Section 4 – Additional requirements for electric welding work
4.1 What the Regulation says you must do
4.2 Regulatory requirements for welding
4.1 What the Regulation says you must do
If welding is an activity conducted at your workplace, you must do what the Regulation says for all work areas. A visual inspection of the electric welding equipment must be carried out prior to use, and any cord extension sets used should comply with the requirements of this code.
However, welding presents an extra set of hazards.
When a person is welding, they may make contact with the electrode of the welder and receive a shock. The severity of the shock depends on several factors, including the amount of current flowing through the body, the path of the current through the body, and the length of time the person is exposed to the current.
To reduce these risks, all electrode holders should be fully insulated and approved to an acceptable standard. Welding electrode holders or electrode tongs should be made of glass fibre-reinforced plastic or other insulated materials. Electrode holders should be maintained to ensure high conductivity between electrode and holder.
There must be a safe system of work in place for the performance of electric welding work. The safe system of work must address the electrical safety risks of electric welding. Control measures must include ways of preventing or minimising all risks, including electric shock, burns and inhalation of toxic gases.
4.2 Regulatory requirements for rural industry work
An employer or self-employed person must ensure that control measures are implemented for the risk of electric shock or burns from electric welding work performed in the employer or self-employed person’s business or undertaking, including the wearing of protective clothing, gloves, footwear and eye protection.
In addition to this, other control measures should be implemented as necessary to prevent shock and burns.
In high risk situations, such as welding in an enclosed space with conductive surfaces, a safe system of work would need either:
- an electrode disconnection device (this device disconnects the electrode holder while the electrode is being changed); or
- a voltage reduction unit (this device reduces the open circuit voltage of a welder to a safe value); or
- an additional person to oversee the work and disconnect the supply of power at times when the electrode needs to be changed.
Welding equipment suppliers will be able to assist with information about safety equipment.
For more detailed information please refer to:
Welding Technology Institute of Australia
TN 7-98 Health and Safety in Welding
Last updated March 1, 2006
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