Page 18 - Hire and Rental News - May 2013
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INDUSTRY IN FOCUS
18
| HIRE
AND
RENTAL
NEWS
| MAY 2013
By Jason Kiekebosch
Managing Director, Test & Tag Training
Keeping up with recent changes to the
WHS Act and the numerous new Codes
of Practice can be a challenge and it is
important to understand the impact of
these changes on your business. One of
the important areas the hire and rental
industry must consider is the area of
Electrical Testing & Tagging.
Australian Standard AS/NZS 3760
outlines the procedures for testing and
tagging and was last revised in 2010
with no major changes. AS/NZS 3760:
2010
makes specific mention of the
recommended frequency for testing and
tagging in the hire industry. Essentially
all portable electrical appliances must be
visually inspected for safety prior to each
hire and must undergo an electrical safety
test, commonly referred to as Test and Tag
once every three months.
For long term hire, the responsibility
to re-test lies with the hirer. With a large
inventory of electrical appliances being
hired out this can be a costly and time
consuming process for a hire company. It is
important to understand the testing and
tagging can be conducted by in house staff
provided they have the correct level of
training and the correct test equipment.
AS/NZS 3760 stipulates in order to
conduct testing and tagging a person
must be deemed as a ‘Competent Person’.
The standard lists the essential skills and
knowledge a competent person must
have. It could be argued by some they
are competent if they have an electrical
or industry specific background however
this is always open to interpretation. At
the end of the day it’s about managing
risk and the best way to ensure your staff
members are competent is to have them
Understanding test & tag qualifications
attend an accredited course and have them
issued with a formal qualification.
If something was to happen and the
level of knowledge was questioned,
holding the highest level of qualification
will minimise the level of risk.
Currently the highest level of
qualification available in this area can be
gained by attending a course delivered by
a Registered Training Organisation (RTO).
RTO’s are accredited by the government
bodies to deliver training under the VET
framework. An RTO will deliver units of
competency and issue a ‘Statement of
Attainment’ upon successful completion.
There have been recent changes
to the Nationally Recognised Unit of
Competency that relates to the Testing
and Tagging of portable appliances. As
from 15 March 2013 the current unit
UEENEEP008B will be superseded by
the new unit UEENEEP026A ‘Conduct
in-service safety testing of electrical
cord assemblies and cord connected
equipment’. Essentially the content of the
unit remains the same however the new
version brings with it an additional unit
that must be completed in conjunction
with the test and tag component.
The additional unit is UEENEEE101A
‘
Occupational Health & Safety regulations
and codes of practices in the workplace’.
Essentially the content covered in this
course is now greater and will cover
broad areas of workplace health and
safety as well. While the course will take
slightly longer to complete, the combined
content of the course now gives those
who complete the course a good overall
grounding in workplace safety as well as
deeming them competent in the process of
test and tag.
Until the introduction of the new unit,
the majority of Test and Tag courses would
have been conducted over one day face
to face. RTO’s will deliver this new course
in different ways, some may require two
days or more of classroom based training
whereas others will have some online
training content to reduce the classroom
based activities to one day or less.
It is important to understand if you
have completed a nationally recognised
course prior to 15 March there is no need
to upgrade to the new unit; your current
qualification will still be recognised.
Test and Tag Training offer weekly
training courses across all States of
Australia. They will be delivering the new
unit via an interactive online training
course combined with a one day face-to-
face session covering the practical side of
testing and tagging. They also deliver a
short course which meets the minimum
requirements.
Contact: 1300 848 302 or visit website:
HR
Jason Kiekebosch
rental and inventory management software
(03) 9016 4101
|
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