Our inspectors recently inspected bottling lines installed by the same overseas supplier of plant at two separate businesses.

Inspectors identified the risk of electrocution to operators due to being unsafely wired and both bottling lines were immediately shut down.

The bottling lines had not been wired in accordance with Australian Standards and the businesses had not engaged a qualified electrician to inspect the plant to ensure, hence there was no Certificate of Compliance prior to operation.

The Office of the Technical Regulator immediately de-energised the plant due to the identified high risk, rendering the plant inoperable

SafeWork SA remind businesses when purchasing and installing plant and machinery from overseas suppliers, they must ensure all components comply with Australian Standards to ensure they are safe to use and operate.

Businesses must ensure all machinery:

• is RCD protected
• has an electrical isolator fitted to motors
• energy sources are able to be isolated
• is fitted with appropriate machine guarding to Australian Standards
• has clearly visible labelling, and it is in English
• wiring complies with Australian Standards
• is fitted, where required, with emergency stops to Australian Standards.

SafeWork SA has issued two similar warnings for working with imported plant and machinery in April and July last year.

In April 2019, a safety alert was published after inspectors had issued a prohibition notice on an item of plant manufactured and purchased overseas and installed by overseas contractors.

In July 2019, a safety alert was issued after a worker sustained serious injuries on an imported pipe bending machine under hyrdraulic pressure.

Further information

Safety Alert - Imported plant and machinery

Managing the risks of plant in the workplace - Code of Practice