University of New South Wales - BEES Home

UNSW Compliance:

Plant and Equipment Procedure
Plant and Equipment Register
Plant and Equipment Training Register

Plant includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, implement or tool and any component or fitting thereof or accessory thereto. Experimental and research apparatus designed, manufactured and supplied to staff and students, by staff and students or a third party, is also plant and equipment.

All staff and students must be familiar with and abide by all the provisions of the Plant and Equipment Procedure.

In particular:

All new plant should be assessed and must conform to OHS Purchasing Guidelines prior to purchase
Plant should not be used until a hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control procedure is in place for that item of plant
All users should have received adequate information and training and be properly trained prior to use
SOPs and Emergency Procedures for the plant should be displayed readily for all users
Plant must be subjected to a maintenance schedule, checked, tested and inspected regularly so as to minimise risks to operators
Plant being decommissioned must be in accordance with OHS principles to ensure it does not cause a risk on disposal (eg; power plug removed, chemical/waste residues cleaned prior to disposal, etc.). See also Containment Facility Decommissioning Certificate.

The person responsible for the plant should ensure that plant is used only for the purpose for which it was designed unless it has been determined and assessed by a competent person that the change in use does not present a risk to health and safety.

PLANT REGISTER

A Plant and Equipment Register must be established and maintained by the supervisor for each laboratory or workspace recording:

Supervisor
Risk Assessments and SOPs
Trained or competent users
Maintenance schedule
Safe disposal of equipment

The Plant Register should be updated annually and a copy sent to the School Safety Officer.