Electrical Dangers in Your Office Bathroom

Don’t forget about your office bathroom when it comes to ensuring that your workplace electrical items don’t present a danger to clients and co-workers. Damaged electrical cords and water can be a fatally dangerous combination so it’s important not to forget to check bathroom appliances during a test and tag service.

You probably don’t think of your office bathroom as somewhere that could potentially be dangerous. But if you’re a business owner, it’s just as important to ensure that the bathrooms in your office are as safe as all other areas of the business.

Be wary of water

Water is the main hazard in an office bathroom. And it’s a hazard because people could easily slip or because they could be standing in water inadvertently while using electrical equipment.

Make sure that your staff (including the cleaners) know to report any bathroom leaks immediately. That’s especially the case for bathrooms that might not get used very often.

And if there is water on the floor in an office bathroom, make sure that it is cleaned up straight away and that access to the bathroom is blocked or limited until the spill can be addressed.

Check the electrics

There aren’t too many electrical appliances in an office bathroom but if you have an electrical hand-dryer that has a flexible cord, then it needs to be tested and tagged when other appliances in the office are tested.

It’s an easy appliance to forget, so make sure you let your technician know if you have a hand dryer that needs to be tested.

Monitor extra appliances

Depending on your workplace, your team members might bring in their own electrical appliances such as hairdryers and straighteners or electric razors. Electric razors don’t have a great enough voltage to require them to be tested but hairdryers and straighteners do. If a staff member is going to use their personal hairdryer or hair straightener in the office bathroom on a regular basis then it should be tested and tagged. PAT Testing is also very necessary step. But if it’s a one-off use before an office function, then the main thing is to make sure that people are safe in their use of appliances and don’t leave them plugged in around water. Balancing a straightener on the edge of the sink while it heats up is an absolute no-no!

Have good safety protocols

Really it comes down to you as the business owner having a responsible attitude towards safety in all areas of the workplace. Have clear safety protocols in place that every team member learns about as part of their onboarding process. If you show that safety is important to your business, and you emphasise your team member’s individual responsibility to keep the workplace safe, then you’re far more likely to have a safe working environment – all of the time.

Use good suppliers

Electrical safety also comes down to which suppliers you trust to provide you with a safe electrical environment. Jim’s Test & Tag technicians have all been specifically trained in electrical safety testing including testing and tagging. While they’re on site testing and tagging your equipment, they can also check your RCDs and safety switches, conduct electrical fault loop testing and check your fire protection equipment.

Jim’s Test & Tag also keep thorough records of the testing and tagging that they conduct for your business, so you have documentation that shows you took every precaution to ensure you were providing a safe electrical environment. This documentation can be useful in the event of an insurance claim or a workplace accident.

Prevention is key

It’s always better to prevent an accident than to be dealing with the aftermath of a workplace accident which may have caused serious injury and could also potentially have legal ramifications for you as the owner of the business. Jim’s Test & Tag have more than 150 franchises around Australia and they have a free quote service, phone 13 15 46 for more information.