Working from Home in Far North Queensland
Posted on April 1, 2020 by BH Electrics - Safety

In just a few short weeks, the world has changed. The changes have cut deep into the way we live on so many levels. For Cairns and Port Douglas, unfortunately, many businesses have had to stand down their employees. It’s a very sad situation and if you have been affected in this way, our heart goes out to you.
There are also many people retreating to work from home or telecommuting. Home based offices are considered an extension of the workplace under work health safety laws. So as part of this transition, its important for all parties to work together to identify and minimise the risks.
The Electrical Safety Office has provided the following guidelines for employees to check that their home office environment is safe when using electrical equipment.
- Check to see if you have a safety switch installed and that it is operational by pressing the test button before you initially start work from home and every three months thereafter
- Carry out a visual inspection of all electrical equipment in your home office.
- Check for cuts, nicks or exposed conductors on any cords.
- Check equipment for visible damage (broken covers, overheating discolouration).
- Either discard any damaged equipment or have it repaired by an appropriately licensed electrical worker. Do not attempt to repair faulty equipment yourself.
- Ensure leads and power boards are placed where they will not get damaged by moving furniture, chairs, foot traffic or other activities.
- To avoid overheating and fire risks, don’t place papers or other items against air vents of equipment or cover equipment such as power boards or power supplies.
- Don’t cover or stack up equipment under charge (e.g. phones to laptops).
- Don’t permit children to touch or play with electrical cords and make sure electrical cords are not dangling from benches or within your child’s reach.
- Ensure power boards and outlets are not overloaded (e.g. don’t plug in several room heaters into one power board) and are not placed where
For more information and resources including a telecommuting workplace health and safety checklist follow the links below.
In this difficult time, we truly wish everyone in the Douglas Shire well. No doubt about it, rebuilding will be hard but if we continue to support each other, we will achieve great things.
Stay safe.
Brad, Leanne and the BH Electrics Team
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