Sparks Electrical News June 2015

contractors’ corner 7

Mark Palmer, Western Cape Electrical Inspection Authority (WCAEIA)

The legal requirements of ‘properly used’ in CoCs (Part 1)

compliance is justified, do not however appear in the definitions contained either in the Act or in the Regulations. The Act, however, only deals with two aspects in this context: 'reasonably practicable' and 'safe'. Next month, I intend to clarify these two aspects in line with the 'properly used' issue discussed in this column with specific reference to the issuing of valid Certificates of Compliance. To conclude, I’d like to leave Registered Persons with a thought on which to ponder: 'Is reasonably safe the same as being reasonable dead?'

Persons and electrical contractors. Sub section 2

of safety legislation. Many of the cases of non- compliance, which I deal with on a daily basis, include these contraventions and when they are exposed, affected registered persons tend to look for justification for the non-compliant electrical work. This ‘justification’is an attempt to disregard the entire scope of the intention of legislation by only looking at the two words contained in the very same declaration I started with, which are 'reasonably safe'. These two words in the context of which non-

THIS month I’d like to tackle an area of certification that seems to be misunderstood by the electrical industry as a whole – that of electrical equipment being ‘properly used’. This already confusing scenario is aggravat- ed when Registered Persons cover up non- compliant installation work by deliberately using other interpretations on the standards that are, in fact, just watered down advice from sources that may not fully comprehend or understand the legal requirements. The term 'properly used' is raised in An- nexure 1 of the Certificate of Compliance document. Now, in my opinion, because the words 'properly used' form part of a statement and are not an actual statement, these words are frequently not read in the context in which they must be legally applied. I would like, therefore, to look at the legal implications of this in more detail: “I (Registered Person name) (ID Number), a Registered Person, declare that I have person- ally carried out the inspection and testing of the electrical installation described in the test report as per the requirements of (nature of electrical installation), and deem the electri- cal installation to be reasonable safe when properly used.” To fully comprehend the meaning of 'properly used', one has to consult the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 where the definition of 'properly used' is contained. 'Properly used' means used with reason- able care, and with due regard to any infor- mation, instruction or advice supplied by the designer, manufacturer, importer, seller or supplier . In comprehending the intention of the legislator here, it has to be understood that there is, in fact, a dual responsibility created. Firstly, the user of an electrical installation (as more specifically detailed in the Electrical Installation Regulations 2009) has to use something with ‘reasonable care’. This responsibility is coupled with the responsibility of the provider of the article or substance who has to provide informa- tion and instructions in order to enable the user thereof to use it properly. In all instances it must be clearly under- stood that any component used within a low voltage electrical installation must comply with a standard, which is referred to in the incorporated standard SANS 10142-1: EIR 5(2) – “No personmay use components within an electrical installation unless those components comply with the standards referred to in the relevant incorporated standard…” Furthermore, in terms of these standards to which components must comply, the manufacturer of the component is legally obligated to ensure that instructions are available concerning the safe installation and use of the component. Many of these instructions are, in fact, incorporated in the standard to which the component complies. Again, I must highlight the requirements of the Act; Section 10 – General duties of manu- facturers and others regarding arti- cles and substances for use at work Sub section 1 “Any person who designs, manufactures, imports, sells or supplies any article for use at work shall ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that the article is safe and with- out risks to health when properly used and that it complies with all prescribed require- ments .” Here it is important to note that this section of the Act goes even further and extends this responsibility not only to the manufacturer but also to 'others'. These 'others' to which the Act refers (and certainly in the scope of low voltage electrical installations) include Registered

“Any person who erects or installs any article for use at work on or in any premises shall ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that noth- ing about themanner in which it is erected or installedmakes it unsafe or creates a risk to health when properly used”. And this is where my dilemma lies. Where components are not correctly installed (including distribution boards, cables, enclosures, disconnectors, etc.) there is a clear contravention

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june 2015

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