When it comes to understanding what the entire test and tag interval is all about, it is essentially going to let you know how often you should have all of your electrical appliances tested for safety. However, with that being said, the main underlying factor is going to be what type of environment your electrical appliance is actually going to be located in.
When it comes to many workplaces, many of them are going to have several different tests and tag frequencies, as they are going to be following their very own risk management outlines, as well as OHS planning. With that being said, depending upon what the industry the business is in, they may even be required to use specific test and tag colors for when the testing has been completed. Here are the typical guidelines when it comes to how often you should have a test and tag service provider come out and test your electrical appliances and tools.
- Roughly every 3 months: Businesses in the building, demolition and construction industry
- About every 6 months or so: Warehouses, factories and other types of mass production industries
- Every 12 months: This is going to be reserved for those environments where you are going to have electrical equipment located in a place where the units supply cord is more prone to flexing or some type of physical abuse
- Every 5 years: This environment is going to be one that has your electrical equipment’s supply cord in a place where it will not be experiencing much flexing or any type of abuse
Test and Tag Intervals According to Table 4: AS/NZS 3760
When it comes to ETS test and tag frequency, there is going to be a recommended frequency chart that is better known as Table 4: AS/NZS 3760, more commonly referred to as the 3760 Standard. Now keep in mind that the frequencies that the 3760 Standard recommends are going to be based on regular use of the electric equipment in question, meaning that if your electrical equipment is being used much more than what you would normally consider being ‘average’, you may want to think about having the equipment in question tested and tagged more frequently.
So, the 3760 Standard is going to be a minimum requirement when getting tested, again keeping in mind that you may need to consider having your equipment tested more frequently if it is being used much more.
If you have assigned the job of test and tag in a particular workplace, only to discover that the person who was in charge of the test and tag of all the equipment before you was doing it at a much different frequency than what has been recommended, the reason could be due to:
- The test and tag technician were not properly informed of the test periods and was doing it wrong
- The business owner of that particular space was completing their own risk management assessment