Testing and tagging of electrical appliances and machines by various industries has become a necessity in this modern era. This is simply because it ensures proper safety and security for the employees who use these machines every day. It is needless to say that if you use a defective or damaged electronic appliance, it may cause various types of accidents, some of which may even be fatal for you.
Most of you may have heard about test and tag. However, very few of you know what it actually means. This process is conducted by an experienced individual in two primary steps. Firstly, he inspects the electronic appliance in question for any visible damages. Once this is done, he uses a Portable Appliance Tester to check the appliance or machine electronically. This helps him locate any defects with the product and also judge whether the defect is repairable or not.
Useful Test and Tag Guidelines
Under the present Australian Standards and legislation, it is important for all employers to test all electronic machines and tools of the “plug in” type used in the workplace. They are also needed to document all the tests and maintain the record carefully.
Low Risk Environments
This basically means non-hostile environment and any equipment used in such an environment should only undergo visual inspection. Mentioned below are the type of equipment that need to be inspected on a regular basis and the records of the test should be maintained by the employers.
- Fixed electrical equipment
- Computer workstations used in class rooms, telecentre, and offices to name a few.
- Any stationary equipment whose mass exceeds 18kg and does not come with any carry handles.
High Risk Environments
These are all the hostile environments and any electrical equipment or appliance used in such an environment should be carefully inspected and tested by ETS appliance testing Melbourne. The records of the tests should be properly kept and maintained. Some of the equipment included in this category have been listed below.
- Toasters, hand-held or commercial kitchen appliances, and kettles.
- Fans, electric saws, vacuum cleaners, extension leads, heaters, power tools, and power boards.
- Any kind of portable appliance or equipment.
Some of the Electrical Dangers Explained
It is needless to say that electrical machines, tools, appliances or gadgets can easily cause fires. Thus, it is important to test these products on a periodical basis. It is true that some of the equipment and appliance fires are caused due to misuse by users. Discussed below are some of the electrical appliances and the reasons for them to cause fires.
- Air Conditioners: These electrical appliances operate non-stop in dusty environment. The dust can easily settle over the various electrical parts and components and cause tracking faults.
- Fax Machines: Old models normally produce a lot of heat even on standby since they used to come with a thermal print head. If this heat is not allowed to escape due to some sort of cover, it can cause fire.
- Urns and Kettles: If the safety cut-out device on urns and kettles fail to work properly, it can cause fires. This is also a very common reason for such products to catch a fire.
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