Category: Electrical Test And Tagging

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Here are 3 Reasons to Hire Quality Testing and Tagging Specialists

Testing and tagging is the process of checking the safety of portable appliances. Testing and tagging involves a visual inspection followed by electrical testing with a Portable Appliance Tester. The tagging refers to the labels attached to tested appliances to indicated their safety. 

Although testing and tagging is somewhat straightforward, the implications of an improperly performed test could result in serious injury. So, hiring a quality testing and tagging specialist, with attention to detail is vital to reduce risk. To test and tag, one needs to be deemed competent under the current standards and does not necessarily need to be an electrician. Appliances need to be test regularly to reduce risk, and poor testers may miss or ignore the signs of danger.

Competency

A competent test and tag specialist ensures the standard and best practices are followed. The standards only outline how to safely and correctly test an appliance. Whereas, the best practice goes above and beyond these outlines to ensure a comprehensive service. A competent tester tests patiently and tags accurately. The tester will then keep a detailed record of every test with numerical data.

A less quality testing and tagging specialist may rush through their tests, and in the process follow the standards incorrectly, putting themselves and you at risk.

Quality Testing and Tagging Guarantee

As stated, a quality tester will keep detailed records of their tests. Under the standard record keeping is not required. However, even the most basic record keeping is strongly recommended. The ability to look at the exact results of a test gives you a guarantee that the test has been performed correctly, and its results are certain.

Simple pass/fail records can easily be made up, and if the tester was to be audited, little could be done to hold them accountable for dodgy testing and tagging.

Professionalism

We have heard many horror stories of testing and tagging specialists who rush through their tests and have little regard for the environments they are testing. At Metrotest we take pride in our brand image, and the quality service we provide.

Part of that means keeping a professional attitude and complying with the health and safety protocol of the workshops we frequently test. After all, testing and tagging is about preventing injury, not potentially causing one.

Here is what one of our recent clients had to say:

“I would like to express my thanks to you and your team for their professionalism, punctuality, attention to detail and the general way they conducted their work on site. The guys were always polite and worked around my office and workshop teams, to ensure they did not interrupt business, whilst adhering to our site health and safety rules.

A team to be proud of!” – Haydn Murray, ETEL South Island Business Manager

Hopefully, you learned what to look for in a quality testing and tagging specialist. If you need your appliances tested, give Metrotest a call at 0800 638 768 or contact us online for more information.

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If You Don’t Test and Tag, You Take a Risk

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Not everyone sees the importance to test and tag their appliances or other electric-powered equipment. This is most especially true when a piece of electrical equipment is relatively new. Unfortunately, this poses risks to everyone who gets access to an electric-powered tool or appliance. However, we believe that it’s crucial to perform regular appliance testing and tagging, no matter how old or new an item is.

After all, no one wants to experience electric shock or other potential mishaps with a faulty appliance. To give you a more precise grasp on the importance of testing and tagging, here are the usual risks that come with a defective piece of electrical equipment.

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#1. Increased risk for electrical shock

If you work in a cramped space and your appliance or equipment develops an electrical fault, it becomes difficult to avoid or prevent electrical shock. Unfortunately, an electrical shock can cause the following effects on the body:

  • Muscle spasms
  • Cardiac arrest
  • Nervous system malfunction
  • Burns
  • Increased risk for developing eye cataract

#2. Faulty appliances can cause damages

Without conducting regular testing and tagging, some of your electrical equipment becomes increasingly vulnerable to damage. It can also cause damages to your property. Below are some examples of potential problems that you might have to deal with if you have faulty equipment:

Fire_test_and_tag

  • Fire damage – Fire damages are perhaps the most dangerous outcome of having a defective piece of electrical equipment. The electrical short spark can cause the appliance to go up in flames. It can also affect flammable materials inside the property like wallpaper, insulation, cabinetry, and curtains.
  • Physical damage – When an appliance starts acting up, it can cause physical damage to itself, the outlets, switches, and other components of your electrical system.
  • Damage to the surge protector – Each electrical equipment comes with microprocessors that detect power surges (electrical supply fluctuations, lightning storms, etc.). Unfortunately, if you don’t get your appliance tested and tagged, you may not be aware of potential problems resulting in damage to your surge protectors. This could potentially decrease its lifespan because it has less protection from power surges.

#3. Increased difficulty in managing risks in workplaces and homes

When you’re not sure about the integrity or safety of an appliance or a piece of electrical equipment, you become increasingly wary of the risks involved. This makes it hard to work around the devices. It also adds to your responsibilities and duties.

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Find your test and tag supplies at MetroTest

We can’t emphasize enough the value of getting your devices tested and tagged. It’s a simple process that gives you peace of mind knowing that your electrical equipment works without a glitch. As long as you have the competencies to test and tag, you can handle the task on your own. Alternatively, you can call in a third party to carry out the job for you.

Need testing and tagging equipment and supplies? Whether you need to shop for your home, school, office or business, we have plenty of options you can choose from for your appliances and other electrical equipment. Check out our product catalogue here at MetroTest today!

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Do You Need To Be A Registered Electrician To Test and Tag?

A post about an upcoming Test and Tag Competency event on our Metrotest Facebook page motivated one electrician to call us “Shysters” and less publishable names. He went so far as to do this publicly on our page and named us on his. To add insult to injury, he also left us a bad public review.

But why?

With the above in mind, as a business we could respond in several ways. We could retaliate and also leave a bad review on his page or possibly respond harshly. Whether these options would be the right thing to do is clear, unlike this individual we don’t throw our toys out of the cot.

We at Metrotest believe that professionalism outweighs an emotional reaction and as such, we want to take this as an opportunity to respond constructively and go through some details as to what may have led to the above events.

Every business, at some time or another, gets a bad review or ‘one-star rating’ – it’s nothing new. Sometimes things go wrong and for those born last century, as LV Martin used to say, ‘it’s the putting right that matters.

Constructive criticism only leads to improvement. It helps us identify weakness and encourages us to be better at what we do. We welcome it.  When it’s not constructive, such as in the case of Mr X, the public notices and it puts them in a bad light.

Here’s some thoughts on why this happened:

  • Mr X sees our Competent Person Training taking business off them and being a threat.
  • Mr X does not believe that anyone except a trained electrician can test and tag properly.
  • He may believe that anything ‘electrical’ in a business environment is, or should be, what is termed a ‘prescribed’ activity meaning that an EWRB Electrical Registration and Current Practicing Licence is required.

If this was the case, then why is the electrical board also handing out limited electrical tickets to related trades such as plumbers and within the appliance & IT industries?

Should Mr X feel upset, or should he view companies such as Metrotest as a support system to the electrical industry?

Here are some examples:

  • A properly trained and supported ‘Competent Person’ with a Portable Appliance Tester can not only test correctly and safely, but will sometimes test better than an electrician who does not have the correct equipment and does not know what is required to test to the Standard AS/NZS3760 , AS/NZS3012 and numerous other standards.
  • Qualification may give entitlement to do something, but without competency, safety will be jeopardised regardless of who’s doing the testing. By no means are we suggesting that registered electricians are not competent, but all know that the more you do one particular thing the better you are at it. Testing for electrical safety is all that Metrotest does.
  • Many electricians welcome our services. Whilst they focus on bigger margin jobs, they employ us to do the day to day testing. The time factor alone for them to keep up to date with technology and standards plus doing “smallish” jobs all across town saves them big money every year. In many instances our services are marked up to their clients as well.

Metrotest is your Specialist in Testing and Tagging

Metrotest has electrically qualified and trained individuals, some with current Practicing Licences, some without (as they are not doing a ‘prescribed’ activity).

Metrotest train electrical apprentices and will continue to do so. Metrotest also offer EWRB refresher courses for relative industries seeking to renew their Practicing Licences. We have both trained, competent people and EWRB registered people working for us in our own Test and Tag service since 1998 – that’s over 21 years.

We have two fully qualified staff running our Test Instrument Calibration and Repair Lab. Our own PAT testers are calibrated at least every 6 months, these being the most advanced SAFEFY testing PATs on the world market.  Not to mention that we are also involved in the design and build process.

For those who can test their own equipment this often works out much cheaper than the hourly rate an electrician may charge, especially if you only have a few items.  Also, it can be more convenient as you can tailor the testing around downtime or when it works best for you.

One last thought. In many businesses new items coming into the workplace can be a real problem as in NZ these should not be used until they have been tested and tagged. Calling a company in to test one or a few items will be expensive and likely a logistical nightmare. This problem is compounded if you’re in a remote location, have restricted security or very high security access areas.

If you would like to know more about testing and tagging your portable electrical equipment, then please give our friendly team a call on 0800 638 768.

Happy testing.

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Noncompliant Test Tags

So our keen-eyed technicians spotted these noncompliant tags during a visit to a new client’s business place. Can you guess what’s wrong with them?

Test tags serve as the record of an appliance testing. They are as important as the testing inspection itself. In addition to displaying the result of the testing (PASS/FAIL and/or actual test values), they also provide information about who conducted the inspection, when the appliance was tested and when it is due for retesting.

For this reason, noncompliant tags are a real headache. They may put unknowing workers at risk of electric shock injuries and could undermine you efforts for obtaining compliance.

Let’s take a look at some of the scenarios where a tag is considered non-compliant:

Incorrectly completed tags

As per AS/NZS 3760 Standard, the minimum required information on a test tag for compliant appliances are as follows:

  • ‘Tested to AS/NZS 3760’ reference
  • Name of individual or company who conducted the test
  • Test date
  • Date when next test is due

Based from the NT WorkSafe Bulletin, if a tag does not include all of the minimum required information, the rest of the required information must be recorded elsewhere and kept for a specific period of time.

However, if the any of the required information is missing or omitted, it could result in your company failing a safety audit. If the incorrectly tagged appliance is taken to another work site or venue, a site safety office may disallow you to use it until you are able to show a fully compliant tag. These scenarios might seem farfetched, but they can and do actually happen.

Reused tags

In addition to the minimum required information, the Standard also imposes specific requirements for the make and quality of the tags used in testing of electrical equipment. Because some electrical equipment are in used harsh environments, such as in construction and mining, the tags must be durable, water resistant, non-metallic, well-secured or self-adhesive, incapable of re-use and have a distinctive surface. The tag print on the tag should also be resistant to fading in order to keep the testing information legible at all times. The idea is to preserve the information and the tag itself, as without this your appliances will be deemed noncompliant.

If a tag is detached and then reused for another testing period, it actually becomes noncompliant regardless if the results of the current inspection and testing are the same.

The test and tag service company cannot simply use a generic tag that says “1 Year Tag” to point out its validity, as different types of appliances require retesting at different frequencies.

So now you know what’s problematic with the particular tags shown above. Make sure you place your trust on reliable test and tag company. It is not enough that they are using HIANZ certified tags if the tags themselves are blank. They would remain invalid during site safety audits.

You don’t want to get caught with non-compliant tags on your electrical devices. So always check that you are using properly trained and fully qualified testing and tagging specialist with up to date information on current standards and regulations.

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Test and Tag Equipment

There are different tools used in the testing of electrical equipment and appliances. Here are some of the commonly used ones.

Clamp meters

This is a fairly easy to use test tool for measuring current. It combines a basic digital multimeter with a current sensor. As the name suggests, you clamp the hinged jaw of this tool around a wire, cable or other conductor at any random point in an electrical system. It will then measure the current in the circuit without disconnecting it.

This tool is preferred for measuring high levels of current, with a minimum current range of 0 A to 100 A. Other clamp meters go up to a range of 600 A or 1400 A. It’s a good tool for electrical safety and maintenance, but there are more reliable tools when it comes to compliance.

Multimeters

Also known as a volt-ohm-meter, a multimeter is a handheld device used to measure current (amperage), electrical voltage, resistance and other values. It comes in analog and digital versions. Electricians use it for simple tests as well as for detecting faults and complex diagnostics.

Portable appliance testers

Portable appliance testers (PATs) are handheld or compact devices that test a range of electrical equipment and appliances for different values, i.e. earth continuity, current leakage, insulation, etc.

PATs record details about each test which can be printed on a special tag that contains a PASS/FAIL remark or the actual test values.

At Metrotest, we use PATs for their reliability and accuracy. The devices we use are compliant with the AS/NZS 3760 Standard (In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment). Below are some of the test tools we trust and recommend:

  • Metro iPAT SupaPAT – A comprehensive testing package that includes a user-friendly Sonel Metro iPAT Standard Set, thermal transfer printer, scanner and software – all in a specially designed carrier bag.
  • Metro iPAT – A safety and compliance tester with user-friendly operating software (OS) with easy data management. Features Dual Time Tags (DTT) which makes retesting easier. Other features include: manual & automatic test codes; single test ability; high-current earth bond test; RCD tests both installation and portable RCDs (includes ramp test).
  • Sonel Metro EasiPAT – A compact and reliable portable appliance tester for do-it-yourself testing. It comes in handy when testing residual current, leakage, insulation, polarity and earth bond (200mA, 10A). It features a 1-push test selection, light-up LCD display, direct Wi-Fi capability and a Pass/Fail indicator.
  • Megger 150R – A cost-effective portable appliance tester that packs in functionality. The PAT150R is ideal for a wide variety of testing applications such as dual insulation testing (250/500V), portable equipment testing, portable RCD lead testing (10mA/30mA), and mains powered leakage testing (230V). It has adjustable PASS testing limits and onboard rechargeable batteries.
  • Metro 6201A – An entry-level portable appliance tester for low-volume applications. This basic PAT is a good choice where handwritten tags and manually recorded information is all that’s required. It can perform single phase appliance testing up to 10A; earth testing (200mA); insulation testing (250/500V); mains powered leakage testing (operational – 230V); and lead testing.

Clamp meters and multimeters can be connected to your smartphone to make your readings easier. On the other hand, PATs have an onboard memory which can save anywhere from 1,000 to 1,000,000 items. That being said, memory size is not a critical factor in choosing your own PAT as data must be transferred regularly to prevent loss or theft. Most PATs today can save between 10,000 to 50,000 items.

Label printer

Once a test is completed, the appliance tested will have to be tagged. This tag is made of a special, durable material that’s resistant to tearing or fading. This is to ensure that the tag is intact and readable at all times. testing, the person testing will print tags directly from the PAT memory using a suitable printer. The tags must be made of a tough material that is resistant to tearing, damage or fading.

For testers that do not have an internal memory, there are apps available for direct communication from your smartphone to your tester for saving results.

For more information about testing and tagging equipment, ask the experts on 0800 638 768 (NZ) or 1800 789 973 (AU).

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Test And Tag Regulations In New Zealand

Why should you test and tag?
According to the Electrical (Safety) Regulations 2010, a fitting or appliance is deemed to be electrically safe if it has a current tag issued in accordance with AS/NZS 3760.

So what is the AS/NZS 3760?
AS/NZS 3760 is referred to as the test and tag standard (the full given name of the standard is: In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment). This is a benchmark for test and tag as well as electrical safety and is referred to in many other New Zealand and Australian electrical standards. In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment AS/NZS 3760:2010 provides a process to reduce the risk of electrical shock to users of electrical equipment. It also incorporates the physical safety of the item to be tested, and if the item is in an unsafe state there are actions and steps outlined to remedy this. The Standard covers electrical equipment that connects to the mains supply by a flexible cord and plug.

Other standards and regulations that may be of interest when investigating test and tag include the AS/NZS 3012 (Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites). As the title suggests this covers the Electrical installations on construction and demolition sites however it also continues on to provide information about the frequency of inspection and testing and RCD testing.


AS/NZS 3551 (Management programs for medical equipment) outlines electrical tests that are required to be carried out on medical equipment. This is a very in-depth standard and has a multitude of additional information that must be adhered to when testing medical electrical equipment.

 
The above-mentioned standards are a snapshot of what may be required for electrical safety testing and there are many more that pertain to specific industries such as second hand or repaired equipment.

Health and safety at work regulations state that it is the duty of the PCBU to ensure the correct information, supervision, training, and instruction is provided for all staff. This would include any staff that may be carrying out electrical testing as a competent person, therefore once again bringing back into play the AS/NZS 3760 and the training requirements for a competent person.

Other regulations of interest:
AS/NZS 5761:2011 In-service safety inspection and testing – Second-hand electrical equipment prior to sale

AS/NZS 5762:2011 In-service safety inspection and testing – Repaired electrical equipment

AS/NZS 3019:2007 Electrical installations – Periodic verification