If you take a look around your own house, you will find several electrical appliances that you use, out of which some may even be portable such as a toaster, a coffee jug or even microwave. Take a look at some of your portable electrical appliances and you will find a tag somewhere on the body of the appliance stating “tested”. This means that the appliance has been properly tested for safety and is good to be used by consumers.

Test and Tag is basically a name given to the process of checking the safety of various portable electrical appliances. Thus, in the above example, the portable appliance in question was tested and tagged. This process namely involves 2 parts. Firstly, a visual inspection of an appliance is conducted to check for any damages. This is followed by electrical testing procedures with the help of a Portable Appliance Tester. Once an appliance is fully tested, it is placed with a tag to confirm the fact that it has been tested fully along with the name of the tester, the date of the test, and the date of the next test. The main motive behind testing and tagging portable electrical appliances is to ensure proper safety of the people using it and also the workplace where the appliance is being used or will be used.

You can find the full guidelines at https://www.electricaltesting.com.au/.

Who Needs to Test and Tag?

Various industries that include mining, construction, and demolition are required to get their appliances tested and tagged on a regular time interval of 3 months. This is simply because the harsh nature of their work tends to damage their equipment faster than normal. It is important for you to note that the test and tag color will change for various parts of the year. This may make some specific times of the year coincide with a definite tag color.

Apart from the above-mentioned industries, frequent testing and tagging is not that important for other types of workplaces. However, it is the duty of the employer to take proper steps for the safety of his employees. This simply means that if an employee gets injured or hurt from a portable electrical appliance that has not been tested, the employer will be liable for the damages caused to the employee. In order to avoid such charges, it is important for every employer to test and tag the appliances used in his workplace on a regular basis.

What Type Of Equipment Should Be Tested And Tagged?

When it comes to the type of equipment to be tested and tagged, it can be said in short that any device that has a removable plug, a flexible cable, and does not consume low voltage should undergo testing and tagging. This also includes cord sets, extension leads, and portable RCDs. Electrical appliances can also be classified into different classes. These are mentioned below.

• Class I: This includes all the earthed appliances such as toasters, irons, and kettles.
• Class II: This includes any double insulated appliances that are normally identified with the help of a symbol or with specific words such as “Double Insulated”.