Portable electrical equipment maintenance procedure

1. Scope and application

This procedure applies where the school controls portable electrical equipment used at work. The school should identify the equipment within scope and apply maintenance and inspection controls that reflect the equipment and the environment in which it is used. The procedure does not assume that equipment must be inspected or tested annually.

2. Maintaining equipment safely

The school must maintain portable electrical equipment that could cause injury in a safe condition. It should use physical maintenance or other appropriate controls needed to prevent danger.

The school should record the portable electrical equipment within scope, the maintenance approach, and the assessment of the controls selected. The approach should identify whether user checks, visual inspections, testing, physical maintenance, or other appropriate controls are needed for the equipment and its environment.

3. User checks and visual inspections

A brief user check, supported by simple training and, where useful, a brief checklist, may form part of the electrical maintenance regime. User checks and visual inspections should be proportionate to the equipment and environment, particularly where equipment is routinely moved, handled, or exposed to possible damage.

Where staff are expected to carry out user checks, the school should provide simple training or a checklist. More formal visual inspection and testing by a competent person may also be required at appropriate intervals, depending on the type of equipment and the environment in which it is used.

4. Defective or unsafe equipment

Equipment with visible damage or other identified defects must not be used until it has been made safe. The school should record identified defects and the corrective action taken, including whether the equipment was repaired or removed from use.

The person responsible for applying this procedure is [responsible role]. That role should ensure that unsafe equipment is not used and that any required repair or other corrective action is addressed.

5. Records, labels and review

The school may keep inspection and test records, use asset identifiers, or label equipment as management tools. These measures can help monitor and review the effectiveness of the maintenance scheme and demonstrate that a scheme exists; they are not, on the basis of this procedure, legal requirements.

The school should review the maintenance arrangements using available scope records, inspection or test records, defect and repair records, and evidence that unsafe equipment was removed from use or made safe. The review should consider whether the maintenance scheme remains effective and whether the controls remain appropriate for the equipment and environment.