Electrical Equipment Procedure for Managers

Crossroads Care Electrical equipment procedure

F.08

Electrical equipment procedure for managers

1.0 SCOPE

1.1 The intended outcome of this procedure is to protect staff from the risk of accidents or harm when using electrical equipment either in Crossroads Care premises or in service users’ homes.

Please note: where reference is made to ‘staff’ within this procedure, the term will include volunteers as appropriate to the context and their use within individual schemes.

1.2 Definitions of the following terms are provided in Appendix 1 at the end of this document:

portable electrical equipment
portable appliance test (PAT).

2.0 LEGAL BACKGROUND

2.1Crossroads Care will comply with:

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (as amended 2002).

3.0 responsibilities OF MANAGERS

3.1 Managers are required to ensure any work equipment used by staff is in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair, as set out in Regulation 5 of the Provision and use of work equipment regulations.

3.2 Managers are required to have systems in place that ensure staff work to this procedure, to the health and safety guidance for staff (F.01b) and guidance for volunteers (F.01c) at all times.

4.0 ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT OWNED BY CROSSROADS CARE

4.1 Maintenance of all electrical equipment (including fixtures and fittings) that involves repair or dismantling of the same will be carried out by authorised electrical contractors or trained qualified persons only.

4.2 Crossroads Care staff are required to carry out basic visual inspections of electrical equipment at suitable intervals commensurate with the risk. Staff will receive training from their managers on what to look for when conducting a basic visual inspection. For instancethis will include checking:

electrical cables (damaged, frayed and exposed wires or wires coming away from cable grip)
the condition of plugs and associated cable securing points (cracked casings, broken plugs, hot plugs and sockets, scorching around pins, suspect / loose / exposed wiring connections)
sockets, light switches and light fittings (for example coming away from the wall/ceiling).

4.3Managers are required to:

keep a formal record to confirm that office staff have received and understood thetraining outlined in 4.2 above
ensure staffare aware of the need to report to themthe findings of their basic visual inspection (including signs of damage, wear and tear that may compromise the safe operation of the equipment and no signs of the same) for recording in a suitable format.

4.4It is good practice for schemes to keep a register ofportable electrical appliances in use on premises controlled by Crossroads Care or owned by Crossroads Care for use in the community. Managers need to ensure such electrical equipment is maintained in a safe condition, in efficient working order and in good repair. SeeFT.07 guidelines on how the risks associated with portable electrical appliances can be evaluated.

4.5Managers are required to:

ensure all registered portable electrical appliancesare inspected at suitable frequencies

commensurate with risk (associated with the nature of theiruse and location)

use a risk-based approach (see 4.7 below) to determine a suitable frequency of inspection and whether avisual or combined (visual and PAT) inspection is required –see Appendix 3 for further details.

4.6 The circumstances of use (for example risk of damage to electrical cables / plugs / casing, a wet / harsh environment) and whether the equipment is either earthed or double insulated (see Appendix 2) will dictate the inspection regime.

4.7The manager’s risk-based approach will ensure that the following checks are in place and have been carried out:

a risk assessment has been performed to identify the hazards, the risks arising from those hazards and the control measures in place
the electrical equipment is suitable for the work and for the way in which it is to be used
the electrical equipment is in good condition
the electrical equipment is suitable for the electrical supply with which it is going to be used
the user of the equipment is trained to use it safely and keep others safe.

4.8If a PAT inspection is deemed necessary, it will be carried out by a competent person(that is, one who knows how to use the testing equipment and to interpret the results). Just because a PAT inspection has been performed does not mean visual inspections can cease. The test only indicates the safety of an appliance at the time of the test and does not imply the item will be safe for a further period of time. It is for managers to decide on a risk assessment basis when the next test is due and not the person who carried out the test.

4.9It is good practice for schemes to keep records of all inspections and tests and to label electrical equipment with the result and date of test as appropriate.

4.10Managers need to ensure anyfaulty electrical equipment is clearly identified and isolated from the work area pending either repair by a competent person (qualified electrical contractor or other such person) or disposal.

4.11Crossroads Care will not purchase any second-hand electrical equipmentfor use in the community or in the office environment unless it has been checked by a qualified electrician.

5.0 FIXED ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND THE MAIN ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION

5.1 Items that are wired in (such as some water boilers) are considered part of the fixed installation maintenance.

Where premises are owned by the scheme, it is the manager’s responsibility to ensure fixed electrical equipment is properly maintained in a safe condition by a competent person, that the main electrical installation has been tested by a competent person at a suitable frequency (once every five years for an office premises) and has a current National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) certificate.
Where premises are leased by the scheme, the maintenance of fixed electrical equipment and testing of main electrical installation are usually the responsibility of the landlord or the ‘person in control of the premises’, depending on the type of lease arrangement.

6.0 ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT IN SERVICE USERS’ HOMES

6.1 When carrying out an initial assessment in a service user’s home, the care planner willestablish the electrical equipment staff will be required to use. The care planner will:

carry out a visual inspection of the electrical appliance/s to be used (see 4.2 above)
check that the appliance/s is/are suitable for the job.

6.2Managers will ensure staff working in service users’ homes are:

aware of the need to be vigilant when they are required to use electrical equipment belonging to a service user
trained to carry out a basic visual inspection (see 4.2 above) on any electrical equipment they are required to use to ensure it is safe
responsible for carrying out the check routinely before using any electrical equipment in the home
supplied with and trained how to use a residual current device (see 6.4 and 6.5 below).

6.3 Staff will be instructed that ifvisual inspection of electrical equipment identifies damage,if they suspect a piece of equipment may be faulty or if they are in any doubt as to its safety, they are required to:

not use the appliance in question
inform the service user of their concerns
report the matter to their line manager / the person on call immediately
record the incident on the client report form in the home.

6.4All staff working in service users’ homes will be issued with a residual current device (RCD), specification BS 7071 (1992).

6.5 Though it may not be reasonably practicable to use such a device in all situations,managers will instruct staff to use RCDs in situations where there is a greater foreseeable risk associated with the use of portable electrical appliances. This includes equipment that is used to assist in certain manual domestic activities or wherever circumstances of use could increase the risk of damage and / or contact with wet areas and water. Examples include:

kettles
irons
vacuum cleaners
deep pan fryers
steamers
blenders and mixers
electric knives
hair dryers
hair straighteners
electric lawnmowers
leaf vacuums/blowers
pressure washers.

6.6 Managers will instruct staff that they are not permitted to:

undertake any electrical installation, repairs or servicing on behalf of a service user
change light bulbs unless it is deemed absolutely necessary andfailure to do so would leave the service user in darkness and / or compromise their health, safety or welfare (for example affecting safe access to and from a bedroom, toilet, kitchen area or rest area) - see checklist at FT.06 for details
take any of their own electrical equipment (for example food mixers, irons, heaters) into a service user’s home.

7.0 LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

7.1 General learning and development requirements relating to the electrical equipment procedure are contained in the learning and development policy, procedure and guidance (E.13a, E.13b and E.13c).

7.2 Managers are responsible for assessing the roles undertaken by volunteers (including trustees) within their scheme and the level of briefing / induction those volunteers require in relation to the health and safety guidance for volunteers (F.01c).

8.0 ACCEPTANCE

8.1 All managers, care planners and other staff members involved in the implementation of this procedure are required to evidence that they have received, read and understood its contents.

Evidence required:

title and reference number of the document
name and signature of the staff member
job title
date.

8.2 Responsibility for following this procedure rests with the individual staff member. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary proceedings.

APPENDIX 1

DEFINITIONS

Portable electrical equipment

The Health and Safety Executive define this as ‘equipment that is not part of a fixed installation, but is intended to be connected to a fixed installation, or a generator, by means of a flexible cable and either a plug and socket, or a spur box, or similar means. The electrical supply to the equipment is assumed to be at a voltage that can give a fatal electrical shock to a person, that is, more than 50V ac or 120V dc’.

Portable appliance test (PAT)

The routine inspection and appropriate testing of workplace electrical equipment where necessary.

APPENDIX 2

What is the difference between earthed and double insulated electrical equipment?

There are two basic types of electrical equipment construction – Class I (earthed) and Class II (double insulated)

Class I (earthed) equipment has an earth connection. If there is a fault within the equipment there is a possibility that the outside of the equipment could cause an electric shock if the earth connection is not there. As a result, it is recommended that Class I equipment has a portable appliance test to ensure the earth connection is sound.

Class II equipment also referred to as ‘double insulated’ equipment has extra insulation within the construction of the equipment to prevent accidental contact with live parts, even if there is a fault. It does not need an earth connection to maintain safety. It will not need a portable appliance test, although you should ensure that user checks and visual inspections are carried out as the integrity of the equipment casing is a key safety feature.

Class II equipment is marked and if you cannot see this symbol, you should assume that the item is a Class I appliance and carry out a portable appliance test.

APPENDIX 3

Suggested initial intervals for checking portable electrical equipment (HSE INDG 236)

Notes for Table above

Over time managers will look at the results of user checks, visual inspections and, where appropriate, portable appliance tests, for trends. These may identify a need to look at or test electrical equipment less (or more) often, depending on the number of problems being found. Some examples of how to do this are shown in Appendix 2. If electrical equipment is grouped together for testing at the same time, managers need to use the shortest testing interval in the group rather than the longest. Alternatively, it may be appropriate to group electrical equipment by testing interval.

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Policy/Electricalequipment/2012/08/APf008 Last updated July 2014