Executive Summary
Introduction
The EnergySafe project was initiated by the Ministry of Economic Development, formerly the Ministry of Commerce, to resolve issues raised by the Review of the Safety Regime for Electrical and Gas Work ("the Review"), which reported in March 1999. This paper summarises the findings of the EnergySafe Working Party (EWP), August 1999 - March 2000.
Workplace and Public Safety
A safety regime for electrical and gas work needs to ensure safety while the work is being undertaken as well as safety of the completed work ("product safety"). Under the current regime, the workplace safety and health provisions of the energy sector Acts and regulations overlap significantly with the Health and Safety in Employment (HSE) Act. The Review considered the HSE Act capable of delivering safety while work is being carried out. However, the Act is not designed to provide comprehensive coverage of public safety.
The current electricity and gas licensing systems are out of date, complicated and prescriptive, whereas modern legislation (including the HSE Act) is based on workers achieving certain standards of performance. In addition, there is potentially dangerous confusion about who is responsible for electrical and gas safety. If people do not know their responsibilities under the legislation or are unsure whether they are responsible for safety, important safety measures may be overlooked.
The EWP endorsed the Review recommendation, that The HSE Act should be recognised as the primary legislation governing safety while electrical and gas work is being carried out within a place of work but agreed that special purpose legislation is still needed to cover the safety of completed work, the continuing safety of the work, maintenance of electrical and gas appliances and fittings, and the safe use of electricity and gas. The EWP therefore recommends that the energy sector Acts and regulations be amended to:
- remove or modify those references to workplace health and safety that would be made redundant by the transfer of responsibility to the HSE Act regime;
- create a consistency of language with the HSE Act;
- accommodate changes in the training, licensing, certification, and administrative structure and operations of the gas and electricity sectors resulting from the Review and from more recent legislation, (this will involve formalising the role of ITOs); and
- specify the need for employers to employ people to do only the work that they are competent to perform and to be responsible for ensuring that employees maintain their levels of competence.
The Review recommended that Regulations be developed under the HSE Act to provide minimum requirements for the management of electrical and gas hazards, similar to those for high-pressure gas pipelines. This was endorsed by the EWP.
Worker Competence and Licensing
The Review considered that a key problem with the current registration and licensing regime is that it covers areas of work where control over work is needed and includes others where it is not. The EWP affirmed the Review recommendation that licensing be retained for installation and appliance work, but not for work in supply systems.
The EWP recommends that the industry set competency standards for recognition by licensing authorities as meeting the requirements for holding a licence. The criteria for both product and workplace safety competency standards would be set by the licensing authority in co-operation with OSH, and any licensing procedure would require the applicant to give proof of appropriate entry qualifications and evidence of current competence. The licensing authority would conduct its own audits of the employment of licensed persons, and of regular competence reviews by employers.
A primary role of occupational licensing is to provide clarity to consumers. However retention of the term "registration" is a potential source of confusion and it is therefore proposed that the terms "registration" and "licensing" be amalgamated under the one term "licensing".
It was agreed that all forms of exemption from licensing (except work generally exempted, e.g. fuse replacement) should be replaced by provision for a special purpose licence or by an exemption by virtue of working under a "Safety Management System". There was little support for a change in the current licensing classes, but it was felt that licensing authorities should have the power to vary them as necessary.
To make it easier for gas fitters to do some electrical work and vice versa (e.g. to cover the situation of a gas-electric oven installer), cross-licensing is proposed; that is, empowering the gas and electrical licensing authorities to issue qualified licences in each other's sectors.
The ability of homeowners to do some work subject to certification before connection would be extended to gasfitting.
The EWP recommends that work on installations supplied from small gas cylinders (e.g. caravan installations) become subject to the licensing regime, given the disproportionate accident rate in this area. However the extension of the homeowner provision to gasfitting, and the greater flexibility in setting categories of licensing, should considerably alleviate compliance costs.
Certification and Inspection
The EWP agreed that self-certification of electrical work be extended to cover all work required to be carried out by licensed workers, including repairs and maintenance.
An important feature of certifications would be that the certificates would contain essential information such as the work done and identification of the certifier, with a recognisable symbol, or safety compliance mark, which would be common to all electrical and gas work. For electrical work (which may involve many small jobs) this might be achieved by attaching an adhesive sticker to the invoice. A small charge would fund the audit programme.
Views are sought on the extent to which inspections should be required. The EWP proposes that it be limited to work that is not in line with a "means of compliance" code.
Administrative Arrangements
The electrical licensing Board would move to body corporate status, and the gas and electrical Boards would be required to review the possibility of merging or combining certain functions.
In general, the licensing Boards would act in an advisory role to the industry and to Government, and would have disciplinary functions. More flexibility would be built into the disciplinary processes, and the time limit for taking prosecutions would be extended to six months from time of discovery, rather than being based on the time the alleged non-compliance occurred. Funding of administration and activities should be covered completely by licensing fees and other income.
Other Related Issues
Other matters considered included:
- the use of residual current devices (RCDs);
- the development of Standards;
- trans-Tasman recognition of licences;
- legislative boundaries and definitions;
- installations supplied from small LPG cylinders;
- the role of gas suppliers in verifying the certification of installations; and
- giving authority to appropriate people to disconnect dangerous installations.
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