Pursuant to Regulation 87 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 (“Regulations”), I, Mark Stephen Wogan, Manager, Energy Safety, WorkSafe New Zealand, give the following notice:

Notice

1. Short title and commencement—This notice is the Electricity Regulations (CrispTech Residual Current Device) Notice 2016.

This prohibition is to take effect on and from the 28th day following the date of publication of this notice in the New Zealand Gazette.

2. Prohibited equipment—(a) The sale (including an offer to sell), or use (including installation) of the electrical fitting, being a CrispTech Residual Current Device, Model: RY30-32LE, for medical electrical purposes as described in this notice, is prohibited.

(b) The use of a medical-electrical installation which contains a CrispTech Residual Current Device, Model: RY30-32LE, as described in this notice, is prohibited.

3. Description—The fittings meeting the definition of a CrispTech Residual Current Device (RCD), Model: RY30-32LE, to which this notice applies, are further described below:

(a) The prohibited RCDs have been installed in mobile dental clinics.

(b) The prohibited RCDs have known markings that include “CrispTech”, “RY30-32LE”, “Type A”, “SAA111196EA” and “A/13663EA”.

(c) Characteristics of the prohibited RCD are below:

• It has a plastic body;
• it has four connections [screw terminals] where wires can be inserted and tightened up with a tool designed for the purpose;
• it has “line” and “load” (or similar) polarity requirements and may or may not be din rail mountable;
• it has a test button that is normally marked in the colour yellow with an embossed “T”; and
• it has a switch that can be changed to an off or on position.

(d) The image below shows a sample of the prohibited RCD for identification purposes.

4. Details of hazard—The prohibited RCDs are, or may be, electrically unsafe in that:

• under test or fault conditions, the RCD may not isolate the power supply from the protected circuit;
• Regulation 22 of the Regulations deems these RCDs to be unsafe, as they are supplied on the basis that they have a safety function that they do not in fact have; and
• these RCDs are also not Type 1 RCDs as required for medical locations by AS/NZS 3003:2011.

5. Reasons for prohibition—The RCDs described in this notice are, or may be, electrically unsafe, in that there is significant risk that a person may suffer harm as a result of dangers arising from use of, or passage of electricity through, the fitting.

The RCDs are non-compliant in that:

• the RCDs do not comply with the relevant standard, AS/NZS 61009, as required under AS/NZS 3003 as cited by Regulation 60 of the Regulations; and
• in normal use the RCDs may function unsafely so as to cause danger to persons – in contravention of Regulation 24.

Dated at Wellington this 22nd day of April 2016.

MARK STEPHEN WOGAN, Manager, Energy Safety, WorkSafe New Zealand.