Portable Electrical Equipment

The use of portable electrical equipment in the workplace can ease the burden of labour for employees. This can only happen when equipment is properly functional and is in a good working condition. Defect equipment could only increase incidents yet it is meant to increase productivity.

The condition of electrical equipment should be assessed regularly. Electricity is a dangerous safety hazard if mishandled.

Switches of portable equipment should be working properly to ensure that an employee can quickly switch the equipment off in an emergency situation. Defect switches could lead to the equipment spiralling out of control and cause extensive damage and injuries which could have been avoided.

Wires of electrical equipment should be properly insulated with insulation that is free of breaks and cracks. Exposed wiring could cause electrical shocks or even, a loss of life when an employee accidentally touches the exposed wires. The assessor should ensure that all portable equipment is checked thoroughly and employers instructed to replace or send for repairs any equipment that he or she feels is life threatening.

The entire electrical supply from the wall socket, extensions cables to the plug should be safe. Employers should ensure that when purchasing adapters and extension cables, they consider if these would be able to carry the required currency for the equipment they are going to use it for. Also, they should purchase extensions that are leak and waterproof so as to reduce risks of explosion if they are exposed to wet environments. A risk assessment is essential to check if cables are properly fitted and used because loose cables might pose a risk of wires breaking contributing to an explosion incident.

Earth wire is a requirement of all electrical equipment. However, it is possible that it could wear out or give away from its connection area. Un-earthed electrical equipment poses a serious danger of employees getting electrocuted. During a risk assessment, it should be confirmed that all equipment is earthed. Employers should be advised to bring in an electrician to do a constant check on their equipment rather than wait for an incident to occur before any equipment is sent off for repairs.

Most portable electrical equipment is supplied with a guard to reduce the impact of incidents on a user. It is an employer's duty to ensure that these guards are always secure and are available on machinery. Employers should discourage employees to use any equipment when they feel the guard no longer saves it purpose and report in to the relevant department or managers. Allowing employees to use equipment with damaged or no guard at all is putting their lives is a threatening position.

An inspector should always assess the plug point of a premise. If a company uses many electrical tools, employees could find themselves with insufficient plug points hence they would resort to using extensions. However, employees tend to overload a plug by connecting many other extensions which can cause an extreme explosion hazard. An inspector should advise employers on the number of plugs one socket can have and alert them on the danger of overloading an electrical plug.

Electrical equipment is there to make life easier not to cut it short!