The number of people who die in the workplace each year is appalling. Does the process of regular testing of electrical leads and appliances save lives? Neil Welsh believes it does. Neil is the Divisional Franchisor of Jim’s Test & Tag, a member of the Jim’s Group - one of the world’s largest franchises and one of Australia’s most famous and trusted brands. They are a leader in the occupational health and safety (OH&S) industry and have been providing specialist testing and tagging services in workplaces to protect people’s lives and company assets, from unnecessary electrical risk since 2003.
Jim’s Test & Tag aims to be Australia’s first choice for electrical testing and tagging services and has as their mission: ‘Prevention, Protection, Compliance… Without Compromise’. Their franchisees are unswerving in their commitment not to compromise on their core values of quality standards, customer service, and training and selection processes. They are also committed to continually researching and developing test and tag solutions and providing their clients with peace of mind with regard to their electrical testing regime.
As a franchise organisation, Jim’s Test & Tag consists of a diverse range of individuals. Each one is a stakeholder in the Division and has the opportunity to shape the strategic direction through elected representation of a Franchisee on their Board of Management.
Their stringent selection policy, coupled with their comprehensive training programme, provides the foundation of their commitment to customer service. As a group they strive to ensure the satisfaction of their customers and continually develop processes to exceed their customer’s expectations.
OH&S legislation imposes a duty of care to provide a safe workplace. Failure to ensure the safety of electrical equipment may result in the death or injury of yourself, your employees or others. To discharge your duty of care you are required to reduce the risk of electrical shock as far as practicable. One method of achieving this is to ensure your tools, leads and appliances are tested for electrical fault on a regular basis.
Neil claims, “When testing appliances for a new client we find an average of between 10% – 15% of appliances are faulty. Return visits generally identify around 5% of faulty appliances”. The testing process consists of a visual check followed by a series of electrical tests. 90% of faults will be picked up by the visual test. Some faults are minor such as nicks in leads. Sometimes the franchisees are appalled by what they find. It’s not unusual to find badly burnt plugs and sockets and severely damaged leads taped together.
The electrical tests are performed on a portable appliance tester with preset tolerances in accordance with Australian Standards. The appliance tester will not issue a tag unless the relevant tests have been performed successfully. This provides integrity in our process which can be demonstrated in the reports produced by our technician. Every test result of each individual item is captured and represented in the log book provided by our technician.
Neil believes that in addition to safety issues, a programme of testing and tagging electrical tools, leads and appliances demonstrates an employer’s concern regarding the safety of their employees. In some instances it may also result in lower insurance premiums. Another effect is an increase in productivity – tools are maintained in a better condition resulting in less down time from faulty tools. An Asset Register is also provided and can be used in case of theft or for insurance purposes.
Jim’s Test & Tag customer service systems and $20 million public liability insurance policies gives them ability to work with a range of businesses from sole trader builder and multi-site retail groups to large construction and development companies.
The building industry is Jim’s Test & Tag’s largest customer. They help trades people do their job knowing that their tools, leads and appliances are safe and compliant with OH&S requirements. Reminder calls are made to ensure tags are current at all times. Their mobile service means that their customers can save time and worry because they go to them.
Jim’s Test & Tag have built a solid reputation of excellent customer service, give them a call on 131 546 to experience it for yourself.
|
