According to the definition of portable electrical equipment in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, the only portable electrical equipment used by my Department and the Offices of my Department would be floor cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaners and buffers. For this type of electrical equipment there is an obligation on the Department and other employers to ensure that any such equipment, which is exposed to conditions likely to cause deterioration and consequent danger, undergoes a visual check by the user/employee and is periodically inspected by a person competent to assess the ongoing safety of the equipment.
Not all portable electrical equipment used at a workplace requires a test certificate according to the Health & Safety Authority. In cases where the equipment is subject to conditions causing deterioration then the equipment and associated leads and plug tops must be tested and certified by a person competent to carry out such tests. If the certificate issued by the competent person indicates that the equipment is unsafe to use, then that equipment must not be used until it has been made compliant and has been certified as such.
Following advice received from an outside competent person in the Health & Safety area, the relevant staff of my Department and the Offices of my Department have been required for the past few years to carry out visual checks prior to using portable electrical equipment in order to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that such equipment is safe to use. It is the policy of my Department to ensure that a competent person carries out inspections on any portable equipment used by relevant staff in the Department and the Offices of the Department following a visual check by a staff member who may have concerns on safety grounds or following a Risk Assessment and any such equipment is not used by staff of the Department until it has been certified as safe to use by the competent person.
