We have been visiting a few offices lately to refit lights, service air-conditioners and conduct general electrical maintenance checks. As we come into Spring and transition back into the office, after a long stint of working from home, we are recommending all our commercial clients to book in an electrical check-up.
In the meantime, to help you stay vigilant, here are our top four electrical safety tips for your office.
Remember water and electricity don’t mix
Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. You can become electricity’s path to the ground if you are touching water that touches electricity - travelling through the water, you, and hitting the ground. It’s important to keep all electrical appliances away from water, this includes glasses of water sitting on your desk!
Avoid overloading your outlets
An overload occurs when you have too many appliances running on the one circuit. More specifically, it is when the electrical demand on the circuit is more than it is designed to provide. In your office, this may only occur when you have multiple staff members plugging in multiple appliances if there are not enough outlets in the desired spaces. You may be tempted to use power strips, extension cords or multi-tap outlets. Your offices will be wired to handle the number of appliances on the outlet, therefore you must avoid using more than this.
Use power cords safely
When plugging or unplugging your appliances to the outlet, you must do this safely to avoid any electrical harm. For common office appliances such as printers and desktop computers, we recommend you to take the following precautions when handling the power cord:
Turn the device off
Switch the appliance off at the outlet
With dry hands, gently remove the plug from the wall.
Ensure electrical appliances are installed correctly
According to WorkSafe Queensland, the testing and tagging of electrical equipment must be conducted in the workplace to ensure the integrity of the electrical equipment. Specified electrical equipment and safety switches need to be tested at intervals according to the type of work they are used for.
For manufacturing, service, office, amusement and rural industry work, information is in the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013. Or visit the Work Safe Queensland code of practice on Managing Electrical Risks In The Workplace, here.
If you would like to learn more about electrical safety in the workplace or book in a test and tag, get in touch with the Ehlerth Electrical team on 1800 940 413 or make an enquiry here. We service clients from South East Queensland.
