How RCD Testing Keep Your Commercial Building Safe
07 November 2022The operations of businesses are often conducted inside commercial buildings. These buildings, after all, are comprised of spaces that house employees and their needed tools and equipment.
Restaurants, cafes, and other food establishments, for instance, maximise kitchen spaces with ranges, refrigerators, and others to cook meals, store raw ingredients, and wash dishes. Offices, alternatively, allocate workstations equipped with computers and other similar devices for employees to work effectively. Retail stores, ultimately, store items, display products, and carry out item transactions with the help of various equipment pieces and devices.
All functions of these spaces, however, can only be carried out with a safe electrical system.
The Importance of Electrical System Maintenance
If you are managing a commercial building, you must ensure its electrical system will always be safe and secure.
One benefit of maintaining a safe electrical system is it can optimise the energy use of your building. The absence of any electrical issues ensures that your equipment can fully draw power without any consequences. Power obtained from a safe electrical system, additionally, is expected to be stable, allowing equipment and devices to use energy efficiently.
Maintaining a safe electrical system also keeps your employees away from any potential injuries. Electrocution can be deadly. Hence, keeping your system safe can prevent anyone from your business to get injured. Damages on your expensive tools and equipment can likewise be minimised once your building utilises a safe electrical system.
Other benefits of a safe electrical system are enhanced service life of equipment, reduced risk of property fires and electrocution, and minimised unnecessary repairs.
Testing Your Residual Current Devices Regularly
One aspect of your electrical system that should always be tested is the residual current device.
A residual current device or RCD is a safety device attached to the circuit that constantly monitors its flow of electricity. Once this device detects any issues, it will swiftly shut off the power to the circuit to avoid causing electric shock or fatal electrocution. Some call this device an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker, while others prefer calling it a safety switch. Adding this to your commercial building can prevent people from getting injured or seriously hurt.
The life-saving functionality of RCD, however, can only be effective if it will be tested regularly. Failure to test this device, after all, may only put anyone at risk of electric shock. Testing the device ensures that the RCD will always work within fire safety standards.
The testing of RCD is done by safety switch testing, which is carried out by safely tripping the said unit. Your RCD is deemed to be still effective if it successfully cuts off the power to the tripped circuit within a short time. Upon the completion of the test, it must be tagged following AS/NZS 3760:2010. The testing of RCD should be completed every three months. It must also be documented to remain compliant with the set standards.
To have your RCD tested, just contact us at Electroscope.
Optimized by: Netwizard SEO
