Three site systems carry heavy WHS rules — temporary power, fire and hot works, and registered plant. Here are the standards, the test-and-tag interval that is shorter than anywhere else, and the licences for cranes, hoists and EWPs.
Electrical — RCDs and the standards
Site electrical work follows AS/NZS 3000 (Wiring Rules) and AS/NZS 3012 (construction & demolition sites). Safety switches (RCDs) are mandatory on site for socket-outlets and most final sub-circuits feeding portable tools — typically 30 mA, protecting outlets up to at least 32A. RCDs get push-button-tested by users and trip-time tested by an electrician at intervals.
Test-and-tag — every 3 months
Portable tools and leads must be inspected, tested and tagged under AS/NZS 3760 (as modified by AS/NZS 3012). Construction is a "harsh environment", so the interval is the shortest of all: every 3 months (versus 6 months for factories, 12 months for hostile environments, and 5 years for benign ones). Hired gear has to be test-tagged at the construction frequency too, and everyone does a pre-use visual check — damaged leads or tools out of service immediately. Testing is done by a competent person (a licensed electrician, or someone trained on a portable appliance tester). The Wiring Colours card has the colour code.
Fire and hot works
Run a fire risk assessment and provide suitable extinguishers — good practice is at least one water/foam and one CO₂ at each work area, and two suitable extinguishers at hot-work locations. Welding, cutting, grinding and soldering need a hot-work permit (outside a designated hot-work workshop): a written checklist covering the location, the hazards, flammables removed or protected, the firefighting gear, and a fire watch for 20–120 minutes after the work, by risk. Keep a documented evacuation plan with wardens, assembly points, induction and drills.
Registered plant
Some plant must be registered before use, including tower cranes, mobile cranes over 10 tonnes rated capacity, personnel hoists where platform movement exceeds 2.4 m, concrete placing booms, boom-type EWPs and mast-climbing platforms (plus prefab scaffolding systems and certain gantry/bridge cranes).
High Risk Work licences
Operating much of that plant needs a High Risk Work Licence: crane classes (by type and capacity), hoist licences, and a WP licence for a boom-type EWP with a boom over 11 m. Verify the operator holds a current HRWL — and that the plant's registration and inspection certificates are current — before use. (See Scaffold Licences, BYDA & Plant Registration and the HRW Licence Classes card.)
Crane lifts — standard vs complex
Crane work needs a documented lift plan (AS 2550 series). A complex or critical lift, with the engineered planning that comes with it, is triggered by: more than one crane (a tandem lift), working above about 75% of rated capacity, lifting over or near the public or live plant, unusual loads (offset centre of gravity, tilt-up panels), or hoisting personnel. A routine single-crane lift well within capacity still needs a proportionate documented procedure and SWMS.
Common mistakes
- No RCDs, or out-of-date test-and-tag (the 3-month interval catches people out).
- Hot works with no permit or fire watch.
- Running unregistered plant or an unlicensed operator.
- A near-capacity lift with no engineered plan.
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