Test & Tag in NSW

[Andy Ciddor]

Amendments to the NSW Occupational Health & Safety Regulation
WorkCover NSW have now issued some guidance documents regarding the changes to testing and tagging requirements.

It is most informative to read the FAQ document (download link) now available. There are clarifications of a whole lot of stuff, including the contents of tags and who is entitled to test & tag.

What is made quite clear, is that the gear in the offices, the green room, the lunch room and the control room probably only need a very occasional checking, but that the gear we use every day in production should still be treated as before. Hire equipment is still singled out as an area of concern and so should continue to be rigorously monitored.

There is also a guidance document for Risk Assessment (download link) that clarifies what WorkCover expects us to take into account when formulating our OH&S policies.

I'm of the opinion that everyone on the technical and operations side of our industry in NSW could benefit from downloading and reading the FAQ and that all department heads, head electricians and managers would gain from taking a look at the Risk Assessment guidelines.
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Andy Ciddor

[Don Allen]

Hello Andy

I can't see these changes having a big effect on lighting as the requirement for hire and in house rigs should not change, if you are applying an honest risk assessment, but it sure makes life easier for most businesses, educational and government areas.

The risk assessment says where there is no risk of damage to cords, it can be classed as a non hostile environment, but I do not think that many venues that are using five year testing intervals are dressing their leads to avoid risk or damage.

I have already submitted to UWA that we amend our testing and tagging policies and compliance guidelines to reflect the NSW Workcover updates, as it will mean a great saving in resources and disruption to the end users.

To anyone involved in these changes, thank you.

Don Allen
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Lighting Designer and manufacturer of Theatre Electronics

[Andy Ciddor]