You’ve just bought some brand new electrical equipment and the question arises: Does new equipment need to be tested and tagged? Not if you use this hack…
Does new equipment need to be tested and tagged?
In New Zealand, newly purchased items “shall be inspected, tested and tagged on entry to service“. In other words, they do need to be tested and verified as safe before being used.
This can make it difficult and expensive to comply because, although the testing cost per unit is not that much, testing companies charge an “on-site” fee to cover their administration and travel costs. Bearing these costs every week or two for each new item is not very realistic.
Can new equipment be tested and tagged by the seller?
In theory it is possible to have the equipment tested and tagged at the point of purchase. The problem is that most suppliers don’t test and tag. Even if they do, they’ll charge $10, $20 or even $30 for the privilege.
Hack #1
In New Zealand AS/NZS 3760:2010 legislation does allow for this situation. New equipment can be used without the need to be tested and tagged if the power is supplied via a Residual Current Device (RCD) which itself has a current tag.
You can buy RCDs from most hardware stores, electrical appliance outlets and even some supermarkets. It’s very unlikely they’ll have a current tag affixed though, so make sure you get it tested and tagged before it enters service.
Hack #2
You can order currently tested and tagged RCDs from Comply Guy. Using this option, the answer to the question, “Does new equipment need to be tested and tagged?” is no. It can safely wait until the next testing round.
“Newly purchased” definition
So, what does “newly purchased” actually mean? Is it one day after purchase, one week, one month, one quarter, one year?
Nobody knows because it’s not defined anywhere!
We suggest you get your new equipment tested and tagged during your next scheduled testing round. This will save you the on-site charges that would be incurred if we turned up every time you bought new equipment.
Hack #3
Our final recommendation will help you prove compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) in the event of a WorkSafe investigation if the unthinkable ever happened.
When you buy any new equipment and hook it up through an RCD device, do this…
- Tag the new equipment with a “New to Service” tag
- Make sure the tag also indicates a purchase date
- Make sure the tag states that, “This equipment MUST have power supplied via a tested Residual Current Device (RCD)“
If you would like some “New to Service” tags for your business, get in touch…
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