Independent journal · Est. 2004
Written for licensed contractors in Australia
Australia
The independent journal for licensed electrical contractors in Australia
Isolation and lockout, residual current devices, working near live parts, SWMS that get used on the tools, and testing and tagging under AS/NZS 3760.
Live work is prohibited unless a narrow statutory exception applies, and work near exposed live parts is not a loophole. This article separates installation work from network-operator rules, and explains why PPE is a last control, not a method.
Read Working near live parts: when it is permitted and when it is theatre
A safe work method statement is not a PDF you email on Sunday night. It is the isolation and test sequence for this board, on this day, written so the people on the tools can follow it and an inspector can see that they did.
Tape on a breaker is not isolation, and neither is a handwritten note under a magnet. This piece walks through prove-dead, personal locks, hasps, group isolation and return-to-service the way AS/NZS 4836 and the model WHS electrical code actually require it on Australian sites.
A push-button click is not a test record, and a Type AC device is no longer what you put on a new final sub-circuit. This article covers 30 mA socket-outlet protection, Type A versus Type AC, workplace and dwelling duties, and the results you can still defend a year later.
Read RCD testing that will still look respectable in the file
A tag is not a personality, and AS/NZS 3760 is not a licence to skip the look. This field guide covers in-service inspection, hostile environments, construction versus office intervals, competence, hire gear, and the difference between a tag and a residual current device.