sparks
ELECTRICAL NEWS
october 2014
contractors’ corner
13
THE Comtest Group, Fluke’s authorised test andmeasurement distribu-
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• True-rms ac voltage and current for accurate measurement of non-
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• Dc current, frequency and resistance up to 40 kilohms for motor
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Opening a can of worms
Letter to the editor
Johan vanZyl (Master Installation Electri-
cian) in SomersetWest, writes:
Under the
definitions in the Electrical Installation
Regulation (EIR),‘installationwork’means:
) The installation, extension, modification
or repair of an electrical installation;
2) The connection of machinery at the sup-
ply terminals of suchmachinery; or
3) The inspection, testing and verification of
electrical installations for the purpose of
issuing a certificate of compliance.
Also an‘electrical installation’means any
machinery, in or on any premises, used for
the transmission of electricity froma point of
control to a point of consumption anywhere
on the premises. And, in the‘design and
construction’section it states:
A registered person shall exercise general
control over all electrical installationwork
being carried out, and no personmay allow
suchwork without such control.
Again, under the definitions,‘general con-
trol’in relation to electrical installationwork
being carried out, includes“
instruction, guid-
ance and supervision in respect of thatwork”
.
If
“nopersonmay allowsuchwork”
why is it
that products that can only be used for‘instal-
lationwork’(such as switch sockets, circuit
breakers, distribution boards, cable, etc) are
sold in hardware stores, supermarkets and
other outlets where the general public can
buy these items (without restrictions) to per-
forman illegal action and prevent registered
persons fromearning a living? Should the
entities that sell these products not insist that
customers wishing to purchase themprovide
the name of the registered personwhowill
be exercising the‘general control’as defined
in the EIR?Would they, as suppliers of the
material, be legally responsible if an unsafe
and illegal installation results in the death of
innocent people (whomay be children)?
I would like to initiate a campaign that
wouldmake it illegal for the general public to
buymaterial to be used in installationwork
without a letter froma registered person
stating that he/shewill exercise the general
control.
Would any readers of Sparks Electrical
News like to comment on this?
I amsure this will be a step in the right
direction to stop the illegal and unsafe instal-
lations that we see on a daily basis.
All-purpose clampmeters
Getting to grips with SANS 10142–1 by Hannes Baard
Doing the right thing keeps you out of trouble…
IN the past few issues of Sparks, we’ve
looked at responsibilities.Thismonth,
wewill continuewith this important
topic. Some of the examples and
explanations I’mgoing to quotemay
sound extreme but, believeme, they
are not totally inconceivable.Wemust
remember that whilemany of us are
responsible citizens, there are others
who couldn’t care less oneway or
another.
The legislator has, therefore, thought
it prudent tomake it possible for the
responsible guys to forward his or her
concerns regarding safety issues at
work. And, at the same time, initiate a
call for thosewho couldn’t care less to
‘please explain’.What I mean by this, is
that the Act gives an employer some
leverage in terms of discipline in the
work place.We all knowand talk about
the drivers that are careless with very
expensive vehicles. And artisans and
general workers having no respect
for expensive tools…the list goes on.
As employers spend thousands of
Rand per year on protective cloth-
ing and gear for their workforce, it
goes without saying that they expect
safety shoes to beworn at work for the
purpose intended and not as general
footwear as part of theworker’s private
wardrobe.With the aforesaid inmind,
Section 15 of the Act may be of par-
ticular interest tomany.
So…being responsible citizens, let’s
continuewith thismonth’s discussion.
14. General duties of employees
at work
Every employee shall atwork…
We looked at (a), (b) and (c) last month
so let’s carry on:
(d) If any situation, which is unsafe or
unhealthy comes tohis attention, as
soonas practicable report such situation
tohis employer or to thehealthand
safety representative for hisworkplace or
section thereof, as the casemay be, who
shall report it to the employer…
Take thematter of amissingman-
hole cover somewhere at your factory
premises as an example. I’mnot a law-
yer but I amsure that if a vehicle drives
into the hole and is severely damaged
and it can be proved that you knew
about it but did not report it, a case
can bemade and you could land up
facing a disciplinary hearing.
Similarly, you could face a charge
if someone falls into the hole and
breaks a leg.The opposite can also be
where someone breaks themanhole
cover – by accident or on purpose.The
cost to the organisation can run into
thousands only because of someone’s
deliberate or careless (selfish?) actions.
(e) If he is involved inany incident,
whichmay affect his healthorwhichhas
causedan injury tohimself, report such
incident tohis employer or toanyone
authorised theretoby the employer, or to
his healthand safety representative, as
soonas practicablebut not later than the
endof theparticular shift duringwhich
the incident occurred, unless the circum-
stanceswere such that the reportingof
the incidentwas not possible, inwhich
casehe shall report the incident as soon
as practicable thereafter.
If you step on a rusty nail somewhere
on theworkshop floor, construction
site or out in the factory yard and your
foot is wounded, report it to your
Safety, Health and Environment (SHE)
officer immediately.This situationmay
raise some awkward questions, such as:
Were youwearing safety shoes?Who
left the nail out there or did the clean-
ing teamnot do their job (‘good house-
keeping’) and so on.Whichever way
you look at it, this situationwould again
have cost implications for someone.
15. Dutynot to interferewith,
damageormisuse things.
Noperson shall intentionally or reck-
lessly interferewith, damage ormisuse
anythingwhich is provided in the interest
of healthor safety.
With regards to the above, imagine
the consequences if youwere to cool
down the very lively office party with
the fire extinguisher.This is not limited
to the poor old fire extinguisher mind
you…take safety boots, harnesses for
working at heights and reflective vests
dished out to friends as gifts, for in-
stance. All of this has some kind of cost
attached to it – either direct or indirect,
nomatter how you try and swing it!
16. Chief executiveofficer charged
withcertainduties
(1) Every chief executive officer shall
as far a
s is reasonably practicable
ensure that theduties of his employer as
contemplated i
n this Act, are properly
discharged.
Youmight ask,“how can a CEOhave
an employer?”Well it is quite simple
really…The CEO is in the employ of the
company’s shareholders.Therefore the
above simplymeans that you cannot
ignore the Occupational Health and
Safety Act just because you are the
boss.You still have to answer to some-
one. But it is difficult to be all things to
all departments in the organisation, so
the CEOhas to delegate some of his
duties – not necessarily his responsibili-
ties though, so…
(2)Without derogating fromhis re
spon-
sibility or liability in terms of subsection
(1), a chief executive officermay assign
any duty contemplated in the said sub-
section, to
any person under his control,
which person shall act subject to the
control and directions of the chief
executive officer.
The above is usuallymanifested in
the event that a safety office (or of-
ficer) is appointed at a building site, for
example. It is humanly impossible for
anyone to be everywhere at the same
time, so duties have to be delegated,
as we all know. In this case the CEO
gets a person or persons appointed
to take care of all the safety aspects
pertaining to that building site on his
behalf. In certain sectors this is called a
‘Section 16.2 appointment’. But…
(3) Theprovisions of subsection (1) shall
not, subject to theprovisions of Section
37, relieve anemployer of any responsibil-
ity or liability under this Act.
The fact that a CEO can delegate
certain of his duties – for instance, by
appointing a safety officer –does not
mean he or she can neglect putting
measures in place tomonitor the per-
formance of the said safety officer.
(4) For thepurpose of subsection (1), the
headof department of any department
of State shall bedeemed tobe the chief
executive officer of that department.
This I think is self-explanatory.
So, till next time, be responsible.
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