Fcaelectrical Guidelines for Installation Works

Fcaelectrical Guidelines for Installation Works

Faculty of Creative Arts

FCAElectricalGuidelines for Installation Works

Date approved: / Date procedure will take effect: / Immediately / Date of Next Review:
Approved by: / Abbie Watson, DMC Manager.

Custodian title & e-mail address: / Glenn Alexander, DMC Technical Officer

Author:
/ Glenn Alexander, DMC Technical Officer
Robyn Douglass, FCA Technical Officer
Responsible Faculty/
Division & Unit: / Faculty of Creative Arts
Supporting documents, procedures & forms of this procedure: / Please also see HRD-OHS-GUI-145.9 Electrical Safety Guidelines 2011 January at:

References & Legislation:
Audience: / FCA students and staff wishing to use mains-powered devices as part of installed artworks

Contents

1Introduction / Background

2Scope

3Casual inspection of equipment prior to each use

Inspection Considerations

Electrical Appliances to be Tested

Modified Electrical Devices

Fire Hazard

Mechanical Hazard

Types of Assessment

Curriculum Integration

Roles and Responsibilities

4Version Control Table

FCA-PRO-001.1FCA Electrical Guidelines for Installation WorksPage 1 of 6

Hardcopies of this document are considered uncontrolled please refer to the UOW website or intranet for the latest version

1Introduction / Background

  1. The purpose of this policy is to supplement and provide specific guidance to the general OH&S guidelines for working with electrical equipment.

2Scope

  1. This document covers any person in the Faculty of Creative Artswishing to work with mains-voltage or other potentially-dangerous-voltage equipment.

3Casual inspection of equipment prior to each use

  1. Visually inspect all electrical equipment prior to use to ensure:
  2. Electrical appliances are dry and clean.
  3. Power cords and equipment are in good condition.
  4. An appropriate power board with an overload switch is used where more than one appliance is required to be connected to a single powerpoint.
  5. Power cords do not present a trip hazard and are not at risk of damage.
  6. Moving parts are appropriately covered.

Inspection Considerations

  1. Dry and Clean:
  2. Equipment should not be wet or near spills or locations where moisture or liquid spills could reasonably be expected to happen.
  3. Equipment should be clean and free of grease or other dirt, including ensuring that ventilation holes are free of excessive dust.
  4. Good Condition:
  5. Cables should be free of kinks and frayed or exposed wires.
  6. Equipment chassis should be free of cracks, holes or missing external panels.
  7. Power Boards:
  8. All power boards used must have an overload-protection switch.
  9. The total power requirements of equipment should be considered when plugging multiple devices into the same power board or building power circuit. You should make sure circuits can accommodate the power load required.
  10. Trip Hazards from and damage to cables:
  11. Cables which must cross areas where pedestrian traffic may occur must be taped down using cloth or gaffer tape at least 5 times as wide as the cable. Approved non-slip mats over cables are recommended in addition to tape if high traffic is expected.
  12. Cables not on the floor, but near pedestrian paths should be kept away from where they could be hooked by or pulled-on by passers-by. Cables should be secured with cable-ties where possible.
  13. Cables suspended a greater distance than 2 metres should not rely on the material of the cable to support itself. Guy-wires, solid conduit or solid supports should be set up and cables tied to the guy wires or supports, or threaded in the conduits.
  14. Cables must never obstruct the closing of a door, or be in a situation where a door or other moving object can damage the cable.

Electrical Appliances to be Tested

  1. The University requires all electrical appliances beyond their warranty period to be tested and tagged by a UOW electrical tester.
  2. All devices bought in by students that match this criteria must be tested and tagged to show that testing has been performed before they can be switched on. Such devices may include, but are not limited to:
  3. Hand held power tools
  4. Lamps or lights
  5. Hairdryers
  6. Kitchen appliances
  7. Extension cords
  8. Power boards
  9. Laboratory equipment
  10. Equipment that is new and the supplier will be deemed responsible for the initial electrical safety need not be tagged, though it is still suggested to do so if the tagger will be testing other equipment anyway.
  11. It is assumed above that the equipment has not be modified or mishandled in any way. For modified equipment, see next item.
  12. It is recommended that staff organise ‘equipment testing days’ prior to assessment periods when a UOW eTagger can be present for students to bring in their equipment.

Modified Electrical Devices

  1. Electrical devices that have been modified from the manufacturer’s specification or built completely or partially from components must be assessed, approved and tagged by a licensed electrician before they can be plugged in.
  2. Alterations may include, but are not limited to:
  3. Changing a foreign cable plug to an Australian one.
  4. Adding a line switch to a power cable.
  5. Adding or bypassing a switch on the chassis.
  6. Removing or altering the chassis or casing of a device in any way.
  7. Attaching the device to another object in a way that may alter the internal workings (eg: obstructing air vents, placing extra load on motors).
  8. Self-assembling high-voltage components into a custom device.
  9. Alternatives to altering mains-voltage equipment should be sought wherever possible.

Fire Hazard

  1. In addition to risk of electric shock, electrical devices can also present a fire hazard. Mains- and high-voltage devices are particularly important to assess, however the danger potential of even low-voltage systems should not be overlooked when assessing devices.
  2. Things that may contribute to a device’s fire risk include but are not limited to:
  3. Blocked ventilation.
  4. Exposed wires (electrical shorts).
  5. Corroded wiring.
  6. Damaged or overloaded motors or magnetic coils.

Mechanical Hazard

  1. Motorised devices, including solenoid-type actuators may present a hazard if moving parts are contacted by operators or the public. This risk is greater with self-powered devices as stopping the mechanical movement may not be quickly or intuitively possible. Assessment of risk of moving mechanical parts must be performed on devices relying on such.
  2. Things that may contribute to a device’s mechanical risk include but are not limited to:
  3. Rotating shafts, fans, wheels can result in friction burns or cuts if contacted.
  4. Loose hair or clothing may be caught in moving parts.
  5. Improperly secured moving parts can become projectile.
  6. Vibration can cause an improperly secured device to fall.
  7. All moving parts that present unreasonable risks must be guarded by a suitable barrier. Where low-but-identifiable risk is present and not avoidable, appropriate warning signage should be present near/on the device and the risk area visually highlighted.
  8. Where the mechanical risk is particularly high, a prominent safety-shut-off switch must be included with the equipment.

Types of Assessment

  1. Informal assessment:

This should be performed on an ongoing basis by all staff and students every time equipment is to be used. It will consist of activities such as:

  • Visually scanning cables for damage while unpacking equipment.
  • Noting where cables are run in relation to traffic.
  • Keeping an eye on liquids and spills, and the potential for such in the vicinity of equipment.
  • Noting any unexpected burning smells immediately after equipment is switched on.
  • Noting when equipment seems to be unexpectedly hot, noisy or generating excessive vibration.

A technical officer should be informed immediately if there is any question of safety. If there is reasonable cause to suspect a fault, and it will not be unsafe to do so, suspect equipment should be shut down immediately, preferably at the wall-outlet (ie: using the switch as far from the equipment as possible)

  1. E-tagging:

This should be performed periodically by a qualified electrical tester. It will occur when:

  • Previously untagged equipment that is not in new-condition is to be used.
  • Tags on existing equipment become out of date.
  1. Engineering Certification:

This should be performed on any device that has been altered away from factory form or constructed from components.

Curriculum Integration

  1. Safety is an important workplace skill that benefits all UOW graduates. Integration of safety into the curriculum is not only necessary for the place graduates in good standing when they enter the workforce.
  2. It is important that students encounter and become accustomed to safety in their academic life in preparation for professional practice in their future workplaces.
  3. As such, it is strongly recommended that teaching staff include the creation of safety assessments as an assessable part of assignments which may involve the use of hazardous devices or materials.
  4. For many student projects, the assessment may often be as simple as ‘this project carries no risks’ however even in such cases, habituating of the thinking about risks management for each project is an important end in itself that will carry through to enhance the student’s professional life in the future.
  5. In the creative arts field, it is important that when – as part of a professional project – artists are required to submit risk assessments to their sponsors, that our graduates are confident and skilled in this task.

Roles and Responsibilities

  1. The FCA Technical Officersareto work with teaching staffto ensure these procedures are adhered to, and to provide support for implementation where appropriate.

4Version Control Table

Version Control / Date Effective / Approved By / Amendment
Start from 1 / 12.05.21 / Contact person – full name & title. / First Version.
2 / <Briefly summarise major amendments>

FCA-PRO-001.1FCA Electrical Guidelines for Installation WorksPage 1 of 6

Hardcopies of this document are considered uncontrolled please refer to the UOW website or intranet for the latest version

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