnected until it is repaired and tested as being safe
• regular visual inspections and testing of electrical equipment, including RCDs, occurs. The nature and frequency of inspection and testing will vary depending on the environment in which the electrical equipment is used.