AS/NZS 3012:2019 Electrical installations- Construction and demolition sites, provide crucial guidelines for electricians working on large job sites.

The standard outlines requirements for temporary electrical systems - including power, outlets, and lighting - commonly used during construction. However, building contractors hiring electricians may not fully understand these safety regulations, leaving electrical contractors to mitigate the risks. 

While working for building contractors who may not know the site's safety requirements for electrical systems, the responsibility and risk for compliance often falls to you, the electrical contractor. Therefore, Section 5 "Checking Your Electrical Equipment is Safe” is valuable to review.

As the requirements for Test and Tag on job sites are frequently misunderstood or poorly grasped, this section outlines the requirements from Worksafe NZ's perspective, focusing on utilising safe RCDs and performing visual inspections/checks before portable electrical equipment is used.

For electrical contractors working on construction sites, a lot more effort needs to go into the regular testing of the site RCD's with proper RCD test instruments to ensure they comply with ER24 of the Electricity Safety Regulations. This applies to site RCD-protected portable socket-outlet assemblies (PSOAs) and the RCDs fitted at builders' temp locations.

Additional resources

Worksafe NZ- Electrical Safety on Construction Sites