If you live in Australia, no matter what business you’re working at, you’ve probably heard of the term “test and tag”. What does that mean? Well, in a nutshell, it’s a safety regulation in Australia to make sure that all equipment that is electrical works properly. Electricity is a bad element, and therefore it should be treated with ultimate care and caution. Because of this, Australia has placed a law to make sure that everything is tested and tagged. In this guide, we’re going to explain in a little more detail on what that is for you.
Why Do We Test and Tag?
As we mentioned earlier, testing and tagging is essential in every workplace to ensure everyone’s safety. If you don’t have equipment that has a certified tag on it, then there’s a chance that the equipment may be faulty, and you’re putting yourself or others at risk by using it. In Australia, everything has to have an electrical test and tag cert, from electrical power tools in the construction industry, all the way down to office equipment like printers and computers, and even some telephones that are for office use.
Any leakage of power can actually cause problems in the integrity in the equipment and cause a person electrical shock. Just look at how many people have gotten shocked by the electricity that radiates into microphones in the entertainment industry as an example and you’ll be surprised. (and yes, all of their equipment in Australia has to be tested and tagged as well).
Should I Hire an Internal Team or an External Company?
This is actually a very popular question for a lot of companies. Some companies and corporations are large enough that they have the funds and the time to hire a select internal team of individuals that can be trained efficiently to do the test and tag process.
However, since there are dangers involved, you need to know about the other costs you’ll have to endure too, such as workman’s compensation, insurance for every employer, let alone offering them their own additional insurance, taxes, electrical testing equipment, and professionally printed tags that you’re going to be spending a lot of money on. Not only that, but you need to know that you have enough people that can effectively cover every department of your building, as every piece of machinery is completely different.
If you don’t feel like paying all of those extra fees, there is hope though. You can hire a dedicated team of electrical testers that work for a company in which that is their primary mission. They come around only when they have to, and you don’t have to worry about any on-the-clock expenses or additional fees to pay. All you have to do is pay for the company’s service, and be done with it every time they give you a visit.
Conclusion
If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, you may want to look at hiring the services of ETS. They’ve been around for years, and offer numerous testing services, from thermal imaging, electrical test and tag process, safety switch installation and testing, fire safety compliance, lighting maintenance, and they have a full staff of qualified electricians on deck to tackle any electrical job you might have as well.
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