Electrical Safety Certification

Electricity can be extremely hazardous as it takes as little as 60mA DC or 15mA AC (at 60 Hz) to cause severe pain and difficulty breathing in a person. Improperly designed equipment can also expose workers to the risk of fire and explosion. As such, the Canadian Electrical Code Part I Rule 2-024, requires the certification of most electrical equipment in Ontario before use.

On this page:

 Purchasing new equipment

When equipment is purchased, supervisors must confirm before purchasing the equipment that the equipment has valid electrical certifications. This is done by looking for a visible mark on the equipment and can be confirmed using information available from the manufacturer, such as their website, or by contacting them directly.

It is strongly discouraged to purchase equipment without electrical certification as:

• If not certified during manufacture, some equipment may never pass field evaluations, and therefore may never be usable.
• Field evaluations can cause the warranty to be voided or, in rare cases, may result in damage to the equipment.
• Plant Operations personnel will not connect or service any uncertified equipment.
• Uncertified equipment may lead to research permits and applications being denied or revoked until certification is completed – examples include x-rays and lasers.
• Additional costs of certification incurred by the supervisor typically include:
  • The inspection
  • Actions taken to remedy any deficiencies found during the inspection; and,
  • Re-inspections after remedial actions have been completed

When the equipment has arrived, supervisors must immediately inspect their equipment for a valid certification marking (see “Evaluating Equipment for Valid Certification Markings” below for more details). If no certification is found, follow the steps as outlined in “Certifying Equipment” section.

Equipment certifications and warranty

Since electrical field evaluations require the equipment cover to be removed, this often leads to voiding of the warranty. If your equipment’s warranty is voided by conducting an electrical field evaluation, complete the following steps:

1. As always, consult with the manufacturer to determine if certification can be completed by the manufacturer prior to delivery or during maintenance.
2. If the manufacturer cannot complete the certification, the equipment owner should request documentation from the manufacturer outlining which electrical standards were met during the manufacturing process. For example, some manufacturers may ship equipment without a device certification but can provide documentation proving the equipment was inspected by a TUV or CSA inspector. In this case, the device would still need additional certification, but this documentation can be used to support the risk assessment.
3. Contact the Safety Office at safety@uwaterloo.ca and provide the following documentation:
   1. Any electrical standard documentation provided by the manufacturer (as described in point 2).
   2. Warranty documentation provided by the manufacturer.
4. The Safety Office will do a risk-based assessment of your equipment to determine if electrical field evaluation can be delayed until warranty is expired.
5. Any equipment with an approved temporary delay must have the warranty and electrical documentation posted near the equipment, and the Safety Office Caution tag affixed to the equipment.
6. Any equipment that does not pass the risk assessment must be taken out of service.

Ultimately, there are few scenarios where an exemption will be provided. It is always best to buy equipment that comes with certification.

Evaluating equipment for valid certification markings

Supervisors must evaluate their equipment for valid certification markings using the following steps:

1. Determine if the equipment has alternative requirements:
   • Battery-powered equipment - rarely requires certification. Situations where certification may be required include:
     • Equipment is a medical device; OR,
     • Equipment is used by an electrician for measurements at electricity distribution points.
   • Equipment containing specialized technology – like wireless power sources, capacitors or photovoltaic systems, must be reviewed with Plant Operations Design to certification requirements.
   • Used in hazardous location where explosive atmosphere exists – Must be reviewed by Plant Operations Design
2. Determine what certification for the equipment is needed as per the process below. See “Example Scenarios” for example, exemption and equipment assessments.
3. Once it is determined if certification is needed, inspect the equipment for valid certification markings. The marking is usually located on the outside (chassis) of the equipment.
4. For any equipment that requires certification, collect the following information as it is often requested from consultants:
   • Take a picture of the nameplate.
   • If the equipment is set up, take a picture of the setup.
   • Any available technical sheets, specifications, wiring diagrams and manuals.

Certifying equipment

Certifying new equipment purchased by Purchase Order

Purchasing equipment using a PO includes a clause that requires the manufacturer/distributor to provide it CSA (or equivalent) certified – unless this clause has been waived by the purchaser. Therefore, inspect new purchased equipment on receipt for certification. If no certification is found, immediately inform Procurement. Immediate communication with Procurement may allow them to remedy the situation with no or limited costs. This system requires the purchaser to contact Procurement before the PO has been fully paid. If the PO has been paid, the purchaser should follow the steps outlined in “Certifying Existing Equipment or Equipment not Purchased by PO”.

Certifying existing equipment or equipment not purchased by Purchase Order

Any equipment without valid certification markings must be certified before the equipment may continue to be used.

1. Create a list of equipment that needs certification.
2. Contact the manufacturer of the equipment to determine if they can certify the equipment. This can lead to lower costs or allow the equipment to be certified without voiding the warranty.
3. For each piece of equipment on the list, collect the following information (if available):
   • Picture of the nameplate
   • Picture of the equipment
   • Spec Sheet
   • Wiring Diagram (if available from manufacturer)
4. Contact a consultant to book a time to complete electrical certifications via a field evaluation.

Modifying equipment

Be aware that when electrical equipment is subjected to field modification by means other than a manufacturer-approved field installation kit, this modification may void the original electrical certification approval of the equipment. Once the modification is complete, the equipment should be re-inspected by ESA. Additionally, before modifying equipment, supervisors should check with the manufacturer in advance to determine if the warranty will be voided upon modification.

Taking equipment out of service

This process is completed by the department Health & Safety Coordinator or, in some cases, a department electrical technician.

Equipment that does not have an electrical certification marking, field evaluation, or exemption is required to be taken out of service until a field evaluation is completed. Equipment taken out of service must include:

1. Out of Service tags (provided by the Safety Office, filled in by the Department).
2. Plug Cover – It is recommended that plug covers without lock out verbiage are purchased as this is not an official lock out. Example products. Amazon Electrical Plug Lock, Uline Electrical Plug Lock.
3. Lock – It is recommended that the locks do not contain lock-out verbiage and are keyed alike. Keys to be stored by the department. Example product: Uline Aluminum Lockout Padlock.

To take a piece of equipment out of service:

1. Cover the plug with the plug cover.
2. Affix the lock and tag.
3. Health & Safety Coordinator to store the key.

To place a piece of equipment back in service:

1. Laboratory to contact department Health & Safety Coordinator.
2. Health & Safety Coordinator to ensure that the field evaluation was completed.
3. If field evaluation is completed, the Health & Safety Coordinator will remove the lock, tag and plug cover and equipment may be used.

Any situation of non-compliance where equipment is in use and does not have a field certification (whether locked out or not) will be escalated to the department chair.

Requesting support

If you need support for evaluating equipment to determine what certifications are necessary, first contact your department’s electronics specialist or if none is available, the health and safety coordinator for support. Most departments have an individual assigned to support supervisors in this process. If departmental support is unavailable or department support is insufficient (i.e. for very complex equipment/scenarios), submit a work request to Plant Operations. When submitting a work request, an account number is required. There are no additional charges from Plant Operations as a result of them supporting your project (except for Housing or Food Services). If a consultant and/or contractor is hired through Plant Operations, the owner of the equipment approves the quote from the consultant prior to hiring and will be billed the cost of the consultant and/or contractor. Consultants required to meet the terms of a PO will be hired by Procurement.

General questions about electrical certifications can be submitted to the Safety Office at safety@uwaterloo.ca.

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Additional resources and information

• ESA Exemptions to Product Certifications
• ESA Recognized Approval Marks