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• 1. Introduction
• 2. The Electrical Safety Act 2002
• 3. The Electrical Safety Regulation 2002
• 4. Risk management
• 5. Operating cranes and plant near overhead electric lines
  • 5.1 Scope
  • 5.2 Regulation requirement on exclusion zone for electric lines
  • 5.3 Exclusion zone
  • 5.4 Risk management process for a crane working near electric lines
  • 5.5 Working in the safety observer zone
• 6. Work near low voltage overhead electric lines
  • 6.1 Scope
  • 6.2 The no-touch and exclusion zones
  • 6.3 Hazard identification
  • 6.4 Risk assessment
  • 6.5 Examining the low voltage overhead line for visual defects
  • 6.6 Deciding on control measures
• 7. Clearing vegetation near overhead electric lines
• 8. Agricultural work near overhead electric lines
  • 8.1 Scope
  • 8.2 Regulation on exclusion zones
  • 8.3 Hazard identification
  • 8.4 Risk assessment
  • 8.5 Deciding on control measures
  • 8.6 Particular circumstances
• 9. Transportation of high loads near electric lines
  • 9.1 Scope
  • 9.2 Meaning of terms
  • 9.3 What is a high load?
  • 9.4 Legislative requirements
  • 9.5 Travel requirements
  • 9.6 Responsibilities
• 10. Repair of electrical equipment
• 11. Work near electrical hazards in buildings and near underground electrical cables
• Appendix A - Meaning of terms used in this code
• Appendix B - Exclusion zones in millimetres

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6.6 Deciding on control measures

This step involves deciding on control measures to remove the hazard or minimise the risk of injury or property damage that may result. If there is a regulation or ministerial notice on the subject, you must do what the regulation or notice says. If there is no specific regulation or ministerial notice on the subject, but control measures are covered in a code such as this, you should adopt the control measures detailed in the code or use another equivalent way of managing risk exposure. The preferred hierarchy of control is:

1. Eliminate the hazard. This could involve de-energising the line during the work or re-routing the service line away from the work area. Distribution entities could be contacted to de-energise the line.
2. Substitute with a less hazardous material, process or equipment. This could mean, for example, using non-conductive scaffolding instead of metal scaffolding.
3. Redesign equipment or work process. For instance, this may involve someone sanding by hand near the point where an overhead line meets a building, rather than using an electric disc sander. It could also involve using an insulated fibreglass extension handle on a paint roller, instead of a conductive aluminium extension handle.
4. Isolate the hazard. This could mean erecting a physical barrier to prevent a person or anything held by a person, or attached to the person, encroaching the exclusion zones.
5. Introduce administrative controls. This includes planning and documenting the work procedure before starting work or using a safety observer to warn people before they encroach the exclusion zones.
6. Use appropriate personal protective equipment. This includes the use of effectively electrically tested insulating gloves by anyone who may be at risk of encroaching into the exclusion zones. In deciding which control measure to adopt, you should start at the top of the hierarchy and work your way down.

Last updated July 16, 2009

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