In the vast panorama of the safety of electrical systems, the Decree of the President of the Republic no. 462 (DPR 462) represents a milestone in ensuring the protection of workers. Within this regulatory context, the fundamental distinction between periodic and extraordinary audits emerges, each playing a decisive role in preserving safety and ensuring the continuity of operations.
Periodic checks: the checkpoint for measuring the effectiveness of the plant’s maintenance.
Periodic checks, as the name suggests, are regular and preventive activities that take place at intervals established by current legislation. This type of verification focuses on the analysis of the general state of the system, evaluating the correct efficiency of the indirect contact protection systems and the lightning and explosion risk protection systems where applicable.
During these checks, qualified technical experts carefully examine the resistance and correct electrical continuity of the system, as well as any element that is responsible for ensuring its safety (residual current circuit breakers, etc.). The purpose of this practice is to certify as a Third Party Body that the minimum safety requirements are guaranteed and the operation of the plant is safe for the people who live in those work environments.
The periodicity of the checks varies depending on the type of system and the place where it is installed:
> Every 2 years for systems with characteristics that fall within the scope of the activities subject to fire prevention controls or that are identified with at least medium fire risk in DVR, or in systems installed in medical environments or construction sites. This includes hospitals, nursing homes, surgeries and doctors’ surgeries, construction sites and places at increased risk in the event of fire such as textile industries, petrol stations or garages.
> Every 5 years in other cases
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Extraordinary checks: the profound and decisive intervention
The extraordinary checks represent a detailed and in-depth analysis aimed at certifying the restoration of safety conditions following exceptional events, whether they are accidents, natural events, plant modifications.
The technicians will verify that the exceptional causes have not questioned the safety of the system. These exceptional factual causes would have made the periodic verification lose its validity, since the changes that the plant would have undergone would have made the presumption that what was ascertained by the verifier in that context could still be valid. With the extraordinary verification , it is verified that the exceptional causes and/or the consequent restorations have allowed the plant to be in the same safety conditions ascertained previously.
The harmonious synthesis of periodicals and extraordinary
In conclusion, periodic and extraordinary checks, in the context of Presidential Decree 462, represent the complementary links in a chain aimed at ensuring the safety and efficiency of earthing systems.
The consistent and diligent implementation of both practices is a legal requirement for companies that must ensure a safe working environment for their workers.
The consequent sanctions can be administrative (in the event of an inspection) with penalties of up to 6,400 euros or even criminal (in the event of an accident) with penalties up to imprisonment for the employer.
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To find out more, you can contact our service representative, Elisa, at the number 320 3873962 or to the Mail elisa@crinspection.it or write directly to segreteria.dpr462@crinspection.it